As the weather becomes more conducive to spending time outside, I find myself heading out into the garden for a cup of tea more and more often. Granted, the emergence of more summery weather in my part of the world has been a little behind schedule, and this week we’ve had a relapse into chillier, stay-indoors-if-at-all-possible temperatures. However, slowly, but surely, we are getting there. And as we do so, a cup of tea outside becomes increasingly appealing.

For me, there are several stages to this progression.
Stage One: The weather is inviting enough for me to be enticed outside with my morning cup of tea. Although it might be a tad chilly, I’ll stand outside for a while enjoying the morning sun, sipping and cradling my mug of tea to keep me warm.
Stage Two: In this stage I know that the weather is nice enough to enjoy my tea outside, and I will plan on sitting in the garden to drink my morning cup. This will most likely involve a more elaborate set up than the impromptu outdoor mug, and I’ll prepare a pot so that I can sit outside and enjoy both the tea and the sunshine for a while.
Stage Three: This is when I start planning to take all of my tea breaks outside in an effort to soak up every drop of nice weather (and tea!) that I can. This is especially the case if my schedule keeps me working indoors for most of the day.
Stage Four: In this stage the weather is warm enough that drinking hot tea is no longer an appealing option. Although I might stick to a hot cup in the morning when it is cooler, later in the day I will make iced tea to enjoy outside.
Right now Stage Four seems a ways off; as of yet, I have only got as far as Stage Two. Sadly that lasted all of two glorious days and then the weather relapsed back to Stage One, and this was only after a couple days of cold rainy days that meant I stayed inside with my mug of tea. Hopefully warmer weather is on the horizon, and with it, more teatimes in the garden.
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