Tea Tasting Saturday #20 - Tencha

Do any of you decorate for Christmas with those mica flakes, the little flakes of iridescent "snow" you sprinkle around a tree or Nativity scene? Well, those are what I thought of when I opened this week's Tencha tea. It looks "flake-y" to me. Or maybe I'm just being flaky!

Category: Japanese Green Tea

Purveyor: Harney & Sons

When purchased: March 2009

Dry leaf appearance: Dark green flakes of tea leaf.

Wet leaf appearance: Bright green pureed spinach. (Yes, I know. These teas very often look like spinach to me. I would shake things up a bit by saying "collards" but I'm afraid my northern friends might not be as familiar with them!)

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 150 degrees, 2 minutes. And let me just say ... only 150 degrees? Do you remember that song "Hand Jive" from "Grease" where it says, "How low can you go? How low can you go?" I'm wondering "how low can you go" with steeping tea!

Scent: This tea had a distinct vegetal scent like some of the early Chinese greens I tried, and it deepened into something that reminded me of my south Georgia grandmother's famous butterbeans.

Color: Pale yellow green.

Flavor: Hallelujah, we are out of the woods with those roasty/toasty teas (I hope!), because this one had a smooth flavor I would even describe as "buttery." A great mouth feel, and not one smidgen of astringency did I detect. A very, very nice Japanese green!

Additional notes: According to "The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea," Tencha is rarely drunk in Japan because the leaves are ground into Matcha.

Next week's tea: Matcha

Loving Tea & Chocolate

Sometimes a girl's just got to have some tea and chocolate. I was lucky that for my birthday last week, my friend Deberah's gift included (among other yummy treats) some of each! This Winter White Earl Grey Tea from Harney & Sons pairs beautifully with this dark chocolate from Ghirardelli. I don't remember where I first heard to always drink something hot when eating chocolate because it magnifies the flavor, but it's a tip I firmly believe in.

My friend Ashly, well-known for her excellent baking skills, brought me some great souvenirs from her recent trip to Germany, tucked into a lovely gift box along with some delicious chocolate chunk cookies. The Earl Grey tea was perfect with them, too!

And last but certainly not least, my sister Rhonda's family know that I'm a big fan of all things chocolate, so their birthday gifts included this clever mug and T- (or should I say tea?) shirt. And that's all for today. I have to go find some chocolate!

Inspired by "robin's egg blue"

Over at Steph's Cup of Tea, our friend Steph is inspiring us all to look at the color in our world, and I've decided to play along. Her first color theme is "robin's egg blue," a shade I just love. At first I didn't think I had anything much I could share, but when I started thinking about this color palette in my head, I realized I really do have a fondness for this color. Here's proof:

A tea set with blues that vary from baby blue to robin's egg blue to palest blue.

One of my favorite teaspoons, a 99-cent find from Cracker Barrel.

A robin's egg blue-edged tea trivet I found at an antique mall at the beach last year.

Marie Belle's chocolate rose tea.

My Sereni-tea mug.

And matching teabag holder.

An afghan I made last year to match the new robin's egg blue living room walls.

A vintage Avon tin (from a shelf in my bathroom) that appealed to me because of the color and the roses.

In the craft room, a robin's egg blue crochet hook and some pale robin's egg blue fabric with ... bird eggs!

A favorite block from my in-progress crazy quilt which has robin's egg blue in this underwater scene. (Fellow crafters, I scanned this one high-res so you can double-click for more detail if interested.)

Some of my favorite costume jewelry earrings.

And to wind things up and bring it back around to tea: This teapot pin has a robin's egg blue body. So now I don't think I have a thing left to share until Steph devotes a week to pink!

New book: "Tea Room Recipes"

Are you familiar with Brownlow Gifts? I know the name from buying several of their journals and gift books over the years. On Friday I was visiting the Swan Coach House in Atlanta with my friends Liz and Holly to help celebrate Liz's birthday, and I came across this new release from Brownlow, "Tea Room Recipes." The offerings include a number of teatime "standards" (Pineapple Sandwiches, Cucumber Sandwiches) but also some new recipes I'm interested in trying such as White Chocolate Apricot Scones, Strawberries Filled with Cream, and Almond Tea Cakes.

Two unique features, though, sold me on this sweet little $13.99 book. First, it's made "easel style" so you can stand it up to use while cooking.

And in addition to the 24 recipes, there are 24 blank recipe cards you can use yourself. Wouldn't this make a great gift for a tea-loving friend, perhaps with a recipe of your own written on one of the cards? The recipe cards are all tucked inside plastic sleeves just like those in photo albums. I was quite happy to find such a unique memento of my Swan House visit with two dear friends!

