June's Not Just for Weddings!

It's also Iced Tea Month!

Wow - a whole month devoted to that wonderful, refreshing drink. There's a great line in 'Steel Magnolias' about iced tea - Dolly Parton's character (remember her, the hairdresser?) calls it the House Wine of the South. I loved that because it's really true. In the South we love our iced tea, and we drink it year round. It's hard for Southerners visiting other parts of the country in the off-season because you can't get a glass of brewed tea - you can get Snapple, but not tea.

So, how do you make a great pitcher of iced tea? The same exact way you make a good cup of hot tea - bring cold water to a boil, add your tea (leaves or bags), and steep. Most iced teas steep for 3 to 5 minutes, but you can experiment. Once the tea is brewed, add cool water until it's the desired strength. (Note about the photos: the tea in the pitcher above appears really strong, but is actually perfect. Tea appears much darker in photographs - at least in mine - so water it down a bit if you're going to take pics - that's what I did with the tea in the glasses.)

Here are my tips for perfect iced tea:

• don't add ice or refrigerate until the tea has cooled (it may make the tea cloudy)
• choose your tea carefully, many teas that are delish hot are not delish iced
  
• keeping in mind the previous point, if your favorite flavored tea doesn't work well iced, try brewing it with half black tea - the result may be perfect!
• for basic tea made with tea bags, my favorite is Luzianne (that's also what they serve at Bojangles which has legendary iced tea, albeit very sweet!)
• if your tea is cloudy, add a little boiling water
  

And that brings up the Iced Tea Spoon - or as it's properly known, the Iced Beverage Spoon. Whenever I teach a dining etiquette course, questions inevitably arise about the Iced Tea Spoon. Here's what you need to know about it:

• when setting the table, it goes on the outer right
  
• once used, it cannot be placed on the table (this rule applies to any piece of flatware, of course!)
• it remains on the table as long as the beverage does - normally throughout the meal
• the problem that arises frequently is that as the table is cleared, there is nothing on which to place the iced beverage spoon (for example, during the dessert course . . . and you can't enjoy that lemon chess pie without a nice glass of tea!) - the correct place for the spoon in this situation is in the glass - it may seem a bit awkward, but it's preferable to leaving a tea stain on your hostess' lovely tablecloth
  

And that's iced tea in a nutshell. Perhaps another time we can talk about sun tea, and sweet tea, and tea with mint . . . and your favorite ways to make iced tea! And, if you're feeling crafty you can also celebrate Iced Tea Month by making your own Iced Tea candle (directions here). Isn't it amazing? I think on a hot day, you might be temporarily fooled by this!

So as we quickly move into summer, try to keep a pitcher of iced tea close at hand! You won't be sorry . . . and I'm off to have a glass now.

Feeling Guilty About Spouting Off

Yes, I am feeling a bit guilty - or at least ambivalent - about this spout:

It belongs to a lovely sterling teapot. The teapot belongs to us - or at least it did until we recently sold it in what many would think was an unsentimental, rash, mercenary gesture. After all, it's a family piece (albeit from a family member whose monogram we do not recognize . . .), and it's truly beautiful, and we love sterling items - so what were we thinking?

It's even an older, heavier teapot from the 1930s (see the ivory insulators on the handle!), which we also love. But, the problem is that tea from a silver pot isn't nearly as delicious as from a china one ~ gasp! Who could have guessed?

How can this be? What do you think tea lovers? Do you prefer tea from a silver teapot? So, our teapot and the rest of its set have a new home and we're purchasing another sterling item that we love with the proceeds . . . upgrading our collection, if you will.

And I'll be enjoying a cup of Formosa Oolong from my old ceramic teapot in the morning . . . and trying not to notice the empty spot on the sideboard.

Note: If you like this pattern, it's called Plymouth and was made by Gorham and several other sterling manufacturers.

Serendipitous Friday!

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Friday is the most promising day of the week.

