The Way of Tea

Many years ago a friend of mine from the museum traveled to Japan.

She asked if there was something I'd like from her visit

and I said "a tea set".

The set is from the Asahido Pottery Store in Kyoto.

The pottery store was established in 1869.

This is called Kiyomizuyaki, with exquisite and refined beauty, 

is one of the highest grade pottery and porcelains in Japan.

I think she has great taste. 

The cups *live* in a lovely wooden box
(that I believe I have photographed upside down).

They have the same design as the tea pot.

On the inside bottom of each cup,

is a flower and bird in blue.

"At the beginning of the ninth century Japanese visitors to China took home the fashion of tea. One in particular: the Buddhist monk Dengyo Daishi, studied in China until A.D. 705 and then took back some seeds to his monastery when he returned to Japan. Initially, tea was consumed only by Buddhist monks to keep themselves awake during long periods of meditation, although by the 13th century, tea had grown popular outside the monasteries. The Japanese began their own research on tea and evolved their own tea ceremony, which is very different from the Chinese way of tea. In China, the focus is on enjoying the flavor and taste of the drink itself, whereas in Japan the focus is predominantly on the ceremony.

Zen Buddhism is responsible for the focus of the Japanese way of tea, the "cha do." Cha do places  great importance on the harmony of the surroundings, creating an atmosphere of tranquility and peace, and respecting the tea and the tea set itself -- there is a very specific order in which to prepare the tea. Cha do is an occasion for teaching manners and protocols."*

*Information from THE WAY OF TEA: The Sublime Art of Oriental Tea Drinking

by Master Lam Kam Chuen

Thanks to our tea party hostesses.

These are just a few of the tea parties in the Land of Blog.

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

"Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world."

~T'ien Yiheng

Wishing you WELL and a JOY filled week!

I Took a Walk and What Did I Find?!

I walked up to the Village over the weekend

taking advantage of the still low humidity and heat.

My goal was to stop in briefly at Half Price Books

and then a treat of grapefruit sorbet.

I was looking for owl cards.

Alas, there were no owls.

But

There were plenty of tea things.

Lots of books and wonderful cards.

Notice the tea pot on the cover of the little book SIMPLE PLEASURES TEA.

I have one of those!

It is a Hall teapot.

The metal cover keeps the tea warm.

It was my Mother's favorite tea pot. 

I'm going to have lots of good reading ahead.

I've started A TIME FOR TEA: Travels Through China and India In Search of Tea

by Jason Goodwin.

I am updating my tea notes for the Food and Feast tour I give at the museum

and this will be a big help.

Last, but not the least of the tea goodies are these cards inside the lovely tin.

I think they would be fun framed together, or separately, or to write a note.

What fun!

(If I do say so myself!)

(Oh, and the grapefruit sorbet ... they were out!)

Thanks to our tea party hostesses.

These are just a few of the tea parties in the Land of Blog.

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

"Tea, thou soft, thou sober, sage, and venerable drink..."

~Colley Cibber

Southern Living

I'm doing something a little different today for tea post --

thanks to the May issue of Southern Living Magazine.

Sweet and Simple: 

23 New Ways to Enjoy Tea from Pitcher to Platter

The original article is by Mary Allen Perry and

the photographs by Jennifer Davick.

Doesn't this look wonderful?

Sweet tea and icebox tart.

It really looks good to me with the heat and humidity

in our area.

That's just the beginning.

The article has recipes for all sorts of sweet tea:

Mint Julep, Lemon-Blueberry, Ginger and Honey

Spiked Lemonade. Blackberry.

And the recipes for the food!!!

Sweet Tea-Brined Chicken

Sweet Tea Rice (several different ways)

Grilled Shrimp Salad with Sweet Tea Vinaigrette

Sweet Tea Dulce de Leche

Sweet Tea Tiramisu

Governor's Mansion Summer-Peach Tea Punch

It's almost too much for a tea lover to deal with!

Hurry!

Go get the May issue of Southern Living Magazine!

There are so many tea parties in the Land of Blog.
These are just a few:

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Wishing you WELL and a wonderful cup/glass of Tea!

"The spirit of the tea beverage is one of peace, comfort and refinement."

~Arthur Gray

The Bunnies are Here!

The Bunnies are taking a short break as they prepare for Easter

and have come for tea!

Mr. and Mrs. Bunny in tea pot style are dancing their way to Easter.

The small bunny and egg mug was hand made and painted by 

a couple living in New Mexico known as

Rabbit Artworks.

(Daffodils on the background.)

The little bunny salt and pepper shakers make me smile.

They are a handsome couple!

(Love the carrots on his suspenders.)

