Tea Tasting Saturdays #54 & 55 -British Black Tea Blends

Since this is the last Saturday before Christmas, and the next-to-last Saturday in my year of tea tastings, I thought it would be appropriate to sip out of a Santa mug this week!

Category: British Black Tea Blends

Purveyor: Harney and Sons

Dry leaf appearance: Smallish pieces of broken tea leaf, with the Earl Grey a bit darker in appearance than the English Breakfast.

Wet leaf appearance: Both these teas had that wet mulch look.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 212 degrees, 4-1/2 minutes (because I'm not one who likes my tea too strong).

Scent: Dry: Earl Grey's famous bergamot scent is unmistakable. The English Breakfast smelled like strong black tea but with a hint of that "woodshop" scent I've been detecting in recent weeks. Wet: Earl Grey had the classic and lovely Earl Grey scent. The English Breakfast had a pleasant, if somewhat strong, black tea scent.

Color: Medium brown.

Flavor: While I liked the English Breakfast blend just fine, Earl Grey will always be one of my favorites. That bergamot flavor is one I love in tea, in cookies (made with Earl Grey tea leaves), whatever. Occasionally I get weary of Earl Grey and then "rediscover" it, always happy to realize that a good Earl Grey never disappoints.

Additional notes: Of the English Breakfast, Michael Harney says it "was designed as a simple tea for the average middle-class citizen to start the day." He notes that Earl Grey is one of the best-known teas in the West and says it is "a gateway tea for novice palates." I *love* that particular description because Earl Grey was definitely "a gateway tea" for my own enjoyment of this beverage!

Next week's teas: Puerhs

A quiet cup of tea

May I be perfectly honest with you? This is the point in the Christmas season when I start to get a little cranky, and then because I realize I'm not sweet and Jesus-focused like I ought to be it makes me even more cranky! I haven't finished all my shopping and some of the gifts are getting hard to find. I haven't finished writing all my Christmas cards and got halfway through a box to discover I'd bought a misprinted batch. What should have said "Noel" instead said "Nnnoooeeelll" on more than a few cards, which I suppose would be fine if I had any stuttering friends in need of Christmas cheer but I don't.

Yesterday, in a stolen moment from work I ran by the post office to mail the cards that made the cut. The two helpful and hardworking gents who normally wait on me were busy, so I got a new guy. When I told him I needed some cards metered, he looked me straight in the eye and loudly said, "Well I was TRYING to go to lunch in about two minutes!" I stared back. I bit my lip. I looked around and there was only one other customer in the place. There would have been few witnesses if I'd yelled "Look here, Buster, I'm on deadline, I've got cards to re-purchase and send, I've got gifts to buy and cookies to bake, and I really don't give a fa la la about your lunch hour!" I somehow managed to keep my mouth shut as Mr. Congeniality loudly, laboriously metered my mail. His good spirits then restored, he finished up in time to send me off with a (lame) joke about the federal government, which at last count was still (sadly) his employer. I said all that to say this: I needed a cup of tea!

When I got home from this busy day of work and errands, and finishing up the January/February issue of our magazine, I pulled out one of the two Christmas-themed teacups I've collected this year. This one is bone china from England marked "Duchess" and "Winter," which of course means there are three more teacups I need to look for now. Into the cup I poured a wonderful new Holiday Blend the folks at Mighty Leaf Tea were kind enough to share.

The amazing scent alone told me I would enjoy this tea, which is a "winter chai flecked with Indian black tea, clove, cinnamon, and star anise ... apple, ginger and goji berries." Ahhhh! Delicious! I think I'm ready to finish up those Christmas cards now! (And mercifully, I have the day off today. Good thing, huh!)

White Christmas Tarts

So there I was, all set to make a certain filed-away tart recipe for the office Christmas luncheon when I re-read the recipe and realized it uses uncooked eggs! Yikes! Perhaps I'm overly cautious on this point, but I officially do not make uncooked egg recipes. So, I ended up surfing the web, making some substitutions, experimenting, and I'm calling what I came up with White Christmas Tarts. They got good reviews at the office (a friend ate two before the luncheon even started!), so I was pretty happy with the results and thought I'd share the recipe today.

