First off—yes, this month’s letter is late. And yes, it was absolutely because of the polar vortex. (And by “polar vortex,” I obviously mean not at all the fact that I got busy, forgot, and then panicked when I saw the tea still sitting on my desk.). Let’s blame the weather. It’s safer that way.

This month, we’re taking a slight detour through time—back to cobbled paths, turkey legs the size of your forearm, and the faint sound of someone shouting “HUZZAH!” in the distance. Because your Tea Master recently went on a noble quest… to the Texas Renaissance Festival.

We made it through spooky season—kind of. Let’s be honest, October didn’t deliver on the full haunted aesthetic. Not enough fog. Not enough vibes. So, what are we doing? We’re skipping straight to the warm spices and leaning all the way into holiday mode, early-access edition. And what better way to soft launch the holidays than with a tea that smells like gift wrap and tastes like cinnamon nostalgia?

The shadows are long, the air is crisp, and something stirs in your mailbox… It’s time for the Spooky Season Steep, and this month, we’re embracing the cozy chaos of fall with a blend that smells like October wrapped itself in a scarf and moved into your kitchen.

September’s tea is inspired by the purest expression of emotional meltdown ever animated: Tanjiro Kamado, exhausted and starving, slamming face-first into the dirt while crying, “And I want high-quality gyokuro tea!”

This month’s pick? It’s… divisive. It’s dramatic. It’s walking into a room wearing too much cologne.

This month, we’re making a shift. Not a big one, but a deliberate one. You see, while Harney & Sons has been the backbone of our tea journey (and a frequent flyer in your mailboxes), July calls for something a little different.

This month’s selection is less “surprise tea roulette” and more sentimental flashback, so bear with me while I get a little nostalgic (but not like, feelings-nostalgic—we’re not monsters).

You probably thought May’s tea would be something floral, didn’t you? Like, “Ooooh it’s spring! Let’s do lavender-chamomile with dried rose petals and name it after a woodland fairy.”

Welcome to April, aka that time of year when we all collectively pretend we enjoy being outside. Birds are chirping, bees are buzzing, and seasonal allergies are attacking—but we don’t care, because we’ve got tea. And not just any tea. Oh no. This month, we’re getting a little bougie.

Guess what? We’re still doing this. That’s right—what started as an impulsive act of friendship-fueled chaos has somehow become an actual recurring event (is twice considered recurring?).

Congratulations! Or… condolences? You have been selected (read: voluntold) to join the BAMS Tea Club, an exclusive, highly curated, and absolutely unstructured experience where I force my whims upon my friends in the form of tea. You didn’t sign up for this, you didn’t ask for it, and yet—here you are. Such is the price of friendship with me.