Tea Chat RSS 1 RSS 2 Atom

One of the charms of tea drinking is the accessories, most common of which is the teacup. When we think of tea service we usually think of china or silver. Generally, when we use the term "china" in modern terms, we are referring to any type of ceramic dinnerware. As the name suggests, china was originally used to reference ceramics from China. The term has since broadened over the centuries. 

Porcelain, however, has a specific definition and identifying criteria. Porcelain is delicate and should be translucent. If you hold porcelain up to the light, you should be able to pass your finger behind the piece and see your finger'shadow. The Chinese probably were the first creators of porcelain in the seventh century. The craft migrated to Korea and Japan, then when trade with Europe opened up, porcelain took hold in Europe around the twelfth century. The Europeans developed the art of decorated porcelain for food-service that we are now so familiar with. 

Before you pour your next cup of tea, hold your teacup up to the light to see if your cup is porcelain, or a lovely ceramic.

It's winter, time for cold fingers, hot drinks, and cozy nights on the couch under a blanket. Winter is a perfect time to reconnect with domestic crafts, or learn a new one while enjoying a hot cup of tea. 

I learned to crochet during a snowstorm. My older sister was visiting and my entertainment value plummeted when we got stuck inside while 8 inches of snow piled up outside. I made a pot of hibiscus tea and fretted about the plow schedule for the neighborhood. My sister, undaunted, pulled out her hooks, a skein of yarn and set me to work creating a single chain. When I had made one hundred chains, she directed me to rip it out and do it again until my fingers memorized how to make the stitch.  In one night, we finished off two pots of tea and I had nothing to show for my work but sore fingers and wrinkly yarn. In two days, I made a scarf. 

Even if you live in a temperate climate, it can do wonders for the soul to turn off the phone, and snuggle up alone with a movie, a pot of tea, and knitting needles. A quiet night is valuable whether you live in North Dakota or Florida. If you don't know how to knit or crochet, you can teach yourself from a book. The internet is full of tutorial videos for when you get stuck. If yarn crafts aren't to your taste, you can make magnets from glass marbles and pictures, flowers for your hair from material and rhinestones, or even get your aggressions out making mosaics.  

If you have a friend or family member who can teach you a craft, or do it with you, make a night of crafting together. The conversation that flows from creating with others can be insightful and genuine - and nothing compares to the special feeling of learning something new from someone you love. If you learn on your own, you have that spectacular feeling of accomplishment of independent learning. 

Since that winter snowstorm with my sister, I've made hats, amigurumi dolls, shawls, and fingerless gloves. Whenever I pull out the hibiscus tea, I think of that snowstorm and how much I learned and I'm inspired to learn more. I need my sister to come back out during inclement weather for another crochet boot camp. 

If you'd like my recommendations for crochet or knitting instructions or websites, please feel free to contact me. 

Tea rooms gained popularity in the United States at the turn of the 20th century. Tea rooms were the purview of women, staffed by women, run by women, and frequently owned by women. Tea rooms were not merely a means for women to gain financial independence and become players in the economy as business owners, they were a place for of various social classes women to interact without derision or the constraints of her class. NY Times, December 01, 1912.   

Tea rooms were primarily run by white women for white clientele.  Though fewer in number, African American women were also able to take advantage of the zeitgeist and run successful tea room establishments. Excluded from white establishments, African Americans took the tea room and created their own establishments with similar atmosphere. These tea rooms catered to patrons with money, and frequently specified the exclusive nature of the welcome clientele. This is an early example of the growing social mobility of African Americans, even if only within the confines of the segregated society of that era. 

Finding the history of these establishments isn't easy, most have closed, but they reflect an important part of our country's history. Jan Whitaker has a more in depth history of African American tea rooms on her blog, Restaurantingthroughhistory.com. It is fascinating to learn about this little known role tea and the tea room played in American culture.