Favorite Teas

The White, Green, Black, and Herb of Tea

Tell about your favorite tea. How do you prepare it and serve it? Milk and sugar? . Plain? What are some of your best memories of serving or sipping on this tea? Tell the health benefits of the tea(s) you prefer. Where do you purchase your tea? Is there someplace you enjoying purchasing tea from? Who from and where?

It’s hard to select a favorite tea, but I do prefer black teas. I didn’t grow up drinking hot tea, as a teenager I drank coffee for breakfast, but when I was age 22 and pregnant with my first child, I got sick on coffee, and to this day I do not like coffee!! I can’t drink a gourmet type flavored tea for breakfast I just drink plain ole Lipton’s tea (decaf) every morning. Other times I enjoy black tea blends, and purchase them often, when we travel I always look for unique tea blends. I also prefer loose teas over tea bags.

The above teas were purchased when we were vacationing. L to R: Orange Spice Tea from the Gryphon Tea Room, in Savannah, GA. Vanilla Tea, from Hawaii. My husband bought the licorice flavored tea from Taste Tea Room in Williamsburg, VA, he loves it!

I don’t use milk or cream in my tea, (I don’t drink any milk!) I prefer lemon in plain tea, but not in a flavored tea! Sugar is a must! If you don’t like tea, it may be because you don’t add sugar! Lately I have started using stevia to sweeten and like it as well. I also don’t care for strong tea, I never brew it more than three minutes.

I don’t care for green teas, but have been trying to get used to them because of health reasons. I don’t really care for herb “teas” that much, because they are not really tea! And the real kicker – I don’t like chamomile tea at all! Most people love it!

I have tried White Teas and they are okay, but the clear look makes me think I’m just drinking hot water! They are fun loose teas, especially the blends, like the White Christmas blend below:

Above: White Christmas Blend from The Tea Room in Savannah, GA. Emperor's Bride loose tea is in the tin, it is one of my favorites!

For tea parties and tea rooms I want things to be extra-special, and homemade! I want things to be different, not just a usual lunch! I like a variety of teas offered, and sugar lumps and/or natural sugar offered! I guess I can be a tea snob about this! LOL!

I’m not supposed to have caffeine so I have to decafeinate teas I have that have caffeine. To be honest I do prefer regular tea over decaf!

I have tried many brands, one of my very favorites is Harney and Sons: Queen Catherine, Paris Blend, Hot Cinnamon, Holiday, Wedding, any of their teas are delicious!

Teavana is a good brand. This store is found in some malls. Casablanca is a favorite, it has chocolate and tiny cardamom pods in it! I think they have discontinued this one :-(

Last week I mentioned Magnolia and Ivy Tea Room, Sandestin, FL. Their blends were wonderful, I bought several of them. See below:

All of the flavors are very nice, definitely some of my favorites!

Some teas I have received as gifts. Some of my friends bring tea to me when they travel:

Top left, Special Blend from Harrod's in London. Top, right - from Paris. Bottom left, Monks Blend, from Nova Scotia. Bottom right: Rose Congou Loose Tea from Butchart Gardens, Victoria, Canada.

For those of you who did not see it before, here's a photo of my collection of teas on the inside of the pantry door:

Katherine

Coming Soon!!

Look what's sitting in my dining room!! Finally! My computer crashed almost six months ago and I've been waiting patiently to replace it. I've been using my husband's laptop, and I'm not real crazy about laptops!

We were gone most of the weekend, but did find time to shop for the computer, now I have to wait patiently again, for my husband to get it set up for me! We were gone so much all weekend, he didn't have time, then he worked today and is tired tonight.

I want to thank all of you for such nice comments about my Treasure Album on Show and Tell. I hope you do make a Treasure Album for your families. When you do, please share it! I will be adding more pages to my album, I'll add a lot of my tea pots and tea cups, etc.

I'm still so far behind with my replies, haven't done the Show and Tell replies to comments, or the Tea Blog -a-Thon comments. I hope to catch up soon! If I disappear again, it's because we're switching the computers!

Katherine

Show and Tell - Treasure Album

Time for Kelli's Show and Tell, go here for lots more fun. Today I'm sharing my Treasure Album

Some of you know I've been doing Creative Memories for about 12 years now. As a CM consultant I've done about 25 or more photo albums! This past weekend I started a new album. This one is a Treasure Album. If you click on the photo above and read the journal box, you will read why I'm doing a Treasure Album! It is to inform my children on things I consider valuable and hope they will keep them in the family when I am gone.
My children and whole family know that they themselves are the most "valuables" in my life and my true treasures, but they also need to know what not to sell in a garage sale when I'm gone!!

Some of my figurine collection, above.

The photos above, right are of my grandmother when she was a baby, the journal boxes tell a little about her.

(Above) I told about some things that were given to me, and who gave them to me.

I hope you may consider making a Treasure Album of your own so your children will know what to keep in the family, and not sell in a garage sale!

Below: I'm sharing more of my Ivy and Innocence collection to those of you who want to see more. This one is probably my most favorite piece! It is named "The Tinker's Wagon"

Click on each photo to see all the wonderful detail! Look inside the cart to see the tiny little tea set, the lace on the doily, etc!

Below is another part of the Ivy and Innocence Village:

This is the town florist, It is named "Greene's Flower Shop."

The little girl on the left is "Blossom Greene." The little girl in the middle is "Katie Jayne Tucker." The flower cart is "Blossom's Flower Cart." Click on all pictures for more detail.

