Tea With Friends

Tea Tasting Saturday #45 - Kairbetta Frost Nilgiri Tea

2009-11-07T07:00:00.013-05:00

It's funny how the strangest things can trigger a memory! When I first opened this tea, I noticed the small bits of leaf and it reminded me of some of those coffee-ground-looking teas I've had before. Once the water hit it, though, this tea reminded me of flakes of fish food. I've never eaten fish food, but I can attest that this tea is a good one!

Category: British Legacy Black Tea

Purveyor: Upton Tea Imports

Dry leaf appearance: Very fine particles of tea leaf.

Wet leaf appearance: Fish food!

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 212 degrees, 5 minutes.

Scent: The dry tea smelled like bark, but the steeped tea had a much more complex scent with an almost fruity/floral topnote. Almost the faintest whiff of gardenia.

Color: Golden honey! I wouldn't have thought of this comparison had I not had a jar of honey out on the counter behind the teapot.

Flavor: This is perhaps a strange word to use to describe a taste, but the first one that came to mind was "bright." And then, "clean," which is not to say the other teas I've been tasting were dirty. Maybe it's just that the weather outside is bright and sunny and fresh and autumnal, and that's rather how this tea tastes! Had a good bit of astringency, though, so I may try this one again and adjust the amount of tea and/or brewing time.

Additional notes: According to the Harney book, frost tea is made during the cold months from December to February in the Nilgiri mountains of southern India. "The cold weather also allows the factories to wither and oxidize the teas more slowly as well, further developing the aroma compounds to draw out their attractive fruit, floral and spice notes."

Next week's tea: Golden Tip Assam

Behind the Scenes with Taste of Home

2009-11-06T07:00:00.033-05:00

I'll bet many of you are familiar with Taste of Home's magazines and cooking products, so I thought you might enjoy a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it's like to spend a day serving as an assistant at the Taste of Home Cooking School, since that's what I did yesterday. The annual event is presented locally by Newnan Utilities and my employer, The Times-Herald and Newnan-Coweta Magazine. Here I am at far left with the other assistants for yesterday's show: Deberah Williams, Susan West, Lori Binion, Leah Griffin (youth assistant) and Mary Ann Durrough. It was a great group of ladies to work with!

Our day began bright and early at 8:30 a.m. at the Coweta County School System's Centre for the Performing and Visual Arts. The local school system built this magnificent arts center a few years ago, and it has been a terrific addition to our community. I was there just Monday night to see Montana Repertory Theatre's fantastic production of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."

A lovely autumn theme was used to decorate the stage, with lots of harvest fruits, hay bales, pumpkins, a large "window" constructed by the arts center's staff, and even a swing with a quilt spread across the back.

After meeting my fellow stage assistants, we got our marching orders from Culinary Specialist Michelle "Red" Roberts, who has been the presenter for the local cooking school for many years. Here, she shows Susan how to prep the Flank Steak Santa Fe, which was cooked jelly roll style and tied with butcher's twine.

My friend and colleague Deberah found time to chop vegetables for her dish and also ...

... to snap photos for her blog Finesse, which is here.

We also got to meet Kay Rainwater, a lovely woman from neighboring Fayetteville, who is a field editor with Taste of Home magazine. She's served as a field editor for about eight years, she said, and began by submitting recipes. Later on, she was asked to review new cookbooks and do things like go to local stores and report on the company's wares, their availability, how they were displayed, etc. I had always wondered what a "field editor" did, and she definitely made it sound quite interesting. During the show, she got to help demonstrate the Caramel Apple Twist, a breakfast bread stuffed with caramel bits, tart apples, almonds, brown sugar and cinnamon. This one somehow disappeared from backstage before I got to sample it but certainly smelled heavenly while it was baking!

I was surprised yesterday morning to find that I would bake an actual one-layer chocolate cake which would be decorated onstage at the cooking school at night and later given away as one of the door prizes. (It's a shame I couldn't win, because it was presented on a ruffled amber glass cake pedestal, which was given away along with it. Beautiful!)

Michelle has the organization for this thing down to a science, so backstage there was an orderly flow to the work. Whatever we needed was right there on hand, clearly labeled, and with loads of cooking and baking equipment for us to use. Have you ever seen so many measuring cups?

Here's Lori prepping some of the ingredients for one of the dishes she prepared.

And here's Susan prepping one of her dishes.

It's almost showtime, and you can see the seats are starting to fill up. The center seats 1,000, and this event sells out every single year. I sure hope I get asked to help again next year!

New Christmas cookie recipes

2009-11-05T07:00:00.019-05:00

Any cookie monsters reading today? If so, I thought now might be a good time to give you a heads up about some great new publications. First, and of most interest to tea lovers, is a special issue from Better Homes and Gardens titled "100 Best Cookies." My friend Joanie at Hastings pointed this one out to me one day, and I loved the cover and immediately envisioned spelling out the name of the magazine I work for in cookies next year! But when I got home and began reading through the magazine, I was delighted to find a feature titled "Brew, Then Bake" about infusing cookies with coffee or tea! The tea-infused cookies include Jasmine-Orange Meltaways, Earl Grey Bocca Di Nonna and Chai Crescents. A huge yum to all those, which are surely candidates for the treats I'll be baking!

