Vintage tea-themed linens

The spring cleaning bug is biting, so my "projects" for the week include whipping into shape my shamefully cluttered craft room. It's also the room where I tend to stash a lot of my tea-themed goodies (books, linens) and as I tidied up last night I marveled once again at the array of linens out there featuring a teapot or teacup motif. Like this tablecloth, which someone painstakingly cross-stitched with a tea design on all four corners. I found this recently on Etsy, very inexpensive, and can't wait to use it at an upcoming tea party.

Many of you, like me, enjoy collecting tea towels. One I particularly like is this red design of a couple at tea, which can be pulled out at Valentine's, the Fourth of July and Christmas (or year-round if you're a red lover). Since we're all watching our pennies these days, I must say I've found that tea towels are still quite a bargain. I recently bought four of them, all vintage ones with teapots on them, on eBay for just under $7.50 -- and that's *including* the postage. Not bad!

I have far more "creativity ideas" than I can possibly ever get to, but one of them is this: How about a line of greeting cards featuring vintage tea graphics? That is actually what attracted me to this sweet little vintage apron. I love that the teapot has an infuser on the spout!


The retro look is featured in this Mary Lewis handkerchief. In the close-up, you'll note the detail of the tea kettle and, to the left of it, what one of our dear tea blogger friends would certainly point out is a coffee pot and not a teapot!

Finally, I was reminded of my high school fondness for anything with an "Esprit" label when I found this Esprit scarf featuring teawares and tea words. Isn't it amazing (and wonderful!) that so many designers have used teapots and teacups in their work?

Teacup Cuties

More than a year ago, I came across a delightful book called "The Complete Book of Retro Crafts" by Suzie Millions. The cover craft of a "Teacup Cutie" is what caught my eye, and inside are the project instructions, including five more "cuties" made of all kinds of teacups, including good old plastic Melamine. I wanted to make one immediately, but on principle I was simply *not* going to pay more than $5 for a plastic cup and saucer. So I waited. And I waited. And finally came across this green set for $3!

So, I've made my first "cutie," and although her lips could definitely be better (I'm no artist), I don't think this is too bad for a first effort. A teacup set, a little hot glue, some rick rack and ribbon, some googly eyes and paint, and you're done. This strikes me as the kind of thing that would be a great Sunday School or Vacation Bible School project if you could come across some solid color C&S sets for cheap.

The book includes lots of diagrams for painting the lips, and the eyes, if you like, and that's just one of the fun projects in this book inspired by "kitschy treasures from the 1920s through the 1960s." If you can remember crafts made of seashells, bottlecaps, pantyhose and gum wrappers, you will definitely enjoy this blast-from-the-past book. The author has a "Coming Soon" website here, and if you click on the link you'll get a nice peek at her retro style.

The week after I finally, finally nabbed my plastic teacup and saucer, I got an e-mail from my mom saying she'd found me a yellow set (for 50 cents) and would no doubt be able to find more when the warm weather yard sales kick in. I see more "Teacup Cuties" in my future!

Tea Tasting Saturday #13 - Matsuda's Sencha

This week an old friend dropped by the office, and a co-worker who knew I'd want to see her eagerly brought her and her family upstairs for a quick visit. My friend and her husband are missionaries in Japan, and they and their four precious little boys are here for only a very short time for a missions conference. I had just a brief time to quiz my friend on her tea-drinking habits, but I learned two interesting things: 1) Yes, she still drinks her old-fashioned, southern-style "sweet tea" there in Japan. 2) Her oldest son, who has just started school, like most of his classmates takes green tea to school to drink, because green tea and water are the only drinks they are allowed at school! That definitely piqued my interest in learning more about Japanese teas in the coming weeks.


Name of tea: Matsuda's Sencha

Category: Japanese Green Tea

Purveyor: Harney & Sons

When purchased: March 2009

Dry leaf appearance: Very thin, dark green leaves. You know how you sometimes open a box of vermicelli and think wow, that's some skinny spaghetti? That's what I thought of when I opened this tea.

Wet leaf appearance: This tea changed color very quickly, taking on a much brighter green hue almost from the moment the water hit it.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 175 degrees, 1 minute. (Yes, 1 minute!)

