A happy 2016 and a happy National Hot Tea Month to you! We have no problems with New Year's Resolutions around here at Two Leaves and a Bud, but we also thought maybe we'd scale back a bit this year, and just kick off 2016 by celebrating Janauary's National Hot Tea Month with a bit more vim and vigor, if you will. (And our plans for the next 11 months will be revealed later, if that's okay with you.)

As a reader of a tea blog, we think it's safe to assume that you drink hot tea regardless of the weather, like we do, and definitely not just when its super cold outside. But maybe you'll play along with us as we suggest we all make one firm resolution for Hot Tea Month: Try something new!

And of course, we're full of suggestions:

Do you always steep your tea in a sachet or teabag? Try it loose! All you'll need is a simple filter basket and some loose tea leaves, and you'll discover an easy way to customize the strength of your brew.

Alternatively, if you're a die hard loose tea lover (and we know plenty of those), keep an open mind and try a traditional paper teabag at least once. There are a lot of great ones out there that are way more interesting than your typical bag of stale, dusty black tea. (We'd recommend one of our Organic Paisley Tart trio for something fruity and fun, but we know we're biased.)

Break up your tea habit a bit: add the milk <gasp> before you add tea to your cup, and see if you taste a difference. Stir in agave instead of honey. Try a flavored sugar, like vanilla sugar. Steep for a minute more or less! Stir counter-clockwise instead of clockwise! The possibilities are endless.

Get exotic: Tea really is like wine, in that where and how its grown affects its flavor, which is why it's quite fun sometimes to try a new version of your favorite tea from a garden where that tea is particularly prized. Our Assam Mangalam Garden or Darjeeling Gielle Garden are great examples. Or push through your comfort zone a bit further and try Pu Ehr, a fermented cake of black tea that you steep, not eat. (Although, that would be really original, so let us know if you give that a shot.)

We wish you all a happy National Hot Tea Month, and a wonderful 2016 while we're at it. Cheers, tea lovers!