Next up: The wonderful women who gave us "Cookie Craft" a few years ago, Valerie Peterson and Janice Fryer, are back with a sequel, "Cookie Craft Christmas," and it is delightful! I have not made a single bad batch of sugar cookies since learning their techniques, and now they have me eager to make some truly decorative Christmas cookies. Cookie placecards ... a 3-D sleigh ... lovely red poinsettia cookies with bright gold dragées ... Yes, I've already been stocking up on cookie sprinkles and gel food coloring!

Finally, the latest Martha Stewart special issue is a winner, and Holiday Sweets will join her other special issues I keep from year to year. Although the magazine isn't limited to cookies (there's a gingerbread cake that looks amazing!), the cookie recipes and cookie packaging ideas are what most appealed to me this time. Some of the cookies are individually packaged in paper envelopes lined with wax paper (template included), and they are adorable! I hesitate to keep plugging Christmas ideas when Thanksgiving isn't even here yet, but I also know these holiday issues tend to sell out and you can't wait 'til Dec. 15 to find them!

Nice tea with a funny name

2009-11-04T07:00:00.013-05:00

First impressions really do count. Last week, I was placing an order for my "Saturday Tea Tasting" teas for the rest of the year. I wasn't able to find them all at one company, so I had to look outside my comfort zone of tea vendors. Some of the teas I needed kept turning up at TeaGschwendner, a company I first read about on Steph's tea blog, so I ordered three of the teas from there. To my surprise, my quickly-shipped order included this free Teelamass, which is the company's name for its specially designed measuring spoon.

That was prize enough, but TeaGschwendner also included a sample of its Cinnamon Apple fruit tea. Imagine a saute pan full of apples, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, slowly caramelizing on the stove. That is the smell that greeted me when I opened this sample. Soon, I had a delicious apple red cup of tea to enjoy.

And in case you're like me and wondering about this, I had to google the name of this company to find out how to pronounce it. The web sites seem to differ on where the emphasis goes, but the most popular version was "TEA-gesh-WEND-ner." I'm very impressed with my first transaction with this company. Have any of you ordered from them, and if so do you have any recommendations?

A new treat for scone lovers!

2009-11-03T07:00:00.025-05:00

Now some of you will read today's post and say "Yippee!" and some of you will read it and say "Yucky!", but I must tell you I was completely thrilled when my friend Deberah called me into her office yesterday and presented me with a delightful new treat. It was a can -- yes, you heard me right -- a can of Blueberry Scones!

Perhaps, like my husband, you are asking why "the queen of made-from-scratch," as he put it, should get so excited about canned scones. Well, first of all, it's something NEW! Canned scones! Who knew there even was such a thing? Deberah found them at Whole Foods and says the maker, the Immaculate Baking Co., is known for its wonderful cookies. Naturally, I got home from work and popped these right in the oven. It's extraordinary to me that scones have gone so "mainstream" that we can now pop them right out of a can, just like biscuits! I have to believe this is also a testament to the ever-increasing popularity of tea and teatime.

Now I prefer a made-from-scratch biscuit and, if you come to tea, I'd probably prefer to serve you a made-from-scratch scone. But what about those times you'd like a scone and you've run out of milk or eggs? Or what about when a friend comes by on the spur of the moment? Wouldn't it be great to have a can or two of these in the refrigerator? And of course the big question was: How do they taste? And the answer is: Pretty good! Now, these will never be confused with homemade scones, because they've got that light, airy, sort of spongey texture of a *good* canned biscuit. That said, I enjoyed mine with some berry flavored jam and I was quite pleased. The blueberries tasted like blueberries (because they are), and I also liked that the scones were made with whole wheat flour and have no trans fat. If I wanted tea and scones on a moment's notice, I would not hesitate to bake a batch of these again sometime!

If tablecloths could talk

2009-11-02T07:00:00.018-05:00

Do you ever get so familiar with the furnishings in your home that you don't even see them anymore? I do. The other day, for instance, I walked by the dining table and realized I had exactly the same table decorations that I've had there since Easter, a lavender flower arrangement and a pastel rose-design teapot I've been using as a planter. That just wouldn't do, so over the weekend I spruced things up a bit starting with a vintage tablecloth more suitable for fall.

First, I placed the teapot tablecloth on the table diagonally (which is, of course, what we do with square-ish tablecloths when we have a rectangular table). Next, I looked for some bric-a-brac in autumnal colors. A slightly dusty flower arrangement was fetched from a cabinet in the garage, a brown teapot was brought down from its perch atop the kitchen cabinets, and some brown teapot salt and pepper shakers were brought out of hiding from an old family secretary (the piece of furniture, not the office worker). The tablecloth is my favorite piece, though. It's something I came across earlier this year and has just a few small worn spots, which indicate someone really used it.

When I see vintage linens advertised as "still in original package" or "never used," it makes me kind of sad. Sure, it's great for today's shopper that something is still in mint condition, but my goodness, why didn't the original owner just live a little and actually use it? Many of you no doubt have read the wonderful Emilie Barnes book "If Teacups Could Talk," but I think that if tablecloths could talk, they'd have some pretty fun stories as well!