Scent: This tea had a nice vegetal scent, sort of a "steamed asparagus" one but with a final note that struck me as citrusy, like a lemon. Maybe with a little butter, too?

Color: Yellow green

Flavor: Mmm! I liked this tea immediately, although I didn't experience the fullness of it at first sip. It seemed like a nice white tea, but about halfway through the cup I thought no, this is different from those light whites and has a richer taste. It's that "broth" taste again. I had several more cups of this tea and enjoyed it a lot, re-steeping it for about a minute and a half.

Additional notes: I was eager to read the Harney book to find out who Matsuda was and why he got a Sencha named after him. I fully expected some mysterious, ancient Japanese myth. Imagine my surprise at learning Matsuda is simply the Japanese tea farmer who grows this tea!

Next week's tea: Kakegawa Ichiban Sencha

Let your tea take wing!

Please tell me I'm not the last person to learn the term "brew-taché." That's the name of these new loose leaf tea bags I found at our brand spanking new Vitamin Shoppe out at Ashley Park yesterday. I had almost stopped by on Wednesday but ran out of time. So, when I opened up my Thursday morning Times-Herald and voila, there was a nice fat coupon for 20 percent off your *entire* purchase, I knew it was a sign. Nice!

The kid-in-the-candy-store analogy always comes to mind when I am faced with a bountiful display of teas as I was yesterday. There were brands and flavors I'd never seen before, so I bought two new teas to try. I'll tell you about the other one another day, but this organic Himalayan Black tea from Ineeka definitely caught my eye. In addition to the nice tin, I was intrigued by what is perhaps the most thoughtfully designed "tea bag" I've ever seen. It's actually "a graceful alternative to the tea bag," the company says.

Ineeka gets an A+ for its directions, which were clear and easy to follow. You open the bag by tearing off the paper strip at the arrow.

Next, you carefully unfold the "wings" so they can sit atop your teacup.

Then, you pour on the boiling water and let the tea steep. I steeped this one for 4 minutes, and the result was a delicious and somewhat brisk cup of tea, just what I needed to soothe my allergy addled throat this week! I still can't believe I've never heard of this company or these teas before. Have any of you?

The Afternoon Tea Calendar for 1926

This little box, just about 4 x 6 inches, holds "The Afternoon Tea Calendar: Recipes for Cakes Sandwiches Ices and Salads." Or so it says, because I find not one single cake recipe in this booklet!


What did make it into the tea calendar? Oysters a la Poulette, Oyster Stew, Oysters a la Somerset, Pan Roast Oysters (observant readers will have detected a theme), as well as various other recipes for seafood, sandwiches, fruity salads and some luncheon type fare from the time period.

Although I like vintage tea-themed ephemera of any sort, what drew me to this calendar was the idea that I might craft something similar myself one day. There are two small holes punched at the top of each page, so the pages are "bound" merely with this small ribbon. Wouldn't this be fun to make as a tea party favor for your girlfriends? Or those of you who plan the teas at your church, wouldn't this be a sweet idea for a take-home treat at each place setting, maybe listing the recipes served that day? Naturally, I haven't done anything with the idea myself just yet, but since you all often come up with better ideas than I do, I thought showing this now might encourage some creativity later!

Finding tea in unexpected places

Over a long weekend, Alex and I were blessed to stay at the lake house of some friends on Lake Wedowee in Alabama. Since Saturday was his birthday, we drove into Birmingham that night to have dinner at a restaurant we'd both long wanted to try, Frank Stitt's Highlands Bar and Grill.

Stitt published his first cookbook, "Frank Stitt's Southern Table," in 2004, and it was a huge hit. The foreword was written by the inimitable Pat Conroy, and his elegant food descriptions alone would make you want to try the place. (It doesn't hurt that Highlands was named #5 on Gourmet magazine's list of the 50 Best American Restaurants.) Some family members in Alabama had recommended the restaurant as well, so off we went.

