Tea Has Never Been Hotter—Here’s Proof We’re Living in a Tea Renaissance

New Products from Legacy Brands

The very first brand of tea I ever remember having was Celestial Seasonings. The Sleepytime Bear may have recently become an internet obsession for being a cozy king, but this tea has been around forever. And now the Sleepytime Bear is in his wellness era, because Celestial Seasonings just released four new herbal teas: Detox Blend dandelion, SheWell raspberry leaf, Sleepytime Biotin Beauty Rest and an Everyday Wellness variety pack. One of the teas in the variety pack is an extra-strength Sleepytime, which has never failed to absolutely knock me out at bedtime. Peacefully, of course.

On the other side of the pond, English tea brand Twinings is shaking things up. This year, the brand released its first instant iced tea product, which it calls Refreshers. You can enjoy an iced tea without having to brew hot tea first, which is truly mind-blowing to me. I’ve tried both flavors, strawberry raspberry and peach mango, and all I’ll say is that Starbucks officially has some competition in the Refresher category. These are that good.

 

Tea Goes Boozy—with or Without Bubbles

Canned cocktails have seen a huge spike (pun intended) in popularity over the last few years. While a lot of them are seltzer-based, there are an increasing number of tea-based options available. Of course, Twisted Tea is one of the giants in that category. But as the category grows more popular, there are a lot of different craft options popping up. It’s becoming so popular that even Pro Football Hall of Famer Rondé Barber became part owner of the organic hard tea brand Crooked Tea.

One of the products I’ve been impressed with is the Owl’s Brew line of Sun Tea & Vodka. It currently has three flavors: strawberry basil, blueberry lemonade and half tea half lemonade (aka an Arnold Palmer). I’m a little biased because there’s nothing more refreshing than an Arnold Palmer, and these are excellent canned cocktails. Plus, I love being able to sip on something premixed that isn’t carbonated.

It’s a Matcha, Matcha, Matcha, Matcha World

Matcha has been skyrocketing in popularity over the past couple of years. Humble brag, but in 2016 I actually had the pleasure of attending a matcha ceremony at Ippodo Tea Room in Kyoto, Japan. Our guide used a bamboo whisk to mix the matcha powder with hot water to create a smooth, rich, glossy green tea that we drank from small bowls. It was absolutely mesmerizing, and it made my love of matcha grow even stronger.

But you don’t have to fly to Japan to enjoy a matcha latte. In fact, there has been a veritable boom in high-quality matcha latte mixes. Golde has a really nice variety of latte mixes, and its rechargeable whisk has been a staple in my kitchen since 2020. And the Duchess of Sussex herself is an investor in female-owned, California-based Clevr Blends, which has great options as well. My personal fave is the Beauty Matcha Latte blend from Kroma, which I’ve been enjoying every morning for the past three months.

The Prebiotic Boom Comes to the Tea Room

No one can deny that there’s a huge surge in high-protein food options at the moment. I think the beverage equivalent to this phenomenon is the increase in availability of pre- and probiotic drinks. Poppi and Olipop were some of the first prebiotic sodas to go viral on social media, and now even major firms like PepsiCo are gearing up to drop new offerings in early 2026.

If you like the concept of a prebiotic soda but don’t love carbonation, then Halfday is probably going to become your fridge’s best friend. Halfday is a prebiotic tea brand with a ton of different flavor options. In the summer, I love its tropical tea, but I’m a sucker for an Arnold Palmer any time of year, so the classic half-and-half is probably my favorite. I keep some Halfday in my fridge as an in-between option for when I want something with more oomph than a sparkling water, but less fizz than a soda.

This Could Be the Next Big Thing in Tea

I always have one eye toward the future, which is the nature of writing about food and beverage trends. And there is one thing that the Taste of Home team agrees will be undeniably huge soon: hojicha.

Hojicha has been around for over 100 years, and true tea nerds have probably already had it and loved it. But it’s quietly starting to pop up in more cafes, which is great news because it’s delicious. Hojicha is made from roasted green tea leaves, so it has a toastier, nuttier flavor than traditional green tea. It’s also not quite as bright and grassy as matcha. And the roasting process removes a considerable amount of caffeine from the tea. That makes hojicha a much milder tea that can be enjoyed any time of day.

The next time you’re out at a cafe or tea room, take a look and see if hojicha is on the menu. And if you’re itching to get ahead of the trend, you can order hojicha online and customize it to your liking. I guarantee that by this time next year, you’ll be seeing a ton of viral hojicha recipes on social media.