P.S. And here are some photos I just found on Holly's Facebook page:

Birthday Girl Elizabeth


Holly

Holly, Liz, Me

And my lunch choice, the pretty Swan's Favorite (two heart-shaped timbales of chicken salad, frozen fruit salad, cheese straws)

A new tea towel from Etsy

For a while there I was finding tea-themed linens at every turn, and then the well ran dry. Nothing on eBay. Nothing at antique malls. And so a few weeks ago, I turned to Etsy and happened across a thoroughly delightful and whimsical tea towel. The creator and seller, Laura, kindly answered my questions and soon had this adorable design on its way from England to the U.S. When I wrote to tell her how much I love this tea towel, she wrote back to say she's getting some of her designs printed onto "homeware items" such as mugs, cups and shopping bags. I plan to check back often because I'd sure love to have more such items with this design, and they'd make great gifts as well.

At the time I came across her Etsy shop, Glue + Glitter, she was offering this tea towel in gray and blue, a bubblegum pink one having (sadly for me) already been scooped up (and they're all gone at the moment, I see). But this cheerful shade of bright aqua blue was one I really liked, and besides, I think Glue and Glitter's designs are going to become famous in the tea world and I can say I knew her "back when." Doesn't this tea tray design just make you smile? It did me.

And this teacup is adorable as well. Some of her tea-themed designs are currently featured on magnets for sale in her shop, and I can't wait to see what else comes from her lovely imagination!

Heath Bar Cake

Sure hope all of you moms had a Happy Mother's Day yesterday! My sister Rhonda prepared a "Thanksgiving quality" lunch at her house in honor of our mom, Nancy, and I brought a dessert that has become a favorite on our family's table, a pudding-like Heath Bar Cake. I don't mean to insult your intelligence (or cooking sensibilities) if you have been making this for years, but every now and again I find someone who has never had this cake, and it really is quite yummy. So, here's the recipe in case someone needs it!

Heath Bar Cake

1 package Devil's Food or Chocolate Fudge cake mix (prepare it according to package directions for a 9 x 13-inch cake)
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 jar caramel ice cream topping
1 small carton Cool Whip
3/4 package Heath Bits o' Brickle toffee bits OR about 6 Heath Bars chopped in the food processor

Bake cake according to package directions. When cool, punch holes in the cake with the handle of a wooden spoon.

Pour the can of sweetened condensed milk into the holes, followed by the caramel ice cream topping. The cake will be swimming in a sea of toppings at this point. Spread with Cool Whip, spreading with a light touch to keep the cake crumbs from getting mixed in the Cool Whip.

You can add the topping now, but I like to add it just before serving so it retains some crunch. At any rate, you really need to let this cake chill in the refrigerator overnight to absorb all the toppings. This cake is so rich and dense, it will weigh approximately 87 pounds when you take it out of the refrigerator, and you will gain about that same amount if you eat this very often. But for those few-times-a-year special occasions? Enjoy!

And here are all the ladies in our family gathered for Mother's Day 2009: Aunt Jane, Cari, me, mom, Rhonda w/ Amelia, and kneeling, Madison

Tea Tasting Saturday #19 - Gyokuro

Gyokuro is another new tea to me, so I was looking forward to trying this one -- and hoping it wasn't one of the "roasted" Japanese teas.

Category: Japanese Green Tea

Purveyor: Harney & Sons

When purchased: March 2009

Dry leaf appearance: Deep hunter green leaves, very fine, appearing to be very tightly rolled.

Wet leaf appearance: Bright green chopped spinach. Very *neatly* chopped spinach.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 160 degrees (the first I've steeped at such a low temperature, I believe), 2 minutes.

Scent: I didn't find anything very distinctive about the scent, except that when I sniffed both the dry leaf and the steeped tea, I thought of the scent of Chinese greens.

Color: A very pale green.

Flavor: This was quite a nice Japanese green! Everything about its appearance and scent had seemed so ordinary to me, but there was a richness of flavor to this tea I really enjoyed. It is distinct from the Chinese greens, and although I can't quite categorize what the difference is ("a slight roasty/toasty note" is all I can come up with), I believe I could pick this one out in a taste test with Chinese green teas. I had a teeny bit of that astringency after drinking this tea, but I wasn't bothered by it at all.

Additional notes: According to "The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea," while Sencha is grown in the sun, Gyokuro is grown partially in the shade, which "accounts for a subtly lusher, darker, more mouth-coating tea." And speaking of my beloved tea textbook, did you know it was a finalist for a coveted James Beard Foundation Book Award this year? A wine book won, but I was delighted to see Michael Harney's book honored by being nominated.

Next week's tea: Tencha

Tea with yellow roses

Yesterday I was packing up my bags to leave the office for the afternoon when our receptionist called up to ask, somewhat mysteriously, if I could come downstairs. I told her I just happened to be packing up to leave for the day and would be there in a minute. I always wonder if such a request means a) an old friend has dropped by for a visit or b) some review copy of a book I've ordered has arrived. Yesterday, it was neither of those scenarios. Instead, a large box marked "Fragile" was sitting on the counter, and it had a card and a gift for me, this lovely tea-for-one set I'd been admiring at Barnes and Noble!