Alex wasn't even finished with his appetizer before he started raving over his meal (he'd ordered the pork loin). Like him, I have to say it exceeded my already-high expectations. I had Tasmanian Salmon with new potatoes, sugar snap peas and English peas, and I never knew a vegetable could taste so good. (And I'm a veggie lover to begin with.) What capped it off for me, besides watching my man enjoy his birthday dinner, was when we decided to share a dessert and he found the perfect one, a Dark Chocolate Espresso Tart with dark chocolate espresso filling topped with a scoop of rooibos chai ice cream. Could ice cream really taste like rooibos tea? Indeed it did! The tart was just incredible, and plated beautifully (as was everything else). And I was pleased they offered Harney and Sons teas, so I ordered the Paris blend to accompany my dessert. Now, if I could just figure out how to make that ice cream. Or, if any of you decide to dine in Birmingham and would like to bring back a pint for me (along with the special of the evening, of course), I'd be much obliged.

Laura Childs book winners!

Wow, this was fun! Yesterday's post got lots of entries, and the winners are Melanie, Belinda, Sheri and Connie A.! If you'll send your snail mail addresses to angela@newnan.com, I'll get these books packaged up and in the mail. And thanks to ALL who entered. I sooooo enjoyed hearing from readers old and new -- you ladies made my day!

Today's Singalong: "I'm a Lidless Teapot"

I'm a lidless teapot

Short and stout

Here is my handle

Here is my spout

On the top there's something I'm without

But do like Linda of Friendship Tea says and buy me anyway (especially if I'm just $5) and do not doubt!

-- Lyrics by Angela McRae, copyright 2009*

*Today's blog post was inspired by Linda J.'s March 6 post titled "Teapot Without A Lid." Since it's still a little early to plant anything outside, I've been playing around with a few houseplants, and I can't help noticing that Linda's recommendation is both a pretty and a thrifty means of displaying plants!

A giveaway with four winners!

About the time I was giving away that extra copy of Laura Childs' "Oolong Dead" a few weeks ago, I got a lovely e-mail from the author herself (whose real name is Gerri Schmitt), thanking me for my review and also noting that the comments about her tea shop mysteries from you blog readers were "just so wonderful and heartwarming." Now isn't that neat, knowing that an author we like enjoyed reading our words about her work? She also asked if I would be interested in giving away some copies of her new book in another series she is writing, and of course I said yes.

I haven't yet read "Eggs in Purgatory," first in the Cackleberry Club Mysteries, but Gerri/Laura (I don't know what to call her!) says the book is "about 3 forty-plus women who run the Cackleberry Club cafe. Besides a fun mystery, the book also includes tea, recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality."

So I'm game to check out this new series. Are you? I'll be keeping one of these books to read myself and giving away the other four, and all of them are autographed! So if you'll leave a comment between now and 7 a.m. tomorrow, you'll actually have a pretty good chance of winning one of these books. Good luck!

Tea Tasting Saturday #12 - Gunpowder

So, this week's tea has the curious name "Gunpowder." Interesting. Now may I share the funniest headline I've read in ages? You know, I'm sure, how there's been all this hullabaloo in the press about our first lady's propensity to wear sleeveless dresses. I'll be the first to admit I'd love to have arms as fit as hers, and I personally think the fashion naysayers are just jealous. But one article I read was titled "Michelle Obama's Right to Bare Arms." Bare arms. Get it? On "Gunpowder" day? Oh, never mind. Just enjoy the weekend, everyone, especially those celebrating birthdays today, like my sweet husband Alex, my dear friend Nikki, and my tea blogger friend Steph!



Name of tea: Gunpowder

Category: Chinese Green Tea

Purveyor: Harney & Sons

When purchased: January 2009

Dry leaf appearance: Very tightly curled, wiry little tea leaves of a deep, dark green color. Can't help thinking of them as "pellets," because I've read for years that Gunpowder tea is so named because it resembles old-fashioned gunpowder pellets.

Wet leaf appearance: Eventually I am going to tire of writing "looks like chopped spinach," but this is another tea where the tea leaves have a bit of a choppy appearance - although I will say that this time I actually thought "chopped collard greens."

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 175 degrees, 3-4 minutes.

Scent: This tea had an interesting combination of what I'd call "roasted" and "smoky," and I actually thought of barbecues and grilling when I was trying to discern the fragrance! There was a faint reminiscence of Lapsang Souchong (which I absolutely detest -- that one's gonna be a problem for me when it rolls around for tea tasting), but faint enough that I could ignore it and move on.

