In praise of Sweet Tea

One of the best parts of my day job of editing a small city magazine is that I get to read so many other magazines for inspiration. I especially enjoy finding magazines from other cities and states, and one of my favorites is Our State: Down Home in North Carolina. The August 2010 issue is no doubt my recent favorite, and I hope they get an award for that wonderful cover! Those Mason jars of sweet tea are just incredibly inviting, and I know from experience that styling a food photo like that is not easy. Ice melts. Bugs land. Lemons shrivel. And yet they pulled it off just beautifully.

Every few years or so, I seem to come across in a southern magazine a particularly fine essay on the virtues of a well-made glass of sweet tea, which in the South means iced sweet tea. This essay, by Tommy Tomlinson, is one of the best ever. Here are a few of my favorite lines from his piece:

• "This tea is the color of a baseball glove, but clear enough to see through."

• "... at its most basic, sweet tea is a cold blast on a hot day, like a dip in a river from the inside out."

• "What we're talking about, when we talk about sweet tea, is something brewed that morning, stirred by hand, served by a waitress who calls you darlin', poured out of one of those special pitchers with the spout on the side, or better yet, sitting in the fridge at your mama's house."

Doesn't that just make you want to go pour yourself a big glass of sweet tea? If you can't get homemade, the word around here is that the best sweet tea comes from Chick-fil-A (for drive-through dining) and Golden's restaurant in downtown Newnan (a cafeteria). My favorite sweet tea, however, is made by ... me! If you're a sweet tea fan, not just from the South but anywhere, I'd love to hear who *you* think makes the best sweet tea!

Estate Sale Stories

Once again, a local estate sale has resulted in a lovely addition to my small but growing collection of tea trivets. This one came from an estate sale at 92 Greenville St., and today's the last day of the sale for any of you locals who may need a few teawares, linens, old books and records, Victorian furniture, or perhaps the wonderful Victrola I heard streaming music through this great white-columned home as I browsed. I was amused that one of my town's more colorful characters walked up to me as I was carrying my tea trivet, ignored my "Hello" and simply said "How much was that?" "Five dollars." She walked off without another word. Odd!

This cutwork and lace runner was in wonderful condition. Love the design on this piece, and it can be used in lots of places.

I also found a small dish created in honor of Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee. Got to love the Queen!

This vintage pincushion charmed me with its remnant of an old flag. I also think I could copy this simple felt design myself.

This vintage face powder box will join a few other vintage cosmetics in my bathroom.

I've long wanted an old, tattered songbook for crafting purposes, and I plan to have fun with this one. I got tickled at the misspelling of "Autumn Song" which becomes "Autumn Snog" on the opposite page. Sounds like a great Irish beverage, doesn't it? "Just pour me a cup of Autumn Snog, waiter!"

And the salmony pink vintage hatbox will make for pretty storage in the craft room and also gave me a great way to lug all my stuff home!

The Tea Lovers Eco Cup

It was supposed to be just a simple in-and-out trip to Books A Million in Peachtree City to pick up a copy of one of the few magazines I can't find in Newnan. I would dash in through the café, cut to the back where the magazines are, check out and be on my merry way. But no. The café just HAD to have a display of these Tea Lovers Eco Cups in cute patterns with teapot-shaped doodads on them. I mean, really. I've resisted buying one of these ceramic mugs mimicking the look of a to-go cup every time I've seen them so far, even when I spotted pink ones at T.J. Maxx.

But with roses? What rose-crazy tea lover could resist that, I ask you?

And the teapot-shaped doodad? So that bit of $8.99 cuteness was going home with me, no two ways about it. I got home and was getting ready to photograph my new cup when I realized the string of the tag was tangled behind the teapot. That's when it dawned on me the "doodad" is designed to wrap your teabag string around! It was a "duh" moment if ever there was one! If you have a BAM nearby, these come in lots of great patterns, including stripes, funky flowers and even one with a floral pattern reminiscent of Blue Willow. But I'm quite happy with the roses and green teapot design. What a fun find!

