Something about the crisp chill and driven snow makes the diffuse heat of a cup of coffee, cocoa, broth, or tea a treasure. As an accompaniment into the cold or a warming welcome to the indoors, tea is particularly reminiscent of the winter months, and is built into many parts of my winter schedule.
For those of you more interested in the history of tea, there are more resources out there than I could name, but a great treatment has been prepared by a youtube China Scholar of the history of cultivation of Camellia sinensis, the tea tree.
Please enjoy the history of tea
In my opinion there is really nothing better than an on-demand water heater and a good supply of tea leaves. My personal preparation methods are a bit more mundane, involving a stove and saucepan, a liter flask, and a couple of cases of freeze dried ginseng and oolong tea.