Color: Dark, rich gold, the color of honey

Flavor: Whew! This was strong and more than a little bitter, so I knew immediately I had probably steeped it for too long at the full four minutes. The water in the kettle had cooled a bit, but I went ahead and used it to re-steep the leaves for three minutes. Ahhhh! Now this was more like it! A rich, full Chinese green, no bitterness, only a little astringency. Can't help wondering how many teas I've "disliked" and given up on when, really, I just needed to adjust the time and temp. (The second steeping was a much lighter gold, too, so I will try to remember this when I make this tea again.)

Additional notes: There is so much good info on Gunpowder tea in the Michael Harney book, I definitely recommend reading the whole passage. This time my favorite bit was learning that in processing Gunpowder tea, "the oven is designed like a Laundromat dryer, tumbling the leaves over and over in a hot metal cylinder."

Next week's tea: Matsuda's Sencha, first of the Japanese green teas

Hello, Spring!

Waiting has never been my strong suit. And if I get a new item of clothing or a new purse or piece of jewelry, I want to wear it right then, or at least by the next day, not to have to wait for a special occasion. But when I got this beautiful teapot as a Christmas gift from my friend Beth, I knew immediately that this was a piece I would be saving until Spring! From the soft pink of the rose to the gentle yellow of the pansies, this combination definitely makes me think of what springtime looks like here in the South.

Several times over the past three months I have reached for this teapot, a vintage Sadler teapot, and thought of using it, but it just didn't seem right. I'm not saying I will never use this teapot outside of Spring, but for some reason I wanted to save this as a treat this year, a reward for having endured another Winter!


A pansy and a rosebud. Now could there be a sweeter combination on this teapot's lid? I *love* that there is even a tiny bit of crazing showing on this piece. Crazing, the experts say, is sometimes simply an indication of old age. (I think we call it "wrinkling" on humans, but now I think I'll start referring to it as "crazing" instead.) And here's hoping you have a very, very happy First Day of Spring!

Tea-themed Easter cards

Sometimes I debate when and if I should mention certain things on this blog. Like ... would you rather I wait and tell you about the adorable little tea-themed Easter cards I found at Barnes & Noble two days before Easter, when it's closer to the holiday but they're probably all gone, or would you like to know about them in time to take your $1.95 over there this week while you can still get one? Yes, I thought so. This one, "Chick Tea Party," is the prettiest of the two I bought. It's about 3-1/2 x 5 inches, and I hope you can see the dimensional effect and the gilded touches. It's really a lot of "card" and "workmanship" for the price.

And this one, titled "Eggs & Vase," isn't quite as jazzy, but it has a pink teacup on it, so I got it, too. I actually bought these as "collectibles" (I've become obsessed with tea-themed graphics) and to decorate with, not to actually send to anybody! They're by Punch Studio / The Gifted Line, names I'll bet are familiar to fellow stationery junkies.

Today, by the way, marks my last tea blog post of Winter, because tomorrow we welcome Spring! I've got a special tea item I've been squirreling away in the tea cabinet, refusing to even use before March 20. Can you guess what it is?

Vintage Teacup Potholders

My mom had been hankering to return to some of our favorite shopping spots in Rome and Adairsville, so on Saturday we headed out, and at an antique mall in Rome I came across this sweet set of vintage teacup potholders, priced 5 for $6.95.

If these had been new they wouldn't have appealed to me, but I liked the odd mix of old fabrics. Each "teacup" measures about 5-3/4 inches at the widest part, and the "handle" or loop is about 2-1/2 inches. I feel quite certain the seamstress was working out of her scrap bag, because why else would she have chosen red to go with this pretty floral fabric!

This yellow one is a bit better matched, and it has its own charm with sort of a sixties vibe. If I ever run out of stuff to sew, I think it would be quite easy to duplicate this design, don't you?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! Here's a little postcard I found a while back that I wanted to share with you today. Only a fellow tea lover would appreciate this!



And after all my protesting about not liking certain shades of bright green the other day, guess what I just bought -- and love? This tea towel! It's a large one, and squarish, definitely not big enough for a tablecloth, but I love it. "If you want your dishes bright, use me morning, noon and night," it says. Let's not take that little saying too seriously, though!