The write stuff, teapot-style

Recently I relocated an antique writing desk from my craft room, where it had been crammed with all sorts of things that don't belong there, to a corner spot in the living room, where it now is home to pens and papers. Although I do have a pile of homeless craft items awaiting relocation in the craft room, it is so nice to open a drawer of that writing desk and find the stationery and note cards it was meant to hold. One of the things I rediscovered was this Mary Engelbreit pen in a design I absolutely love!

The cheery cherry teapot on top is just the sort of ME design that makes me smile when I reach for it, perhaps because I like pens *almost* as much as I like tea!

A pretty red tin houses the pen and has no doubt kept me from banging it around and losing the teapot top, and I'd sure love to see Mary come out with more teapot pens-in-tins!

Teacup cobblers

Last week when I wrote about my new Teacupcake baking molds, I got some very helpful (and inspiring!) reader comments. One idea was to bake cupcakes in regular paper liners and then serve them in teacups (how easy!), and another comment was about actually baking in teacups. I'd forgotten that could be done as well, so I pulled out some glass teacups and punch cups from the thrift store and decided to bake cobblers.

I really like how the cobblers turned out, and here's mine halfway through eating! The teacups made serving and portion control super simple, and the fresh blueberries I picked at my parents' house last weekend cooked up beautifully -- and so yummy!

We had some family visiting so I served them these cobblers, and here was the happy result! If you're interested in baking these for yourself, here's the recipe.

Easy Blueberry Cobblers

1 stick margarine, melted
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup skim milk
2 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray six glass teacups/punch cups with cooking spray. Bruise the fruit slightly with a fork or spoon, add 1/4 cup of the sugar, mix well and set aside. Mix remaining sugar with flour. Add milk and melted margarine and blend. Spoon batter among the teacups about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Then spoon blueberries with sugar and juices atop each teacup. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cobbler is just beginning to brown. (Note: I had a little batter and blueberries left over, but no more glass teacups, so I believe this recipe would make 6-8 cobblers, depending upon the size of the teacups and how full you prefer to make them.) Enjoy!

Tea and Books Saturday #32 - "Tea: East and West"

Tea: East and West
Edited by Rupert Faulkner
V&A Publications, 2003

In 2000, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London staged the exhibition "Ten Truths About Tea," and this book of essays by various authors was published as a result of the exhibit. The chapter on tea in Japan includes a passage from a 1692 "History of Japan" by the German physician Engelbert Kaempfer. Three different methods of infusing tea are described. The first is simply infusing the leaves in hot water. The second is grinding the tea leaves into powder and then mixing this powder with hot water. The third is "a perfect boiling, which goes further than a simple infusion, and is used by the vulgar and Country people, who drink of it all day long." I don't imagine the "vulgar and Country people" cared what that author thought about their method of tea preparation!

In the chapter on tea in Russia, Iran and Turkey, I learned that in the 1900s tea was grown on domestic tea plantations in Georgia, which of course caught my attention since I live in a different Georgia. And in the 1920s, Turkey's tea industry was started with seeds imported from Georgia as well. That's fun stuff to know!

The book does a good job of presenting an overview of tea growing and tea drinking around the globe, but forget all that. The real reason to get this book is the amazing photographs and illustrations it contains! There's a photo I don't believe I've seen before of tea hunter Robert Fortune, and there are great photos of tea being enjoyed in various settings around the world. It's really amazing to see photos of tea in production in 1891 in Sri Lanka, photos from the V&A's collection. There are also lots of teaware photos which I bet will make you, like me, sorry you never saw this exhibit for yourself: 12th and 13th century Chinese tea bowls, a copper and brass Monastic teapot from Tibet, a green tea caddy I never would have guessed was a caddy (looks like a bottle to me), and THE most exquisite tea caddy I've ever laid eyes on, featuring rolled paper (or quilling) designs and embroidery on wood. My, my, my! There is much to admire in this book, and the combination of history and great images is one you really don't want to miss.

Tea for your tootsies

It finally dawned on me I've had a new-tea-products theme going this week, totally coincidental, but hey, why stop a good thing? So today I have to share a treat recently delivered by my new Avon lady, this Green Tea & Mint Cooling Moisture Lotion from the Avon Foot Works line. I've shopped with Avon as long as I can remember, and in college I was briefly an Avon lady myself, so I have great fondness for their products and those cute little brochures you get every two weeks.