White Christmas Tarts

Crust:

1-1/2 small (3-ounce) packages cream cheese
1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

1 cup (half a package) white chocolate chips (I used Nestle Toll House chips in the yellow bag)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
Garnish: 1 small container fresh raspberries

For crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine crust ingredients with a pastry blender until a stiff ball forms. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Once thoroughly chilled, place ball on a piece of parchment paper and break off a piece about the size of a walnut. Roll piece of pastry into a ball, then flatten into a circle about 2-1/2 to 3 inches in diameter before fitting into and along sides of tart pan sprayed with cooking spray. (Note: I used Nordicware's tart pan, but you could also make the tart crusts in mini-muffin pans.) Prick bottoms of tarts with a fork and bake for 25-30 minutes, until just beginning to turn golden. Place tart pan on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove tarts and allow to cool completely on wire rack.

For filling: In a small saucepan, heat white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of the whipping cream over low heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is melted. Stir in vanilla. Set aside and let cool about 15-20 minutes. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl on medium speed until smooth. Add cooled white chocolate mixture. Beat on medium speed until creamy and set aside. Beat the remaining 1-1/2 cups of the whipping cream in a large chilled bowl. Beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. Fold half of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and beat until blended. Fold in remaining whipped cream and beat. I let the tart shells sit overnight and filled them with a heaping teaspoon of filling the next morning so they would not get soggy on the bottom. Garnish tarts with fresh raspberries and enjoy! Yields 24.

This day in history ...

As tea lovers, we cannot let Dec. 16 pass without noting that the famous Boston Tea Party occurred on this day in 1773. This postcard, a vintage eBay find, is not in the greatest shape, but I liked the artwork. The card was not actually used so there's not a postmark. It is marked "Historical Series NO1." (I shared another vintage postcard here on this date a year ago.)

There are plenty of places on the Internet to find information about the Boston Tea Party, but two I like are The Boston Tea Party Historical Society and EyeWitnesstoHistory.com.

Boston souvenir stands must have found it prudent to pay homage to the town's tea party history, because a friend got me this refrigerator magnet on a trip to Boston a few years back.

Harney's Christmas Teas

Sunday afternoon my husband came in from a trip to Barnes and Noble and said that while he was there he'd found me a treat. He said he knew I probably wouldn't purchase this for myself at this time of year but that I'd probably like to have it, and he was right! In fact, I've actually picked up this gift set several times and talked myself out of it!

And though I wouldn't have gotten this set for myself, I was more than happy to get it, because I'm a real fan of both these Harney and Sons Christmas blends. The Holiday Tea is a black tea with citrus, almond, cloves and cinnamon, and it tastes very Christmas-y to me. The White Christmas Tea is a white tea blend made with almonds, vanilla and cardamom, and it is delicious as well. The teas come in those pretty silken teabags that let you see the tea leaves expanding. Although I got a gift of the Holiday Blend last year, and it was promptly consumed, I haven't had the White Christmas tea in a while so my new treat was extra welcome! Have any of you tried these teas, and if so what did you think?

O Christmas (Tea) Tree!

Over the years I've observed that pulling out Christmas decorations is always so much fun because you find things you had forgotten you had, and so it is with these teacup and teapot ornaments on my pink feather tree. I see ornaments from my husband, my mom, my aunt, and friends Susan, Beth, Sandra, Ellen, Elizabeth-in-Arkansas (I always think of her that way), Marilyn, Ashly, Ruth and more.


My final two additions to this year's tree were actually contributed by my Aunt Jane on Saturday. She has upgraded her own tree at my parents' house to feature more colorful vintage beaded ornaments. So, she wanted me to have a teacup and teapot ornament she had tired of, including this pink glass one. I have wanted one of these for years! Lovely!

This vintage pink bell and holly leaf garland was actually wrapped around a present years ago, and I just love it. It makes the sweetest little tinkling sound.

As someone who's never been that fond of red, I was delighted when the white-clothed Santas came on the decorating scene a few years ago. And the domed mini-cake stands I bought this fall are certainly proving versatile, here displaying a favorite white teapot ornament that was a gift from my friend Susan.

Since my husband painted our living and dining room walls robin's egg blue last year, I have become more attuned to things that are that shade of blue, like this ornament (it's just inexpensive resin, but I love the design)...

... and three candles I bought on clearance a few years ago for 25 cents for all three. I knew they'd come in handy one day. I realized I don't actually own any flat glass candleholders or votives, so this is where a cup and saucer collection comes in handy -- I can find a saucer to match anything!

I've had my pink tree displayed at home and at the office, and this year it's at home again. It's displayed at the foot of the stairs, and I know I'll be sure to pass by it many times each day and reflect on the pleasures of tea and friends as I celebrate Christmas.

