I thought it would be quite appropriate to share a quote about tea by an author today, since I an also an author who enjoys tea.
May I suggest you read some good poetry today and enjoy a cup of hot tea or a glass of iced tea, whichever fits your mood and your preference or depends upon your weather. In case you don’t have a poetry book nearby, here is a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson for you.
Success
To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, To find the best in others, To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, A garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
I love fancy teapots. Unfortunately, I only have one and it’s packed away because I don’t have occasions to use it because I am the only tea drinker in my household. My husband and sons only drink tea if they have cold symptoms, and they have no interest in a fancy tea party. The pretty Victorian stained glass teapot in the photo above does not belong to me, but I wanted to share a Victorian teapot and I found this pretty pot on Amazon and chose to share the photo.
I am a practical tea drinker. I do have one fancy tea cup that I do enjoy using when I really want to feel fancy or dainty. That may happen more frequently now that I have my electric tea kettle because I can make enough tea in that, to be able to refill my pretty cup. Otherwise, I do like to use my mugs because I like a good amount of tea, especially if I’m sitting in the living room with a good book. Then I don’t want to have to be interrupted to go refill my pretty cup.
What about you? Do you have a fancy teapot? Do you use it?
I love to drink tea, especially loose leaf tea. There are so many tasty kinds. In the photo above is one of my favorite mugs to drink my tea from. There are three reasons I love this mug: 1) it was handmade by a potter; 2) it holds 15 oz. of tea; and 3) the rabbit holding the sword, in the oval on the mug, is Picket Longtreader, a character from the Green Ember book series by S. D. Smith, which I am currently reading. Picket is one of my favorite characters in the series.
Reason #2 — it holds 15 oz. of tea is important because when I want to enjoy a good cup … uh, mug of tea, I like something that holds a lot of tea. Hence, why I often prefer a mug as opposed to a pretty, dainty teacup. I save my pretty, dainty teacups for tea parties and special occasions, or for when I just want to enjoy a pretty cup.
This particular mug also has a very nice, wide, easty-to-hold handle with plenty of room to get four fingers through.
But, remember, this is only one of my favorite teacups or mugs. I’ll share others in future posts.
Do you have a favorite teacup or mug? If so, what do you like about it? Feel free to share in the comments.
Several years ago, we had the opportunity to visit the only tea plantation in the United States while on a family vacation. The photo above is a mug and spoon I purchased there. I purchased quite a few other items as well, but the biggest thing is how my tea buying and drinking has changed since that trip.
Why? Because while touring the Charleston Tea Plantation, we learned that all tea comes from the same plant, a bush called Camellia Sinensis. The thing that affects whether tea is white, Oolong, green (otherwise known as Pu-erh), or black is the length of time the leaves are oxidized. White tea is only oxidized for a very short time and black tea is oxidized for the longest time.
The Charleston Tea Plantation first produced their American Classic tea, while the plantation was owned by William Barclay Hall, who purchased the land in 1987. Hall was a professional tea taster, and during the 17 years that he worked to make the farm a commercial operation, his original “American Classic” tea became the first tea ever to be made with 100% tea grown in America.
Therefore, I learned that many of the so-called teas that we can purchase at the grocery store aren’t tea at all. For instance, Celestial Seasonings and other “herbal” teas aren’t really “teas”. They may be made from herbs and flowers and produce a tasty drink, but there’s no “real tea” in them. So, if you really want to drink tea, check the ingredients list and be sure you see: green or black tea listed. (Those are the most common. I have not seen White or Oolong in an ingredients list yet, but have found White or Oolong tea at the grocery stores.)
One more thing I’d like to point out is that when you purchase tea prepackaged in teabags, you’re getting mostly dust or ground tea. To get a better flavor tea, the best place to buy teas are at local tea shops where they sell “loose leaf” teas. When you buy loose leaf teas, you will actually see that these are tiny dried leaves and they will have a stronger, pleasing aroma.
Since visiting the Charleston Tea Plantation and learning about what tea really is, I drink much more loose leaf tea, and much less tea that comes packaged in tea bags in boxes at the grocery store or that is listed as “herbal”. Some say I have become a “tea snob”, but I still enjoy a cup of prepackaged herbal tea from time to time. One of my favorite teas that I get at local cafes consists of ground tea with lots of spices and a few other things — it’s a powder mix known as Chai. However, I do prefer the richer flavors of real loose leaf teas, and I buy and drink many different types of loose leaf Chai teas too — see photo below for an example of one of the loose leaf teas I purchase and drink.
For my first Tea Time post, I’d like to share a wonderful tool my husband bought me for Christmas 2023. The above photos are of my Electric Tea Kettle. It is wonderful! I can make one to four cups of tea with this addition to my kitchen. The top photo shows the tea kettle in action. While it heats the water, it is blue. When the water reaches the right temperature, it clicks off and the blue light goes out.
In the photo directly above these paragraphs, my kettle is empty. However, notice the button on the bottom front. If I heat enough water for multiple cups of tea, I can push this button and it will keep the water at the temperature the kettle heats it too. When I empty the kettle, I flip this button off again.
If you look into the kettle, (it is visible in both photos, but probably a bit clearer in the blue), you will see a cylinder in the center of the kettle, suspended from the lid of the kettle. The cylinder has little holes all around it from top to bottom. I can put loose-leaf tea in that cylinder, as much as I need for the number of cups I plan to drink or serve. Then the kettle brews the tea while it heats, saving me from measuring tea into a cup and steeping it.
As someone who enjoys a lot of loose-leaf tea, I love this tea kettle.
Join me again next Tuesday when I share my favorite tea shop and a couple of my favorite loose-leaf teas.
Kelly F Barr 