Now I don't know about you, but my feet take a beating in the summertime. My heels haven't seen the backside of a shoe in months, so I decided this adorable pink high heel-shaped pumice stone in the recent sale flyer was something that was definitely needed!

The lotion, I am happy to report, contains camellia sinensis leaf extract and is a pleasant-scented lotion which is non-greasy and absorbs quickly. My feet felt softer the first time I used it. The only bad thing is, it was in the sale flyer, not the regular catalog, so I don't know how much longer this product will be available. So if your heels need a little TLC like mine did, look for your nearest Avon lady, and fast!

Mountain Farm Smokey Salt with tea and lavender

You really shouldn't read a food magazine when you're hungry. Actually, it wasn't *technically* a food magazine I was reading, it was the food issue of North Carolina's Our State magazine. They came up with the brilliant idea of featuring a food from all 100 counties in the state, and one of the featured foods was the culinary lavender from Mountain Farm in Burnsville. Marilyn Cade, who is described as "obsessed with lavender," makes "lavender vinegar, lavender-infused honey, and a lavender smokey salt — salt imported from France mixed with lavender and lapsang souchong tea." Naturally, I had to go online and order some. I don't like to drink lapsang souchong tea, but I do enjoy cooking with it!

This view of the inside of the jar shows the chunks of salt interspersed with the lavender and tea. The tag on the jar recommends different ways of using the salt.

I decided to experiment on half a tilapia fillet at supper last night. I used a little too much of the salt because the fish was a bit too salty. Still, I have to say I was very pleased with the faint taste of lavender and the smokey but pleasant dry lapsang souchong tea, which has a whole different character when baked in the oven instead of steeped in a cup of tea. Count me a happy customer of this delicious salt blend, and now I can't wait to try it on oven-roasted vegetables!

New "Tea Therapy" products

It was a product I was desperately in need of and could not go one more day without. I wasn't near my usual grocery store, so I had to settle for whatever was handy at another grocery store I happened to be driving by. And then while looking in the appropriate section for the items I saw this: Tea Therapy. Hmmm. Two different kinds were offered, so I got them both.

One of the "therapies" included green tea, which, I hate to tell the marketers, has a graphic which looks very much like black tea and not green tea to me! (Don't even get me started on what those green leaves are doing floating around in the cup!)

The other? Chamomile Tea, and it too looks black. Interesting!

And the products? Albert VO5 shampoo and conditioner, both of which contain camellia sinensis leaf extract. Now to be honest with you, I really prefer Pantene's shampoos and conditioners above all others, but I had forgotten to restock so I decided to spend the $1 each on the VO5 products, which I normally find a bit too thin for my hair. The shampoo lived up to its package claim and indeed it did have richer lather than I've seen with them in the past, which made that a dollar well spent. The conditioner and I did not get along well, however (it's much too thin), so it will be going to the DH, whose hair is not as high maintenance as mine. Still, a fun experiment for $2!

Candy counter find: Chai Tea Cordials

One of our popular downtown Newnan shops, The Vintage Flea, has a great little candy counter provided by a woman who used to have a shop in Sharpsburg that I liked, Legacy Too. This summer, I've really been enjoying her Chai Tea Cordials. They're displayed in glass jars along with various "fancy" malted milk balls in flavors like Peanut Butter, Cookies and Cream, and Maple. I pretty much like all of them, but the Chai Tea Cordials are definitely my favorite, and a bite or two is quite sufficient if you need a little sugar buzz!

Here you can see the inside of a Chai Tea Cordial. Since lots of gift shops are now stocking candy, I thought some of you might want to be on the lookout for these in your neck of the woods.

These really do taste like chai tea, and to find that inside a glorified malted milk ball is pure magic. Just two or three is all I need for a sweet treat, and at just 60 cents an ounce they're rather a "cheap luxury," as the marketers say.

I like the way the shop has been adding more and more antique booths and consignors, and the past few times I've been in I've found goodies to take home with me. They have great things for the garden, some teawares, and my most recent find was this set of six white ceramic teapot napkin rings for $8. I might have to watch it on the candy, but I can never have enough tea-themed napkin rings!