Tea Tasting Saturday #44 - Okayti

2009-10-31T07:00:00.013-04:00

The exact tea Michael Harney lists in his book is Okayti DJ 480 Autumnal FTGFOP, while the tea I was ultimately able to find was simply "Okayti" from Stash Tea. Harney explains that the DJ 480 in the name means this tea is a Darjeeling from the 480th lot to be harvested that year at this particular plantation.

Over the years I've observed all sorts of tea packaging, but this Stash Tea package had an interesting way of opening. If you look at the top right corner of the bag, you'll see a punched out hole with a little "tab" you pull to open it.

Well, the tab actually comes off and leaves a strand of what feels like a strong nylon thread, and then the bag re-closes like a ziploc bag. Now that was a new one on me! And now, on to the tea ...

Category: British Legacy Black Tea

Purveyor: Stash Tea

Dry leaf appearance: Longish tea leaves that were mostly dark brown, but with a few lighter brown leaves mixed in.

Wet leaf appearance: These tea leaves seemed to open to full leaf size pretty quickly.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 190 degrees, 4 minutes.

Scent: As with another recent Darjeeling, this dry tea smelled of a mix of freshly cut wood and freshly painted paint! It's a very fresh, woodsy smell that I really like. Steeped, this smelled like a roasted tea with a pleasantly fruity finish.

Color: Coppery orange brown.

Flavor: At first cup, I thought this was a pretty good cup of tea, with a nice traditional Darjeeling taste but a bit of astringency. Because I happened to be home all day on the particular day I tried this tea, I made another cup, and then another, and then another. To my surprise, the taste just got better up until cup five, when things started to weaken a bit.

Additional notes: Michael Harney shares a tale I've heard before, that Queen Victoria "found teas from this garden enjoyable" and "pronounced that it was indeed 'okay tea.'"

Next week's tea: Kairbetta Frost Nilgiri tea

The A Tea C's are here!

2009-10-30T07:00:00.020-04:00

Several weeks ago I wrote about ATC's, or Artist Trading Cards, which are simply 2-1/2 by 3-1/2 inch pieces of art. A number of you good ladies humored me by signing up to swap tea-themed ATC's, or A Tea C's, as we call them here. Although I didn't get my cards in the mail to her until yesterday, my swap partner Lynn's cards arrived several days ago, and I was thrilled! Isn't this card lovely? That's just my color palette with the pinks and greens in the ribbon. I also like how she stamped a clock image since the card is titled Tea "Time." Love it!

She made the second card with a totally different look, with teapot and teacup punched silhouettes plus large metal letters spelling "TEA," and the background is some cool textured paper. She even inked the edges!

It was an extra treat that Lynn enclosed a card from popular crafter/artist Claudine Hellmuth, whose work I admire. I love the sweet smile on the face of the lady holding the teacup!

And as an extra surprise, Donna had e-mailed to say she would be sending me some A Tea C's just as a thank you for hosting the swap. Now how sweet is that? I loved this layered card, and I plan to totally borrow her idea of making mattes for the postage stamp, since I recently received a package bearing the exact same stamp. Lots of nice embellishments here, too! (And if you want a big smile, read Donna's Oct. 10 post about the tea party for the Brownies!)

And this "Tea Time" card looks so elegant with its black and white color scheme, doesn't it? Sparkly rhinestones and silver charms are another nice touch, and the black trim looks like tatting!

Donna also sent this fun Halloween card with three-dimensional bats. Pretty nice work, eh? I thought this one would be a nice note to end on as I wish you all a weekend filled with all treats and no tricks! (And a special thanks to the lovely ladies mentioned above who gave me A Tea C's as well as a topic for a blog post!)

Easy Seafood Salad

2009-10-29T07:00:00.014-04:00

At my house we've been making a concerted effort to eat healthier the past few months, with good results. I can't remember the last time we had red meat in our refrigerator, and when I've made sweets it's been to take to events elsewhere. I bought a large package of imitation crabmeat at the grocery store one night, but after several evenings of noshing on it I was getting tired of eating plain old chunks -- and trying very hard not to do what I really wanted, which was melt a cup of real butter and let the fish swim in it! I just wasn't in the mood to go looking up a recipe, so I decided to make one up. We had a lot of celery on hand, and hey ... maybe I could use up some of that way-too-hot cheese I bought last week. Hmmm ...

The result, I must say, was delightful! My husband enjoyed some of this spread on a cracker and said "Hey, write that one down!" So I did. I've had this on whole grain bread for lunch (excellent), on a bed of lettuce (ditto), and then it occurred to me this would be a great meat salad to serve in phyllo cups at my next tea party. I didn't have any phyllo cups on hand, but I did have some Baked Tostitos Scoops to show the effect. And if you're looking for an easy appetizer for holiday serving, I think this could work there as well. I love recipes that are versatile!