Front of "Green's Flower Shop," and "Katie Jayne" on the right.

Back of "Blossom's Flower Cart" and "Katie Jayne"
(Above) Blossom and her Flower Cart

"The Garden Gazebo" front

Above: "The Garden Gazebo" back
Below: Wishing Well is named "Making Wishes Come True"

Below: Back of "Wishing Well"

Above: "The Sparkling Fountain" and "Jonathan and Giddyup" I'm sorry this one is blurry, below is the back side which is a little more clear. Can you see the tiny little yellow bird on top?
I hope you have enjoyed seeing more of my Ivy and Innocence collection. I will show more next week.

Katherine

Blog-a-Thon The Sweet and Savory of Yummy

I almost didn't participate in LaTeaDah's Blog-a-thon this week since I'm been busy with doctor appointments, I'm very behind with reading and replying to favorite bloggers, and I don't have photos of my favorite recipes, and can't make them since we are on diets here. But I am going to share several of my favorite recipes that I usually always serve at my tea parties. Two of the recipes are from a favorite tea room Magnolia and Ivy Tea Room in Sandestin, FL, we visited there a few years ago. It is one of the most elegant and beautiful tea rooms I've ever been to! I bought their cookbook and use it often. It is below:

I think you can order this cookbook at their website www.magnoliaivy.com

Magnolia and Ivy Tea Room Microwave Lemon Curd, This is the easiest, and best tasting lemon curd I've ever had!

Click on the recipes above to enlarge them.
We were served strawberry scones and they were frosted with strawberry icing! Yumo!

More of my favorite tea party recipes follow:

Chicken Salad in Phyllo Cups

1 large chicken breast, cooked and chopped. Add mayo/Miracle Whip, almonds, dried cranberries. Place in refrigerator at least 30 minutes. Fill mini phyllo cups with the chicken salad just before serving. (You may also add mandarin oranges to this recipe.)

Below are some of my favorite cookbooks for planning menus for tea parties:

I always like to serve three different sandwiches at my tea parties, Cucumber, Egg Salad, and Pimento Cheese sandwiches. I like the way the flavors compliment each other.

Below are my favorite family recipes:

Gennie’s Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

1 small box Velveeta cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese
Mayonnaise
Medium jar of pimento drained well
Mix all together and spread onto white and/or wheat bread.

Ginnie is my mother, she passed away 1991 at age 75.

Aunt Thelma’s Cucumber Sandwiches

Aunt Thelma is my mother's sister, she used to work as a caterer for weddings. She is now 90 years old. This is her recipe, my favorite! I always have this at my tea parties.

8 oz softened cream cheese, 1 cucumber. Use half of the cucumber, seeded and chopped, mix into the cream cheese with 2 Tblsp. finely chopped onion. I mix this up the night before. I use white bread, trim crust and cut the bread into shapes. Spread onto the bread slices. Cut the other half of the cucumber into thin slices. Place a slice of cucumber on top of each sandwich. Salt just before serving.

Egg Salad

Grate boiled eggs, add a little mayo and/or Miracle Whip, pickle relish, mustard, salt and pepper. Spread on white bread, and whole wheat bread. Top with a green olive slice.

These two little cookbooks below are also nice when planning my tea parties:

I'm still having a problem with Blogger, I hope this posts okay.

Katherine

A nice day!

Spring Bouquet on our front door.

We've had a beautiful day in Florida today, perfect weather, not too hot, not too cool. I had a busy weekend, I was getting ready to be in a craft show today, but wasn't a craft show to sell things. I'm in a neighborhood women's club, and every April they have a craft show, I guess it could be called a show and tell, as it is done to help the members get to know each other better. The crafts I shared was my scrapbooks (photo albums, I don't like calling them "scraps!") I also shared some of my decorative paintings.

I wasn't real keen on joining this women's club, but let a friend talk me into joining. I have to tell you what has happened, next month the club is having a tea party instead of the usual meeting. It is the last meeting until September. I learned today that it is to be a dress-up affair, with a fancy hat contest! I'm going to wear my black dress that I featured last week on my blog! I have a large brim black hat I will decorate to wear. We are also to bring a favorite china tea cup to drink our tea in! But the best part is this - - it's being held on my birthday!!



Thank you for your interest, please leave a comment! And please do return soon!

Katherine

Show and Tell - Antiques and Quilts

Time for Kelli's Show and Tell go here to see lots more interesting things.
Today I'm featuring the antique store and quilt shop of my Ivy and Innocence collection. Above is the Yates Antique Shop. On the right is "Lucinda's Bundle of Joy." "Annabelle and her bear Theodore" are on the right.

Back view of Yates Antique Shop

On the left is "Winston's Peddler Wagon," notice the tiny cups hanging above the little tea pot.

On the right is "Timeless Treasures" a cute little chifforobe

Click on any picture to see detail.










Backsides of the Peddler's Wagon, and the chifforobe.














The Quilt Shop is named "Stitches in Time." The little ole lady is "Lilo, and her little black cat is Lucifer."





















The quilt peddler's wagon is named "The Hearts and Crafts Wagon"

The kids and wagon on the right is named "The Best of Friends"


Below are close-ups of the quilt peddler's wagon.
















































Above, front and back is "The Quilt Tree"

I hope you are enjoying seeing the individual pieces of my Ivy and Innocence Collection.

Please read the next post below, there's a question there for you.

Katherine

Note: I'm having difficulty getting the pictures and the text to line up correctly, I hope it isn't confusing.