Tea Tasting Saturday #53 - Milima Kenyan Tea

After doing multiple tea reviews a few times lately, I'm relieved the Kenyan tea category includes just one tea. And I can hardly believe there are only two more Saturdays left in the year!

Category: Kenyan Black Tea

Purveyor: Harney and Sons

Dry leaf appearance: Black tea leaves with a few brown leaf bits throughout.

Wet leaf appearance: The steeped tea leaves had a very reddish, henna-like appearance and reminded me, alas, of a few unfortunate home hair coloring experiences.

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 212 degrees, 5 minutes.

Scent: Dry: The dry tea had that wood shavings scent I've found with a lot of my recent teas. Wet: This is the first time I've found the same woodsy scent in the steeped tea leaves.

Color: Medium copper brown.

Flavor: I brewed the first cup for the full 5 minutes and knew immediately it was way too strong for my tastebuds. So, I added a little skim milk and voila, enjoyable tea materialized! Out of curiosity, I made another cup using the same tea leaves, steeping for just four minutes. It tasted just as strong as the first time! So if I make this tea again, I will steep it for just 3 or 4 minutes -- and have milk handy. I liked the (softened) taste but didn't find anything particularly distinctive about it.

Additional notes: Michael Harney says that in Kenya, "tea production is scattered among nearly half a million small farmers, all operating independently. This huge number makes quality control an almost insurmountable challenge." He notes that Milima is Swahili for "In a High Place." Lovely!

Next week's tea: British Black Tea Blends

Update on soaps!

Great news for those of you who may be wanting some of those pretty teatime soaps for yourself! I e-mailed her and Dalene says yes, I can share her e-mail address in case anyone would like to contact her about ordering the soaps. It's daleneruhe@hotmail.com.

The delight of tea-themed soaps

Have you ever had any tea-themed soaps? A friend once gave me a great gift set of oval bars of tea-infused soaps, and another time I found some rectangular soaps bearing a teapot decal on top. This week, I received a surprise gift of the prettiest tea-themed soaps I have ever seen, and I think you just may agree!

The maker of these beautiful pieces is Dalene Ruhe of Martinez, Calif. She sent me a kind and humbling e-mail the other week saying she had been inspired by my blog and has started a new business of making these teatime soaps, and she'd love to share some as a thank-you if I'd send my address. Receiving such a sweet e-mail was thank-you enough to make me happy, but then a package arrived containing bars and bars of this gorgeous and pleasantly floral scented glycerine soap. One of the first ones I opened was this soap I'm calling the "Pink Roses Teapot" model. Have you ever *seen* a more perfect soap for a tea lover?

Dalene, I learned, made some of these soaps for a church boutique for 750 women (!) over the weekend, and I would love to have been there and seen the reaction to her pieces. She says it is her "bliss" to make them and that she enjoys combining two things she so loves, tea and soap. I love that! The teacup on this soap is the merest hint of pink with white relief roses on it, reminding me of those delicate old Jasperware teacups.

There was even a soap with the image of a teacup, teapot and cake on it, dusted with just a mere suggestion of iridescence. I was simply bowled over by these soaps, I must say. In fact, when they arrived I was on my way to meet tea friend Maureen for lunch, so I took one of the soaps to share with her and she loved it as well. I've already conveyed my thanks to Dalene, and I also told her I hope she sells these on eBay or Etsy one day, because I definitely think tea lovers would be excited to see them!

A wished-for ornament

Last summer, I had a giveaway for several pairs of some vintage gold teapot earrings I'd come across. One of the winners was Marilyn Miller of Delights of the Heart, a fellow tea blogger whom I'd come to know as a customer of her yummy Marmalady's jams and jellies. Marilyn mentioned she was going to use her earrings in some sort of creative art projects, and I learned last week she had completed the projects and was mailing one to me. Hmmm. What could it be? When I opened the package this week, I was more than a little excited about the incredible "Marilyn original" it contained!


Years ago Victoria magazine featured an article about some beautiful handmade Christmas ornaments and jewelry charms an artist designed from pieces of paper ephemera or old photos, all soldered between pieces of glass. Although soldered jewelry seems to be all the rage the past year or two, and I admire it as well, I've never come across any small ornaments like those I once admired in Victoria and I have been looking for more than a decade! It probably goes without saying that I love everything about this piece! From the sheet music background to the phrases "I'm a little teapot" and "Tea for two" and the pretty silverware-adorned teapot design and the elegant little feathers--and yes, even that teapot earring/charm--I am just quite smitten with this piece! (I've often heard that when you give something away it comes back to you. If this isn't evidence of that principle, I don't know what is!)