Easy Seafood Salad

1 (8-ounce) package imitation crabmeat
4 stalks of celery
2 ounces (1/2 cup) Cabot's Hot Habanero cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
Dash of paprika
2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or to taste)

Place crabmeat chunks, celery stalks and cheese (no need to grate it) in bowl of a small food processor and pulse just until pea-size chunks appear (or finer, if you like). The Habanero cheese, even this small amount, gives quite a bit of kick to this recipe. Pour into mixing bowl and add lemon juice, parsley and paprika. Add just enough mayonnaise to make it hold together and combine well. Yields about 2 cups of spread.

Tea Quotesters

2009-10-28T07:00:00.014-04:00

Recently I was wandering the internet in search of stationery. Although I have quite a few tea-themed notecards, whenever it's time to send a non-tea-related, grown-up looking notecard, I find myself running to the store to the tune of $3 to $4 a card. It was time to order some decent stationery, and I ended up getting some simple pink embossed notes with a monogram on them. But oh, have you ever seen handmade letterpress stationery? If I had about $700 to blow I would have some on the way, but alas, I continue to have Darjeeling taste and a Luzianne pocketbook. Which led me to browse Etsy for letterpress items, where I found the most unique tea item I've come across in ages!

These "Quotesters" are letterpress coasters printed with quotes about tea, some of which I've never heard before. Etsy always surprises me with the great hidden talents who've opened a shop there, and I have already begun Christmas shopping (browsing, at least) on Etsy. Letterary Press (don't you love the name?) is obviously a thoughtful woman who produces beautiful and unique items.

I believe it was in the old Victoria magazine I first learned about letterpress, a type of relief printing made with a press and movable type, made one impression at a time. Can you see how the impression sinks deep into the paper coaster? But I must confess: These coasters are far too pretty to let drippy drinks rest upon, so I'm going to use mine as elegant bookmarks!

The Tea Planting Pioneers

2009-10-27T07:00:00.036-04:00

Over the past week I read the most fascinating book about the early tea planters called "The Pioneers: The Early British Tea and Coffee Planters and Their Way of Life 1825-1900" by John Weatherstone (Quiller Press, London, 1991). I was expecting an interesting but somewhat dry historical account. Instead, I found myself reading this like it was the latest blockbuster novel, filled as it was with adventure and mystery and unexpected plot twists!

Weatherstone, who was himself a tea planter in Ceylon, gives a brief account of how the Brits first acquired their tea from China but in 1823 learned the tea plant was growing wild in the jungles of Assam. A few years later, a "tea committee" was set up to investigate the possibility of growing tea commercially in India. The book includes more than 300 photos and illustrations, and I learned a great deal just from reading the photo captions. For instance, I knew that tea pluckers tossed the tea leaves in baskets, but I'd never given a moment's thought to how that tea was packaged and transported back to England. I have much more respect for that hard work after reading and seeing illustrations of how workers had to chop down trees, haul the trees to the tea garden via elephant (!), build their own boxes from the wood and then package the tea for the next leg of its journey.

Since I've been reading "The Harney and Sons Guide to Tea" this year, I've gotten a nodding acquaintance with methods of tea production. Obviously we have better (and certainly more efficient) production methods today, but some of the old-fashioned methods are still around. There are still hand rolled teas today, and this drawing from the 1860s shows workers hand and foot rolling the leaf. (It calls to mind Lucy and Ethel stomping grapes, doesn't it?)

The tea planter's early dwelling was at times little more than a straw hut, with insects and creatures large and small often posing a threat, but once the tea plantation was established and making money the housing improved. You may notice a tiger skin in the foreground of this photo taken near Darjeeling in 1876. The author, who donated royalties from this book to the World Wildlife Fund, bemoaned the fact that animals were killed purely for sport, greatly reducing the number of tigers and elephants. Tea planters occasionally had to kill a tiger that was roaming about mauling workers, but astonishingly, one "sportsman" of the 1840s was credited with killing 1,400 elephants! (To quote my husband: "ONE ought to be enough for anybody!")

And since I need to wind this up, I'll just share a few of the photos I enjoyed in the book. Here is the interior of one tea planter's dwelling, a fellow who obviously enjoyed hunting.

A postcard series from Lipton showed a "Muster of Coolies" spelling out the name of their employer in Ceylon.

Most tea planters were bachelors (the author had to agree not to marry for the first five years of his employment), but when there was a wedding the tea community came from estates near and far to attend. (Note the folks hanging out the window.)

Here workers are weighing the leaf. (Pruners, I learned, actually earned more than pluckers since pruning required more bending over, more back-breaking work.)

And finally, I was amused by the Mazawattee Ceylon Tea Company's promotional efforts. Wouldn't you do a doubletake if this "delivery van" showed up with your tea in tow!

And I'll leave you with one final quote from Weatherstone's fascinating book: "It is doubtful whether we who live in the 20th-century comfort of our homes -- with nothing more than a tame cat roaming around in the garden, with instant light at the touch of a switch and water at the turn of a tap -- can possibly imagine the lonely and often dangerous life of these first planters whose courage, endurance and fortitude in the face of all adversity made them what they were ... the pioneers."

The flavors of fall

2009-10-26T07:00:00.023-04:00

Over the weekend I enjoyed an afternoon of fishing and then a fish fry at my parents' house. The weather cooperated and we enjoyed quite a few sunny stretches. The leaves are beginning to really change colors, and it was great to have such a lovely backdrop to the afternoon.

