Off the Beaten Path

When people go to tea while traveling, there will be those who head for the lavish settings, some go to known tea rooms in large cities, while still others head off the beaten track and find a small local place along a country road.

Many years ago, while my mom and I were traveling in Ireland, I can't tell you how many times we would pull off the road when it would start to rain and quickly scamper into a tea room in a little village. We always felt that hot tea went very well with the rain. At least, that was our excuse.

Besides the great tea and yummy scones, we always found the people to be so warm and personable. One woman spoke to us for over two hours. It is amazing how much you can learn from speaking with the locals over tea. As mom and I drank our tea and ate the wonderful snacks, we learned the ins and outs of the area along with the ideas people had proposed that would greatly effect the local economy. Let's say that at that point in time small business owners in this particular area of Ireland were not too happy. We never did find out the outcome of the proposals and others things that the many people spoke to us about.

I always felt that it was better going to the small off the beaten path places for tea. It's just a personal preference as I feel that you really get to know people much better than you would in a big city. For me, the road less traveled always had a hostess that reminded me of a grandma. You know the type, the ingratiating grandma that always makes you feel right at home. These tea room hostesses and owners would make you feel as though they had known you for years. I guess that's why I like going off the beaten path for tea when I traveling.

Of course we had tea at many different times during the day. Tea was always great with the Irish Breakfast. Then we worked tea into our schedule both before and after the Waterford Crystal Factory tour. Neither one of us would ever forget the tea served on a short 8 mile river cruise to Passage East. It wasn't fancy, but rather, plain simple, and very good. At 4:15 sharp we were served brown bread, scones, tea, brown bread, scones, tea, and yet still more tea. Of course there were so many other times where we had tea. Throughout this entire time we were always talking with the locals, whether it was the servers on the boat, the hosts at the bed and breakfasts, workers in cafe's, or purveyors of tea rooms. Having tea off the beaten path is just such a great way of getting to know the locals. That being said, we always had a great tea times in Ireland.

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Studytime

Isn't it just amazing how one little piece of information can pique our curiosity in wanting to learn so much more? Maybe, it's a delicious fruit you discovered on a trip, a part of history that you knew nothing about, or yet still a new piece of technology that could make a great difference in your life. So whatever it is, you just want to learn more about that subject.

Over the last several weeks, I have been doing a great deal of research on a particular tea subject. What started out as a little nugget of knowledge from reading, turned into the “Oh, wow that's really cool.” and then blossomed into the “I need to know more” phase. From here, things just sort of snowballed into lots and lots of reading.

Eventually, all of this studying will be put together in a future blog. The topic won't given ahead of time, as I want it to be a surprise when it is posted. 

Let us just say that the information is being gathered so that you too can enjoy this wonderful form of tea.

As for the research, yes, it takes time and is thoroughly enjoyable. Hopefully, many of you will take time out to learn something new too. Your learning doesn't need to be in depth or complicated. Maybe you can try to learn at least one new thing a day. However, whatever kind of learning takes place, just remember it always goes well with a nice cup of tea.

Cheers!

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Staying Cozy with Tea Cozies

The tea cozy has quiet beginnings as we are not sure who exactly invented it. People have debated that it could have been invented by anyone of four European countries. But of regardless of whom ever invented the tea cozy, one thing is certain, it has become a welcome addition to having tea.

We do know a few things about tea cozies though. First, cozies keep tea hot longer than without a tea cozy. Of course, I would think that keeping the tea at a hot temperature would depend upon the thickness of your tea cozy. A thickly batted cozy I think would keep the tea warmer longer than a double thickness of fabric.

Second, there are many different kinds of cozies. They can be as simple or as fanciful as the user wants them to be. It all depends upon the users taste. Cozies can be knitted, crocheted, quilted, batted, or just fabric that has been doubled. As far as style, that too varies greatly from prim and proper to cute to hilarious. Be sure to take a look at Pinterest to see all of the many different types of tea cozies that people have.

When you use your tea cozy, you may even have a great story to tell about it which then makes it great a conversation piece. Remember, there is usually a story that goes with any piece. 

