The Teapot Song!

The things you learn when researching tea! I was curious about the origin of the song "I'm a Little Teapot" so I set to nosing around online and ended up with this vintage sheet music. Since I learned the song way back in nursery school days, I always assumed it was a children's song. Imagine my surprise at learning this was actually a 1941 Big Band hit, with words and music by Clarence Kelley and George H. Sanders. Performed by Ronnie Kemper with the Horace Heidt Orchestra, the record sold over a million copies and the tune was at one time used in Lipton Tea commercials!

Originally I was planning to scan the sheet music for you, but I learned this particular music won't be in the public domain until it's 75 years old, in 2016. (Call me in seven years if you still want the music!) I will, however, share a bit of the opening verse, which greatly surprised me: "'I am Napoleon' I've heard some people say, And often wondered how on earth they got that way, So I started searching thro (sic) my family tree, And this is what I found to be the truth about me. Oh! I'm a little teapot short and stout ..." (etc. etc.) I have never heard those opening lines, but have any of you Big Band fans?

The other surprise was found on the back cover of the sheet music (also copyrighted, alas), which shares "How to Dance The Teapot Tip." I know the motions to the child's version of the song, but this is a very interesting description for a man and woman to dance "The Teapot Tip." At one point they are instructed to bend at the waist in three jerks (to simulate the pouring of the teapot) and then to straighten up in three jerks. I had no idea there was so much intrigue behind "I'm A Little Teapot"! And links here and here will tell you a bit more about the performer in case you're interested. (You may have to scroll down to find Ronnie Kemper.)

Gwendol, who correctly guessed the name of the song, has a vintage tea towel headed her way today!

Tea-themed toiletries (but no tea!)

Marketers seem to have learned that tea sells. Why else would you design a tea-scented razor? I happened to need a new one, and I like the Venus brand, so I was intrigued to see their "white-tea scented" Spa Breeze razor advertised. Interestingly, you won't read the word "tea" until the back of the package, although the tea element was certainly what caught my attention in the magazine ad. The razor is designed with shave gel bars, but the shave gel itself contains no camellia sinensis, although it does contain some fruit oils I assume are responsible for the nice scent. Still, a white tea razor. Lured me right in, didn't it?

Although I wasn't surprised to find the razor's shave gel didn't actually contain any tea, I *was* surprised to find this On 10 brand White Tea lip balm I found at Sephora doesn't contain any tea, white or otherwise.

Fortunately, this SPF 15 suncreening lip balm has a texture and taste I like. Unlike chintzy ones that have the consistency of Vaseline, this one actually has some heft and staying power to it. But ... no tea!

Looking ahead to tomorrow, I'd like to assign some homework. I will give a prize to the first person who can answer the following question: Ronnie Kemper and the Horace Heidt Orchestra had a hit record in 1941 that sold more than a million copies. What is the name of the song?

Tea Tasting Saturday #28 - Bai Hao (Fanciest Formosa Oolong)

The biggest question I have regarding this tea won't be answered for two more weeks: Why is Fanciest Formosa Oolong listed in the book ahead of Formosa Oolong? Isn't that like suggesting you sample the new Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Ice Cream and then store-brand vanilla? Perhaps not. At any rate, I *love* this tea -- and I didn't think I was going to care for oolongs!

Category: Oolong Tea

Purveyor: Harney and Sons

Dry leaf appearance: I could tell by the light weight of the package this was going to be a fluffy tea, and it was. The leaves ranged in color from dark green to light brown.

Wet leaf appearance: Tiny but fully-formed tea leaves, often having a reddish-bronze tint to the leaf.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 205 degrees, 3 minutes.

Scent: I must confess I sniffed this one for a good three minutes and never quite "got it." I liked it, that much I knew, but I couldn't distinguish it. I even asked my husband, who agreed it was a very familiar scent but he couldn't name it. I thought it was something floral, but more of a musky floral, not a rose/gardenia/jasmine scent at all. Lily, maybe?