Will you be celebrating St. Patrick's Day in any way today? I made Mint Chocolate Chip Brownies I'll be taking to the office, where I'll maybe share some Irish Breakfast Tea with the tea drinkers there, and then DH and I will be having Corned Beef and Cabbage for supper, assuming the crock pot does its job. And you?

An Irish Teatime Cake

At gift shops and tea rooms in both the U.S. and the U.K., I have seen these little rectangular recipe booklets from J. Salmon Ltd. in Kent. Because I did not have an Irish edition, I ordered this one from a seller on Amazon.com. "Irish Teatime Recipes: Traditional Cakes from The Emerald Isle" has 34 recipes for cakes, shortbread, scones and other goodies. I'm ready to start celebrating St. Patrick's Day, so yesterday I tried this recipe for Almond Cake. I tweaked the recipe a bit and converted some measurements, so here's how I made it.


Almond Cake

1-1/2 sticks butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4-1/3 cup sliced almonds, pulsed in the food processor
1/4 teaspoon almond flavoring

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream butter and sugar, then add beaten eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition. Add flour and baking powder and blend. Add almonds and almond flavoring and mix just until combined. Pour mixture into an 8-inch-square glass baking dish lined with parchment paper (or sprayed with cooking spray; I did both and it was overkill!). Bake for 20-25 minutes until slightly browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into slices. Makes a very moist, spongey cake with a nice little crunch from the ground almonds.

According to this book, "Almonds provided a flavouring that was especially popular in the 18th and 19th centuries." I like the flavor of almonds myself, so to go with my Sunday afternoon treat I had some of Upton Tea Company's Sweet Almond Green Tea. The loose tea is simply loaded with almonds, so it's no wonder this tea has such a great almond flavor!

Tea Tasting Saturday #11 - Dragon Pearl Jasmine

Many moons ago, I received a birthday gift of this tea, only it had a slightly different name: Jasmine Dragon Phoenix Pearls. It was the first really "perfumey" tea I had ever tried. Frankly, I probably wouldn't have purchased it myself, so I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed it, and I was grateful for the gift. It was only after I'd polished off the tin of tea that I learned it was actually a pricey little tea! Still, if you've never tried this one, and you're not averse to a little fragrance in your cup, this tea is a must.

Name of tea: Dragon Pearl Jasmine

Category: Chinese Green Tea

Purveyor: Upton Tea Company

When purchased: January 2009

Dry leaf appearance: Small little balls of tightly furled tea leaves with a mostly dark green appearance, occasionally including balls of light green, even shading to white. A very pretty tea!

Wet leaf appearance: Oh, beauty is such a fleeting thing! This one starts out just gorgeous but soon returns to a normal leaf appearance. Kind of like seeing an actress or supermodel without her makeup on, the steeped Dragon Pearl Jasmine looks like ordinary tea.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 180 degrees, 3 minutes. I didn't remember having any problem measuring this tea the time I tried it before, and measuring the balls was really quite easy.

Scent: That lovely jasmine scent I knew to expect. However, I did detect a "vegetal" scent behind the jasmine, something I'm not sure I would have detected without the aid of this year-long experiment in tea tasting.

Color: Pale green

Flavor: Definitely has the "mouth feel" of a Chinese green, but greatly enhanced by that wonderful jasmine. Maybe it's because I love perfume anyway, but I really enjoy the jasmine fragrance of this tea.

Additional notes: I had assumed this was a handmade tea, so I enjoyed reading about Michael Harney's trip to a factory where he watched neatly uniformed women rolling the tea leaves between their palms before the tea balls were placed on racks and scented with jasmine blossoms.

Next week's tea: Gunpowder

It's not easy tea-ing green

Are you a fan of the color green? I like the lighter shades of green (the ones with names like seafoam, celery and moss), and any green found in nature is awesome, but when it comes to indoor color I'm not a huge fan of bright kelly green or grass green or hunter green. So it's kinda hard to get into the whole color scheme of St. Patrick's Day, and yet we try. It will be much easier this year thanks to this little boxed set, a Christmas gift from my parents I had patiently stashed away until March arrived.

Many of us prefer teacups and saucers above all drinking vessels, but I make an exception for mugs that have a) especially pretty designs b) tea company logos and c) teapots or teacups on them! So these qualify.

