Afternoon Tea

Today is my daughter's birthday.

Since her friends had Veteran's Day off, we had her birthday tea today. The girls all had a great time. My daughter and I have cooked for two days...we're pooped!

MENU

Roasted Carrot Soup

Black Forest Quiche

Jamaican Banana & White Chocolate Raspberry Scones

Cranberry Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Lemon-Pepper Cucumber Sandwiches

Lemon Lime Raspberry Bars

Toll House Cookies, Melissa Style

TEAS

Earl Grey, Buckingham Palace, Caribbean Christmas, Southern Hospitalitea, Sweet Jasmine Blooming Tea & English Breakfast Decaf

Happy Birthday Melissa! Love, Mom

Tea 103

I am a tea drinker. Although there are times when nothing tastes as good as a cup of strong, black, French pressed coffee, I usually prefer tea.

I am fortunate to have the best tea parlor in Northern California, right here in Newcastle! “An Afternoon to Remember - Tea Parlor & Gifts” serves delicious food, well-brewed teas and has a fabulous gift shop. It is the best place to spend an afternoon or to pop in for a refreshing “cuppa” & a warm scone. Mandarin orange is my new favorite!

The owner, Amy, and her delightful staff are super-friendly, and are ever-willing to share their love of tea and extensive knowledge of “all things tea” with everyone!

This being the case, my first real outing (not to a Drs. appointment, ugh!) after my surgery was to attend an event at Afternoon to Remember: Tea 103 – Oolong Tea Tasting. What a great and informative couple of hours we spent learning about & tasting Oolong tea! Then, just to make it even better, we were served two kinds of scones. Mandarin Orange & Jamaican Banana – Lemon Curd & Devonshire Cream included!

I took a few photos during the tasting. I hope these will give you an idea of how the tasting was conducted and encourage you to find a tea parlor of your own!

Please take the time to visit the An Afternoon to Remember website. You can shop for tea and accoutrements & their wonderful cookbooks, see more photos & sample menus, and view a great video of a tea tasting with James Norwood Pratt, which I also attended. The video is lengthy but very entertaining and if you are interested in the history of tea, you shouldn’t miss it!

This is the entrance. I love the little butler with his tea cup!

Interior View

Table set for tasting/class

Amy - parlor owner

Some teas were brewed in glass pots to show off the color

& served in a small cup. (see next photo.)

This is our individual tasting set up.

Small cup for tasting from glass pots, 3 traditional tea "bowls",

and three individual tea pots.

Tea brewing in individual pots.

Then, we tipped the pot onto the tea bowl.

Here are the steeped leaves.
Most Oolongs can be steeped multiple times! Some prefer the 2nd or 3rd steeping.

I learned so much and tasted such wonderful Oolongs at Tea 103! If you'd like to hear more, leave a comment and I'll post a mini-class about these delicious Oolong teas!

Enjoy! Chris
©

More Teapots

Way back in February, I posted photos of some of my teapot collection. I said then that next time, I would be posting some photos of my vintage pots. It has taken me a while to do it, but next time is finally here. I still have many more to show you...can't say how many months you'll have to wait!

First, not a vintage pot, but I had it out to use so I thought I'd start with it. This Chinese pot and cups were given to me last Christmas by my 21 year old nephew. That kid is the best shopper! He "listens" all year long & shops accordingly. Everyone got a gift from him that they loved! (He is going to make a terrific husband some day!)

Next are three vintage pots. The one on the stand was given to me as a birthday gift by my girlfriend Nancy. It has an unusual shape and the overall condition is still very good. I suspect that might be a result of it not being used much since the shape of the pot causes it to not pour out well. But it's cute and I love it anyway!

The other two pots I won on eBay. Both are English, made by Sadler, and I am always attracted to gold!

Last for this time are three "tea-for-one" sets. I received all of them as gifts. One was obviously from my child (daughter Melissa) the other two from my "best buddy & pal" Kathy. I use them quite often for an afternoon tea break. I like my tea brewed from loose-leaf tea, in a pot, so they're perfect for about a cup and a half.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing more of my collection. I love to share tea, and using the pots in my collection makes me very happy! Each one has a great memory attached.

Reminder: today is the last day to leave a comment and be entered in the my Giveaway!

Enjoy! Chris

©

Treasured Teapots

I love everything about tea and its accoutrements! Going out to Afternoon tea, serving it at home, there is always time in the day for a cup (or a pot, more likely)! You will be a happier person if you sit for a few minutes over a pot of afternoon tea! I promise.

I don't know which came first, my love of tea or my love of teapots. Whichever it was, I have built myself a respectable collection! Each & every one of them has a story or memory attached. I use several of them frequently, others are just for show. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of my favorites (I guess that is all of them!) and hearing a little about each one. I will break this up over the next several weeks, since "The Tale of 30 Teapots " might not excite everyone else as much as it does me! *Ü*

This photo shows most of my collection.





Here are a few that are fun! The "GirlyFish" teapot below, was purchased in Half Moon Bay, California on the first day of our Honeymoon, 3 years ago! I am fortunate that my husband will wander contentedly in and out of shops with me all day. This cutie caught my eye & I had to have her! She's a very dear momento of a very special time in my life!

Next, is another one with a fish theme. It is a goldfish design by Franz porcelain & it called out my name in a local shop while I was Christmas shopping a year ago. Just wouldn't stop, so I took it home & wrapped & stuck it under the tree, from Santa to me! The goldfish remind me of those gorgeous fantail beauties that you see in aquariums. That was one fun shopping trip!

Last one for this post is a really unusual double pot that I purchased at my very favorite Tea Room, "An Afternoon to Remember" in Newcastle, CA. This tea room does everything right! The owner and wait staff are gracious & very knowledgeable about tea and the ceremony & etiquette surrounding it. The decor is beautiful & appropriate, IMHO, and the food is delicious and plentiful! Almost no one leaves with out a "to go' box. Their gift shop is something to behold! The tea is lined up on the shelves in black & gold tins, with familiar names like Eary Grey, Darjeeling and English Breakfast. But you have to try some of the not-so-familiar blends such as Love Affair, Buckingham Palace, or VooDoo! I get caught up in the atmosphere and just have to have something new!

So, that's it for now! Next time, I'll show you some of my vintage pots. In the meantime, make yourself a pot of tea, put on some good music and for 20 minutes or so, escape!