Sharing tea with friends

When my friend Liz was over for her daughter’s tea on Saturday, she sniffed a lot of my teas and wanted to try two in particular, this Cranberry Blood Orange Rooibos from The Boston Tea Company and the Tupelo Honey Fig from Tea Forté.  Alas, as soon as she left with the bridesmaids I realized I’d failed to send her home with the samples. It’s a pity, too, because remember those cute little mini tins I found recently? (They’re here.) Those would have been perfect for sending her home with some samples! Instead, I grabbed some of my handy make-your-own teabags and popped two samples in the mail, storing each blend in a different plastic bag.

First, a nice big scoop of Cranberry Blood Orange Rooibos, making sure to send some bits of the dried berries.

And then a much different looking tea, the Tupelo Honey Fig with its mossy green colored bits. I’m not sure I’ve ever mailed loose leaf tea before, so I do hope it survives the trip. And will the two scents compete by the time they arrive at my friend’s home? I hope not. Have you sent samples of loose tea in the mail before? If so, how did you do it?

Southern Pecan Tea

When my aunt and I went to Marietta’s Vineyard Cafe and the “Gone With the Wind” museum a few weeks ago, I made two purchases which I see as companions: a new copy of the novel from the museum gift shop, and some of the Vineyard Cafe’s Southern Pecan Tea.

I’ve had a bee in my bonnet for a while now to re-read GWTW and focus on the food and decor, so I bought a paperback copy I can feel free to mark up. And as I read, it just seemed appropriate to have a “southern” tea, so Southern Pecan sounded perfect! I couldn't find the ingredients for this tea listed online, but it's what I'd call a traditional "dessert" tea with sweet notes and appears to contain black tea, pecan pieces, mini white chocolate chips and flower petals (sunflower, perhaps). It's a very tasty combination!

Do you try to match teacups to teas and books? I do sometimes, and the only china I could think of that would be just right for Scarlett O’Hara would be something Irish, which I don’t happen to have, but I do think of all those green dresses when I think of Scarlett, so I settled on this green teacup. If you were re-reading GWTW, which teacup would you choose?

A wonky new tea mug

After seeing this $3.99 tea mug a few times at both T.J. Maxx and Marshalls lately, I decided its wonky personality would come in handy on those days I'm feeling a little offbeat myself!

It's a little hard to tell from the photo, but this tea mug is purposely (I think) misshapen, like someone grabbed the ceramic before it had quite settled into its shape. There's a wonky shape to the rim and a wonky little dip in the base, too.

It's a little easier to see from overhead here. I don't know why exactly, but this imperfect tea mug makes me smile. If you're feeling a little wonky yourself, maybe you'll want one too!

Teatime with Ollie's

Buying tea at a discount store can be iffy, but the prices at Ollie's Bargain Outlet are so cheap that I'm willing to give some new items a try. I got an entire bag of stuff for just $4.29 (including tax) on a recent visit there with my aunt. That included a box of 100 Earl Grey teabags, a box of Lipton's Tea & Honey Peach Apricot tea mixes, and a package of Tea Biscuits. The tea biscuits tasted rather like graham crackers but without the personality, if you know what I mean, so I ate mine with Nutella, which makes everything better. I loved the Peach Apricot iced tea, and I also liked the Alokozay Earl Grey tea.

I was happy to find the Earl Grey tea tasted very fresh and brisk. I have some loose Earl Grey, but it's never a bad idea to have some extra Earl Grey teabags around. This brand is packaged in the United Arab Emirates and imported from Canada.

But what really got my attention is the freebie that came with this $1.99 box of tea, as I probably wouldn't have been as tempted to try the Alokozay Earl Grey if it hadn't come with a free glass tea mug. All in all, a fine four-dollar purchase that day. Do you have an Ollie's near you?

A Bridesmaids Luncheon & Tea for Cydney!

You've heard me talk about it for months now, and on Saturday it was finally time to host the Bridesmaids Luncheon and Tea for my sweet friend Cydney and her maids!

What a lovely group of friends she has, and to my delight they were all eager to try all the teas I prepared! From left are Angela, Alley (sister of the bride), Cydney, Brandi, Lauren, Abby (sister of the groom) and Miranda (cousin of the groom).

So what teas did the girls drink? First we began with some "Celebration" Blend from Fortnum and Mason, which was a big hit, with multiple refills requested and served. I made another pot of that, and then they wanted to try the Harney & Sons Lingonberry Green, which was also a hit. (I let the bride's mother, my friend Liz, sniff teas straight from my tea rack and help me choose what to serve. She obviously made good choices.) I also served an iced fruity tea called "Lady Hannah" blend in honor of the bride's flower girl, her cute niece Hannah, who unfortunately couldn't be with us because our event conflicted with cheerleader pictures up in the mountains where she lives. But I sent some of the tea to Hannah so she'll know she was missed!

For our savories, we had Pimiento Cheese Hearts, Smoked Salmon and Dill Tarts, Ginger Chicken Balls, and Cucumber Cream Sandwiches. The girls were very complimentary about all the food, and I loved it when I walked past and heard several of them moaning that they were so stuffed!