You know what else? I even like the design on this box. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, but I'm going to try to find a place for it in my crafts room, maybe holding all those empty teabag wrappers I'm saving for future crafts projects. So do you have any green teawares or anything special you'll be using for St. Patrick's Day?

The collecting bug bites again

A few weekends ago, I went antiquing with my mom and came home with nothing. No teacup, no tea linens, no tea accessories, nada. Times like that worry me, because I'm afraid I've found the last tea bargain ever and, well, that would be a sad day. But yesterday I had the day off and spent most of the afternoon in Senoia, which has a few antique stores of its own. After visiting with my friends Liz and Cydney at the family shop, I wandered down Main Street to Miss Wendy's (where I bought a dear friend a birthday gift I thought would be early but later realized is actually LATE, sigh). Then, it was on to Gail's Antiques, where I found two goodies for myself, including this new tea towel.

As a needleworker myself I rarely buy needlework made by someone else, but this sweet piece just appealed to me. And I also found a vintage tea infuser that actually worked! Most of the old infusers are pretty, but the two halves of the "spoon" are often pretty loose and don't clamp together well at all. This one works perfectly!

Once I got home and under a good light, I was able to read the back of the infuser handle, which said "Veribest Silverplate." I thought that was a cute name, and it was certainly one of the veribest afternoons of antiquing I've had in a while.

And the winner is ...

It's always fun to see which number the Random Number Generator selects! (It's at mathgoodies.com, should you ever need one.) And the number today is #3, which would be the comment from ParTea Lady! Your book will be on the way ASAP, so CONGRATS!

"Somebody went to Charleston ..."

"...and all I got was this lousy T-shirt." Fortunately, that's not what *I* was saying after my friend Holly got back from her weekend trip to Charleston, because I received not a lousy T-shirt but instead a gift of some delicious Rooibos Rising Sun Tea from Hale Tea Company, a new name to me!

Today Holly was back at work after a trip to Charleston with a girlfriend, and her mission on my behalf was simple: Check out the new Fuschia Tea Emporium recommended by Tea Lover Denise last month. She did, and I'm happy to say she gave it a glowing review just as Denise did! I am told the lunch offerings were very good (Holly, who is tiny, says she polished off hers), and the tea was excellent. She also liked that all the women in her party got to select their own teacup and saucer from a display rack on the wall. She wants to go back for the afternoon tea, and now, so do I.

It's funny, but Denise's post about this tea room appeared right about the same time Holly was asking if I knew of a tearoom in Charleston. Sadly, the only one I knew of was the fictional Indigo Tea Room, but then came news of this one. And the tea Holly got for me is perfect for late evening sipping, because it's a caffeine free green rooibos flavored with strawberries and sunflower petals. So thank you Holly! (And thank you Denise for instigating all this!)

"Oolong Dead" Giveaway

A week ago I wrote about the new tea shop mystery from author Laura Childs, and yesterday I happened to receive a *second* review copy. Since I don't need two of the books, I'm going to give one away to some lucky winner.

To enter, just answer this question: Have you ever read one of the tea shop mysteries, and if so which was your favorite? (Mine was the first one, "Death by Darjeeling," simply because it was such a pleasure to discover the series, as I really felt I had come across something wonderful for tea lovers. And I still feel that way, especially after reading the new book, which is my "recent favorite.")

You may enter anytime between now and 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. Good luck!

Hyacinths & Shady Lawns

The blogs I read are particularly lovely at this time of year, because no matter the topic it seems none of us can resist sneaking in a few flower photos, such as these hyacinths I picked when my husband and I were outside walking last night.

As we were walking, I thought about how we've been in our house more than two years and still haven't done anything with a small enclosed plot that once was a dog pen with a chain link fence. The gate on it has potential, and I can sort of envision it dolled up and decorated and growing a few plants that will tolerate the shady lawn.

And speaking of Shady Lawn (sounds like a cemetery, doesn't it?), it was also yesterday that I happened across an old postcard I've had for years, for the Shady Lawn Tea Room in Atlanta. I bought the card as a curiosity, for I'm quite certain there's no tea room in that spot today. The tea room was located at 2235 Stewart Ave., with an Ellen Burke serving as "Proprietress," offering chicken and steaks and combination meals. This was obviously the sort of tea room written about in "Tea at the Blue Lantern Inn," and although I don't think we could have gotten a cream tea there, I'll bet Miss Burke's chicken and steaks were just delicious!