Okay, so I borrowed a bit of that from Jane Austen, but don't you think it's true? Weekends are great, of course, but Friday holds the promise of the weekend - relaxing Friday night knowing you can sleep in the next day or perhaps starting the weekend a few hours early - that seems more rewarding than Saturday itself . . . The odd thing about this is that I don't even have a regular job now, I'm not committed to a five-day routine, but I still look forward to weekends and wake up on Fridays feeling a bit excited about what might be in store. And today turned out to be a great day - a mid-morning change of plans led to:

Lunch and tea with my husband at a fun cafe:

Some beautiful spring blooms spotted while I was out and about. The tree-lined drive at the top of this post is stunning in real life, unfortunately this house is on a busy road and it was difficult to get a good picture - this one was taken from the sun roof! As for the flowering shrub below, I can't think of its name - it's been driving me crazy all afternoon. If you can identify it, please help! I'd love to have this in my garden . . .

And finally a detour this afternoon led to the discovery of a book sale for a nearby library. We love book sales and this one was great - lots and lots of well-organized books at ridiculously low prices. Here's our stash (yes, they provided shopping bags and building-to-car umbrella service!).

So now I'm ending the day with my new (old) books and one of these:

And, I'm not thinking about the things that were left undone because of these last-minute diversions. After all, what's the point of a play-day if you're going to feel guilty later?

I hope your weekend contains a bit of serendipitous fun!

What's Cheery in the Mailbox Today?

Something very cheery arrived in my mailbox today! These cute teapot napkin rings.

A friend found these on eBay and sent them to me as a belated birthday gift. We don't usually exchange birthday presents, so this was very unexpected. Little surprises that pop up in the middle of an ordinary day are the best, aren't they?

And, what a great way to brighten the table during National Tea Month! I hope your week has a few surprises (only the nice kind, of course . . .).

Giveaway Winners!

A big thanks to Two Leaves and a Bud for co-hosting such a fun giveaway - and thanks to all who entered. The winner of the grand prize is Deb! The winners of the sample packs are Suburban Prep and Milton! Congratulations to all three and I know you'll enjoy your wonderful tea - I'd love to hear about your favorites!


Hope your weekend includes a few nice cups of tea!

Let's Celebrate National Hot Tea Month!

Did you know January is National Hot Tea Month? In other parts of the world, this could simply be called 'National Tea Month', but as we're a nation of iced tea drinkers, too, we have to clarify. It's like the British Open, you know, in the UK it's just called The Open . . .

Anyway, back to tea. Besides the obvious - drinking many cups of tea - what can tea lovers do to celebrate NHTM? Here are some ideas: Visit a tea museum. In North Carolina, we have our own museum devoted just to teapots. It has its own issues as you might have seen in the national press a few years ago, nevertheless, I'm hoping to visit it later this month and will give you a full report. Of course, if you're in China or England there are many great tea museums.



Watch a tea-related movie like Tea for Two - a Doris Day classic or Zeffirelli's Tea with Mussolini.


Create your own tea crafts using old tea bags or labels. Be inspired by this clever map created from tea bags. Find out more about it and the artist at the Victoria & Albert Museum website.

Check out the folks at South Africa's Original T-Bag Designs for more craft inspiration. They make stationery, boxes, trays, and more from the humble, used tea bag and in the process gain employment, confidence, and a creative outlet. The next time you're in Capetown, stop by their shop for a chat and a cup of tea!

Finally, if you're in more of a shopping mood, this is a great time to purchase a new tea set or teapot. How about a cheery sky blue pot with built-in infuser from Hues and Brews?

Or this cheery teapot from Vera Bradley? (Available at many locations, including through Amazon.)

So, as you're sipping your next cup of tea - remember that you're not just enjoying a relaxing drink, you're part of a bigger celebration. I'd love to hear your plans for National Hot Tea Month!

(And, don't forget to enter our tea giveaway this week - see the button at the upper right corner of this page!)

Two Leaves, One Bud, Three Giveaways

"I don't drink coffee, I take tea, my dear" -- Sting, from 'Englishman in New York'

Feeling a bit blah after the excitement of the holidays? Here's something that will perk you up - a Tea Giveaway, well, actually three giveaways! I'm so excited to host these giveaways with the fabulous folks at Two Leaves and a Bud! Their premium, whole leaf organic teas are delish and if you haven't already discovered them, you're in for a treat.

The grand prize, shown above, is a large sampler with four types of tea - black, green, white, and herbal. The lucky winner will receive 15 sachets of each type (a $35 gift). The Two Leaves and a Bud sachets are wonderful. The combination of whole leaf tea and the sachet's pyramid shape gives you an excellent cup of tea - you'll never go back to dusty, flat tea bags once you've tried these!