Even the back is pretty! Isn't that a thoughtful touch, this beautiful artwork appearing even on the back?

Over the years I've had a very few ornaments I thought were so pretty I left them out year-round, and I can tell this bit of "jewelry for the home" is going to be displayed long after Christmas has come and gone. Thank you again, Marilyn, for this lovely, lovely gift!

The giveaway winner is ...

Belinda! If you're the Belinda from South Carolina, I think I have your address already! If you're another Belinda, well, I guess I'm wrong. Either way, if you'll e-mail angela@newnan.com I'll get the goodies headed your way. Thanks!

A Craf-tea Christmas, Day Three - Filet Crochet Teapot

No wonder so many crafters glean inspiration from vintage pieces. That's exactly what I was doing a few weeks ago when I was browsing eBay not to buy anything but simply to look at pretty vintage linens. I came across a set of vintage napkins one seller was offering, but I liked only two of them, the ones with corners featuring a teapot and teacup in filet crochet. I printed out the photo from the seller's listing, made a chart using free graph paper from the internet, and then I filet crocheted this piece!

Here's the chart I quickly sketched. Now I am not a professional crocheter or pattern writer, but hopefully this will give a nice headstart to anyone wanting to try this: Using a size 17 (tiny!) steel crochet hook and size 30 ecru thread, chain 53. Double crochet in 8th chain from hook (making first open block), skip two chains, double crochet in next stitch, and repeat to end of row (16 open blocks made). Chain five to move to next row, then follow pattern throughout. A "closed" block consists of four double crochet stitches. (It must be said these are horrible directions for anyone who is not already fairly proficient in crochet, but oh well ... I'm just trying to share what little I know!)

When I was finished, I added a border of three single crochet stitches in each square around (six in the corners). Then, I starched the piece and added a small ribbon hanger, making this ready for the tree or as a package tie-on. If made with thicker thread, these would be good for coasters. And one of these days, I am going to plan ahead and make something like this to include with all my Christmas cards. Maybe next year!

A Craf-tea Christmas, Day Two

A recent trip to Jo-Ann for craft supplies turned up several teatime treasures. First, I found unpainted wooden teacups on sale for 50 cents and bought several of them for painting, decoupaging, and whatever else I decide to do with them! The first one I simply painted with the acrylic crafts paints I happened to have on hand, going for a sort of whimsical design like I often see in gift stores and boutiques. If these pieces get marked down to 25 cents after Christmas, I think I'll go back and buy every one they have!

The teacups come with a gingerbread cookie design printed on them and would make a great crafts project for children. I painted mine white before gussying it up with the colorful paints.

For a hanger to use on a Christmas tree or a Christmas package, I used thin black rick rack which slipped through the pre-drilled hole.


I didn't actually buy all the tea goodies I came across at Jo-Ann (I needed only sequins and baking supplies), but I did want to mention several items that may be of interest to some of you. They have a "Tea Garden" kit for young girls in the games section, a plastic terrarium that grows lemon balm, chamomile, etc. It was $24.99, but with a 40 percent off coupon this might be a good gift for anyone with an aspiring young gardener on their gift list. And I already have a teapot-shaped kitchen timer, but if I did not, I would have bought one of their silver ones, which are just $2.50 each. Finally, these socks featuring teacups and cocoa mugs were also half off, making them less than $2 a pair. I bought a pair for me and a pair for one of you! If you'd like to win this pair of socks, for personal use or even for re-gifting, just leave a comment to today's post by 7 a.m. Wednesday. And happy crafting!

A Craf-tea Christmas, Day One

This is the time of year I start to feel especially crafty, or craf-tea, as some of us like to say, so I thought I'd share some of the things I'm working on this week. Over the weekend, I was at an antique mall in a booth filled with folk art when I saw some cute little sequined and beaded felt ornaments hanging on a Christmas tree. "Hmmm. I could make that. And I could make it in the shape of a teapot," I thought. So, I did!

I began by pulling out some cardboard templates I've had forever. These came in a craft kit and I saved them so I could use them for other projects. If you don't have templates like these, no problem. Just go online and search for "teapot template" or "teapot quilt block" and you will find some similar shapes you can use.

In my fabric stash were some rectangles of fleece, felt and wool. Even though I *know* I'll end up doing pink ornaments, I wanted the first one to be Christmas red, so I chose the red fleece and traced and cut out two matching teapots. While softer than felt, it's a little harder to cut, but I did like the fact the two thicknesses were so substantial I didn't even have to add padding to this piece.

