Tea Tuesday

I'm getting the Thanksgiving decorations out.

This is the teapot I use during November.

I love the oak leaves and acorns around the lid.

 

 I'm having a cup of Tazo Wild Sweet Orange tea today while I go over some museum notes.

The *new* (remodeled and in a new space) China gallery is now open and that means I need to rethink my food and feast tour. I've found that it doesn't matter whether I'm giving a tour to adults or to children, if I can tell them a good story they'll remember the piece I'm talking about or will at least remember their trip to the museum!

One of the stories I came across is about Oolong tea. The name Oolong dates back to before the Ming Dynasty when it was still an unnamed bush. One day when the bush was in full blossom a tea planter picked some of its leaves and tried making a tea with them. He drank some and also offered it to his neighbors. His neighbors were particularly delighted with the tea, so the tea planter invited them to name the tea. One morning at dawn, a tea picker saw a black snake silently coiled around a branch of the unnamed bush. When the tea picker drew near, it slid away. Remembering the snake and thinking that it was attracted by the delicious aroma of the tea leaves, the neighbors called the tea Wu-long. "Wu" means black and "Long" means dragon or snake. (In Chinese the same word is used for dragons and snakes.) The name, black dragon tea, has been used ever since, by growers and connoisseurs alike.

That's just one of the stories. I have so many to choose from!

There are many tea parties in blogland.

For tea cups on parade, please visit Teacup Tuesday and the hostesses Martha and Terri.

Wishing you well, a JOY filled day, and a wonderful cup of tea.

"Teatime is by its very nature a combination of small luxuries arranged in social symmetry. And although tea for one is certainly a fine thing, the addition of a circle of dear friends to share it with ensures the whole is larger than its parts." ~Author Unknown