To celebrate National Hot Tea Month, here is a simple, healthy, natural hot tea brew that will leave you feeling all warm inside. Brew it in just minutes and benefit from the health benefits! This easy Mānuka Honey & Lemon Tea requires just 3 everyday ingredients and will be ready in just 5 mins!
The History Behind National Hot Tea Day
National Hot Tea Day celebrates the soothing qualities of tea. They assert that “drinking tea is the perfect way to start the New Year with a sound mind and body”. Drinking tea dates to almost 5000 years, according to legend it was first drunk in China in 2737 BCE, when Emperor Shen Nong accidentally imbibed it after tea leaves blew into his boiling water.
It then went from being a medicinal beverage to a casual beverage around 300 CE. It has long been tied to Britain, but it was not until the seventeenth century that it became popular there, when the upper class began drinking it.
At the time, it was rather expensive and taxed by the government! Four out of five American’s drink tea, and the United States is the third-largest importer of tea in the world after Russia and Pakistan. Around the world, sugar, honey, and milk are often added to it.
True tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. The main types of teas are black, green, white, dark, yellow and oolong. They all come from the same plant – their differences lie in how they are processed. Tea leaves begin to oxidize after they are picked. White tea is the least oxidized, green tea is more oxidized, and black tea is the most oxidize. Dark tea is fermented after it is manufactured.
UMF 5+ Mānuka Honey
A must add to your hot, black, or green tea is the Manuka South UMF 5+ Mānuka honey is sourced from the finest areas throughout New Zealand’s beautiful South Island. Golden in colour and has a sweet creamy taste that is only found in the remote areas of these southern lands – right in Manuka South’s backyard. The perfect addition to the below brew!
Ingredients
- 1/4 lemon juice
- 2-3 tsp Manuka South UMF 5+ Mānuka honey
- Your chosen herbal tea (chamomile or green tea are personal favourites)
How to
- Mix the Manuka South UMF 5+ Mānuka Honey and lemon juice in the bottom of your cup while you boil the kettle.
- Add in your chosen herbal tea
- Once the kettle is boiled, pour over the hot water
- Add a slice of lemon or even a slice of ginger for extra flavour
- Stir and enjoy!
Extra Tip: Try adding a splash of whiskey to make a quick hot toddy!