Color: Deep gold.

Flavor: This one had a delicious taste with a rich, full feel in the mouth. I am starting to sense the approach of black teas, but who wants to rush things when a tea is this tasty and behaves so well? I always give points for the "no astringency" thing, but perhaps that has to do with the fact I almost always prefer the shorter of steeping times.

Additional notes: Michael Harney does not need to tell everything he knows! Seriously, I could have gone a lifetime without hearing that BUGS are responsible for this tea's unique flavor! "In nature, the bites of tea leafhoppers trigger the plants' defenses, provoking their flavors. Bai Hao is one of only a very few teas whose flavors are provoked by the bugs themselves. ... Their munching breaks down the plants' cells in the same way rolling does, releasing various bug-repelling, flavor-filled compounds." (Blessedly, the tea is freed of bugs during its manufacture, so the little critters are no longer on hand to bug us.)

Next week's tea: Da Hong Pao

Cooling off with tea

The other day I was buying groceries and wanted something cool to drink on the way home. It dawned on me I had not checked out the powdered drink mix offerings this summer, so I was intrigued to see this Crystal Light Red Tea with natural mandarin flavor. I bought a bottle of water and drank this on the way home, and it had a delicious orange flavor.

This instant rooibos drink does contain aspartame, which I know some tea lovers won't like, and the box also says it is gluten-free, which some tea lovers *will* like.

Speaking of drink mixes, I saw some interesting ones in this June 2000 issue of Canadian Living which tea friend Maureen gave me last week. (It had a neat article on tea sandwiches, and she knows I am a magazine junkie.) But check out the name of this Kool-Aid product ...

Kool-Tea! Maureen doesn't remember seeing this during her time in Canada, and I certainly don't ever remember seeing it here in the U.S. Have any of you ever had Kool-Tea? I'd love to hear about it!

This tea lover is a doll -- really!

Are any Jewish tea lovers reading today? If so, and if you happen to like dolls, you will be as tickled as I was to "meet Rebecca Rubin" in the pages of the new American Girl doll catalog. Looks-wise, Rebecca reminds me of the Samantha doll I once wanted (she's now discontinued), largely because one of her cutest accessories was a tea set. It turns out the new AG doll is growing up in New York City in 1914 and enjoys "observing the Sabbath with her extended Jewish family" and "helping family from Russia make the transition to life in America."

I love the costume Rebecca comes in, shown at top, but I also like her other outfits and, more importantly, the accessories. Here is her sideboard set with a samovar and box of Ceylon tea!

The Sabbath set (samovar, tray, candlesticks, hallah bread, tea canister, ceramic teapot, glasses and cloth) are pictured on the page with this "movie dress," but I think Rebecca is dressed like she's ready to go to tea. And I'll bet I'm not the only grown-up Christian woman who'd love to play with this adorable little Jewish doll!

Vintage teapot pin designs

May I share some old jewelry with you today? I've been trying to catalog some of my tea-themed jewelry, and I just love seeing how very many ways there are to represent the idea of teatime! Most of the brooches I've got are about 1 inch to 1-1/2 inches tall, but they seem to pack a lot of design punch in that small space. This sterling silver marcasite pin with garnets is one I found on eBay a while back and have been wearing a lot this summer. If you watch the auctions, you can pick up one of these for under $10, including shipping!

This is another sterling brooch but with a completely different look because of the bright enameling. I like this one because of the dangling "T-E-A" charms.

And finally, this is "almost" a brooch. I was trying to buy it from a costume jewelry seller who discovered the pin back was missing after I paid for it, so she sent a refund and sent me the piece as a gift for free! Can you believe that? Now I just need to find someone who knows how to solder a pin back on a piece of old costume jewelry, which I've heard regular jewelers may not be willing to do. But whether it ever gets repaired or not, I do love this piece. I've seen a similar shelf style pin dated to 1948, and it's amazing to me that this jewelry designed to be worn for a single season and then thrown away is still alive and kicking today!

