Tea Time Tuesday: Edith Wharton Tea — A Literary Blend Made for More Than the Classics

Welcome to Tea Time Tuesday, where I pull one of the teas from the Faebles shelves and give it a little time in the spotlight.

This week, we're pouring a cup of Edith Wharton Tea from Simpson & Vail's Literary Tea Collection.

And if the name has you picturing a very proper cup of tea beside a very serious classic novel, you're not entirely wrong.

But don't let the name fool you.

This tea has RANGE.

Shop Edith Wharton Tea at Faebles →

What's in Edith Wharton Tea?

Edith Wharton Tea begins with a smooth, high-grown Darjeeling black tea, then adds organic ginger root, passionfruit flavor, natural blood orange extract, mallow flowers, and calendula petals.

The result is elegant without being boring: fruity and floral, bright with citrus, and finished with just enough ginger to give the cup a little warmth and spice.

In other words?

It sounds very proper.

It isn't entirely proper.

Which feels rather appropriate for Edith Wharton.

The Literary Story Behind the Tea

Edith Wharton spent much of her writing career exploring what was happening underneath the polished surface of society — the expectations, relationships, secrets, ambitions, and quiet rebellions hidden beneath all those lovely manners.

If you've read The Age of Innocence or The House of Mirth, you already know.

Simpson & Vail created this blend as an homage to Wharton and the social world that appears throughout her work. Even tea itself makes repeated appearances in Wharton's writing.

So yes: pour yourself a cup, pick up The Age of Innocence, and you have a pretty perfect literary pairing.

But this is Faebles.

We're not stopping there.

What Should You Read With Edith Wharton Tea?

One of my favorite things about books and tea is that a pairing doesn't have to be literal.

Sometimes it's the setting. Sometimes it's the mood. Sometimes it's a character. And sometimes you take one sip and think:

Yep. That's the book.

So if Edith Wharton Tea is in your cup, here are a few books I'd put in your other hand.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

This may be my favorite pairing of the bunch.

Outlander gives us history, romance, complicated relationships, danger, gorgeous settings, political maneuvering, and more than a little drama.

Against all of that, the Darjeeling gives you the classic tea experience while the blood orange and passionfruit brighten it up and the ginger brings just enough warmth.

This is the pairing for an afternoon when you're fully prepared to disappear into another century for a while.

A Court of Thorns and Roses — Collector's Edition by Sarah J. Maas

Hear me out.

Yes, this is Edith Wharton Tea.

Yes, I'm pairing it with ACOTAR.

And yes, it works.

Courts. Power. Romance. Social maneuvering. Beautiful surroundings. Dangerous people. Everyone behaving according to one set of rules while approximately seventeen other things are happening underneath the surface.

Edith would have had material for DAYS.

Then there's the tea itself. Passionfruit, blood orange, florals, ginger, and Darjeeling have enough brightness and complexity to hold their own beside a lush romantasy.

Consider this your reminder that a Literary Tea does not require you to read literary fiction.

And while we're talking about ACOTAR...

Let's just say ACOTAR readers may want to keep a particularly close eye on Faebles this week.

That's all I'm saying.

For now.

The Awakening by Nora Roberts

If you want fantasy with a little more warmth, The Awakening, the first book in Nora Roberts' Dragon Heart Legacy, is where I'd go next.

Magic, romance, family history, another world, and a heroine discovering that her life may be much bigger than she realized?

Give me the book and put the kettle on.

The floral and fruit notes in Edith Wharton Tea fit the magical atmosphere beautifully, while the ginger gives the cup enough warmth to settle in for a long reading session.

This is the pairing I'd choose when I want fantasy and adventure without reaching for something quite as intense as some of the darker romantasy sitting on my shelves.

And, Of Course, Edith Wharton

Sometimes the obvious answer is obvious for a reason.

If you've never read Edith Wharton, this tea gives you the perfect excuse.

Try it with The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, or another of Wharton's works and experience the blend alongside the stories that inspired it.

There's something especially fun about drinking a literary tea while reading the author whose work inspired the cup.

How to Brew Edith Wharton Tea

For the cup I want you to experience, brew Edith Wharton Tea with 212°F water for about 3 minutes.

And then?

Find somewhere comfortable.

Grab whichever book matches your mood.

And escape into the story.

Because that's really the point of the teas I choose for Faebles.

I don't think there's one "correct" book to drink with a particular tea. I want the tea to become part of the reading ritual — something that helps turn I'm going to read for a few minutes into an experience you actually look forward to.

Maybe that's Edith Wharton with Edith Wharton.

Maybe it's Claire Fraser in the Scottish Highlands.

Maybe it's Feyre walking into Prythian.

Maybe it's Nora Roberts taking you through a portal into another world.

Your reading ritual gets to belong to you.

And this particular cup?

It can go just about anywhere.

— Shannon

Faebles Tomes and Teas is an independent mobile bookstore serving Pooler, Rincon, Richmond Hill, Savannah, and communities throughout Coastal Georgia. Shop books, loose-leaf teas, Blind Dates With a Book, and other ways to build your own reading ritual at FaeblesBooks.com.