Book and Tea Pairings: The Witch of Belladonna Bay and Alabama Sweet Tea

Forget food and wine pairings, I’m all about book and tea pairings. Grab a book, pour some tea and curl up in a cozy chair for delightful reading and tea-sippin’ experience.

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The Book
The Witch of Belladonna Bay by Suzanne Palmieri

When the warm weather sets in I want to read something that takes place in the south, preferably in a small town or out in the country. I want the backdrop of the story to have that warm, easy pace that only a southern town can offer. And a little bit of magic thrown in certainly doesn’t hurt. I’m not talking Harry Potter magic but more of that given-by-the-earth, nature magic that blows on the wind and makes intriguing things happen. Fortunately for me, this book has both.

…her family firmly believed somehow, somewhere, at the very moment when the stars first erupted with a bang, stardust settled on only a few specks of life already forming in the the sea. And how those few specks evolved into people who hold all sorts of unexplainable talents. When I was little I thought it was terribly romantic, being held stardust, half Southern magnolia.

-Bronwyn

I’ve been on a bit of a book-bust lately, unable to find a story that I could get lost in, but this story took care of that. It was the perfect book to read while sitting on a covered porch and sippin’ on some Alabama sweet tea. Speaking of which…

The Tea 
Alabama Sweet Tea

This story took place in small-town, Magnolia Creek, Alabama, so what better beverage to sip on but some Alabama sweet iced tea? I started by making my basic sun tea recipe and added that signature, southern ingredient…sugar, lots of sugar. Then because I already had one, I added a lemon slice too. Originally I almost thought about using honey instead of sugar but that must be the yankee in me and I knew that in the south, the only way to sweeten tea is with sugar!

How I drank it: 16 oz. of warm sun tea mixed with 2 tbsp. of white sugar, mix together and chill with a handful of ice cubes and a lemon slice on top.

That’s it for this edition of Books-N-Tea. What are you reading and sipping on this summer?

To see what I’m currently reading, along with previous books reviews and tea pairings, check out the “Books-n-Tea” page. As I read, I comment on Twitter and Facebook, I’d love to have you join the conversation!