Why Be In A Hurry?

Did you have a nice holiday weekend?

Hot dogs and hamburgers?

No hot dogs here, but I did have a turkey burger 

and some delicious macaroni salad and a beer (or two).
I watched the 4th of July festivities on TV .. beautiful!
How do people stand being out in the heat??!!

I have taken the red, white and blue buntings off of the balcony.

The Uncle Sam windsock has been replaced by a bright red flag

with a large sun, cactus and red pepper ...

a colorful message that the HOT summer has arrived! 

**

TeaVivre sent me samples of their Spring Green Teas.
I love the TeaVivre packaging ... really sealed!
The first one I tried is La Shan Yun Wu.
Opening the package I could immediately smell the tea ...
sort of a roasted spinach odor.

The dried leaves have an interesting texture.
Really dark green.




I like brewing the TeaVivre samples in my little red pot.
Perfect size for the sample and it has its own strainer.
I can lift it out, drink the tea, and steep another pot if I like.






I brewed the tea for 5 minutes.
Such a pretty light green color.

It has a chestnut flavor ... not overpowering and slightly sweet.

I haven't put up all the indoor holiday decorations yet. 
Why be in a hurry?!

You can see what the leaves look like after one brew.

Still delicate looking, but they really open up. 

TeaVivre said this was a good large mug tea,

so I got out one of my new mugs.

This is one from a set of four given to me on my birthday

 by another of my sisters-by-choice.

She knows how I love my tea and the birds!

I have a tea quote for you:

“As far as her mom was concerned, tea fixed everything. 

Have a cold? Have some tea. 

Broken bones? There's a tea for that too. 

Somewhere in her mother's pantry, Laurel suspected, 

was a box of tea that said, 

'In case of Armageddon, steep three to five minutes'.” 

― Aprilynne Pike, Illusions

Wishing YOU well, much joy and a wonderful cup of tea!

Thank you to the hosts of:

Mosaic Monday

Teatime Tuesday
Teacup Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Share Your Cup Thursday

June Is Iced Tea Month

June is Iced Tea Month.

Perfect timing because it's hot (90s) and humid (75 dew point) here.

Time for lots of iced tea.

Especially if served in pretty green glass.

The year was 1904, and the event was the St. Louis World's Fair.

A merchant of Indian tea tried unsuccessfully to sell hot tea to the

sweltering crowds, and finally, in desperation, poured the hot brew over ice.

He created an instant success with this refreshing new beverage, and

iced tea has been an American favorite ever since.

At least that's the story you will hear on a tour of St. Louis!

*

I'm a lucky girl.
All my sisters-by-choice know my love for tea
and when my birthday comes around .. the tea and tea things arrive!
This is what arrived, hand carried from Japan:

If you look carefully you might be able to see the geisha face in the bottom of the tea cup. 
Love the blue and white fish pattern.
A whisk for the matcha.
She also brought matcha candy, but I've eaten it all! 

Isn't this fun?!
I made it at Fotor.
Truth, too!
Love Life
(and have a cup of tea).

**

My buddy Steph, at Steph's Cup of Tea posted this on her blog.

I thought since I was celebrating Tea Day,

I should post it here.

Thanks, Steph!

The Tea Party

~Jessica Nelson North

"I had a little tea party

This afternoon at three.

'Twas very small-

Three guests in all-

Just I, myself and me.

Myself ate all the sandwiches,

While I drank up the tea;

'Twas also I who ate the pie

And passed the cake to me."

Wishing YOU well, much joy and a wonderful cup of tea.

A big thank you to the hosts of:
Mosaic Monday

Teatime Tuesday
Teacup Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Share Your Cup Thursday

Dragon Pearls

Dragons collect jewels
and this dragon collects tea!
From the moment I opened the package
I was entranced by the pearl shape of the tea and the wonderful jasmine scent.
A real treasure for the senses.

Pearls of tea with obvious silver tips

hand-rolled into the pearl shape.

Brewed for one minute.

The tea is a very pale green.

