January is Hot Tea Month
For collectors, celebrating National Hot Tea Month is the perfect opportunity to add a new teapot, teacup or tea serving piece to a collection. We did a quick check of how tea-related collectibles have been selling at auction recently and included some of the highlights here.
A warm and soothing cup of tea is welcome any time of the day, especially when it’s cold outside — which is why January is National Hot Tea Month in the United States and Canada.
The United States remains the third-largest tea importer in the world, according to International Tea Committee statistics. Russia and Pakistan are first and second. It is appropriate that the U.S. celebrates this beverage that has grown in popularity from millennials to baby boomers.
Regular tea consumption supports wellness when combined with a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. “The many bioactive compounds in tea appear to impact virtually every cell in the body to help improve health outcomes, which is why the consensus … is that drinking at least a cup of green, black, white or oolong tea a day can contribute significantly to the promotion of public health,” Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, Professor of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, told the Tea Association of The USA.
National Hot Tea Month is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the health benefits of tea, which was initially used in China for medicinal purposes.
For collectors, celebrating National Hot Tea Month is of course also the perfect opportunity to add a new teapot, teacup or tea serving piece to a collection.
We did a quick check of how tea-related collectibles have been selling at auction recently and included some of the highlights here.
One note of trivia that may be of interest to Holt-Howard collectors - and possibly fighting words for teacup collectors: One unexpected outcome of the Holt-Howard line was the eventual worldwide acceptance of the coffee mug. Prior to the mid-1950s, drinking coffee or tea from anything but a cup and saucer was unheard of in Canada and European markets, and to a lesser degree in the U.S. Holt-Howard was told that the company couldn’t be serious if it thought the traditional serving way would change, but within five years, consumer convenience won over tradition and mugs became a part of everyday living.
We think there’s room for both, so whether you drink your tea from a traditional cup or big mug, make yourself some and enjoy.
