Tea Tasting Saturday #15 - Kagoshima Sencha

Category: Japanese Green Tea

Purveyor: Harney & Sons

When purchased: March 2009

Dry leaf appearance: Spice! That's the first thing I thought of when I opened this week's tea. There were a few stalky things, but for the most part this looked like a finely ground dark green spice.

Wet leaf appearance: This Sencha quickly turned bright green when water was added. As with last week's variety, the fine bits of tea leaf had the look of having been chopped or put through a food processor.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 175 degrees, 1 minute

Scent: I didn't find anything particularly distinctive about the scent of this tea. Vegetal, like steamed asparagus, but I didn't detect any other "notes" like I usually do.

Color: A pale green. Surprised to find this didn't have that thick, brothy appearance like last week's Sencha.

Flavor: This tea was enjoyable from the first sip! I am so accustomed to having to adjust the steeping time that I was already telling myself, "It's not the tea's fault if YOU don't get it right the first time." But the 1 minute steeping time suited me just fine. This Sencha had such a smooth taste, after I drank the first cup I actually felt it had a finish I can only describe as "buttery" and with no astringency at all. Perfect!

Additional notes: Hmmm. Michael Harney describes this one as "a lemony Sencha with some of the rich, vegetal brothiness of a Gyokuro." I didn't find this one to be lemony and only slightly brothy tasting, but since I liked it so well I don't guess I'll worry about it!

Next week's tea: Bancha

Fond Easter Greetings

Now if you're a tea lover, you have simply got to love these hundred-year-old postcards of chicks hatching out of a teapot! It's the same image on all three, and my favorite is the first one. The postal stamp on back of the first postcard is blurry but I believe it says 1909. The second postcard's back is blank, and the third one's postmark is from 1910. If you have the time, you might enjoy double-clicking and reading the back of the first postcard, written by a Sunday School teacher named Emma to her pupil, Miss Edna Ames in South Windham, Maine. (And I can't quite make out that last name. Clardman? Or is it Emma C. Pendman? I did chop off a bit of the final "n" during scanning - sorry!) I have one more vintage image, an old trade card, I will actually be posting on Easter day. I couldn't imagine there would be any tea-related art appropriate for the day, but apparently there is!

An intriguing new tea tin

Recently I wrote about the "winged" teabags I found at the new Vitamin Shoppe in Newnan. What I also found on that initial visit was a very cool tin of Fancy Magnolia Blossoms Oolong Tea from the Chaa Tea company.


You take the lid off and it looks like this. But it turns out the lid is still attached to a container ...

... that opens to this.

Inside is this metal tea strainer which, very efficiently, I think, tucks back inside for storage.

The strainer is a tad small, though, and I had to finagle it a bit so it would perch inside my very average-sized teacup. The strainer or the handles need to be just a wee bit larger. And the tea? Delicious! It had a great floral scent reminiscent of jasmine tea, and it had almost a sweet finish to it, which made this a great dessert tea following some tasty turkeyburgers made by my sweetie!

A Peeps Easter Tea Party

This is Matilda Peep.
This is Emma Peep.

* * *

Setting: A sunny garden in west Georgia

The occasion: Sisters Matilda and Emma Peep are having tea

The reason: Easter preparations

* * *

Matilda: I love this tea, Emma. What kind did you say it was again?

Emma: It's called "Chocolate Easter Egg Rooibos."

Matilda: Yummo, as Rachael Ray would say. I just love that show. Say, have you got a new Easter dress this year?

Emma: Well certainly I have. You don't think I'd let March go by without finding my dress, do you? Pass the sugar bowl, please.

Matilda: Aren't you supposed to be on that low sugar diet? And yes, there was that one time you wore the same old pink dress two years in a row.

Emma: This, from a woman who's still carrying a black pocketbook in April. And are you saying this outfit makes my butt look big?

Matilda: You're the one who was giving up sugar for Lent, not me. And Emma Peep, you know full well I can't begin using my new white pocketbook until Sunday. That would be tacky.

Emma: Speaking of tacky, where did you get that new hat?

Matilda: Excuse me?

Emma: You have to admit, it looks rather like there was an explosion at the ruffle factory, sister dear!