Two Leaves and a Bud will send two lucky runners-up 15-sachet sampler packs - perfect for deciding which teas are favorites and for expanding your tea horizons a bit!

Here's how to enter:

Visit the Two Leaves and a Bud website and check out their teas - then leave a comment here telling me which of their teas is your favorite.

For additional entries, you may do one (or more) of the following and leave a comment telling me which thing you did (leave one comment per item as the comment is your entry):

• Become a fan of Two Leaves and a Bud on Facebook at www.facebook.com/twoleavesandabud
• Sign up to follow Two Leaves and a Bud on Twitter, at www.twitter.com/twoleavestea
  
• Join the Two Leaves and a Bud T-mail club by visiting their website (www.twoleavesandabud.com), big bonus here - you'll get a 10 percent off coupon code for your next order just for signing up!
• Sign up for an RSS feed of their blog, by visiting www.twoleavesandabud.com/blog
  
  

Entries will be accepted until midnight EST on January 14 (sorry, but you must have a US shipping address to enter). The three winners will be announced on Friday, January 15! (If you don't have a blog or profile with an e-mail address, please leave your contact e-mail info in your comment so we can contact you if you win.)

Good luck!

All photos courtesy Two Leaves and a Bud.

Hold the milk & sugar, I'll just have glitter

What's cheery at our house today? Our fresh Christmas tree that's decorated and smells exactly like the holidays - you can't be in a bad mood when you open the front door and get a giant whiff of Frasier Fir! (Of course, I'm never in a bad mood - just ask my husband!!) Here's another cheery thing - this framed card that I'd forgotten about until the boxes of ornaments and decorations were unpacked. For several years we've saved one of our Christmas cards and have put them in inexpensive frames to display during the holidays. This card was my business holiday card last year and I did not remember that it was framed. That's one of the joys of after-Christmas shopping - you buy something, pack it away and forget about it, then it's a surprise the following year!

The most interesting thing about decorating this year, however, was that I realized I have lots of glittery ornaments and the glitter ends up all over the house. And glitter from this little bird . . .


and this little piano ended up . . .


in this cup of tea!


The lesson here is not to unpack glittery things on the same table as your beverage. This was the last tea from the pot (as you can tell from the tiny specks of leaves) and I think I drank some of the glitter before I noticed it was in the cup! Too bad I don't know how to read tea leaves - there must be something drastic in your future if your tea is glittery!

Hope you find some glitter in your world this week!

Red Alert! Put the Kettle On! ~ Monty Python

Even if Monty Python's humor is not your cup of tea, you can appreciate this funny quote from a Pepperpot Ladies sketch. And, of course, if you're a tea lover like me, you like a nice cup of tea even when you're not under a Red Alert! This past week I've been trying a variety of teas from the Two Leaves and a Bud tea company and can highly recommend their sachets of organic teas.

There is a caveat; I'm not a professional tea taster, and I don't even play one on television! So, these are the thoughts of someone who loves tea (hot and cold) and drinks several cups each day (sometimes even several pots!). Even though I have attended a few tea tasting seminars, I will not attempt to use the lingo as it would probably just reveal how much I don't know! But, here's my opinion of the seven teas I've tried thus far:

Peppermint (Herbal, caffeine free) - Any fan of peppermint tea will love this! It's a light golden color with a heavenly minty fragrance and it leaves just a hint of a peppermint bite on your tongue. This is just the thing to pep you up when you're tired - very refreshing and energizing! Stock up now to get you through the holidays . . .

Darjeeling (Afternoon Tea) - I'm partial to Indian teas and always enjoy a nice Darjeeling. Did you know it's grown in high-altitude Himalayan foothills? If you're interested in different tea regions, check out the map at Two Leaves and a Bud - it's interactive and you'll be able to see where your favorite teas are grown. But, back to the Darjeeling - it was a beautiful golden color as seen below, with a nice, clear taste. I would be happy sipping this every afternoon!

African Sunset (Red Tea) - I wish I'd taken a photo to show you how beautiful this tea is. It's red (!) and tastes more organic than black or green teas - kind of woody or shrubby and a bit lemony. It's very nice and I think you could get hooked on it!

