January Celebrates Hot: National Soup Month & National Hot Tea Month

January 13, 2025

Here in central Indiana, January often brings us the cold, biting days of Winter. It’s no wonder that the National Day Calendar highlights both soup and hot tea this month. Tea month is celebrated thanks to The Tea Council founded in 1950, while soup has been celebrated since 1986 thanks to soup giant Campbell’s.

“Fall in for soup,” Civil War, ca. 1862, published 1890; A man prepares soup at the Columbia Conserve Company, Indianapolis, ca. 1900; A label for soup by Van Camp’s, Indianapolis, 1913. IHS, P0345 (cropped); IHS, M0796; IHS.

It is no surprise that soup is often a go-to when serving large groups such as the soldiers above and 1930s Depression era bread and soup lines. When seeing images of serving large amounts of soup, it always reminds me of the children’s folk tale Stone Soup. It is easy to take small amounts of varied ingredients and make a hearty meal for a large group. Additionally, soup is easily stored concentrated, especially in cans, see the label above, so it can be expanded by adding water or milk during the heating process. Soup is a versatile meal and especially lovely on cold days.

Hotel Bates menu offering soup options of ox tail or pearl barley, Indianapolis, 1876; Männerchor Cook Book, page 1 of soup recipes, including less common soups such as sago and cotton, Indianapolis, 1906; A page from Oriental “Show-You” Recipes cookbook featuring beef tea, Columbia City, 1920. IHS (cropped).

Many menus and cookbooks feature soup options. Above you can see Hotel Bates serving Ox Tail soup and the Männerchor cookbook showing a recipe for oxtail soup. Other types of soup are also featured in the Männerchor book including more pages not shown here. The last page above features recipes for various items, but most notably Fresh Beef Tea. This is a very light broth soup that is typically drank like hot tea, hence the name, which transitions us nicely to the next January month celebration, Hot Tea Month.

A woman sitting down to tea in her home, Indianapolis, ca. 1900; Girl Scouts learning to serve tea, Indianapolis, 1946; Flanner House Guild tea event, Indianapolis, ca. 1960. IHS, P0178 (cropped); IHS, P0569 (cropped); Indianapolis Recorder Collection, IHS (cropped)

Above are a few different tea scenes from our digital collections. While a lot of people gravitate toward coffee, there is a large contingent that prefers hot tea. Additionally, hot tea is a great afternoon beverage as well. We may not be as crazy about it as those across the pond but if you walk into a standard grocery store the sheer number of options will make it clear that it is a well-liked hot drink in the States.

A tea ceremony by members of the Japanese American Citizens League, Hoosier Chapter, Indianapolis, ca. 1979. IHS, M1491

Hot tea also plays a traditional role in some cultures. Above are two photographs from an album put together by the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), Hoosier Chapter of events in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Typically, matcha is whisked into hot water during the tea ceremony.

So, join me in sipping my favorite tea (Harney & Sons Hot Cinnamon Spice) and soup (Broccoli Cheddar) to celebrate this month! Remember to enjoy all the great blog content by IHS staffers.

Amy Vedra is the director of reference services. She is currently reading her way through the Great American Reads list.

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