Tea Tasting Saturday #10 - Taiping HouKui (Taiping Best Monkey Tea)

Holy cow! Professional ballplayers aren't the only ones using steroids, apparently. Would you get a look at the size of these tea leaves!

I suspected something interesting would be inside when my "2-ounce" purchase of this tea came in a bag measuring about 6-1/2 x 11 inches. When I opened it, I was met with these mammoth tea leaves. To make sure mine eyes did not deceive me, I pulled out a ruler. Yep, many of these babies are 3 to 3-1/2 inches in length. Again ... wow!




Name of tea: Taiping HouKui (Taiping Best Monkey Tea). (Note to self: Find out whether the bad monkeys get a tea.)

Category: Chinese Green Tea

Purveyor: Harney & Sons

When purchased: January 2009

Dry leaf appearance: Super duper long leaves in varying shades of bright green with some almost "variegated" white and yellowish patches in places. A few of the leaves appeared to be fused together.

Wet leaf appearance: Curving and curling strands of super duper long tea leaves, definitely reminiscent of cooked spinach.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 175 degrees, 2-1/2 minutes. I definitely had to guess on the amount of tea leaf, since these didn't exactly fit into a normal measuring spoon. I tried to judge volume.

Scent: Strong vegetal scent that seemed to have many characteristics. Asparagus? Mmm, not exactly. Roasted green beans? No, not *that* strong a roasted scent. And with a sweet finish to it, somehow. This one seemed to have a lot of different "notes" to me.

Color: Pale green

Flavor: Again, I'm just amazed at how much more pleasant this quality green tea is. After oversteeping all those green tea teabags, this is a new taste experience entirely. This one had a very good "mouth feel," with just a slight astringency afterward. I steeped the leaves three more times, finishing with a much lighter, but still enjoyable, cup of tea.

Additional notes: Oh happy day! I just read Michael Harney's account of this tea, and I am not losing it to imagine the "green beans" characteristic and the sweetness. I had not, however, detected the "cross-hatching" on the leaves he describes, so I went back and looked. Indeed yes, it's there, and I enjoyed reading about what causes the cross-hatching design. (I don't want to be a spoiler for anyone planning to read the book.) What an interesting, interesting tea!

Next week's tea: Dragon Pearl Jasmine

Tea and Coffee Trade Journal, August 1907

Over the past few years I have been fortunate to pick up copies of Tea & Coffee Trade Journal at some trade shows. I loved reading all the articles on tea, but as a mere hobbyist I couldn’t really justify the $49 for a subscription. Fortunately, you can read some of the articles online for free at teaandcoffee.net. Recently, I found a vintage copy of the magazine, and I love it so much I thought I’d scan some of the images at a high resolution in hopes you can read them as well. I'm including some of the ads as well as a feature on the World's Fair held in Virginia that year. (I'm sure not everyone will have time to read the article, but do check out the photos, especially of the Lipton Tea exhibit.) Double click and enjoy!

Victoria Muffins

You know how people like to name what books they'd want to take with them if stranded on a desert island? (I actually typed "dessert" island at first. Wouldn't THAT be fun!) Well, after my Bible the next "book" I'd want to take would be my complete set of Victoria magazines. My DH would tell you I am quite fanatical with my devotion to the old Victoria, primarily the ones published from 1987-2000 when the incomparable Nancy Lindemeyer was editor. And so I read and re-read these classic issues, including February 1992, which had a yummy sounding recipe for White Chocolate Muffins.

I had planned to make these in February but kept forgetting to buy two of the ingredients (orange juice concentrate and almonds) at the grocery store. Last night, I whipped these up beginning to end in under 30 minutes, with wonderful results! And since I tweaked a couple of the amounts (and substituted chocolate chips for shaved chocolate), here's the recipe. They called them "White Chocolate Muffins," but in my mind, these shall henceforth be known as ...

Victoria Muffins

1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/2 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons baking powder
2/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare cupcake pans by inserting 15 paper baking cups. In medium bowl, combine egg, oil, OJ and milk until blended well. In another bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, chocolate chips and almonds. Mix well. Make a well in the center, add wet ingredients, and combine just until moistened. Fill paper cups 3/4 full and bake for about 15 minutes, just until golden brown on top. (I recommend having these with a nice cup of tea, of course, but they're also good with the orange juice you'll prepare from any leftover concentrate!)

