Hints From Heloise

Dear Readers: It’s January, so it must be National Hot Tea Month. The Tea Council of the U.S.A. says Americans consume over 50 billion cups, or 2.2 billion gallons, of tea per year.

Ever wonder how tea bags came into being? According to the Tea Council, they were invented in 1904, when a U.S. merchant sent out tea samples in small silk bags. The people brewed the bags and all! They didn’t take the tea out of the bag as was meant, thus tea bags.

One of my favorite hints is to stir hot tea with a cinnamon stick. Simply delicious! Do you have a favorite hot-tea hint? We’d love to hear from you.

Send your favorite hot-tea hint to: Heloise/Tea, PO Box 795000, San Antonio TX 78279-5000. We’ll pick the best hints, print them in the newspaper column and send those readers a Heloise pamphlet. Send in your hint today . - Heloise