Whether you’re a seasoned tea drinker or just getting started, tea can be a great tool for establishing new habits and rituals as part of your New Year’s resolutions — especially if you’re looking for something simple and sustainable.

January is recognized as National Hot Tea Month by the Tea Council of the USA, celebrating one of the simplest winter comforts: a hot cup of tea. It’s also a time when many of us are setting goals and intentions for the year—making it the perfect moment to add tea to your daily routine.

If you’re like most people, you may be looking to establish new, healthier habits and shed some bad ones. There are plenty of tools out there to help, and tea is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most underrated.

The best thing about tea is that it doesn’t ask anything of you. There’s no pressure to take on doing more or changing anything about your life. Tea is there to support you in achieving whatever goals you’ve set for yourself. That’s why tea works so well for New Year’s resolutions — it supports change without demanding perfection.

Ways that tea can support your New Year’s resolutions:

Improve sleep quality
Reduce calories as part of a weight loss plan
Support daily hydration
Form the basis of a mindfulness practice
Help you reconnect with friends and family

Let’s take a closer look at a few of these goals—and how tea can support them in simple, practical ways.

Get More or Better Sleep

So many people struggle with getting enough restful sleep. I’ve personally struggled with insomnia and sticking to good sleep hygiene practices in the past. A lot of things contribute to our sleep quality – how much time you spend on screens (especially later in the day), diet and exercise, environmental factors like temperature and noise… the list goes on.

Tea will not magically cure insomnia (and don’t believe anyone who tries to tell you differently!), but it can support habits that lead to a more restful night’s sleep.

Using Tea to Wind Down

Regardless of the type of tea, the simple act of brewing a cup or pot of tea naturally slows you down. If you’re finding your mind is too active at bedtime, try adding an evening cup of tea to your routine. If possible, turn off the TV or put down your phone while you boil the water and prepare your cup or teapot. Take time to notice the aroma of the tea while it’s steeping and focus on what’s in your cup as you drink.

Timing is important here. You don’t want to drink a lot of liquids immediately before going to bed – that’s just going to have you up in the middle of the night for other reasons! The best time to do this wind down is at least an hour before you start getting ready for bed.

The Best Teas for Sleep

For most people, herbal teas that are caffeine-free are best for bedtime routines. Caffeine is a stimulant that can prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep. That said, if you know that you aren’t very sensitive to caffeine, a lightly caffeinated tea like hojicha (a roasted green tea from Japan) can also be great in the evenings.

When choosing the best herbal teas for sleep, look for ones with ingredients that have been shown to improve or support restful sleep. A great example is our Lavender Fields tea. This organic herbal blend is made with just three ingredients: lavender, chamomile, and lemon verbena. All three have been shown in studies to help with sleep.

Lavender is widely used in aromatherapy to relieve stress and promote relaxation. In tea, it serves much the same purpose – so be sure to breathe it in while you sip!
Chamomile has been used for centuries for relaxation and studies suggest it may help improve sleep quality.
Lemon Verbena is also linked to better sleep. With research suggesting it may have mild sedative properties.

Better Health

a woman drinking tea while wearing workout clothes with trees and mountains in the background

This is the classic New Year’s Resolution – lose weight, exercise more, feel better. And it’s also one of the hardest to stick to because it usually requires a big shift in lifestyle and habits. But unlike that new gym membership, starting a tea practice won’t cost you an arm and a leg—and you can benefit from it even while sitting on your sofa in your PJs. Below I cover some of the benefits of drinking tea daily and why it can help with your personal health goals.

Weight Loss

Just as with sleep, there is no miracle tea for weight loss. If you eat nothing but sweets, adding tea to your diet won’t help you lose weight. But replacing sugary beverages with unsweetened or only lightly sweetened tea can make a big difference. Many people don’t realize just how many calories they’re drinking every day.

If you’re a serious sweet tooth, don’t try to go cold turkey overnight and swap out your sugar-sweetened drink of choice for black tea. Look for teas that fit the flavor profile you prefer and gradually reduce the amount of sugar you add. Even just switching from soda or commercial sweet tea to brewing your own tea at home can significantly reduce your daily calorie intake. The amount of sugar you add will be much less than what you’re getting in bottled drinks.

You also don’t need to spend time brewing a cup of tea each time you want something tasty to drink. Instead, make a big pitcher of tea and put it in the fridge for a quick fix any time of day. Check out our guide to making iced tea at home for more tips.

Hydrate More

Let’s face it, most of us don’t drink enough water. Proper hydration is essential for good health – it affects everything: digestion, energy levels, and the general functioning of your organs. But for many people, water is just plain boring. The good news is that drinking water is not the only way to stay hydrated.

Tea is awesome for hydration because it’s mostly water—as long as you aren’t adding sugar or milk. And unlike water, it’s full of antioxidants (and tastes great)!

You might be wondering: but what about the caffeine? Isn’t that bad for hydration? Unless you’re drinking five or six strong cups of tea in a short period of time, the caffeine content in tea isn’t enough to cause a significant diuretic effect. Plus, you could always opt for caffeine-free herbal tea or decaffeinated tea, which is just as hydrating.

My go-to tea for quenching my thirst is Sunrise on the Hudson – our blend of hibiscus, chamomile, orange, and ginger. It’s amazing hot or iced, but I especially like to make it in a big pitcher and drink it cold throughout the day.

Start a Mindfulness Practice

The benefits of tea for relaxation aren’t just for the evenings. You can use the simple ritual of brewing tea any time of day to help you stay grounded. Tea is great for mindfulness because it doesn’t take any training, you don’t need to subscribe to any new apps or programs, and any kind of tea will work.

As with using tea for a sleep practice, just be sure to remove as many distractions as possible while you’re preparing the tea. Take time to really look at the leaves or herbs, watch how they interact with the water while steeping, and focus on the aroma of your tea as you drink.

Even if you only have 5 minutes a day, this little routine can help break you out of the hustle and bustle of everyday life for a moment and leave you more focused and better able to get through the rest of your to-do list for the day.

If you want to level up to a longer tea-mindfulness session, consider investing in a nice teapot (like these from Seven Cups) and tea tools to do your own version of a tea ceremony. Or prepare a small flight of teas for yourself to compare and contrast different teas from the same category or region. Our sampler sets are great for this.

Spend More Time With Friends and Family

Across cultures and throughout history, tea has been a symbol of hospitality, welcome, and shared time. In places as different from each other as England, East Asia, India, Russia, and Morocco, the first thing any host will offer a guest is tea. Tea is meant to be shared.

If you’re looking for ways to reconnect with your loved ones, what could be simpler than inviting them over for tea? If you prefer to go out, try visiting a local tea room, take a tea tasting class, or splurge on a fancy afternoon tea. Once you start exploring the world of tea, you’ll find that it’s just as rich and fascinating as something like wine – I’d argue moreso. And as a bonus, it fits in with any plans you may have for Dry January!

Final Thoughts

Start small. You don’t need a complete reset to make meaningful changes. Sometimes, one good cup of tea is enough to begin. Don’t worry about turning it into a daily habit if that doesn’t work for you. Tea is there to support you — and if you’re enjoying it, you’re doing it right.

I’d love to hear from you: are there any goals you’ve set this year that tea could help support? Feel free to share in the comments or reach out. I’m always happy to talk tea.

How Tea Can Support Your New Year’s Goals