This sunny set comes in a matching hatbox, both featuring gorgeous, full-blown yellow roses. Since yellow roses symbolize friendship, I have always thought they make very appropriate gifts to one's friends. But who is this friend? The card simply wished me a belated "Happy Birthday" and was signed "All your fans of Tea Time." I do have a sneaky suspicion I know who is behind this gift, so IF this sweet lady happens to be reading today, THANK YOU! I had a cup of Harney's Winter White Earl Grey tea out of this set last night (the tea was one of my birthday gifts from my friend Deberah), and I must say I greatly enjoyed having "Tea With Friends," quite literally!

An empty refrigerator

The good news is, I have learned our refrigerator has been kept pretty clean in the 2-1/2 years since my husband and I bought it. The bad news is, I discovered this when we had to empty it after DH came home on Tuesday to find a stream of water in the kitchen, a result of melted ice dripping out the front of the fridge since the thing had suddenly stopped cooling and freezing. The store where we bought it couldn't service it until today, so ... we cleaned out a refrigerator after we got home from work last night. (Full disclosure: He had pretty much emptied it by himself by the time I got home. That's a good thing, because I would have mentally cha-chinged the cost of every jar, jug, bottle, box and bag we were junking.)

To make it easier on the repair guy who is going to come precisely at "some time between 8 and 5" today, I removed all the refrigerator magnets and thought, "Hey, I've never blogged about teapot and teacup magnets before!" I'll bet some of you have that same magnet from The Tea Room in Savannah, and perhaps some of these ...

... or these. One day, I'll actually put a photo in that tiny little teapot frame magnet! I'd love to hear about (or see, fellow tea bloggers) your own tea magnets sometime!

World Tea Expo field reports

If the World Tea Expo ever returns to Atlanta I'll be there with bells on, but in the meanwhile I'm enjoying searching blogs for various reports from the 2009 Expo which just wound up in Las Vegas. Here are some of my favorite reports so far.

1. Matcha was apparently the thing at this year's Expo and was featured in lots of booths, according to this piece in the Las Vegas Sun. (Love the photo of the tea hearts.)

2. I love that this blogger actually Tweeted about his/her tea tasting experience at the Expo!

3. This blogger shared some interesting notes from an "Ask the Experts" panel discussion.

4. This blog's photo of the mouse-shaped petits fours was certainly interesting, but I really, really detest mice and would hate to see these on my tea table. Maybe some nice teapot-shaped petits fours instead?

5. And last but not least, here are some new product previews from the World Tea Expo website. Enjoy!

Birthday treats!

Thank you so much to those of you who sent the thoughtful birthday wishes yesterday! Although my b'day was yesterday, I've been officially celebrating since Friday, when I got to work and two sweet friends had presents waiting for me at the office. Among the goodies: A great book about vintage jewelry (how did she know I'm into that?), some rhinestone earrings in a rose porcelain box, a lovely lace picture frame, and the rosy pink tea mug above. This is actually going to be my new "office mug," but I brought it home to use over the birthday weekend. My dad made the coconut cake, and it was delicious as always! (I also got some chocolate and chocolate-themed gifts I'll save to share another day.)

My parents gave me money for my birthday (a gift that's always welcome), so yesterday I took the day off work and headed to the Auburn/Opelika area to hit the antique malls. Everything I bought was between $1 and $3.50, including several rhinestone brooches, so I had a great and thrifty day of shopping with funds left over for eBay. I thought you might enjoy seeing the single panel curtain I got ...

... and what I guess is maybe an appliance cover, perhaps for something vertical like an electric can opener. It's not quilted, so it's not a cozy, but after I soak the stains out with linen wash, I think it'll be right cute, whatever it is!

And this 1932 book I bought simply for the fabric cover, which is quite loose and I believe wants to be repurposed into something else.

My favorite tea-themed gift, this silver teapot charm holder, was one of my birthday gifts from my sweet husband. It came with the heart charm, so I added a couple of others from my jewelry box and I was good to go. Gifts, sweet treats, a day of antiquing, new tea jewelry ... not a bad way to celebrate turning 45!

The tea table in jewelry

Today I know how Cinderella felt. I don't really care about what's going on at any society ball, but I do care about what I'm missing at the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas, which winds up today. I'm dying to know what new teas and tea products and tea books are coming out, and I suppose I'll have to be patient and wait for that info to appear over time. So, to distract us (myself, rather), I thought I'd share some more tea-themed jewelry, including a few pieces focused on the tea table. This 1990 pewter tea table pin is from Danforth Pewter and is marked "Tea Party" on the back.

I also like this whimsical tea table where the sparkly teapot and teacup are not exactly sized to scale, are they!

These teawares aren't on a table but on a shelf. I had worn this brooch with the dangling teacups several times before I realized it has tiny gold rhinestones in the curlicues near the corners. And if I'd thought about it before now, this would have been a nice background prop for Emma and Matilda Peep at Easter!