We share with you four facts about the most aromatic source of inspiration for writers: tea.

We share with you four facts about the most aromatic source of inspiration for writers: tea.

Like every good story, the origination story of tea reads like a fairy tale. It is said that some 5,000 years ago, the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung discovered “cha,” or tea, entirely by accident. He was enjoying his morning cup of freshly boiled water when the wind brought a few leaves fluttering into his cup. The leaves transformed the water, infusing it with a golden hue and a heavenly flavour. By pure chance, the emperor had sipped the first cup of tea known to mankind.

This “magic water” soon spread around the globe and remains, after water, the most consumed beverage in the world. Tea is even more popular than coffee—and is especially beloved by writers. While authors are often associated with coffee—legendary is Honoré de Balzac’s daily consumption of up to fifty cups—tea has long been celebrated for its mentally invigorating properties. It’s no surprise, then, that tea’s complex aromas have seeped into world literature just as deeply as the writers’ own souls.

At novum publishing, we would like to share with you four stories about writers and their love for tea—tales you might not yet have heard. And at the end, we’ll tempt you with a tea recipe for a proper tea time—one that might well have enticed Jane Austen to your table.

4 Literary Facts About Writers and Their Relationship with Tea

Tea Time with Jane Austen

There’s hardly a tea time more quintessentially British than one inspired by—and featuring—Jane Austen. A devoted tea-drinker herself, Austen placed afternoon tea at the very heart of her novels. Over steaming cups, glances are exchanged, scandalous schemes are hatched, and entire marriages arranged. Tea in her world is as emotionally charged as it is genteel.

Emotional Boiling Point with F. Scott Fitzgerald

Although F. Scott Fitzgerald was perhaps more partial to alcohol than to infusions, tea plays a pivotal role in his most famous work, The Great Gatsby. Feverish with love, Jay Gatsby arranges a tea party for his long-lost Daisy—an occasion as lavish as it is symbolic. Towering cakes, extravagant floral arrangements, and tea sweeter than poetry set the stage for their reunion. In this scene, Fitzgerald created a love moment for the ages—one where not only the characters, but the very tea cups themselves, seem to boil over.

Streams of Thought with J. R. R. Tolkien

Everything begins with a cup of tea—at least in The Hobbit, where Gandalf the Grey sips tea with Bilbo Baggins just before whisking him off on an epic adventure. For J. R. R. Tolkien himself, tea marked the beginning of many a creative journey. He regularly met with fellow author C. S. Lewis over tea to discuss books, literature, and myth. By opening his great tale with a teacup, Tolkien granted tea an honourable place in one of the most iconic stories of the 20th century.

George Orwell’s “Nice Cup of Tea”

“One strong cup of tea is better than twenty weak ones.” In his iconic essay A Nice Cup of Tea, George Orwell reinvented the concept of the tea ritual. He laid out eleven golden rules for drawing out the full aromatic potential of tea. His advice? Use proper black tea, stick to precise brewing times, and never add sugar—“which would ruin the true flavour of the tea.”

Four Tea Recipes for more Inspiration

Classic Iced Tea

Serves 4

Ingredients:

  • 8 tsp strong black tea (such as Ceylon or Assam)
  • 30 ice cubes
  • 1 unwaxed lemon
  • 4 tsp agave syrup or golden caster sugar (to taste)

Method:

  1. Brew a tea concentrate: add 8 teaspoons of black tea to a French press and pour over 1 litre of boiling water. Brew for 3 minutes, then press.
  2. Fill a large jug or heatproof carafe halfway with ice. Pour the hot tea over the ice to cool it quickly.
  3. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Stir in agave syrup or sugar until dissolved (about 2 minutes).
  4. Divide the remaining ice among four tall glasses, add 1–2 lemon slices per glass, and pour in the tea. Serve with a straw and enjoy!

Iced Tea with Lime and Raspberries

Brew black tea and cool it over ice cubes. Sweeten with 4 tsp raspberry syrup. Serve in glasses with ice, a dash of lime juice, 2 lime slices, and 10 frozen raspberries.

Iced Tea with Bitter Orange and Lavender

Mix black tea with 4 tsp dried bitter orange peel and brew. Cool over ice and sweeten with 4 tsp lavender syrup. Serve with ice, a sprig of fresh lavender, and a strip of lemon zest.

Iced Tea with Passion Fruit

Brew black tea and chill over ice. Mix with 200 ml orange juice and 4 tbsp lemon juice. Sweeten to taste. Halve one passion fruit and stir the pulp into the tea. Add a few lemon wedges and let infuse for a few minutes before serving over ice.

Which brewed beverage inspires your writing? Tell us in the comments below!

Let your fingers roam freely over your keyboard,
Your team at novum publishing