Recently I wanted a glass of iced tea and realized, with no small irony, that I was out. Oh, I had tins of Darjeeling and Chocolate Mint and Russian Caravan and all sorts of fancy flavors and teabags galore, but I had no basic, plain old tea. It was especially funny to me since just a few years ago, I had so many boxes of Red Rose Tea that I was giving them away to family and friends. But then, I had just discovered Wade Whimsies.
Do you know about these Wade of England porcelain miniatures? I'd heard somewhere that the figures were premiums offered in specially marked packages of Red Rose Tea. I went a little nuts, buying a box of tea bags every time I popped into the grocery store. It was worth it as long as I was getting a new Noah's ark figurine, I figured, passing along the excess tea to others. But then I got something like four lambs in a row, my family began to say "No more free tea, thanks!", and I decided my little tea-buying spree was over. Whether they liked it or not, Mr. and Mrs. Noah's family was complete.On Friday, however, I was out of plain tea and bought a new box of the Red Rose. I discovered the Wade Whimsies have moved on to a new series, the Pet Shop figurines, and I got the horse. Happily, my compulsion to buy five more boxes of tea did not rear its greedy little head, so I do not anticipate a pantry full of tea this time. If you want to know more about Wade Whimsies, there's a neat website at wadewhimsies.com.
Hi Angela!
ReplyDeleteI too got hooked on the cute ornaments from Red Rose Tea. One thing you neglected to mention was that the tea is actually quite good as well. It's the only "plain" tea I drink now.
Love your blog!! Keep up the great job. You really have enlightened my tea life!
You are so right! I was on the way to work this morning when it dawned on me, I SHOULD have mentioned that the tea tastes good as well! Pleased to know there is a fellow Red Rose fan nearby. (And thanks for the kind comments!)
ReplyDeleteRed Rose tea was a favorite of mine when I lived in Canada and I collected the figurines for many years. I have the circus set, the endangered animals set and others.
ReplyDeleteRed Rose had some cute commercials years ago. They featured tea lovers sipping the tea and then saying "Only in Canada you say. Pity."
I had the opposite problem with my Red Rose tea. I drank so much tea that it was the duplicate figurines that I had to give away.
Oh my grandmother was a Red Rose FANATIC, and I remember all those figurines on the window ledge in her kitchen...I am going to buy a box TODAY and start my own collection in her memory...oh yes, and have a cup of tea! Thanks for bringing back a wonderful memory!
ReplyDeletesuzanne duda