National Hot Tea Day Date in the current year: January 12, 2024

Tea is an aromatic and invigorating beverage that is prepared by pouring boiling or hot water over the leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia. Tea has been known in China since at least the 3rd century AD and became a popular recreational drink during the Tang dynasty. Portuguese seafarers brought tea to Europe in the 16th century. A hundred years later, tea became a fashionable drink in Britain, and the English started to plant tea in British India.

There are different kinds of tea depending on how tea leaves are processed before consumption. There are at least six distinct types of tea depending on their level of oxidation: white, yellow, green, oolong, black, and fermented (also known as post-fermented, dark or pu’er). Black tea is historically more popular in the West for a number of reasons, including its longer shelf life.

Different types of tea are brewed at different temperatures. For example, black tea can be brewed with boiling water (Western-style brewing), whereas unfermented teas (white, yellow, green) should be brewed with water that is below boiling. In fact, it is better to err on the side of lower temperature as far as unfermented teas are concerned. However, ultimately the specifics of brewing (water temperature, ratio of water to tea leaves and other technicalities) are a matter of personal taste.

National Hot Tea Day was established by the Tea Council of the USA in 2016. Founded in 1950, the Tea Council of the USA is a non-profit organization that was formed as a partnership between members of the tea industry and allied industries within the United States, as well as tea producers in other countries. Today, its main goal is to popularize the consumption of tea in the United States by emphasizing the health benefits of the beverage.

There are many ways to celebrate National Hot Tea Day. You can learn more about the different kinds of tea and how to brew them, check out your local tea shop and try some new tea flavors, splurge on an expensive tea you have wanted to try for quite some time, invite your friends over for a tea party, or simply enjoy a cup of hot tea. However you decide to celebrate, don’t forget to post about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #HotTeaDay and #NationalHotTeaDay to spread the word.

Of course, National Hot Tea Day is not the only holiday dedicated to one of the most iconic beverages in the world. The British celebrate National Tea Day on April 21, which is the birthday of the late Queen Elizabeth II (although the holiday was created in 2016, when the Queen was alive and well). There are also two holidays named International Tea Day: one is a United Nations observance that takes place on May 21 and the other is an unofficial holiday celebrated in some tea-producing countries on December 15.