5 Teas For Spooky Season Tunes

It’s been a minute since we had another good tea playlist, isn’t it?

Well, there’s not much point in doing a preamble when we want to face the music, so let’s cut to the wonderful Halloween-themed business!

1. “The Monster Mash” paired with Matcha Genmaicha

Who here has always heard this one blaring out of a boombox at a 90s Halloween party? Well, brush your Friends-style Jennifer Aniston bangs out of the way, and you’ll be tickled to find out that "Monster Mash" is actually from 1962—a novelty song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. At the time, the song was released by Garpax Records label in August 1962—how’s that for early Halloween timing? — as a single, along with a full-length album called The Original Monster Mash, featuring other monster-themed tunes. (In case just one wasn’t enough, and wouldn’t be played and replayed until the next meteor hits us.)

We’re pairing it with Matcha Genmaicha because this tea contains a lot of just good ol’ Halloween party vibes. The hearty dusting of matcha is as green as a Frankenstein’s monster—or zombie! or Aquaman! or Swamp Thing! or Green Ranger… etc — and the nutty texture of the toasted rice crisps brings to mind a bowl of popcorn on the party table, waiting to be munched between sugary bites of candy corn.

Just don’t forget to treat it like a green tea! Steep gently with a variable temperature kettle and have some cute lime-colored teaware to enjoy it in. For more party-treat flavor, try adding a spoonful or two of matcha whipped honey from Adagio Bees!

2. “Danse Macabre” paired with Oooh Darjeeling

I’ll admit, this song comes with a whole lot of nostalgia. If you watch the video, it’s used for elementary school children to learn an essential seasonal piece of classical music by the same composer—Camille Saint-Saens— as another famous work that might tickle your eardrums: Carnival of the Animals. So can you bet that this piece provokes a powerful Pavlovian memory of hearing the fall-flu sniffles of my kindergarten brethren, as we squirmed on the music class seats while trying to pay attention to the dancing skeletons? Of course you can.

Oooh Darjeeling is a tea that’s perfect for bombing Halloweentime nostalgia. The floral Darjeeling notes lull you into the land of bygone memories, while the smoke and nuttiness of the oolong is there to keep you in the embrace of the ghosts of the past that lurk there. Just be sure to steep it for no longer than the recommended 3 - 4 minutes at the recommended 212 degrees Fahrenheit temperature. (If you’re having trouble with keeping track of tea-steeping time— we only exited Mercury Retrograde a few spare moments ago, in the cosmic scale of things— have you thought about trying an Adagio Sand Timer to help?)

3. “Thriller” paired with Chocolate Chai Pu-Erh

Comfort song food ahoy! This tune goes with just about every Halloween extravaganza, right alongside the joys of Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcasts. (If you’ve never had the chance to see a live Rocky show, highly recommend checking out your local troupe! They might also do Repo! The Genetic Opera at this time of the year, for extra creepy carousing.) Michael Jackson’s zombie-chic performance will— like the zombies themselves— live on indeterminately in music history and our ongoing tributes to it.

For a comfort-food song, we must have a comfort-food tea. Chocolate Chai Pu-Erh is excellent for post-Halloween tummies that might have indulged with just a little too much zeal, as the base Pu-Erh tea is a fermented type of Camellia sinensis— as opposed to black, green, white, or oolong, which are oxidized and very little bacterial fermentation occurs in the manufacturing process— used traditionally to facilitate smooth digestion. Plus, the luscious chocolate notes can’t be beat for satisfying any lingering sweet tooths after a whole Halloween’s worth of your trick-earned treats, including the teaspoon of Chocolate Whipped Honey that really takes this tea to the next level.

4. “Werewolves of London” paired with Rooibos Pecan Turtle

This one is for the adults at the Halloween party, sleepily waiting for their kids to tire out and come home. Werewolves of London is a vintage tune that makes you want to jump back in time— but hold on, that’s our next tea tune! Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. This song, recorded in 1977 and released in 1978, was inspired by the 1935 movie Werewolf in London and has since become another comedy-rock classic— no matter what time of the month it is.

Similarly Rooibos Pecan Turtle keeps you reminded of how old you are by being caffeine free, so that you can get your hard-won rest from wrangling trick-or-treaters and errant prank fiends. Feel free to steep it as long as you want, especially if you’re running after miscreants— the recommended time is 5 minutes at oiling or 212 degrees Farenheit, but the rooibos herb is a super forgiving one. It understands your necessities, and it plays very well with wild honeys like Sourwood Raw Honey.

5. “The Time Warp” paired with Jump Start

Well… it’s just a jump to the left, isn’t it? And perhaps a step to the right. Wink wink.

While you’re dancing, you can steep Jump Start for a healthy 5 - 10 minutes the morning after the excitement of the previous Halloween festivities, and let the delicious plant elements help you turn back the clock to get your energy returned. It has an amazing coffee-plus-extra-personality flavor, so that the longer you steep it, the more nuance you get and the more there is to appreciate while you fondly relive the memories from the night before. And don’t forget to add a spoonful of Manuka Raw Honey to aid your recovery even further after all that partying!

What are your favorite spooky-good teas and spooky-good tunes?

Cheers!

Natasha Nesic

NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach, Founder of Work Life Fitness