I like how the lake winds up in this cove with an archway of trees overhead.

I caught only one little fish, so small it had to be thrown back (and yes, my husband had to bait the hook since I don't do worms), but I must say my nieces did pretty well (in order of appearance, that was Madison, Cari and Amelia).

If fish and fishing aren't your cup of tea, perhaps these will be! My contribution to the evening's meal was dessert, these Caramel Apple Cupcakes from a recipe I found online when I was researching cupcakes for that wedding baking project a few weeks back. With tart Granny Smith apples, cinnamon, and a cream cheese frosting flavored with maple syrup, these are the perfect fall cupcakes to me!

First, we have fall baking cups from Hobby Lobby.

Using this recipe, I chopped up some Granny Smith apples and prepared the thick, lumpy batter that resulted in these.

Once frosted, I had to pop one of these in a miniature glass stand to see how it fits. Perfect! And although we had iced sweet tea with our fish supper that night, I paired my cupcake with a cup of hot Keemun Mao Feng tea. I thought anything with cinnamon or even maple flavoring would compete too much with the flavor of the cupcakes, and the Keemun was a terrific fit. I think "caramel apple" (the flavor as well as the caramel-covered fruit) is my favorite fall flavor, followed by maple and then cinnamon. Do you have a favorite fall flavor?

Tea Tasting Saturday #43 - Himalayan Tips TGFOP1

2009-10-24T07:00:00.007-04:00

One thing I've observed in ordering some of these recent teas is that the exact tea named in Michael Harney's book may not always be available. This week, for instance, the tea I read about was Himalayan Tips SFTGFOP1 (Special Fancy Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe) Second Flush. It wasn't available from Harney at the time I needed to order, so I got the Himalayan Tips TGFOP1 (Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe) from Upton. I was kind of bummed to miss out on the "Special" and the "Fancy" until I remembered what Harney says in his intro to the material on Darjeelings: "Supreme, Special, Fancy, Tippy, Number 1, Golden and Orange Pekoe are all meant to suggest little more than best-quality teas." (Still, doesn't it make you feel smart to know what all those letters stand for?)

Category: British Legacy Black Tea

Purveyor: Upton Tea Imports

Dry leaf appearance: Tightly rolled leaves ranging from near black to dark brown, light brown, some greens and almost white.

Wet leaf appearance: Chopped green/brown with what looked like quite a few twigs floating around. Curious, I fished a few out of the bottom of the pot and realized they were simply leaves so tightly rolled they had never unfurled!

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 190 degrees, 4 minutes. But that was wayyyyy too strong a brew for me, so I tried it again at 2-1/2 minutes. Much better.

Scent: The dry tea smelled like wood shavings. The steeped tea reminded me of steamed vegetables with a slightly sweet finish.

Color: Pumpkin orange!

Flavor: On just a few occasions this year, I've sampled a tea and recognized immediately that its too-strong taste was the tea maker's fault and not the tea's. Such was the case with this one. The first cup I made with the 4-minute steeping time tasted like double strength tea. The second, 2-1/2 minute steeping time was just about as strong as I like it. A nice traditional Darjeeling taste with a pleasant aftertaste, and only slight astringency.

Additional notes: Michael Harney says this tea is actually from Nepal, not Darjeeling, but it's made in the Darjeeling style. "Himalayan Tips comes from a promising new garden started just a few years ago called Jun Chiyabari," Harney says. "A small operation about thirty miles west of the border, Jun Chiyabari supplements its own leaf production with leaves from other local Nepalese tea farmers."

Next week's tea: Okayti

Dispatches from Singapore and Russia

2009-10-23T07:00:00.004-04:00

Yesterday the DH worked from home, and when I came in from work he told me he'd had to sign for a package for me, a package from Singapore. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a brooch I'd found from an Etsy seller in Singapore had arrived so quickly. (And I'm not complaining, but $4 for shipping from Singapore to Georgia seems like a mighty fine deal to me!) The pin is about 1-3/4 inches tall, and I love that even though it has rhinestones (even UNDER the handle, which is a nice touch), it isn't really that gaudy.

Also in the day's mail was the only thing I've found on eBay in the last month, a beautiful little (1-1/2-inch wide) Russian teacup pin which will look great on the new black coat I bought the other day. The seller is actually in Illinois, but the pin is said to be a genuine Russian hand-painted wooden piece. It reminds me so much of a similarly painted pin I got from my grandmother, and I have to say I just adore the design of the piece, the pretty shape and the pink rose. If nothing else, my geography skills are improving as I add to my tea-themed jewelry collection!

A new teacup for sampling new teas

2009-10-22T07:00:00.007-04:00

Almost every time I go to my mom's for a visit, she sends me home with some kind of thrift store or garage sale treat she has picked up. (She does this for my sister and my nieces and nephew, too.) One of Saturday's treats was this teacup - literally a "tea" cup!

And happily for me, this week I received just the thing to try out in the new teacup, some samples mailed to me by a sweet tea friend. This cup is filled with Maeda-en Sencha green tea. I really enjoyed the rich, full flavor of this truly delicious tea, which had no bitterness or astringency. (Interestingly, another tea friend shared some of Harney's Sencha with me earlier this year, and it has become my favorite tea to drink at the office.)