My very first tea cozy was a gift that my father brought back from a business trip to Russia. At the time he had to explain that it was not a toy, even though it looked like one. He then went on the explain what it was and how it was to be used. It wasn't until a few years ago that I actually used it. The batting is really thick and varies from 1 to 11/2 inches.  As a result, it kept my tea warm for a very long time.

So pull out your tea cozy (or invest in one) and keep your tea warm and cozy.  You'll be glad you did.

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Try it, You May Like it.

On a recent blog I discussed a tea that celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the Ladies Aid at our church. We had skits, stories, fun, food, singing, and a history lesson. All of the stories were extremely funny and even more so when we found out they were all true.

One story in particular struck a chord with me. We were probably all taught to never judge a book by its cover. But how many times have we been somewhere and have either seen an odd offering of food on a menu or have been presented some food which we consider to be different at an individuals home? Do you politely decline? Do you become an adventurous explorer and go for it?

Growing up, we were always encouraged to try different foods. That help this last Sunday at the Ladies Aid tea. There was a cute story about an elderly woman who would just make do with what she had. You know, necessity is the mother of invention. When this woman would run out of regular bread (and she didn't drive either) she would substitute Stollen for her sandwich bread. Stollen, is a German bread that contains dried fruits and can also contain marzipan. Sometimes it has powdered sugar or icing sprinkled or drizzled on top of the bread, while other times it is plain. 

Now there is nothing wrong with having Stollen as sandwich bread, as long as it has something like Nutella or peanut butter on the bread. But the woman in one story took it to a whole new level. This woman would take a ground bologna spread and spread it on her Stollen to make a yummy sandwich. Personally, I was trying to keep an open mind to this combination, but....

To our surprise, the tea committee had put together open faced sandwiches of ground bologna spread on Stollen and gave everyone a taste. You know, it was quite tasty. In thinking about it, the sweetness of the dried fruits went very well with the saltiness of the bologna spread. 

Since Sunday, I've tried different Stollens with different types of bologna spread.  Essentially, you have to mix and match until you kind your favorite combination that is suitable to your palette.

In the end though, all of the Stollen went well with English Breakfast tea. Because of the different fruits in the Stollen and paired with the saltiness and meat flavors of the bologna spread, a straight unflavored black tea works best.

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Chickens and Tea?!?

Tea can be used to celebrate so many different days and accomplishments. Maybe you know of people who have a tea party to celebrate a birthday, a promotion, a bridal shower, baby shower, or even to remember a historic event.

Last year, there were people that held tea parties commemorating the sinking of the Titanic. I'm sure these tea parties were very lavish. I also read about a tea party commemorating the 50^th anniversary of James Band. I wonder if when he had tea, if it was shaken, stirred or none of the above.

This last weekend the Ladies Aid at our church had a Valentine's Tea to commemorate the 100^th anniversary this particular group. Women of the congregation were asked to host a table and supply a centerpiece that was old, as the theme was, “Those Were the Days”. At my table, was my grandmother's teapot from the 1950s, a pair of sugar tongs from my other grandmother, along with an old tea strainer. 

The history of the Ladies Aid provided a fun afternoon with singing, skits, stories, historical information, and of course wonderful treats.

Of all of the information that was given, my favorite was about the chicken dinners that the women prepared. Someone had an old list of ingredients that dated back to the chicken dinner of 1938. Keep in mind, you couldn't just go down to your local grocery store and pick up precooked chickens.

Everything was done from scratch. The person in charge of the committee would start the fires (Yes, you did read this correctly, fires.) well before 5a.m. when the rest of the ladies to arrive and start work on the meal. The bread was also freshly baked in a brick oven. It took all day to make this meal that would be served from noon to 7:00p.m.

As you can probably imagine, this was a huge undertaking. Many women helped make this chicken dinner successful. As you can also imagine the list of ingredients was also very long. Hold onto your hats as you read this list; 1,000 chickens,10 bushels potatoes, 4 bushels tomatoes. 12 dozen noodles???, 24 dozen eggs, 64 heads of cabbage, 16 quarts cream, 32 dozen doughnuts, 24 quarts strained tomatoes, 4 gallons lard, 12 quarts salad dressing, 48 cakes, 25 pounds coffee, 30 pounds of butter, 75 pounds flour, 25 pounds sugar, 2 dozens lemons, 60 loaves of stale bread (most likely for their famous stuffing), 40 pounds pork, 30 gallons milk, onions, peppers, 15 pounds of salt, and finally, 30 more gallons of milk.