On the tea trolley we had Cranberry Scones (I also made Chocolate Chip Scones but forgot to get a picture; you know how that goes!), Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes, Orange Madeleines, Caramel Apple Tea Bread and Lemon Bars. Besides all the savories, the Lemon Bars seemed to be the other item that got the most positive comments, which I found interesting. (Maybe it's because that's a classic southern sweet for luncheons and such?)

I was trying to incorporate a few subtle touches of "vintage" into the decor, so I used these vintage print scrapbooking paper flowers on the cupcakes. I wasn't sure if they'd melt into the icing, but they held up just fine!

Liz came early to help me assemble sandwiches and get things on the table, and then we agreed we'd head to the living room and allow the girls to gab freely. I loved hearing them laugh and enjoy themselves!

And though I failed to take all the photos I intended, at least I did think to get a few photos of the girls before they left the table!

The bride's gift to her maids was these monogrammed shirts which they will wear as they're getting ready the day of the wedding. I loved these! Liz hung them from my living room window, and I thought they were actually rather pretty there.

Now can you guess what my gift was to these sweet girls?

Yes, everyone left with a vintage teacup, and they seemed so happy with them. I was more than a little pleased that Liz reported that later that day, when they were at the seamstress' house getting their dresses fitted, they were all chatting about the luncheon and how they are all going to drink more tea now! (Yes -- score one for our team, tea lovers!)

I've been having tea with Cydney and Alley for quite a few years now (here they are at a tea 18 years ago with our little friend Jordynn in the background), and it was fun to see that tea is still such a sweet part of our friendship!

Tea Room Postcard #36 -- Studio Tea Room (Camden, S.C.)

I love the pretty, almost watercolor looking image on this week's tea room postcard, which features the Studio Tea Room in Camden, S.C. This card was mailed in 1924, and indeed this quaint tea room doesn't at all look like one we'd see here 90 years later, does it?

This card was mailed to a Mrs. Ralph Bristol of Montclair, New Jersey, and it reads, "Love it here, although I can't say I agree with Ralph, I don't think it compares with Bermuda. Play golf in the morning and drive in the afternoons - Weather yesterday a little chill - Today perfect -- Love to you, Elizabeth Child (?). " Odd things strike me about all of these cards, it seems, and on this one I'm wondering if two female friends both had a husband named Ralph. What do you think?

Christmas thrifting looking good

Those of you who mind my leaping ahead to fall are probably really aggravated that I keep leaping ahead to Christmas, but I am just so excited about all the great buys I've found at Goodwill this year that will make for some really lovely food gift presentations!

I think this $1.91 silver tray I found over the weekend will polish up nicely, and I do love that it's etched with "Merry Christmas" and a few touches of red and green. Obviously, this tray is crying out for some red and green cookies on it.

The half price color at Goodwill for the week was green, so I was happy to find the 2-cup green teapot had a "G" written on the bottom in China marker. It was $1.41 at regular price, so at half price that's what, 71 cents for the teapot? It looks brand new, like it's never been used, and has no chips, cracks or crazing. If I tuck this into a tea-themed gift basket, the recipient will really think I've gone all out, won't they? Maybe I'll tip my hand by including a note that says, "Peace on earth, GOODWILL to all!"

Wild about Wedgwood

Often when I'm at Barnes & Noble I browse the literary and arts section of the newsstand, and recently I discovered among the arts titles a magazine billed as "an indispensable expert reference" on Wedgwood. It was marked just $6.99 so naturally I grabbed a copy, but as I carried it with me I realized it was 6.99 pounds, not dollars, and that sticker at the bottom said $18.50 in US dollars. Ridiculous! I put the magazine back, but then I kept thinking about it, and after another week of thinking about it I realized I was penalizing this publication for being a magazine and not a book. After all, it was the information that I really wanted, not a particular format, so I finally brought the magazine home with me.

As much as I love history and the study of teawares, this magazine has been a joy to read. There's a full section devoted to Wedgwood's famous Jasper wares. "The creation of Jasper was Josiah Wedgwood I's most important contribution to the ceramic world and has been in production for over 200 years," according to the magazine, whose author is Gaye Blake-Roberts, director of the Wedgwood Museum in Stoke-on-Trent.

A feature on Regency period bone china explains how Josiah Wedgwood II came to experiment with bone china and used "a smaller proportion of bone ash than other manufacturers with about 21 percent used in larger items and 25 percent for smaller pieces such as the tea wares."

And while the magazine was printed in the UK, I was happy to see a nod to American readers with a bit of info on the White House Service that Wedgwood was commissioned to create for Theodore Roosevelt in 1902 (shown at lower left in this image of the plate and dessert tureen). "The first consignment of ware," the article says, "was sent on December 15, 1902, and the service was completed by April 1903; 1,296 individual pieces were painted with the American eagle crest mostly by (John) Goodwin and Herbert A. Cholerton. In 1912 the company received an additional substantial repeat order for this service." There's much, much more fascinating stuff in this issue, including Wedgwood's history during World Wars I and II, famous pattern designers for Wedgwood, unusual Wedgwood items (some high heels with Jasper ware for the heels!), and a nice section on how Wedgwood is actually made. If you're a Wedgwood fan too, I bet you'll enjoy this issue as much as I have!