The jasmine taste and aroma is strong, but not overwhelming.

Brewed for two minutes

the color of the tea is darker

and the jasmine is lighter.

Brewed for three minutes

the green tea is taking over

with hints of jasmine.

 A full-bodied yet simple tea.

Elegant and complex taste.

Watching the tea leaves unfurl is half of the fun!

I continued to brew tea from these leaves.

Increasing the brewing time and the heat of the water (careful!). 

With each brewing, the jasmine was weaker and the green tea stronger,

but never bitter.

A good jasmine tea is hard to find

and Teavivre produces one of the best.

I think I'm in love!

I've had it with and without food.

I have never added anything to the tea.

It's perfect the way it is.

You can read more about the handcrafting of Dragon Pearls at Teavivre.

I'm joining several tea parties:

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Share Your Cup Thursday

Wishing YOU well, much joy and a wonderful cup of tea!

On the Second New Moon After the Winter Solstice

On the second new moon after the winter solstice
we celebrate the Lunar New Year.

This year the new cycle also falls on the same date as
Losar, the Tibetan New Year.

Known as the Sheep, Goat or Ram, it is considered the most feminine sign of the zodiac and corresponds in may ways to the sign of Cancer in western astrology.

This astrology system interprets how the five elements -- or the alchemical forces of nature
affect our human experience. This year, Yin Wood mingles with the Yin Earth of Sheep.

In honor of the Lunar New Year, I'm having a Lunar New Year tea.
It's a great excuse to share another of my YiXing tea pots.
This one is very special.

It is carved to look like a flowering tree ... complete with knobs and flowers!

I'm brewing superfine Jasmine Downy Dragon Pearls Green Tea by Teavivre.
This is a delicious, slightly sweet tasting tea.
I love the reflection in the cup!

The cup is one I found at the Glassell Art School student sale.
I love the feel in my hands ... the interesting shape.

The more kind and compassionate heart of the Sheep offers an opening for us to recognize how interconnected we really are, and cheers humanity on to choose peace over separation.

Now is the time to clean out whatever needs clearing, whether it's letting go of negative mental and emotional patterns, doing a physical cleanse, jettisoning clutter, or a major space clearing of your environment.

In the Tibetan tradition, the next to the last day of the old year is a most powerful time to purify any negative energies in our homes and bodies from the previous year.

I've shared bits about the Year of the Sheep from an Elephant Journal article.
You can find more there.

I'm joining several tea parties:

Tea Time Tuesday 

Teacup Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Share Your Cup Thursday

Wishing YOU well, much joy and a delightful cup of tea!

Happy 4712!

Teavivre

I was asked several weeks ago by Teavivre if I was interested in tasting some of their teas.

Since tea is one of my favorite things, I didn't hesitate and said "YES"!
My package arrived late last week.
I quickly opened the box, reached in, and picked the first tea to taste --
Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea.
(Clicking on the links will give you even more information about this tea.)

The tea leaves are a lovely jade green and sword shape -- all very much the same size.

When I opened the package there was a slight grassy smell and after steeping

I picked up a slight hint of spinach (that's great -- I love spinach).

I steeped and tasted at 1 minute, 3 minutes and 6 minutes. 

At one minute the taste was very light, mellow, almost sweet.

At three minutes, the taste was a bit stronger with some of the nutty flavor starting to appear.

At six minutes, there was no bitterness at all and the nutty flavor was strong. 

The color was still this lovely yellow-green.

Known in China for more than 1500 years, Dragonwell is still hand picked and processed according to the ancient methods of "Cha'Ching" or "the way of tea."

Dragonwell is famous for promoting mental alertness.

I can see why this was the favored tea of the Chinese emperors. 

Tea to the Chinese is like wine to Westerners,

With changing colors, aroma and taste.

There are many different kinds to suit individual and social tastes,

and able to refresh the palate, restore the spirit and can be medicinal.

Wishing YOU well, much joy and a delightful cup of tea!

A big thank you to our tea party hosts:

Tea Time Tuesday

Teacup Tuesday

Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea