Back in 2021, a lovely company here in town crafted a special tea linked to my wife’s book, We Gather Together. The tea is back as a limited edition this fall. If you never got a chance to try it, you ought to jump on the opportunity now. I have no idea how much tea is available, or how long this short run will last.
On the surface, the book is the surprising story of Sarah Josepha Hale, a woman magazine editor who lobbied several presidents before Lincoln finally acceded to her request to make Turkey Day a national holiday. But the deeper story is one of gratitude, and gives Americans a blueprint for a more inclusive Thanksgiving, sans the mythical, problematic Pilgrim-Wampanoag encounter of 1621.
The earliest celebrations of Thanksgiving in New England were distinctly regional affairs. This tea has a South Appalachian ingredient, yaupon, that has a fascinating history in its own right. It’s the only indigenous plant in the US that produces an appreciable amount of caffeine. It was used by indigenous peoples as a beverage, but never caught on with European newcomers.
One theory I’ve heard was that the East India Tea Company wanted to quash the possibility of a local brew catching on in North America and supplanting its own expensive imported tea. So they orchestrated bestowing upon yaupon the catchy Latin name, ilex vomitoria, a moniker guaranteed to shoo away curious drinkers. The Asheville Tea company has been trying to revive the plant’s usefulness by using it in their brews.
I tried the tea when it first came out and I found it to be delicious. Full-flavored and fall-flavored, if you know what I mean. It’s way better than pumpkin spice. Order Gather Together—A Gratitude Bend tea via Asheville Tea Company here. This type of tea is sold in the loose leaf variety, and a single pouch makes about 40-45 cups of tea.
I hope you’ll try it. Fun and totally worth it. And needless to say, it makes a great gift when paired with Denise’s trio of Thanksgiving books, which you can find on the buy page at the Denise Kiernan website.
Denise’s has book racked up some cool media hits in its short life. Back when the book debuted, we were in the midst of the pandemic. But the book still got a splashy half page review in the Wall Street Journal. The following year, We Gather Together was featured on Katie Couric’s blog about the best books for Thanksgiving and Christmas. And it was featured as a great Thanksgiving gift book on a segment on Good Day LA. Most recently, the young readers edition was lauded by the website KidLit TV as one of only four recent children’s books that depict the Thanksgiving holiday accurately. A very cool designation, considering the range of options in this arena.
My wife’s book starts at about the 3:28 mark.
Photo credit: Tea cup image at top copyright Denise Kiernan 2021. Tea bag image via Asheville Tea Company.