When Henry Zunino’s tea-loving mother gave him some chocolate stirring spoons to make hot chocolate, he wondered why he couldn’t try the same thing with tea. Strawberry Hill Confectionery enters the hot beverage market with Whirl-Ease, a line of honey-and-tea lollipops shaped like leaves. The company touts each as a miniature made-in-the-USA work of art; stir one into hot water and you’ve got a naturally sweetened cup of organic tea. The lollipops are available in black, green, oolong, white and jasmine, and each Whirl-Ease is good for up to a 15-ounce cup.

Just want to sweeten a hot beverage? Whirl-Ease-Honey in wildflower or clover is the same thing without the tea; just make your cup as usual, then dip and stir for easy natural sweetness. Strawberry Hill’s products can be purchased online at www.candywarehouse.com, and through natural products stores in the U.S. and in the U.K.—Keith Snyder sd