Russian Tea Cup

This tea cup is from Russian and indicative of traditional Russian china. The Teapot that matches this pattern is beautiful.
Suggested tea: Czar Nicholas Imperial, which is a vodka grapefruit tea, or else my least favorite tea in the world, Russian caravan, which is a smoky tea, just slightly less smokey that lapsang soo chong, which quite frankly tastes like fireplace ashes.

63 Teacups

I have finally re-photographed ALL of my teacups.... and I officially have 63... not counting the duplicates, of which I have 3 extra... so I suppose if you count those, I have 66...
I shall now begin the arduous process of the "teacup a day"... I am sure droves of onlooker in eager anticipation of this event...
Today's teacup of the day is "Royal Standard. I do not know the pattern, but it is quite lovely.
Tea Suggestion: Plantation Mint.

Drink Me.

The weather finally has a chill in it... at least at night it does... and it's time for Tea.
Iit makes me want to put a presto log in the fireplace, grab a fantastic book, and make some lavender shortbread and a cup of tea...

Tea and work

Mike bought me a pirate teacup for the start of school... it does not have a skull on it or anything like that, but it does look like a mug a pirate would drink from.  It looks like a big squared footed teacup with a flat black glaze on the outside and a cracked, shiny red glaze on the inside.

I have been on time to work every day since school started... I get here, do my supervision, grab an abandoned mike from the dining hall, make caramel truffle tea, then off to do some menial job in the office... What I'm getting to is this... Tea is the best part of my day... how sad.

I found the missing teacups!  I just need to photograph them.  I also have a recent tea acquisition... including a fancy princess Margaret teacup, and one from Russia.

The design for the pirate tea is still on my to do list... bother.

Arrr!

I really wish Adagio would get in a new supply of Assam Melody so we could order our tea! Arrrrr.

That is all.

And the answer is...

Adagio is currently out of Assam Melody, which why we can order our tea yet. As soon as they get a new shipment, we're good to go.

And I'm a little too excited about the label. And hell no, I'm not making a video on my own. Although I could try to put an eyepatch on the cat and make that the video. There will be blood.

Tea!!!

I have in my possession 52 Teacups... and I am sure I am missing at least one... which I shall search for in the storage space at a later date...

I will work on an illustration for "Arrrrrrrr" after lunch today.

(today is especially earmarked for a very special lunch with estranged aunt and great aunt... it should be a lot of laughs...)

I'm afraid the video is up to you... unless of course you'd like it to consist of a neurotic hairless cat and Orff's Carmina Burina.

Check your eVites, Missy!

I have created our tea!

Alas, I am unable to order it immediately. (I e-mailed them to see why - I suspect there is some kind of turnaround time on new blends? Who knows.) That being said, they offer us the opportunity to create a video to promote our tea. This could be genius and/or craptacular, therefore I think we should totally do it.

Oh, and the label needs to be 700 x 300 pixels. I'll try to crank a couple of the photos below into that size, but of course it would be MUCH cooler if you wanted to draw something of your own!

Lady Carlyle

Royal Doulton's Lady Carlyle is just about the girliest tea cup ever... It's SO pink and SO pretty.

Pirate Tea!

Arrrrrrr!

That's my vote.

Here are some general designs... of course... I'd like to draw it myself... or else use a vintage image...

The much delayed conclusion...

Yes, yes, this has been looking as though it's B's tea blog for a while. A sucks. There have been far, far too many words in her life recently. Thanks, work.

That being said, I still wanna create our tea! I vote for this:

Assam Melody: 50%
Rum: 30%
Spice: 20%

I find it only appropriate that we then give this tea a pirate name, because pirates make everything better.

Vote for:

A) Yo ho hos!
B) Arrrrr!
C) Hey there, sailor!
D) Johnny Depp!


Please advise. And figure out a picture that we can upload to the label.


Arrrr,
A

Teacup of the Day: Moss Rose by Royal Albert

This was the china pattern at Lisa's Tea Treasures in Menlo Park, where I briefly worked.  The house tea there was a floral earl grey blend called My Ladies Respite.  If you had the My Ladies Respite afternoon tea, it was served with a variety of tea sandwiches, a warm scone with double devonshire cream, a warm herb souffle, and a trio of petite desserts.

Fancy French Tea Party

I am currently planning a fancy french tea party.  The menu thus far is as follows;

Baked Brie & Apricot Croissant
Chevre & Tomato Confit Croustade
Onion & Feta Tartlet
Salmon a La Queen on Roasted Potato
Mushroom Quiche
A trio of Tea Sandwiches
Petit Scones: Lavender, Pistachio, and Lemon
Fleur de Sel Chocolate Truffle Cake
Fresh Fruit Strata
Chocolate Soufflé

Champagne

A Selection of French Teas

The china palette will be Pink & Sage

*@%!ing found it!

After HOURS of searching... I stumbled upon it today...

Royal Crown Derby.

Royal Antoinette.