Matilda: Said the woman who thinks it's OK to wear beads on a hat before noon. Honestly, if the pastor falls into the altar flowers on Sunday morning, it's probably because he got blinded by all the bling on that hat.

Emma: You're just jealous that I found such a fashionable hat on my trip to Paris last month.

Matilda: Am not!

Emma: Are too! (Furiously, she pushes her teacup toward her sister, who is serving today.) More tea, PLEASE.

(SILENCE. The women sip tea for a few minutes without saying a word.)

Matilda: I'm sorry I made fun of your new hat, Sis. I'm sure it will be just lovely on Easter morning.

Emma: That's all right, dear. I'm sorry I made fun of your ruffles.

Matilda: Let's just let bygones be bygones. Let's not speak of this unpleasantness ever again.

Emma: No, never again! Not a Peep!

THE END

"The Kitchen Linens Book" by EllynAnne Geisel

Textiles collector EllynAnne Geisel, author of "The Apron Book," has a wonderful new book out, "The Kitchen Linens Book," that was just a joy to read. I know many of us are fans of vintage linens, and I have to say this lovely book is everything I'd hoped it would be and more. (I'll tell you about the "and more" shortly.) The cover alone was a good indicator that I would like what's inside.

Geisel says a lot of her towels from the thirties and forties (like the ones in this great tea-themed spread) are towels she uses for drying dishes, with the towels made of linen or a linen and cotton blend. "Drying towels like this were once called 'tea towels,' not because they were used for tea, but because the mistress of the house used them to dry her fine bone china tea service," she says. You'll also find great tips like this one: "If you must use fabric softener on your bath towels, leave your kitchen towels out of that load. Linen fibers coated with softener will wind up leaving smears on your glassware." She also writes about enjoying afternoon tea and tells how to brew a proper pot, accompanied by a photo of a teapot I've never seen before, a yellow one with the word "BREW" and three cups embossed on it. Guess what I'll be looking for now?

With kitchen linens so often relegated to the junk heap in antique malls and thrift stores, it's gratifying to see Geisel giving these vintage treasures the respect they deserve. And if you finish this book itching for more kitchen linens of your own, never fear. Geisel concludes with a gift for her readers tucked right inside the back cover, a reproduction of a 1945 Butterick transfer pattern featuring teacups and teapots!

Tea-themed Easter eggs

If you're a reader of Martha Stewart Living magazine, or even if you just saw one while standing in the grocery store checkout line, you probably noticed the cover of the April 2009 issue with some lovely silhouette design Easter eggs. Inside are directions on making those eggs as well as others made with decorative paper napkins, so I spent part of a rainy afternoon yesterday making one of each, with results I didn't think were too bad for my first attempt.


The great thing about making these eggs was that I already had all the supplies I needed. In addition to some wooden eggs I've had forever (and you can use real eggs, blown out), I had paints, Mod Podge, embroidery scissors, a tea-themed punch and some pretty paper napkins.

Punching and painting was easy. The hardest part of making my blue and white egg was cutting out the individual motifs and then separating the top layer of the three-ply napkin. Once that was done, it was super easy to apply the decoupage medium and affix the napkin design to the egg. The punched teapots were a little harder, because the scrapbooking paper I used was thicker, so I had to use the Mod Podge both to affix it and to seal it. If you want to see how the pros do it, be sure to check out the latest issue of Martha!

Tea Tasting Saturday #14 - Kakegawa Ichiban Sencha

One of the earliest newspaper features I remember writing was about some local folks doing something called "ichibana" Japanese style flower arranging, so I should warn you right now that my fingers desperately want to type "ichibana" instead of "ichiban." Out of curiosity I googled the meaning of "ichiban," and it turns out it's Japanese for "number one" or "best." I also have to report that for the first time in my life, I was pondering which tea to have the other day and my mind did not immediately go to some fruity or chocolatey number but instead to the Taiping HouKui, a Chinese green from a few weeks back. I could not have *imagined* I would ever prefer a "pure" tea, and certainly not a green tea, to one of the flavored ones, but I did.

Name of tea: Kakegawa Ichiban Sencha

Category: Japanese Green Tea

Purveyor: Harney & Sons

When purchased: March 2009

Dry leaf appearance: There were a few very thin, dark green leaves like last week's Matsuda's Sencha, but I was surprised at the small particles that made this seem almost like a powdered tea!