Teacupcakes

As soon as I first saw these Teacupcake molds on the very cool Fred Flare website (fredflare.com), I knew I had to have some! Unfortunately, when I tried to place an order I learned they were sold out. But fortunately, I found them on eBay and they were much cheaper to boot!

My only beef is that I wish the package contained at least 8 or 12 molds, because really, you can't make *four* cupcakes, can you? (I can't.) So I guess I will always have extras to decorate, but for tea parties and a fun entertaining idea in general, I just love these silicone Teacupcake molds! I was glad I read the package instructions before using them, as I learned it is best to grease them with oil and not cooking spray, since the spray can discolor the molds. (The saucers aren't ovenproof, so it's only the teacup-shaped molds which go in the oven.)

I made chocolate cupcakes using a favorite recipe, one I know is a good make-ahead cupcake which is extra moist even two days later, and I will be surprising three girlfriends by showing up with these at my Tuesday night Bible study. I can't wait!

Tea and Books Saturday #31 - "The Tea Party Book"

The Tea Party Book
By Lucille Recht Penner
Random House, 1993

"The Tea Party Book" by Lucille Recht Penner was actually written for little girls, but my friend Krista gave a copy to this big girl in 1994 and I have treasured it ever since! Aside from the beautiful illustrations (which are by Jody Wheeler), the book also includes recipes, menus and decorating ideas that will benefit tea-loving readers of all ages.

Some of the ideas are so simple, I can't believe I haven't come across them before, like this one: "Put a stencil on a cookie or a slice of cake. Sprinkle powdered sugar on it, take the stencil away, and you'll have a delicious design!" Now that's certainly doable! I also like the idea of using a cookie cutter to cut slices of angel food cake, although I imagine thin slices of pound cake would work well too. Most of the ideas are easy enough that a young girl should be able to do them herself, though occasionally the book instructs the reader to "ask an adult to help." (And hey, even we adults can use help sometimes!)

The book's themed teas include a Teddy Bear Tea, a Tea by the Sea, and an especially charming Japanese Tea Party young girls would surely enjoy since they are encouraged to dine with their shoes off!

I like having children's books in my tea library, and this sentimental favorite is a great reminder that teatime is the perfect way to entertain no matter what age you are.

Tea for country and city tastes

A few weeks ago, Elizabeth in Massachusetts kindly left a comment telling me I might want to check out the new issue of Country Woman magazine, and she was right! I was doubly delighted to realize Jennifer Chiaverini is featured on the cover of the September issue because I have very much enjoyed her Elm Creek Quilt novels since taking up quilting a few years ago.

And here's the back cover of the magazine, which is the reason Elizabeth suggested this issue to me. Isn't that a great piece of art for the tea garden? There's a short feature inside on the women who make these clever pieces, and their website is here if you'd care to take a peek. I love that they sell do-it-yourself kits, because as soon as I saw the photo I knew I wanted to make one of these once I find just the right pieces!

You just never know where tea is going to turn up. I got the September 2010 issue of Traditional Home the other day, and tea is featured in a five-page spread which I found pretty remarkable in this well-known *decorating* magazine. It shows the Bernardaud china pattern being used at the Palm Court at The Plaza Hotel in New York, several new styles of ceramic tea mugs, a tilt top tea table, tea-dyed fabrics and furniture, a tea shop and more. So whether you prefer the country or the city, there's something tea-related for you to enjoy in the new magazines!

A Room with a (tea-themed) View

Because my craft room is upstairs and already had blinds when we bought the house, I never really worried about the fact it didn't have curtains. As I've slowly been turning this into a more attractive space, however, I halfway had an eye out for the right pair of curtains suitable for the room's single window. And I found them, on eBay!

The curtains feature teapots and coffee grinders. I told my husband the coffee theme is for him, the tea for me. (He was every bit as excited as you would expect a man to be while discussing curtains with his wife.)