My sequin stash was low, so I headed to the Jo-Ann store, where I picked up quite a few craft goodies I've been needing (more about that tomorrow). There I bought the huge "value pack" of sequins, 3.8 ounces of them, for $3.99. This pack had sequins in a wide array of colors and sizes. I already had lots of glass seed beads to use for attaching them.

I used plain old embroidery floss (three strands) for sewing the two fleece pieces together, and I left the back plain, although overachievers would no doubt want to embellish both sides. I used a straight stitch and tried to make them look a little wonky for more of an old-fashioned, primitive folk art look. A pretty piece of vintage grosgrain ribbon was tied into a bow, a loop sewn at the top for hanging on a tree or embellishing a package, and there you have it! (Finished size: 4 inches tall, 5-1/2 inches wide)

Tea Tasting Saturdays #50, 51, 52 - Ceylon Black Teas

It's hard to believe I'm entering my last month of Tea Tastings for the year, but here we are. This week it just made sense to taste all three Ceylons at once, so that's what I did. And it was quite a happy tasting experience, I'm pleased to report. In the photo above, the teas are, left to right, Uva Highlands Pekoe, New Vithanakande and Kenilworth BOP.

New Vithanakande

Kenilworth

Uva Highlands Pekoe

Category: Ceylon Black Teas

Purveyor: Uva Highlands Pekoe from Tea Gschwendner; New Vithanakande and Kenilworth from Harney and Sons

Dry leaf appearance: The Uva Highlands tea looked very tiny and choppy, almost like coffee grounds. The New Vithanakande looked like small, wiry bits of leaf, and the Kenilworth appeared to be larger bits of leaf.

Wet leaf appearance: The size distinctions so evident in the dry tea leaves were equally evident in the leaves once they had been steeped. If you had shown me just the three samples of dry tea leaf, I could easily have matched them with their wet counterparts. (I know this isn't exactly rocket science, it's just another observation I enjoyed.)

Steeping temperature and time: 1 teaspoon of tea, 212 degrees, 5 minutes. And I did steep all three of these for a full five minutes.

Scent: Dry: The Uva Highlands Pekoe had a strong woodsy scent reminiscent of that freshly-cut-wood-and-fresh-paint scent I experienced a few weeks ago. The New Vithanakande definitely had some strong malty notes, and the Kenilworth was woodsy but not as strong as the Uva Highlands Pekoe. Steeped: All three had woodsy scents, but the Uva Highlands Pekoe also seemed to have a sweet finish and a little extra something I couldn't quite distinguish.

Color: The New Vithanakande was the darkest brew, a deep coppery brown, with the Kenilworth and the Uva Highlands Pekoe a good bit lighter.

Flavor: I enjoyed all three of these teas. The New Vithanakande had a nice brisk taste and only slight astringency. The Kenilworth was my favorite because it had a nice rich flavor, a good mouth feel, and an almost sweet finish. I also detected sweetness with the Uva Highlands Pekoe, but it seemed the most astringent of the three. Still, I would be perfectly happy to drink any of these teas again.

Additional notes: Since Ceylon is now known as Sri Lanka, the country's teas are still called "Ceylons" purely for marketing reasons. Michael Harney notes that "the tropical island is smaller than the state of Indiana yet produces a quantity and variety of black teas to rival China."

Next week's tea: Kenyan Black Tea

Vintage Glass Teapot Ornaments

Many years ago, I was writing a feature story for the newspaper at Christmas and came across a woman who collected Victorian-era Christmas ornaments. Made of delicate vintage glass and paper scraps and silken "angel's hair" filaments and the daintiest of tinsel, her pieces remain the prettiest Christmas ornaments I've ever seen. Years later, I would be surfing eBay during the holidays and come across vintage glass teapot ornaments that reminded me of those lovely old pieces.

Immediately I wanted some, but alas, these beauties tend to go for more than I am willing to pay. It's not at all unusual to see a single ornament go for $10-$15 plus shipping, and it made me nervous to think of spending that much on a single fragile piece that could easily get crushed during shipping. So, I dreamed of vintage glass teapot ornaments but didn't own any.

This year, however, the other teapot ornament collectors must have been asleep when this auction ended, because I got all three of these for $10! Oh happy day! Barring anything unforeseen, these vintage glass ornaments will be the year's final (and favorite) additions to the pink tea-themed tree I'll be decorating in a few days. Do any of you collect vintage glass teapot ornaments? If so, where should I be looking?