Tasting new Teavivre puerhs

The good folks at Teavivre teas sent me some new samples recently, so one afternoon I decided to do a comparison of two different raw puerhs. First, I tried this Fengqing Old Tree Raw Pu-erh Cake Tea 2013. The dry tea leaves had a scent I couldn't quite place, and the only scent I could compare it to was the earthy scent of a fresh produce stand!

Steeped, the tea leaves had a little of that creosote scent I associate with Lapsang Souchong tea, which I don't care for, so that worried me a tad. I steeped it for the full five minutes suggested in boiling water. When I sipped the tea, however, the puerh flavor was most pronounced and it didn't *taste* like Lapsang Souchong at all. Still, the hint of the scent means this tea would probably always make me a little nervous!

The second puerh I tried was this Fengqing Ancient Tree Raw Pu-erh Cake 2014. The dry leaves were a bit more clumpy in appearance, and the scent was very different from the other puerh, more like a green tea than a puerh.

Steeped, the leaves had a nice vegetal scent, something akin to steamed spinach, and the taste was the classic, earthy puerh that I like. There was just a bit of astringency when I steeped this tea in boiling water for three minutes, so I tried it again for just two minutes and it was absolutely perfect. The 2014 puerh was definitely my favorite, and I'm grateful Teavivre lets me have these impromptu tea tastings every now and again!

Marietta's "Gone With the Wind" Museum

When I took my Aunt Jane to lunch in Marietta for her birthday last week, what she did not know was that as soon as we were through eating, we were going to walk out of the restaurant, turn the corner, and enjoy a trip to the "Gone With the Wind" museum she had been asking to visit. There are three sites any GWTW fan visiting Georgia really needs to see: the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta, the Road to Tara Museum in Jonesboro, and this museum, which opened in 2003 and features the personal GWTW collection of Dr. Christopher Sullivan of Akron, Ohio.

Unlike most women on the planet not named Kardashian, Aunt Jane *loves* to have her picture taken, so I was not surprised when she paused at several places in the museum and requested a photo, including this one with one of the many GWTW reproduction gowns on display. While flash photography is not allowed, I'm rather surprised that any photography is allowed, and I was grateful for the opportunity to record our visit!

The museum is located in an old cotton warehouse near some train tracks, so you may feel a little rumble when a train goes by.

Most of you probably know that Hattie McDaniel, GWTW's "Mammy," was the first black actress to win an Oscar. What you may not know — and indeed, I did not know myself until last week — was that Hattie McDaniel "was named after me," according to Aunt Jane, whose last name is McDaniel. Who knew? (She wanted her picture taken with photos of the other Miss McDaniel.)

While the museum has a number of reproduction garments on display, they also have the original "honeymoon gown" Scarlett wore on her honeymoon with Rhett, and it is quite impressive when you see it live!

I haven't watched the movie in a while, but I never noticed before all that tedious cutwork embroidery on the sleeves. Great balls of fire, that took a lot of work!

The museum also has some original chairs used in the movie, including these. At far left is the famous red gown Scarlett wore (my favorite of her costumes in the movie; go big or go home, I say!).

Here's Aunt Jane with a replica of Tara donated to the museum. A sign read, "This hand sculpted likeness of Tara was constructed by Michael Thrower of Independence, Missouri and is made entirely from wood, cardboard, and Legos. It is dedicated to the memory of our dear friends Cammie King Conlon (Bonnie Blue) and Fred Crane (Brent Tarleton), and in honor of the 'Windies' their devoted fans."

I realize GWTW has many fans for both the book and the movie, but I am first and foremost a fan of Margaret Mitchell, the author, featured above. Her story is fascinating, and I remain impressed with how graciously she managed to live her life following the huge amount of publicity that came her way after her book was a blockbuster hit. She was also a very generous woman, and only in recent years has it come to light that she used her fortune to, among other things, fund scholarships for black medical students.

I did not know until I saw it in the museum that there was a Margaret Mitchell doll. Now this, I would like to have!

I always enjoy seeing the many foreign editions of GWTW that were published. I first saw some of these years ago when my friend the late Herb Bridges, a world-famous collector of GWTW memorabilia and author of many GWTW books, loaned them to our local historical society for an exhibit. I do miss Herb and all the GWTW "gossip" he supplied me with! As I prepared to leave the museum with Aunt Jane, who was busy shopping for a souvenir T-shirt, I couldn't help thinking it was a pity there was nothing tea-related that would justify my posting about the GWTW museum on a tea blog. And then I saw ...

Scarlett O'Hara Tea! So Dean & Deluca packaged this in 1997? Wish I'd known! And thanks for coming along on my little journey with Jane to the GWTW Museum!