But the yummy Maeda-en wasn't the only tea the USPS delivered. There are also samples of tea from Davidson's (Sun, Moon and Stars) as well as some Twinings teas (Winter Spice, Strawberry and Mango, Lemon Twist). All are new to me, and I will so enjoy savoring them in the days ahead!

Need some Christmas inspiration?

2009-10-21T07:00:00.016-04:00

One of the nice things about my job is that it *requires* that I read a lot of magazines in search of new editorial and design ideas. I eagerly await the arrival of each year's Christmas magazines, and this year's issues are some of the best yet. In recent years the trend seems to be for well-known magazine brands to publish special Christmas/Holiday issues in addition to their regular monthly or bi-monthly issues. They feature thicker paper stock and a higher price tag, but the quality makes them worth it. Country Living Holidays ($9.99, 122 pages) is brimming with good ideas, from do-it-yourself candles in teacups to beaded snowflake ornaments and Chocolate Bark made with something called cocoa nibs. If you're planning a Cookie Exchange, you'll be happy to see such recipes as Cranberry Pinwheels, Ginger-Marmalade Thumbprints and Chocolate Chip Shortbread. You'll find recipes for cooking the turkey AND the ham, and there are giftwrap and decorating ideas galore, all served up with the beautiful photography we expect from Country Living.

Southern Lady Holidays ($7.99, 132 pages) is a special issue from Hoffman Media. The cover's color palette is very similar to that of the new Tea Time, red with white-hued foods. I especially enjoyed the giftwrap ideas (though I'm not sure I'll tuxedo pleat or accordian ribbon anything this year!) and the elegant black-and-white table setting featuring silhouettes. As a fan of both Barbara Randle (the colorful crazy quilter) and the MacKenzie-Childs company (which makes colorful furnishings and home decor), I must say I was quite smitten with the colorful Christmas table setting styled by Randle. (Yes, I'm the magazine nerd who flips to the back of the book and reads the credits. "That looks like Barbara Randle's work" and then "By George, it *is* Barbara Randle's work!") There are also some good recipes to try, including several that would be perfect for a Christmas tea or luncheon.

Finally, my favorite "special" Christmas issue so far this year is Southern Living Christmas at Home ($10.99, 114 pages). Now here's a bit of magazine trivia for you: When we editor types go to conferences, the "experts" are always telling us to put numbers on our covers. If you look at all three of these covers, they all have numbers on them. I did not realize until just now that the magazines boast 215, 185 and 86 ideas, respectively. (The "experts" also say to make it an odd number, not an even number, so I'm heartened that Southern Living went all renegade on the matter.) But seriously, have you EVER bought a magazine because it had "x" number of ideas inside? I never have. I always flip through a magazine first, and generally if it's got one or two things that grab me, I'll buy it. But I digress ... What I love about this issue is the great variety of styles of Christmas decor. There's organic (wrap presents in burlap!), glamorous (flock your tree and decorate it with Tiffany blue beads and ribbon!), natural (make angels from pinecones!) and more. The recipes are great, and I predict I won't make it through Christmas without succumbing to the desire to make Snowy Chocolate Baby Cakes, which are inverted muffin-sized cakes topped with icing and red berries in imitation of Christmas puddings. And if YOU come across a terrific Christmas issue, I'd sure love to hear about it!

Miniature glass domed stands

2009-10-20T07:00:00.017-04:00

I definitely feel a tea party coming on. I often find my mind wandering to invitations and linens, recipes and -- best of all -- friends I haven't gotten to spend time with in a while. And I cannot wait to use these adorable miniature glass domed stands I found at Hobby Lobby last week, just begging to serve up treats for special friends. At just 7-1/2 inches tall and 4-3/4 inches in diameter at the widest part, they're big enough for only a cupcake or a mini Bundt cake, like the ones I made last night! I can think of lots of uses for these (I got 4) when not using them for teatime purposes, such as displaying small collectibles or jewelry or Christmas ornaments.

If you happen to have the Christmas issue of Tea Time magazine, I halved the Winter Quick Bread recipe on page 24 (and added 1/2 cup of dried cranberries just because I like 'em). I also drizzled a little icing (powdered sugar and milk) for aesthetic purposes.

The cakes themselves were quite yummy, and so small, about 2-1/2 inches in diameter, I didn't feel at all guilty for eating one.

I must say I have been very pleased with the Wilton non-stick pans I have purchased in recent years, and this mini Bundt pan made perfect cakes and cleaned up in a jiff. Now, to work on that tea party menu ...

My prettiest teatime tablecloth

2009-10-19T07:00:00.016-04:00

When I was plundering through some linens over the weekend I realized I had never told you about my very favorite teatime tablecloth, which has a bit of a story behind it. It began about a year ago when I was violently outbid on eBay for another tablecloth featuring this same design. I was willing to go maybe $20-something, but alas, it went for well over $100! I had really fallen in love with the lovely white tablecloth and was so disappointed not to have won it, but that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes.