Surprisingly enough, these 24 x 82-inch panel curtains cost just $19.99 and shipping was free -- from France! I thought that was quite the bargain and was so happy when these arrived so quickly. I don't think these are old or particularly fine, and there's no label, but I like 'em anyway. Because of the fringe-type bottom that occurs where the panel was cut, I strongly suspect these were sold by the yard in some craft store. In fact, it has occurred to me I could cut these off to shorter 63-inch curtains and have tea-themed lace to use for other projects. Hmmm ...

And here I am bravely showing you a tiny portion of my still-junky craft room. As you can see, the curtains are hanging from an inexpensive metal curtain rod, and I'd love to think of something tea-ish to go up top. I have a pretty chintz topper I could use, but that seems a little fussy with all the lace. Any ideas? At least I'm not in any hurry. It took me four years to find the right curtains. If it takes me four years to find the right topper treatment, I'm OK with that too!

The 1,000th blog post giveaway winner is ...

Belinda in S.C.! Congratulations! And thanks to *everyone* for entering and for the kind comments. I hope we'll all be visiting for another 1,000 blog posts!

Rishi's Organic Tropical Crimson Iced Tea

Maybe it's not that hot where you live, but here in Georgia it has been H-O-T lately, with temperatures in the high nineties and terrible humidity. It's muggy hot. Thunderstorm-and-crazy-lightning hot. And for that reason, the first thing I do when I come in from work each afternoon is make a nice big glass of iced tea. Fortunately I've got some great teas to choose from, and a new one I'm fond of is Rishi's Organic Tropical Crimson Iced Tea. I cold brew it by pouring water over the teabags and letting it steep in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight, and it is just delicious.

When fully steeped, this tea turns a bright raspberry color, which hints at the tartness of the tea itself. The flavors are sooooo refreshing, and here's how the company describes it: "Tropical Crimson is a refreshing blend of hibiscus, lemongrass and fruity Caribbean flavors that makes an all natural punch with notes of passion fruit, citrus and cooling herbs." (I feel cooler just reading that!) Do you have a favorite iced tea? If so please share, because summer in Georgia lasts a long time!

The Oregon Chai Tea Giveaway winners are ...

Ginger (who receives the chai tea and the iced tea glass) and Marjo (who receives the chai tea and the logo mug). Congratulations, ladies!

If you'll e-mail me your snail mail addresses (my e-mail button is on the right), I'll get your info on its way to Oregon Chai so they can ship your prizes!

1,000th Blog Post Giveaway!

Today, dear friends, marks my 1,000th blog post! Although the tea and the topics have been great fun to explore, I must say that the *tea friends* I've met along the way have been my biggest blogging blessing. Some of you I've "met" through your own blogs, some I've "met" via e-mail and comments, and there are a few I've even been blessed to meet face to face, including local ladies who I've learned share my passion for tea! So today, it seemed appropriate to have a fun giveaway just to say "Thank you for reading my blog!" For starters, the winner will receive this oversized teacup and saucer with Judith Glover's charming artwork featuring designs that include teawares.

There must be tea, of course, so I stopped by Teavana at Lenox Mall and picked up a package of their Almond Biscotti Tea because it just sounded so yummy!

In case you want to make your tea right away and don't have an infuser or strainer handy, you'll get some Melita tea filter bags that will make tea by the cup or by the pot.

And if you have any spills whilst making your tea, well then by golly you can clean those hands in style with this White Tea Pomegranate hand soap I found at HomeGoods. But wait -- there's more!

A couple of tiny travel-size bars of Lucia's Tea Leaf and Wild Honey Soap. (I picked these up in Wisconsin a few weeks ago fully intending them for this giveaway.) But that's not all! Act now, and you'll also receive ...

A selection of Mary Engelbreit baking products from Michaels! You'll get cookie cutters, including a teapot-shaped one, cute cupcake liners, and a new product to me, Food Tattoos, which transfer the design into the icing on cookies, cupcakes, etc., and a few of them even feature teapots. To enter, all you have to do is tell me the last cup or glass of tea you sipped. (Mine was iced Lemongrass Green Tea.) Just be sure to leave your comment before 7 a.m. EST tomorrow. Good luck, and thank YOU again for making my blogging experience such a happy one!