A "Springtime in Paris" Tea

After returning home from a lovely visit with tea friend Maureen last Thursday, I opened the mailbox and found a small Priority Mail package inside. I hadn't ordered anything or won anything on eBay in a while, so I was perplexed. Who would be sending me a package? Turns out Phyllis Barkey, a recent book giveaway winner who lives in Michigan, was thanking me for the book she'd won by including a photo and some tea from a spring tea she'd recently coordinated at her church! The theme was "Springtime in Paris," and if you double-click on the photo, you can nose around as I did and check out the Eiffel Tower centerpieces, teapots, and even an Eiffel Tower prop in the background. Somebody (or somebodies) obviously worked hard on this event!

Phyllis said she ordered French Caramel Creme Brulee tea to serve the ladies, and I am so enjoying the package she so thoughtfully enclosed with her photo and sweet card. The tea is simply divine and pairs well with some dark chocolate I'd been hoarding for just such an occasion! In addition to the treat, it was so nice to see a new tea party idea, and I really like the table settings with the pink and black decor. Très chic!

Phyllis also shared that she is a recipient of a traveling Friendship Teapot like I wrote about on April 16, and I marvel, once again, at the threads this love for tea weaves into so many of our lives. Thank you, Phyllis, for kindly permitting me to share about your wonderful church tea in today's post!

An extra special "Tea Time" gift

Last week I was off work so that I could finish up another writing project I'd been working on, but I also set aside time later in the week to catch up with some friends. One of these was my fellow tea blogger and friend Maureen Rogers, whom many of us know as ParTea Lady. Maureen and I have met face-to-face twice before this year (both times at Heritage Quilts in Newnan), but this time we met for some shopping and lunching at Collector's Corner in Sharpsburg. To my surprise and delight, she showed up with this beautiful Tea Time sampler cross-stitched for me by her husband!

Can you believe that ParTea Gentleman went to this much trouble for a friend of his wife? Mercy me! I am a former cross-stitcher myself, so I KNOW how much time this took. With cross-stitch it seemed to take forever for me to make any progress, so I've gotten rid of all my cross-stitch supplies over the past few years. Every stitched "x" on this piece is so meaningful to me!

Check out the handle on this teacup, where he used gold metallic thread. Boy, was that stuff a pain to use back in the day! Once I *finally* got it threaded onto the needle, I would inevitably tug too hard and break it, so I'm glad to see *this* needle artist doesn't have that problem! I am just so humbled every time I look at this piece to think of the kindness of the givers -- and to be reminded of the very real-life connections we can make through something as simple as a tea blog!

Tea Tasting Saturday #27 - Fenghuang ShuiXian

First of all, Happy Birthday, America, and Happy July 4th, y'all!

Now, Fenghuang ShuiXian (pronounced "Shooey-Shyan," according to Michael Harney) is not a tea that Harney sells in sample sizes, so I had to order a full tin. With my first cup of this tea, I was delighted to think that I have an entire tin of this one to enjoy. This is one of my most favorite teas I've sampled yet!

Category: Oolong Tea

Purveyor: Harney and Sons

Dry leaf appearance: Thin, wispy tea leaves in mostly dark olive green with some variations of brown bits mixed in.

Wet leaf appearance: Still thin and wispy looking with only a few pieces that resembled a flat, open tea leaf.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 205 degrees, 3 minutes.

Scent: A good gift shop! That was the surprise scent that greeted my nose when I first sniffed this tea. I should explain that to me, a *good* gift shop has that pleasant scent of floral and fruity candles and potpourri, so I wasn't expecting this to be such a scent-sational tea!

Color: Deep gold.

Flavor: Yum, yum, yum. This tea has a rich, full "mouth feel," and no astringency, but its chief selling point to me is that it tastes almost like a black tea blend with fruits and flowers. The "floral" note is faint, and the fruity flavor I found was something akin to honeydew melon. What a delightful tea!