The T-Squeeze

Here at the Tea With Friends blog, our motto is, "We test all those cheap, cheesy tea gadgets so you don't have to!" And today we bring you the T-Squeeze, billed as a "unique tea bag squeezer and cup cover."

So, does it work? It's easy enough to use, which is a good thing since the package photos are the only instructions that come with this device. And truly, if you need something to help you squeeze the everlasting life out of your teabags, this may be just the ticket.

Aesthetically, the T-Squeeze is kind of clunky looking. It dribbled a bit, and of greater concern, it's another item creating counter clutter (or desk clutter, if you're at the office). And may I make a confession? I don't actually *squeeze* my teabags most of the time. I just let them do their business and then toss them away. Still, for $2.99 I was content to have found a new addition to my growing collection of odd tea gadgets!

"Oolong Dead" by Laura Childs

Can you believe Laura Childs has now given us 10 of her lovely tea shop mysteries starring Theodosia Browning and the famous Indigo Tea Shop in Charleston? I'll never forget how I discovered them way back in 2001. I was in Scott's Bookstore on the square, waiting to interview a local author who had a huge line of folks waiting to have their books autographed. Never much of a mystery reader, I had landed in a spot next to a rotating rack of paperbacks when I saw the title "Death by Darjeeling" and, at the top, "A Tea Shop Mystery." Now this was a mystery series I might actually enjoy!

And enjoy them I did. From "Death by Darjeeling" on to "Gunpowder Green," "Shades of Earl Grey" and all the rest, I have greatly enjoyed befriending these characters, which is interesting for someone who never read much fiction. So much "tea talk" is woven into these stories, how could a tea lover not like them? After I got hooked on the Laura Childs series, I began reading Jan Karon's Mitford books and Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilts books. It's so nice when an author respects you enough to know you don't need profanity or gratuitous sex and violence in order to be entertained. So I could read a new tea shop mystery about once a month if Laura Childs could turn them out that fast!

And the latest, "Oolong Dead," is one of her best ever. Why? 1) I loved the backdrop social occasion being a Venetian Masked Ball. 2) I totally did not anticipate who the killer was, and I'd been smugly reading along assuming I knew the killer's identity early on. 3) Theodosia has some very good fortune in this book which already has me dying to read the next book in the series. 4) This book seems to include more recipes than usual. I particularly want to try the Green Tea Granita and the Honey Mustard Egg Salad. And in light of the fact Theo's 10th tale has now been told, don't you think it's time her publisher gives us an Indigo Tea Shop Cookbook? I'd sure enjoy having all these recipes in one handy volume!

Tea Time Shortbread Pan

Several weeks ago, I got an e-mail alert about a great new tea item from my tea friend ParTea Lady (whom, BTW, I had the honor of meeting face-to-face on Saturday when she came to our quilt shop here in Newnan!). She directed me to the King Arthur Flour web site and this Brown Bag Shortbread Pan, which I soon ordered. And the recipe really couldn't be any simpler: Cream 1 stick of butter. Add 1/3 cup confectioners sugar. Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. Add 1 cup all-purpose flour and combine til the dough is nice and smooth. You place the dough directly into the pan (sprayed with cooking spray), and about 30 minutes later, you have delicious shortbread cooling in the pan.

After 10 minutes of cooling, you turn the shortbread out onto another surface and cut it along the scored lines while it's still warm. I've made three pans of it so far (1 to share, 1 to eat, 1 just to experiment with), and I've been quite happy with the results. I added a few minutes to the baking time, so now it comes out with a slightly crispy crust, and I love it.

You can actually find these pans from a variety of sources (King Arthur Flour, Amazon, Shortbreadpan.com, eBay), so you may want to check around to get the best deal on the pan and shipping combined. I saved a few dollars by ordering mine on eBay, but the seller has since raised prices, so I would simply advise checking around if you plan to order. Oh, and mine cleaned up beautifully in some hot soapy water. It was a fun way to spend part of the weekend that we *finally* got a Snow Day here in Georgia! (But it had to be on a Sunday, sigh ...)