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

These are just a few of the wonderful tea parties in the blogging world:

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Wishing you WELL and a wonderful cup of TEA!

"Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage."

~Catherine Douzel

Spring Tea

A buddy of mine kidnapped me one day and we went shopping.

We went to lunch, hit Michaels and since Ross was in the same strip shopping 

we decided to drop in.

I came home with the rabbit and the tea cup.

The bottom of the cup says:

Fine China

Dishwasher Safe

Made in China.

I love the butterflies and hummingbirds and all the lovely flowers.

The gold edge.

Perfect to get me into the mood for Spring and Easter.

I love bunnies!

Tea ... is a religion of the art of life.

~Kakuzo Okakura

Tuesday is Tea Day.

These are just a few of the tea parties to visit.

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Wishing you well and a wonderful cup of tea!

Favorites

I love Callas.

When I saw this one I knew I had to have it ... the beautiful golden color with a deep purple center.

When we lived on Galveston Island, we'd go downtown to the Peanut Butter Warehouse.

It was filled with antiques and junk and so much fun.

This teapot was one of the first things we found.

There is no marking of any kind on his bottom.

He has a crackle finish. He makes me smile.

You can see why he is a favorite.

 "The legend of tea's origin is that it was discovered by 

the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2737 BC, when a tea leaf

accidentally fell into a bowl of hot water."

~365 Things Every Tea Lover Should Know

***

Thank you to our hostesses:

Mary at Mosaic Monday

Martha and Teri at Teacup Tuesday

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday: Wanda Lee and Pam

Sandi at Teatime Tuesday

Seasonal Sunday at The Tablescaper

Tea and Gardens

Lindsey Goodwin writes a tea and coffee column for About.com.

In her email today, she talks about tea and gardens.

Coffee grounds and tea leaves are good for compost.

If you don't have a compost pile, she suggests adding coffee or tea around

your flowers for extra fertilizer ... something I've done for years.

Also, some bugs (like ants) don't like coffee!

(Perhaps they don't like tea either!)

This teapot makes me smile.

It is from East Hampton and their Chinatown collection.

Unfortunately, the mugs that went with the teapot were sold out,

but my Fiesta mugs in all their assorted colors work well.

The wonderful tea towel is from Anthropologie.

Tea tempers the spirits and harmonizes the mind, 

dispels lassitude and relieves fatigue,

awakens thought and prevents drowsiness,

lightens or refreshes the body,

and clears the perceptive faculties.

~Confucius

There are so many tea parties in the blogging world.

These are just a few.

Martha and Teri who host Teacup Tuesday

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday: Wanda Lee and Pam

Sandi at Teatime Tuesday

Tea and Flowers

Do you Rue La La?

I do a lot of window shopping there.

Every now and then I find something I really La-La over!

DD (dear daughter) spoiled me during her father's illness.

After his passing, she made sure I had flowers for Valentine's Day.

She knows how much I like Tracy Porter.

I love Porter's color combinations and wild and crazy designs.

DD found this tea set: teapot, sugar and creamer on Rue La La.
Each piece is a little sculpture.

And, now it lives with me!

It is from the Vivre Collection.

Beautiful tea and flowers ... good for the soul.

Big THANK YOUS to our hostesses:

Mary at Mosaic Monday

Martha and Teri who host Teacup Tuesday

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday: Wanda Lee and Pam

Sandi at Teatime Tuesday

Party On!

Wishing you well.

***
Edit: My back has gone on the fritz and I can't sit for very long.
My apologies to all of you for not visiting and I'll try to catch up another day.
Wishing you well and good backs!!!

Virtual Shopping

I had no plans to go on another virtual shopping trip.

When the Old Durham Road catalog arrived in the mail I was going to file it directly in recycling.

Then I saw this...

The first of the royal wedding china for Will and Kate.

Opening the catalog led to finding several lovely tea sets.

One is the nautical looking Captain's Tea Service.

The East India Tea Company was chartered by Queen Elizabeth in 1600 and the ship's captain tea service would have looked much like this lovely blue and white. 

Then there is the beautiful and regal looking set that makes up the Royal Collection-

The Queen Victoria Range.

This official range of china commemorates the golden age of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) from the Royal Collection. The design takes its inspiration from English bone china commissioned by Queen Victoria for the Great Exhibition of 1851, and features her signature. 

I'm linking to multiple memes this week.

We have a house full of family visiting Mr. Dragon and I needed to make life a little easier!

Besides, I wanted to stop by and at least wave!

I'd like to thank the hostesses of the following memes:

Mosaic Monday, Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday, 

Tea Time Tuesday,  and Teacup Tuesday!

Wishing you well and a JOY filled week.