Today is president’s day and we wanted to celebrate the favorite teas of our Presidents thoughout the history of our county.
Disclaimer: This is made up for fun and based only loosely on guess work and a few facts. This article in no way is endorced, approved, or supported by the White House or any presdient. I have met Obama once, he came and talked to my class at my community college when I was 17 year’s old when he was running for Senate in Illinois. I’ve never had the chance to actually offer him tea. But if I do…
It all started with the question of, if Obama ever came to Ames and ordered a tea from Little Woods, what would it be? With a little digging, the recommendation was obvious: Eternal Youth Iced Tea!
And it just kept going from there. Here’s a round up of five presidents and the teas they would enjoy the most at Little Woods.
Obama:
Eternal Youth
Naturally caffeine free, it’s tart and fruity. Refreshing iced or hot. I like it unsweetened, but many love it with a little simple syrup or honey.
Roosevelt:
Lapsang Souchong
What started out as an accident has turned into a staple of russian tea drinking. A chinese black tea that is smoked with pine.
Jefferson:
Namaste Green Tea
A green tea that is smooth and subtly sweet. It has hand chopped freeze dried strawberries and lemon balm mixed with our Mao Jian green tea.
Washington:
Keemun Black Tea
One of our favorite black teas, it’s a chinese black tea (red tea) that has a malty robust flavor. It’s wonderfully smooth on it’s own or with a little milk.
Bush Sr:
Gyokuro
Our top shelf loose leaf green tea, we were lucky to meet this Japanese tea company two summers ago. Vegetal with a rich mineral tone. The color is a vivid yellow green when brewed to perfection.
Want to get a little steeped in the history of Tea at the White House?
I really enjoyed these articles and books about the subject, particularly the first by Sara Shacket of Tea Happiness.
- Tea And The Presidency by Tea Happiness
- Obama Used His Oval Office Red Button For Tea, According To Richard Branson on the Huffington Post
- Thomas Jefferson’s Love for Tea on the Tea Master’s Blog
- George Washington and Tea on the Tea Master’s Blog
- Haller, H. (1987). The White House Family Cookbook. New York: Random House.
- Tea with Presidential Families by Pearl Dexter and Beulah Munshower Sommer