It's to bad that they don't have tea listed instead of coffee. Can you imagine 25 pounds of tea?

Anyway, the point is, you can celebrate anything with tea. Did we celebrate Valentine's Day? Yes. Did we celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the Ladies Aid? Yes, and we had a great time celebrating too.

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Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and maybe you're wondering what to do for this special day. It's definitely time for a brain storming session. Of course, I recommend incorporating tea into your festivities.

As you know tea can put an extra bounce in someone's step. On the flip side of the coin, it is also very soothing and relaxing. When sipping tea, all the cares of the world seem to just melt away and vanish into oblivion.

Think way back in history when tea was very expensive and was only for the rich and the royals. In today's world, really good tea is available to everyone. There is no longer the need for the lady of the house to keep the key to the tea chest with her at all times. However, there is probably still a special location where your tea is kept. Ours is kept in two specific cupboards. Yes, both of them hold a great amount of tea.

With kids in the house, you can never go wrong with a heart shaped pizza in Valentine's Day. We used to visit a take and bake pizza place near our home many years ago that would make heart shaped pizzas on Valentine's Day. I don't know of any places that do that around us now. But, you can always make your own, too. You could even throw tea leaves into the crust, but be sure you have a tea that pairs well with your pizza toppings.

Dessert always seems to be very big on Valentine's Day...chocolates, chocolate cake, chocolate fudge brownies, angel food cake with strawberries and chocolate sauce drizzled on top... The thing about dessert, is that tea always goes well with dessert as it rounds out the meal and adds a wonderful finishing touch. Remember, tea can give you extra energy, but it also helps people relax. Enjoy a nice cup of tea. I would recommend Earl Grey as it goes extremely well with chocolate or Cherry Blossom tea, i  also a great selection as it is a wonderful green sencha tea combined with cherry oil and rose petals. Moroccan Mint would also be a great idea as it pairs very well chocolate and strawberries, too.

Of course, you can make your Valentine's Day meal with tea, as simple or as extravagant as you like. You can put up heart shaped cut outs on the windows, candles and rose petals on the table...it's all up to you. Whatever you do, I would recommend a beautiful teapot filled with hot tea be placed somewhere, not only to taste, but also to remind to relax and enjoy your loved ones.

Happy Valentine's Day!

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Local or Not

Over the last 8 years or so, there has been a big push in the United States to buy locally grown foods. Each locale gives its locally grown produce a different flavor. Say for instance you're growing Beef Steak tomatoes in Indiana. Your Beef Steak tomatoes will taste different than those same Beef Steak tomatoes grown in Texas, Arizona, Montana,and California, just to name a few examples. So each area in the U.S. due climate and soil conditions will give produce a distinct flavor different from others.

But what about tea? Yes, tea will also have distinct and different tastes due to where it is grown and of course soil conditions etc.

It is great purchasing locally grown foods. We too buy locally grown foods, but not all things can be grown locally. There have been several occasions at Farmers Markets where we get the question, “Is this tea grown in Michigan? You see I only buy locally grown things.” I love this response, because as an educator, this is a teachable moment.

The teacher hat goes on and I explain that due to our climate, there are only two places at this moment that I know of in the U.S. that grow tea. One spot is on the Hawaiian Islands and other on an island in South Carolina. People's usual response is, “Oh, wow, I didn't know that.” and then we talk more about tea, such as, where and how it is grown.

Speaking about U.S. tea, I'm hoping to purchase some tea grown in Hawaii in the next few months. I'm really quite excited to try some when we head out on a trip in the near future. I'm sure it will live up to our expectations. 

So yes, it's good to buy local produce. Just remember not everything you consume can be grown locally. Sometimes, you just have to branch out a bit and try something from somewhere else.

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