Additional notes: Michael Harney says this tea "is a worthwhile oolong to know if only because no other oolong will remind you of a Bellini. Unlike the preceding Osmanthus, which gleans much of its fruit flavors from a flower additive, Fenghuang ShuiXian bubbles with astonishing peach flavors all its own."

Next week's tea: Bai Hao, or Fanciest Formosa Oolong

Celebrating the red, white and BLUE!

Marilyn at Delights of the Heart is celebrating the Red, White and Blue, so I'm barely getting in the game by showing a few "blues" today! First, a Blue Willow teacup and saucer.


Then, detail from a vintage runner embroidered with blue teacups and teapots.

A blue embroidered teacup on a handstitched napkin.

And a blue (and red) package of vintage iron-on transfers (that teapot at top left would look great on a tea towel, don't you think?).

And I want you to know I *did* iron this tea towel, although it doesn't look like it! Guess I need to wash it and then iron it while damp.

This tea towel features blue as well.

And finally, the wonderful red, white and blue are featured on this great teapot pin I got here not long ago. I think it's the perfect July 4 accessory for a tea lover!

A teapot with a new (to me) feature

Belated birthday gifts rock! That's what I thought after I had lunch with an old friend last week (and her three precious kids) and they arrived with a surprise birthday gift. Inside a huge, festive bag was this lovely green teapot and matching tea caddy.


The set is made by Formalities, whose teawares I have purchased several times in the past, but I have never seen a set like this. I love that the tea caddy has a scoop attached and will put this to good use, and I'm also pleased whenever I see a teapot with a built-in infuser.

I am *most* intrigued by the design of this teapot. I like the look of it, and the color is such a nice, soothing shade of green, but I am even more impressed that it has a small notch at the bottom which you can hold for tipping the teapot (the photo above was on the box). Have you ever seen a teapot with this feature? Until now I hadn't, which made an already special gift even more so!

Mighty Leaf teas

Mighty Leaf Tea first appeared on my tea radar at Christmas one year when my sister gave me several huge bags of it as a gift. I was (and am) impressed with their elegant packaging and teabag design as well as the tasty teas. Today, I see this brand for sale at local Publix stores and also by-the-cup at Broad Street Sweets in downtown Newnan. Mighty Leaf recently sent new samples for me to try, so I thought I'd share some mini-reviews here. First, Orange Dulce is a black tea with orange, vanilla and jasmine blossoms. This was an OK tea, but it wasn't as "desserty" as I expected so I added a sugar cube, and I really prefer not to do that!

Organic African Nectar is an African rooibos tea with mango, vanilla and blossoms. I haven't had any rooibos in a while and had forgotten how much I like it. This one had a very rich and full taste, and since I love mango I especially liked those notes in the tea.

Finally, I tried the Marrakesh Mint Green Tea, and the package says: "Refreshing China green tea leaves are brightened with Moroccan peppermint cultivated on a mountainside in Tiznit." It was truly a great mint tea, very, very minty, and I so want that beautiful tea glass depicted on the teabag wrapper! On a side note, if you are saving teabag wrappers for future craft projects, you can save all of the front of the wrapper if you carefully poke some small scissors into the back of the wrapper, cut a slit, and remove the teabag that way.

Tea & Summer Suppers

One night last week, an old high school friend on Facebook was describing her supper, which consisted of vegetables she'd grown and canned or cooked, all polished off with a glass of sweet tea. I think if I were on death row and asked to order my last meal, a southern summer supper would suit me just fine, and nothing goes with it quite like a glass of iced tea. My tea here is actually unsweetened but flavored with fresh mint, because my friend Deberah has been sharing the bounty of her garden, including gifts of mint as well as cucumbers, zucchini and squash.

One of my favorite summer dishes is this Summer Squash Frittata recipe from Southern Living. The frittata is easy to make, comes out beautifully every time, and is terrific with a little sour cream and salsa on the side.