Mountain High Chai (Spiced Black Tea) - This was my least favorite of the seven. It has a great spicy fragrance, but the flavor was a bit diluted (I steeped it for 3 minutes as suggested, perhaps a minute or two more would have helped). I don't typically add milk to my tea and I suspect this was the problem and that Mountain High Chai would be great with milk (like the Chai you get in Indian restaurants). So, while I would not pick this as a favorite, you should try it for yourself (with milk, of course).

Pomi-berry (Herbal, caffeine free) - This is a nice Chamomile tea blended with pomegranate, apple, lavender, hibiscus, and lemon grass (and, no, I couldn't distinguish all those flavors on my own - I checked the TLAAB website). I really do not like Chamomile, but I liked this. It's sweet and fruity and the pomegranate balances out the Chamomile flavor.

Tamayokucha (Green Tea, light caffeine) - This tea is a beautiful light green/brown color with a subtle flavor. I liked the taste very much, but the fragrance was a bit grassy - keep in mind that I much prefer black tea to green . . . If you're a green tea fan, I think you will be quite pleased with Tamayokucha!

Assam (The Original Breakfast Tea) - Loved it! I start most mornings with either an Assam or Formosa Oolong and this Assam was perfect. It was a dark golden color with a nice robust flavor - just what I needed to wake up, but not at all bitter. If you like breakfast tea, you'll love this!

To steal a line from Dorothy Parker, who famously reviewed Katherine Hepburn's performance by saying she, "ran the whole gamut of emotions from A to B" - these Two Leaves and a Bud teas run the whole gamut from excellent to just . . . very good.

Check out the Two Leaves and a Bud website for lots of great teas, info, and tea gifts!

Disclosure: I received free tea samples as described above to review. Two Leaves and a Bud did not compensate me for reviewing their product beyond providing me with samples.

Garden 2009: Lessons Learned

This gardening year is winding down and it's time to take stock and see what worked and what didn't and to present a few awards. I have to start with this picture, taken on a beautiful June morning. My battles with the local deer gang overshadowed every other aspect of gardening this year - you can see how brazen they are . . . walking through our yard in broad daylight, pausing to nibble the grass along the way.

Lesson #1 - So, the big lesson learned here is that you can't ever let your guard down. We've found deterrents that work, but only when you consistently use them. The biggest heartbreaks in this department were the night they devoured our whole garden and discovering that they love Knockout Roses, thorns and all. (And on a personal note, next year I will NOT yell and throw things at them - at least not while the neighbors are at home!)

Lesson #2 - Vines are wonderful. This one was particularly fun as the hummingbirds loved its tiny flowers - and it grew from the ground to the top of our upstairs porch, and then kept going by spreading over the ceiling. I've already harvested seeds from it!

Lesson #3 - You can never have too much compost!



Lesson #4 - Stop planting tulips. Accept that daffodils are the only bulbs that will survive the squirrels. You will never have tulips like these Biltmore beauties. Repeat. Stop planting bulbs!


And now for the 2009 Garden Awards!

Best Dressed - the hands-down winner is 'Miss Huff' - a lovely lantana that's full of color from late May until October. She requires no water, no fertilizer . . . and the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds love her!

Most Whimsical - this award goes to this adorable cucumber tendril!

Most Likely to Succeed - the clear winner is this caged hydrangea. It lived in this not-so-attractive cage throughout the spring and summer and is now thriving, unlike its un-caged counterparts who were chomped to the ground by you-know-who! Next year it may win Best Soundtrack with the hit "I Know Why the Caged Plant Blooms".

That's it for the garden. We're on to winter color now - lots of berries and birds and a few trees that are holding on to their leaves.

On a different note - here are the latest teas I'm tasting: Pomi-Berry (which is a caffeine-free chamomile blend), Mountain High Chai, White Peony, and a Tamayokucha, a green tea. Check back this weekend for full details on these teas from Two Leaves and a Bud!

Happy Friday!!

