The Weather Hasn’t Gotten the Memo

Not that you can tell from the incessant heat and high humidity, but the seasons are indeed changing. No amount of man-made pollution can change the tilt of the Earth. The days are getting progressively shorter, even if Southern California seems determined to pretend otherwise.

And if the weather isn’t cooperating, the marketing machinery certainly is. It’s orange and black everywhere you look. Pumpkins have appeared. Before long, cornucopia baskets and colorful leaves will grace store shelves. And we all know Santa and his crew aren’t far behind.

Isn’t it funny how strongly we associate certain sights, sounds, tastes and especially smells with particular seasons of the year?

The smell of cinnamon. A little ginger. Orange peel. The warmth of spices rising from a steaming cup. Somehow those things feel different when the days grow shorter. They signal that we’re entering that part of the year when we begin spending a little more time indoors, gathering with family and friends, and reaching for things that are warm, familiar and comforting.

Which gets me, finally, to the return of Maitri Tea’s Holiday Bliss.

Holiday Bliss is one of those blends that simply belongs to a particular time of year. I could make it in July, of course. The herbs and spices don’t know what month it is. But somehow it wouldn’t be the same.

Part of the pleasure of a seasonal blend is waiting for it.

When Holiday Bliss returns, I want opening that first pouch and brewing that first cup to feel a little like unpacking the holiday decorations you haven’t seen since last year. You remember them, but there’s still something special about seeing them again.

That’s one of the things I love about tea. A cup can become connected to a moment, a place or a season. Eventually, simply smelling those familiar ingredients can bring some of those memories rushing back.

So, yes, it may still be hot outside. The air conditioner may still be running. And Southern California may not yet have received the memo that autumn has arrived.

But the days are getting shorter.

The pumpkins are appearing.

Santa is somewhere making his list.

And Holiday Bliss is coming back.