I began to watch eBay for "alerts" about similar tablecloths. Thought I never saw this cloth listed there again, I did come across this January 1979 issue of Old Time Needlework Patterns and Designs, which includes charts for the tablecloth's filet crochet edging and insertions. The pattern notes that this was "a 1925 design." I wondered how they knew, exactly, that it was a 1925 design, and then ...

... I came across the February 1925 issue of Needlecraft Magazine, inside which is a chart for ...

... "An Effective and Serviceable Trim for Household Linens." I love old needlecraft magazines!

Meanwhile, I was trolling Etsy late one night and lo and behold, there was the longed-for tablecloth for $28 from a seller in Ontario, Canada. It was in absolutely perfect condition, and furthermore, although I *could* have crocheted the edgings myself, it would have taken me forever. Plus, my sewing skills aren't anywhere near as precise as would have been needed to stitch together this lovely cloth. So I broke one of my own rules and bought something I could have made -- and I've never regretted it!

I like that it features teacups and teapots so prominently.

And even a sugar dish with sugar tongs! Sweet!

The cloth is about 40 inches square, and it is definitely my most prized teatime tablecloth!

*NOTE: Since I now have two copies of this crochet pattern, I would very much like to place one of them, the one in the 1979 Olde Time Needlework magazine, with a good home. Be the first one to leave a comment saying you could use it and it's yours!

Tea Tasting Saturday #42 - Margaret's Hope Estate FTGFOP1 Musc.

2009-10-17T07:00:00.009-04:00

My biggest question about Margaret's Hope tea wasn't what it would taste like but how it got its name! And this particular story appears on several web sites and has the ring of familiarity about it, in case you're like me and didn't remember how this tea got its name.

Category: British Legacy Black Tea

Purveyor: Upton Tea Imports

Dry leaf appearance: Varying bits of mostly dark brown leaf with a few lighter pieces scattered about.

Wet leaf appearance: Chopped greens.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 190 degrees, 4 minutes.

Scent: As with last week's Darjeeling, this one's dry tea scent reminded me of freshly cut wood, with a sharp, fresh scent. Once it was steeped, I also detected a sweet, almost fruity "grape juice" scent.

Color: Medium orange-brown.

Flavor: Despite appearing to have so much in common with the Singbulli Darjeeling from last week, this tea was a letdown. First, the flavor had an odd taste to it that I can't quite define. It was a faint but almost bitter taste which, again, I can only compare with what I think liquid wood might taste like! I also detected more astringency than I am accustomed to. The second cup, taken with milk, was tolerable, but only tolerable. (And I had wanted to like this tea because I like the name!)

Additional notes: This tea has something in common with Fanciest Formosa Oolong in that part of the tea's flavor comes from the fact it has been munched by leaf mites!

Next week's tea: Himalayan Tips SFTGFOP1 Second Flush

"Shabby Chic Interiors" by Rachel Ashwell

2009-10-16T07:00:00.010-04:00

Are there any Rachel Ashwell fans reading today? Yes, I thought so! And probably, like me, some of you have been eager to get a copy of her new book, "Shabby Chic Interiors - My Rooms, Treasures, and Trinkets." Larger in format than her previous books, this one is, happily, again photographed by Amy Neunsinger, the same talented photographer who helped us fall in love with Shabby Chic style in the earlier books.

I like Rachel Ashwell the person as well as Rachel Ashwell the style, and I must confess that one reason I will *always* love her is that she likes tea and the accoutrements of teatime. I predicted I would not get very far into this book before reading about "tea" or "teatime," and indeed I did not. While Rachel's style has evolved over time (and whose hasn't?), I'm happy she continues to find joy in taking tea as well as collecting teawares. Describing this scene she says, "This is a shady spot that I use a lot as it is close to the house and it's just perfect for breakfast or afternoon tea. I love having tea parties; I'm much better at teas than dinners." Yes!

I was delighted to find that one of the "celebrity" interiors featured in the book once belonged to none other than designer Betsey Johnson. (Some of you will recall Betsey Johnson's "Tea Party Bracelet" I wrote about earlier this year.) Turns out Rachel and Betsey have never met in person but are fans of each other's work. I can totally see that! And I can also see why Rachel has developed a fondness for collecting "Royalty china." Aren't these pieces lovely? Reading a new Rachel Ashwell book is such a treat, and although in a perfect world she would give us a monthly *magazine* I am quite content to visit the world of Shabby Chic in this lovely new book.

A Tea C swappers selected!

2009-10-15T11:19:00.004-04:00

Just by way of update ... I have now sent e-mails to all those participating in the A Tea C swap (12 of us, which I think is not bad for a first-time try at this sort of thing!). The e-mail has contact info for your swap partner. Although I did not state a deadline for creating the cards, I am aiming to have mine shipped out within two weeks. (And as a reminder, we are to create two cards to send our partner.)

If any of you have questions or for some reason did not get your notification e-mail, please contact me at angela@newnan.com. Thanks, and happy crafting!

Feeling quil-tea

2009-10-15T07:00:00.012-04:00

Yes, the fall quilting bug has bitten, and I am once again dragging needle and thread all over the place. Recently I came across two new tea-themed fabrics and thought you might like to see them. First, there's this "Deja Brew" fabric.