*@%!ing expensive.

Mystery Teapot

It is a sad sad thing when all of your teacups are in storage and you never get to see them.  I was reminded of this sad sad fact yesterday, when I was having tea with friends at Tea Upon Chatsworth, which is lovely.  I acquired 2 lovely new teacups, and sampled some wonderful teas.

I also came one step closer to finding the teapot/teacup I have been obsessing over since I first dusted it @ Lisa's Tea Treasures in Menlo Park.

I don't know anything about it except for the following;

I believe it's french, it has a scalloped gold rim, is covered in flowers and silver stars, and in 1998, it was pricey!

I saw a picture of it in a tearoom book, but no more information about the pattern.

It's on page 91 in "great Tea Rooms of America"... I've wasted countless hours online looking for this illusive tea cup.

Bother.

Liquor? I don't even know her!

Yes, that's crass. But whatever.

So for the continuing tea selection adventure, Adagio offers two alcohol-flavored teas: rum and pina colada. The notion of a pina colada tea makes me break out in a cold sweat, so I'm thinking rum.

And maybe the base tea should be something simple, like Assam?

That leaves the third element of the mix - caramel? vanilla? What else would go with rum?

Best Tea EVER...

Our own tea, eh?  In my vast, and lifelong tea drinking experience, I have found that there is a purpose for every tea... breakfast, gossip, wellness, etc...

the most fun of which is gossip.  Gossip teas should be flavored black teas.

My favorite tea was one mixed by "Lisa's Tea Treasure's" and it was called "Victorian Parfait".

It was a black tea with nuts, dried cherries, caramel and chocolate flavors.  I think there were even a few dried banana chips... but I'm not a giant fan of banana's... so it was subtle.

Other than the fancy french teas we adore... my current favorite flavor is one the boy ordered my a crate of.  It's from the Bahamas and it's Vanilla Rum Tea. 

Yum.

I think if we were to mix a tea, it would have to have some sort of booze flavor in it... I've also never been able to find anything like "Victorian Parfait", so it would be lovely to mix that.

There comes a point in everyone's life...

...when one woman turns to another and says: "Bitch, we must develop our own signature tea."

B? Bitch? We must develop our own signature tea.

This comes out of my recent order from Adagio Teas, where I went to get a sampler of white tea because, well, I've never had white tea that didn't taste like warm diluted Crystal Light. More in this in another post, because when I ordered my tea, they made me the proverbial offer we can't refuse: to design our own tea blend.

So here goes: Select three teas from their list, then select the percentage of each tea in the blend, name it and upload a photo. You can then order it and cry when you have 4 oz. of undrinkable tea.

But, because I am not one to lack in self-esteem, I think our tea will be genius. We can do eet!

First, let's talk which three teas. Obviously decaf is out, because, I mean, gawd, whatever!? They then have other categories - black; green; oolong; flavored; Crystal Light - I mean, white; herbal and rooibos.

From there, they have a billion subcategories, but first things first, right? I vote for a blend of black, green and flavored. Why? Because I just read in a book that Jane Austen mixed black and green and I'm unhealthily obsessed with catty dead writers. And you?

Where to find Teacups?

You've managed to find some amazing teas at mariagefreres.com or at a fancy boutique... but now what do you serve it in?Where does one find fantastic teapots, cups & saucers?
To begin with, Teapots should be large and porcelain (my favorite is this Lady Carlyle)and cups and saucers do not have to match, but should compliment. They can match if you prefer, but it's oh so much more interesting if you create a palate of china at your table. Teacups come in all shapes and styles, from floral to modern. You should find Teacups that make you happy.Ebay is a fun place to look for fine china, and you can sometimes get some real bargains. Be sure to watch out for chips and cracks. Local antique shops typically carry a variety of teacups, but don't expect bargains there, and be sure to check for quality. One of my favorite places to find treasures is Marshalls. They sometimes have some uber fancy teapots and teacups at a lovely discount. (I found the below one at marshalls for 5.98... the retail ticket said $50.00!!!) Don't by plaster teacups, as they really heat up. Do a bit of research about china markings, and manufacturers. French porcelain is lovely, as is German. There are amazing Russian Teacups, and the traditional English. Happy Hunting!!!

Rworr.

ICanHasCheezburger.com

Alas, due to cat drama (she's fine, minus one right canine tooth and did you know the root to said tooth extends up to the cat's sinus?) and a sudden medication schedule for the beastie, Yoga Boot Camp was foreshortened.

However, I do feel obligated to report on the tea that was served last Saturday and Sunday: Yogi Tea's Redbush Chai, which was neither redbush nor chai. But probably a pretty inoffensive starter tea for people who are interested in trying these varieties.

Cloud Day.

The best part about a cloudy Sunday is a cream tea.

Typically my Sundays are spent jumping from airplanes, but on a Sunday like today... one where it is too cloudy to jump... or do anything else active... it is a day to don ones biggest hat, head to a tea parlor, have a glass of sherry (or champagne) and have a warm, relaxing and comforting afternoon tea.