Speaking of "on the side," my other sides were Jalapeno cornbread muffins from the grocery store and Cucumbers with Vinegar and Olive Oil. I simply slice three or four cucumbers and a small onion, add about 1/4 cup each of apple cider vinegar and olive oil, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and toss. Boy, this is good! DH and I have been eating this dish like crazy.


Finally, I had a few fresh peaches that have been around for a week and decided I would make a small cobbler. Can you believe I consulted five southern cookbooks and did not find a single peach cobbler recipe? That was shocking to me! So, I went online but since I couldn't find anything made with fresh peaches, I made up my own, and here it is.

Easy Fresh Peach Cobbler

4 peaches, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and in a small (8-inch-square) glass baking dish, melt the stick of butter in the oven while it heats.

Toss the chopped peaches with the cinnamon and two tablespoons of sugar and set aside.

Combine flour, the 1 cup of sugar, baking powder and buttermilk. Once the butter in the baking dish has melted, remove dish from oven and pour in the liquid ingredients. Then, spoon in the peaches, spreading them evenly around the pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Enjoy with a glass of iced tea. Yum!

A pretty new tea case

"Why do they always have things just for you?" That's what my mom said to me Saturday in HomeGoods when I showed her the pretty new tea case I had just found. I am calling this a "case" rather than a "chest," but to be perfectly honest with you I'm not entirely sure WHAT this thing is!

To give you some idea of the size and construction, here's a photo of the corner with the hinged lid. It measures about 10-1/2 inches wide, 11-1/2 inches tall and 2-3/4 inches deep.

And here's the opposite corner, with some curious looking divisions. What IS this thing?

Well, you open it to find what I at first thought were photo pockets, but there are no divisions for pockets. These plastic sheet protectors will hold an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, or anything else you can slide inside, I suppose, but there is not a seam at top or bottom. Maybe it's to hold recipes?

And once you turn the wooden "page" with the sheet protectors, you find an open case type construction, which I am going to put to use gathering up some of the many sample tea packets I've acquired this year. It could also be used as a "writing desk" to hold tea-themed notecards, stickers, bookmarks, etc. I thought this was a pretty neat and substantial piece for $19.99. There was (at the Cobb Parkway HomeGoods) another piece like this but it featured a design of shelves displaying pretty teapots. I opted for this one largely because it said "TEA," and this same design is also featured on what looked like a chest for teabags. It was smaller than my piece and cost more, $24.99. I imagine more of these items can be found at other HomeGoods and T.J. Maxx and More stores for you kindred spirits who might like one!

Tea Tasting Saturday #26: Dong Ding

Bad joke of the week: What does a confused Avon lady say? Answer: "Dong Ding, Avon calling!" (Insert groan here.)

But hallelujah, the hard-to-find Dong Ding has indeed arrived, fresh from China, so now I can get back to tasting my teas in order, like God and Michael Harney intended.

And on a side note, today marks the halfway point for the year of tea tasting. I've already learned so much, I'm looking forward to the second half!

Category: Oolong Tea

Purveyor: TeaSpring

Dry leaf appearance: HUGE balls of tea leaf with some stems apparent.

Wet leaf appearance: Large, whole tea leaves, with lots of stems now apparent.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 205 degrees, 4 minutes.

Scent: I had to sniff this for a long time before I realized the scent I was reminded of was boiled peanuts.

Color: Light gold.

Flavor: This tea didn't seem to bear any resemblance to the other oolongs I've been tasting. The flavor reminded me of Chinese greens, and with the 4 minutes of steeping I had quite a bit of bitterness and astringency. I steeped the leaves again for 3 minutes and found that cup of tea much smoother, with a nice taste, but it still had lots of "pucker" afterwards. I didn't hate it or anything, but this would not be a favorite.

Additional notes: From the Harney book: "Along with Wenshan BaoZhong, Dong Ding is Taiwan's most famous and beloved oolong and most likely its first."

Next week's tea: Fenghuang Shuixian