This line is by Audrey Jeanne Roberts for Studio E Fabrics, and I instantly fell in love with the pretty blue and brown colorway. I thought perhaps I could use it with some of the blue and brown florals in my stash, but next to this fabric they seem too traditional/formal. Still, the pretty teacups on this fabric drew me right in, so I'm happy to have added it to my stash and will be on the lookout for complementary fabrics to use with it when the right idea strikes.

And of course who could resist a new pink teacup fabric? This one is marked Pattern#BART-C5531 for Timeless Treasures Fabrics, Inc. This struck me as a great fabric for a tea-themed project for a little girl.

Quilts and fabric have been on my mind even more after watching several Netflix DVDs. There haven't been very many new movies I've wanted to see lately, so I've been viewing old PBS programs on quilting. I've seen "America Quilts," "A Century of Quilts," and this week I saw "The Art of Quilting," all of which I highly recommend. I hit the pause button on this last one and took a picture to show you that yes, tea really *can* be found everywhere, including on this piece an art quilter is stitching on her machine!

And even though these aren't tea-themed, I thought I'd better include a few of my Cathedral Window blocks to prove I really have been completing a few quilt blocks lately!

Broccoli-Cheese Mini-Muffins

2009-10-14T07:00:00.012-04:00

Years ago, a favorite recipe I made endlessly was Broccoli Cheddar Muffins. I don't know what happened to the recipe, or where I originally got it, but I decided to look on the internet and found not only the original recipe I made but also a lighter, healthier version, which I made last night. That's when it dawned on me that these tiny little savory treats would make a wonderful addition to the savory selections at a tea party!

The new recipe uses just one egg instead of three, skim milk, 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese instead of a cup, and no butter like the original. I knew the "light" recipe would indeed taste lighter than the original, but it was a good tradeoff. I like broccoli raw and any way it is cooked, but I also like it combined with cheddar cheese in a muffin. These would also be good mini-muffins to serve with a small teacup full of soup as part of a teatime meal.

I decided to use paper liners to make cleanup easier, but I also think it would make a nicer presentation during teatime. I have to confess these muffins aren't *quite* as good as the more fattening version, because I did enjoy them dripping with butter and lots of cheese. But the benefit to the healthy version is that I can eat them more often, and that's certainly a good thing!

A timely teapot gift

2009-10-13T07:00:00.012-04:00

At the Bridal Luncheon on Friday at Jasmine Tea Room, bride Heather distributed gifts to all her attendants. When a lovely gift bag materialized for me as well, I was delighted at what was inside! Did you know Brighton makes a small desk clock in the shape of a teapot? How had I missed this?

Also included was a lovely new day planner in blue and brown, a favorite color combination and a gift I will put to good use, beginning right now!

And isn't this clock just the cutest thing? It has an "arm" at back that you can swing into position to hold it in place. I love receiving a gift that will always remind me what a good "time" was had by all!

A Wonderful Wedding Weekend

2009-10-12T07:00:00.022-04:00

Like several of my tea blogger friends in recent weeks, my family just wrapped up a wonderful family wedding weekend. My stepdaughter Heather and her Wisconsin boyfriend Brad tied the knot on Saturday, so I don't have to tell you that we have been busy bees at my house! The wedding and reception went off without a hitch, and it was just as beautiful as everyone had hoped. Here's the happy couple arriving at the reception at The Veranda, a B&B in Senoia, Ga.

The ceremony was held at the historic Senoia United Methodist Church, and miraculously, despite the dreary weather reports calling for 80 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms all day Saturday, we had no rain and no storms!

Here are Heather and Brad at the reception.

And isn't this a beautiful spread? Her mom Lynn, who was lovely to work with, has a great eye for decorating and designed a beautiful spread. I particularly loved the lavish floral arrangement decorating the buffet table.

At nightfall, the Japanese lanterns leading the way to the reception added a sparkle to the festivities.

Following a trend of many recent brides, Heather asked me to make chocolate cupcakes to serve as the groom's cake. Fortunately, my dear friend and baking mentor Susan gave me expert guidance and baking tips ("Use an ice cream scoop for the batter so the cupcakes will be uniform in size"). The cupcakes were a real hit and, topped with foil footballs, made a nice presentation on the wooden platform Susan let me borrow. Several people who had no idea I'd made them actually came up to me and asked if I had tried those great cupcakes, and of course I was thrilled! They had also been taste tested by me, my co-workers, and the bride and groom, so I felt pretty good about things, but it was nice to have it confirmed! (If you want a great recipe for chocolate cupcakes, use this one, but instead of vanilla frosting use the frosting recipe on the side of the can of Hershey's cocoa. I made 130 cupcakes and only a handful of them were left at the end of the night.)

Cupcakes I can do, but my skill set does *not* include fondant-iced cakes, so when a Green Bay Packers ballcap cake was requested for the top of the cupcake platform, I wimped out and ordered one from a local bakery. The Wisconsin folks seemed especially happy with it.

As did the bride and her new husband!

Finally, since most of you reading this don't know the bride but you do know me, here's a picture of me and my sweet Alex, the happy father of the bride. Tomorrow I'll show you a sweet tea-themed thank-you gift I received!