Tea drinking is best done when aligned with your mood. The preparation of tea, the aromas that fill the room, and the way you serve it are part of a holistic experience. 

As the seasons change, so should your sipping habits to move in harmony with the different weather and body changes that come with varying times of the year. The four seasons of tea are sometimes aligned with small harvesting windows where they are only picked at certain times of the year. As a result, some blends are not seasonal themselves but pair well with seasonal produce that is only harvested at certain points in the year. 

Other teas have functional qualities that can warm or cool your body's physiology to match the season's temperatures. Finally, tea has the ability to transport you into a different mood or season if a change is what you are seeking. 

Let’s explore the best teas to drink with every mood and season, Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer, in our guide below. 

What Kinds Of Teas Pair Well With Every Season and Mood

With the natural change of seasons comes a change in mood. This natural seasonal shift should draw you to change your drinking rituals to complement the changing environment and feelings associated with the transition. 

Why Drinking Tea Seasonally Is Important

Just as seasonal fruit tastes best at the height of its natural ripeness, teas taste best in the season they are harvested and cured. For tea, the harvest date is one of the four main identity components. It is so important that it can have a noticeable impact on a tea's flavor profile and overall quality. While many teas are harvested year-round, their harvest date from season to season and can yield different flavor profiles in the same type of tea. 

Autumn

Autumn brings a shedding of the freeness of summer and welcomes in a major mood and weather change. This is the time of year when we pick up our forgotten journals, finish harvesting the summer season's bounty in our garden and get ready to hibernate with a good book. 

Autumn welcomes a late seasonal flush that typically produces teas that produce strong leaves which are packed with aromatic oils. This flush is markedly heartier than the later Spring flush. Drinking during the Autumn season should involve drinking the freshest teas harvested in this season. This includes oolong, pur’eh, and Autumn flush Darjeeling teas which are noticeably bolder in taste when harvested in this period. 

Winter

Winter is a time of reflection, celebration, and invigorating food and drink to combat the cooler temperatures and to help our bodies self-warm. Teas harvested in the season are said to be the “sweetest” of all flushes due to the heightened amounts of carbohydrates available in the soil. 

Winter is the end of the season that Assam teas at Luxmi’s Narayanpur Estate are harvested in India. Assam is known for its bold wake-you-up flavor and malty sentimental flavor profile that will transport you to comfort and nostalgia. 

In addition, Assam is known for its polyphenols that support the tea’s immunity-boosting powers. A cup of Assam is the perfect companion to stay healthy in the cold season and relax by a warm fire. 

Spring

Spring is a period of renewal where our moods often switch to a more active state. It is a time to get our goals moving, find mental clarity, and spend more time outside. Spring is also considered the sweet season for tea harvests. It is when the new buds appear, and the younger leaves start to unfurl from the Winter’s rest. Teas harvested in this period are often the most prized because while dormant over the cooler Winter months, they have been diligently working to collect nutrients, making them the most succulent of all flushes. 

The best teas to drink from teas harvested in this period are the richly textured and aromatic Darjeeling First Flush or other high-quality green teas, such as the Raja Singh Blend. 

Summer 

Summer is a time when tea is a ritual sunrise drink or nighttime wind-down ritual. Our mood is whimsical, and the days are full of solar-powered activity. Summer is also a time when tea crops grow prolifically and in masse. Teas from this season are not necessarily the most prized flushes, but they do produce the Monsoon flush of Darjeeling, and the second flush of Assam. The tea of summer is the refreshing fruit-inspired Mango Passionfruit Green Tea blended with a Darjeeling organic green for a refreshing cup of tea. 

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