Civilization in a Cup: A Tea Journey Begins

There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, guess what's in my tea chest? Lots of organic tea from Two Leaves and a Bud - the Colorado tea company with the see-through tea sachets. Over the next few weeks, I will be reviewing a variety of teas from Two Leaves and a Bud and will move out of my Black Tea Comfort Zone to explore green teas and herbal teas. This must be how Marco Polo felt . . .

Today I'm starting with two familiar teas: Assam and Darjeeling. But, before the kettle is even going you notice the unique packaging. Obviously these are not the dusty tea bags found in many office breakrooms - these are tea sachets enclosed in a see-through envelope. If you haven't tried tea in a sachet you must - the sachets are made of a silky fabric and are constructed so that the leaves have plenty of room to expand. Again, very different from the flat, compact bags your grandmother used! Not all sachets are created equal, though, and one very exciting thing about TL&AB is that the tea in the sachets is the same premium, organic tea offered in their loose tea cylinders.

So, I'm off to enjoy a yummy cup of tea and will leave you with some tea inspiration: Paul Gauguin's Still Life with Teapot painted in 1896 and now found in the Metropolitan Museum's European collection.

Disclosure: I received free tea samples as shown above to review. Two Leaves and a Bud did not compensate me for reviewing their product beyond providing me with samples.

Old Teapots Never Die . . .

You probably expected some clever end to that phrase, but there isn't one. Teapots don't lend themselves to puns as well as old soldiers . . . the best I could do was they just steep away or they just break away. Perhaps you can think of the definitive ending, if so please pass it on!

So where is this leading? To my old teapots and their new home - high in a mulberry tree! As an avid tea drinker, I love teapots and tea sets. Despite normally being a 'never-breaks-a-dish' girl, my teapots have a higher-than-average break rate. (And I should qualify that last statement by saying the only one of our dishes I've broken was the gravy boat - of course, it wouldn't be a bread plate, would it?) It's hard to say what my problem is with the teapots. It's usually the lid that chips or breaks, which is odd because you would expect it to be the spout. Once it was the spout (and that was on a Brown Betty, known for its sturdiness!) and once it was the whole pot. But, twice is was just the lid and my husband thought of a very clever way to use the lid-less pots: as bird houses!

I love this idea because I was very attached to these teapots - one was a wedding present and the other was purchased in England and brought safely home in my checked luggage (you'd be amazed at the things that have traveled in my checked bags over the years . . . but that's another story).

The pots have been hanging in the mulberry tree for almost three years now; we clean them at the end of the season with the other birdhouses. They're very pretty during the winter months when the tree is bare. And, for some strange reason I haven't broken any pots since we put these up - one of those weird coincidences like never getting a red light when you want to apply lipstick . . .

I'd love to know what you do with your broken dishes . . . just in case my new gravy boat has a mishap at Thanksgiving!

The Politics of Tea

Here's an etiquette topic that's rarely discussed (by me, anyway): Gift Giving Etiquette for Heads of State. Pretend you're the King or Queen of somewhere and you're visiting the President or Premier of somewhere else - what do you take as a gift? You can't just pop over to the mall and select something. No, you have to choose a gift that represents the best of your country and yet isn't in any way offensive to the recipient's country. Months of preparation go into these presents and over the past few centuries, many Heads of State have chosen tea related items. Many of these ceremonial gifts are displayed in museums around the world. What do you think of these two?

In 1939, the Crown Prince and Princess of Norway gave this sterling and enamel tea set to President and Mrs. Roosevelt. It was made by famed silversmith David Andersen; more details can be found in the National Archives. I love the modern, art deco style of this set - I wonder if it was ever used?

In 1973, General Secretary Brezhnev presented President Nixon with this 19th century Russian silver samovar (an urn used to heat and serve tea). Find out more at the Nixon Library. I'm guessing this samovar was used; if not by the Nixons, then by someone in pre-revolution Russia when it was new. Think of Dr. Zhivago - just imagine a Julie Christie-type bundled up on a cold night and sipping hot tea from this . . . perhaps it's one of the things she'll take when she escapes . . . well, it is a bit bulky, but how sad to leave something this lovely behind.

Thanks for joining me on this quick look at some famous tea items. Of course, another very popular 19th century gift from heads of state was animals native to the presenter's country, but somehow it's harder to translate that to a modern wedding or housewarming present . . .

Tomorrow we'll be in the kitchen so stop by for a tasty treat!