Wet leaf appearance: As with last week's Sencha, this tea changed color and turned a much brighter green very quickly. Because of the small leaf size, it ended up looking sort of like pureed baby food.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 175 degrees, 2 minutes. And then 1 minute. And then 30 seconds. I'll explain ...

Scent: You know how I'm always writing "this tea had a nice vegetal scent"? Well, this tea had a nice "vegetable" scent. Not merely reminiscent of veggies, this one smelled exactly like a vegetable (think asparagus, spinach, something very green) only with a very fruity finish, like it had a nice heavy douse of lemon juice. Later, I was also reminded of the scent of the collard greens I cook with white grape juice for a New Year's dish I'm fond of making.

Color: An opaque yellow green. This looked almost the color and consistency of the broth in chicken noodle soup.

Flavor: This one was a challenge! Since the Harney book recommended 1-3 minutes for steeping, I decided to aim for the middle and go for a minute and a half. I got busy trying to get a photograph, however, and it ended up steeping for 2 minutes while I got my shot. No problem, right? Because the scent was one I really liked, I expected to love this tea from the get-go. I took a nice slurp and nearly choked! Good grief, was this stuff bitter! So, I tried again for exactly one minute. Not nearly as bitter, but not nearly as enjoyable as those other greens I've been trying. Humph. Like I'm gonna settle for that! Could it be possible this would work at just 30 seconds? Let's see ... and I am oh-so-happy to report that 30 seconds did the trick! I got a nice green taste, no bitterness, and a little astringency afterward, which is fine. Aesthetically, I have to say I've enjoyed watching those pretty leaves of the other teas unfurl through subsequent steepings. So while I'm not fond of the appearance of this one, taste-wise, once I (finally) got it right, I liked this tea just fine.

Additional notes: From the Harney book: "The hills surrounding Kakegawa are covered with tea plants, perfectly manicured rows of green. The area is so dominated by tea production that one hill has a tea bush topiary trimmed in the shape of the Japanese character for tea." Wouldn't you love to see that!

Next week's tea: Kagoshima Sencha

Happiness is some new tea fabric!

Maybe all crafters are this way, but my approach to crafts is seasonal. I work on afghans and anything requiring thick, heavy yarn in the cold weather months. When the weather turns warmer I turn to crocheting with thread instead of yarn, and in recent years, to making fabric yo-yos and small quilted or appliqued blocks. Searching online, I found three new tea-themed designs I just love at Hancock's of Paducah. This print is called Timeless Treasures Tea Pots Sage. Don't you love that it even has tea infusers and sugar cubes on it!

There are also some coordinating fabrics, including Timeless Treasures Tea Cups Hanging (which is bluer than my photo shows) ...

and Timeless Treasures Tea Types Writing. I haven't decided if these will be used for quilts or things like potholders, but I do know I'm now well-stocked for sewing this spring. Have you fellow crafters come across any new tea-themed fabrics lately? If so, please share!

Miscellaneous tea samplings

Although I write about my "formal" tea samplings each Saturday, I've actually tried a number of new teas lately I thought I'd quickly review. Some were teabags, some were RTD (ready to drink) teas, but all were interesting. First, this Vanilla Chai Tea from Bolthouse Farms was something I'd seen at the grocery store and been meaning to try. It was OK, but I learned I really prefer my chai hot. I did, however, make a mental note that this RTD vanilla chai might work as an ingredient in chai ice cream!

Thanks to pay-at-the-pump I almost never go in a convenience store any more unless I'm on vacation, but recently I stopped at a corner store and had to go inside. This Earl Grey Snapple they had was new to me (I have no idea how long it's been out), and it was quite tasty. I wasn't sure I'd like cold Earl Grey, but somehow this worked for me.

A tea friend recently shared some of her stash with me, and one of the teas I enjoyed most was this Premium Sencha Green Tea from Tea Co. After tasting so many loose leaf greens lately, I was pleased with the crisp, fresh taste of this silken teabag. May have to order some of this for the office.

This Golden Monkey tea from Adagio, in a nice, fat silk sachet, was just delicious. It kept me awake through the latest episode of "24" on Monday night, which is saying something. The tea was far more interesting than the show!