After all... it is Sunday... and I do believe that God would want us to get crunked in a tea room...

Amen.

Yoga Boot Camp

First off, this photo is not of me. Or anyone I know. Or anyone I would know.

That being said, I'm currently putting myself through what I'm calling yoga boot camp. I'm taking an hour-and-a-half yoga class every day for the next seven days. I usually go to yoga once a month.

What does this have to do with tea, you ask - well, yoga in L.A. is about a lot more than a gauche interpretation of a millennia old practice and showing off your $2 toe ring from Pac Sun. It's also about tea.

At the yoga place I go to, they offer hot tea to drink before or after your practice. So for each day I go, I'll write a quick review here of the tea they offered.

Thursday: Yogi Tea's Egyptian Licorice Mint. It's not too bad, actually - but I like licorice. It wouldn't be something I'd drink every day, but a quick cup of it was pretty refreshing.

Friday: Yogi Tea's India Spice. This was vile. Pepper water - except not spicy hot. Just like you took a packet of pepper from a fast food place and dumped some water into it. Epic fail. I took two sips and then hid the half-full cup behind the carafe.

Tea at Home

I teach middle school kids. That being said, I've had my share of rough days. On any give day I'm one step closer to becoming that teacher we all had who is always clutching a coffee mug that, in retrospect, you're now pretty sure didn't just have coffee in it.

Typically, I have been known to indulge in a libation... or 6... to unwind after a day inspiring the future people of tomorrow. However, on a day such as today, one that felt more like fall than spring. Brisk and windy with white fluffy clouds in the air... I turned to the indulgence of tea.

The ritual of tea can sometimes unwind one more than any measure of wine. As I sit here sipping violet tea from my overly fancy china cup, La Boheme annoying my neighbors, eating butter cookies I have no business eating... I am content... and that, is bliss.

In Defense Of...

Some, namely B, may quibble that the Starbucks venti soy chai tea latte doesn't meet the definition of tea. To this, I say bah. Why? Because frequently the venti soy chai tea latte, much like, say, gin in colonial India, is the only damn thing that gets me through the day.

Once, I tried to make one at home instead of spending $4.25 that otherwise would have gone to charity or trashy historical romances by Philippa Gregory. I brewed a cup of Tazo Chai tea, added some soy milk, and threw in some (like 40) sugar cubes for good measure.

And do you know what it tasted like? Crap. Why? Because according to the genius Starbucks gossip site the ones prepared in the stores are made from a concentrate AND the soy milk Starbucks uses is exclusive to them. So you can't make it at home and get it to taste similar to what you buy at the store. You have to buy it at Starbucks.

This is capitalism at its best. While it may be a glorified chai tea soy milkshake from a box, it's my glorified chai tea soy milkshake from a box.

French Tea

In my experience of sampling many teas, there is no tea finer than those of  the Mariage Freres.  My personal favorite being Marco Polo.  All tea lovers should make a pilgrimage to this little tea mecca in Paris, where you will be greeted by handsome french men in linen suits awaiting to open canisters of fine teas for your olfacation pleasure.  You will then slip back to the tea parlor in the back of the store, and indulge in the delectable delights of their afternoon tea.  Le Magnifique!
http://www.mariagefreres.com/

Tea At The Home Of Another

One may ask: Now, you two are certainly modern girls, therefore what tea measures do you take when you wake up at a home where, persay, you are not on the deed? At the home, perchance, of a gentleman caller? (Said gentleman caller has been the same gentleman caller for upwards of eight years now, so don't get your no doubt complicated Victorian panties in a twist. Hi Mom.)

The answer is shown here. One drinks Harrod's house mix, looseleaf, with water from crazy Japanese quick water boiling science fiction thingy purchased for said gentleman caller's birthday last year.

Dude, it boils eight quarts in minutes - and keeps it at a tea-appropriate temperature as long as you want. It's magic! It's double magic when one of the burners is out on the gentleman caller's stove, and his water heater is on the blink. It is, in fact, the only link to modern civilization that exists at the gentleman caller's house right now.

Why Tea?

The art of Tea is sadly dying, or even worse, being bastardized to the point of misrecognition. But there is something almost magical about sharing a cup of tea with friend. It calms, sooths, refreshes and relaxes. It encourages conversation and gossip.
Tea with friends could be as simple as tea and simple cookies, or as elaborate as high tea with an exhausting number of courses.

I personally, have some tea rules;

*Loose tea should be brewed in teapots. No teabags, please.
*Teapots should be warmed before brewing.
*Use cold fresh water for brewing and make sure it has reached a boil.
*Tea should be served in porcelain teacups and saucers. Mugs are for coffee and gin.
*Iced tea should not be served @ a tea party.
*Jeans should not be worn to a tea party.
*Milk, sugar and lemon should be offered, but all 3 should not be used. Never mix milk and lemon.