On Oct. 9 Chris Cason, the co-founder of Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Tavalon Tea, posted "Tea Sommelier for President" on his Voice of Tea blog. In it, he ruminated on what kinds of tea would best represent the Republican and Democratic candidates for president.

Cason settled on Tavalon's NYC Breakfast for McCain, because, as he wrote, "it is our take on a tea that has been around for a while (English Breakfast), but it is trying to do something new (the maverick tea?)." Obama, he decided, is more like Tavalon's Serenitea, "with a refreshing, interesting new taste that makes many folks rethink their concept of tea." Like the Democrat, the tea is a multi-cultural blend – in the tea's case, Egyptian chamomile, German peppermint, Thai lemongrass and South African rooibos.  According to Cason, it's one of Tavalon's "finest, most sophisticated flavors."

Meanwhile, Pearl Fine Teas, a two-year-old online tea seller based in Washington, D.C., Tweeted its subscribers a question: "If Obama and McCain were a tea, what would they be?" According to the company, the response was so overwhelming that answers were compiled in an Oct. 10 post on its TeaLove blog, and Pearl began offering two limited edition blends in honor of the presidential candidates.

According to the post, "the McCain blend will be characteristic of a strong black tea: bold, assertive and highly caffeinated that will stand up to milk and sugar," and "the Obama blend will incorporate organic Rooibos tea ... blended with herbs and fruit to create a lighter tea with a clean finish."

The suggested retail of the limited-time (available for order through Nov. 4, of course) blends is $15.50.