The friend had warned me, with a gleam in her eye, that this teabag from Japan would be "different." Since neither of us knows what this really says, I decided, in honor of its unique and distinctive flavor, to name it "Japanese Landfill Blend." (Don't think I'm being ugly here; she didn't care for it either!)

My recent orders from Harney & Sons have included free sample tea bags, and I enjoyed both the taste and the elegant packaging of the two I've tried lately: Organic Green Tea with Citrus and Gingko is my favorite ...

but the Harney & Sons Organic Green Tea with Mint was also quite good. It has the prettiest packaging and even matches the dining room walls!

Tea bloggers to purchase Spelling Manor!

Los Angeles (Not AP) — Los Angeles real estate agents today announced that despite the bad economy, Candy Spelling, widow of TV icon Aaron Spelling, has managed to sell her $150 million home, The Spelling Manor, in under a week—and to a surprise buyer, a group of American tea bloggers!

A tea blogger in Georgia, Angela McRae, said it was her idea to drum up financing for the group to purchase the 56,500-square-foot, French chateau-style property. “I’d always dreamed of opening a tea room,” said McRae, “and then it hit me: why not the country’s first tea ‘mansion’ as a little different twist on the idea?”

McRae said she immediately contacted a tea blogger friend up north, Steph, who was initially concerned about the massive price tag but soon got on board with the project. “Angela pointed out that if she gave up eBay for a month, we’d have the downpayment covered,” Steph said. “What really got me excited, though, was the idea of overseeing the organic garden for our tea mansion. We’re going to grow all our own produce and bake our own breads! And of course the waterfall, pool and spa didn’t hurt.”

Also on board with the project is a Charleston woman who goes by the name Tea Lover Denise, a Certified London Destination Specialist who has previously led tea tours to London. “Now I’m moving to California where I’ll lead tours of the tea mansion instead!” Denise said. “I’m going to offer five-, seven- and ten-day packages, depending on how many of the rooms a traveler wants to see.”

Two of the tea bloggers — ParTea Lady and Marilyn — are quilting aficionados, so they have agreed to head up the new “Make a Teapot Quilt in a Week” program at the tea mansion, which plans to offer retreats by early summer. Someone who goes by the name “Frivolitea” will expand the artistic offerings with classes in tea-themed jewelry making, beading and collage, while a woman with a blog titled “The Sewing Room” will add to the mansion’s needlework offerings by hosting knitting retreats where visitors learn to make teapot and cup cozies.

Marilyn, it turns out, is also a whiz at making tea-flavored jams and will be the sole supplier of jams and marmalades at the tea mansion, all under the exclusive Marmalady’s label. “It’s going to be a challenge to balance all that quilting and jam-making, but I’m going to give it my best shot!” she said. She will be aided in this enterprise by Teresa of Southern Touch Catering, who has agreed to serve as chef and head of food services at the tea mansion.

Tea blogger Bernideen, newly-named head of retail development at the tea mansion, was initially concerned about leaving her beloved tea shop in Colorado Springs, Colo., but it seems engineers have figured out a way to move the entire shop, intact, to California. Tentative plans call for it to be housed in the mansion’s humidity-controlled silver room. “I have lots of pretty silver pieces anyway, so this is really a perfect fit for me!” Bernideen said.

The group seems to have thought of everything. Linda, a young grandmother in Kentucky who has a blog called Friendship Tea, will be in charge of children’s programming at the tea mansion, and her entire extended family will be moving into one wing of the mansion. “I knew all those trips to Walt Disney World were going to come in handy one day!” Linda said. “In fact, I’ve already spoken with Steph about making sure the topiaries on the property include a giant teapot for the kids to enjoy. We’re also talking about refurbishing the pool and fountains with giant cup and saucer sprinklers, and I’m trying to find out if it’s practical to turn the tennis court into a teapot shape.”

While the new staff of the tea mansion isn't quite ready to accept employment applications just yet, McRae said interested parties may send their resumes to angela@newnan.com, with the subject heading “HAPPY APRIL FOOL’S DAY!!!”

(Photo courtesy of Atwater Village Newbie on Flickr)

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?