Tea Chat RSS 1 RSS 2 Atom

For many of us, food triggers an equal sensation and stimulation in the brain (memories and emotions), as it does in the mouth (think taste bud party). It's this sensation that companies like Dove chocolates, for example, use in adverts to exploit our determination to stick to that New Year's Resolution. (Remember those?). But more specifically, remember this? Dove Moments. One google search alerted me to this: "Chocolate won't let you down. Love, Dove". 

After studying journalism in college, I developed an aversion to these types of ad campaigns. The ones that target our emotional connection to consume more; you deserve this moment, buy me!

Yet despite this aversion, when entering the atmospheric city of Granada, in the heart of Andalusian Spain, this exact campaign crumbled my reserve, especially when speaking of tea. The tie in was even more swoon-worthy, the aromas of the city's greatest treasure, the Alhambra. Completed in 1391, it's a testament of the Moors' stay in Spain, but also of their sense of art and architecture. A sense that is hardly matched elsewhere in Europe. It's here also that this imaginative empire ended, too. As a preface to the Spanish Inquisition, the Prince of this Muslum empire fled on request from Isabella I and Ferndinand II and with him the Islamic grip on Iberia soon ended. 

The remaining evidence of the Moors and Islamic Spain still echoes in the city and gives Granada an irresistible energy, especially if you have a view of the palace with the snowcapped Sierra Nevada towering behind it. It's here that the blend of aromatic teas, with the name Scents of the Alhambra, that I lose any idea of "willpower". Whatever that may be. I want to conjure up the sense of history and the magic of this place for days and, if I'm lucky, weeks to come. 

You can find dozens of tea blends with names like Scents of the Alhambra in the market stalls scattered around Granada's grand cathedral (Ferdinand and Isabella made their Catholic mark) in the city center or in any of the many tea shops scattered around the city.

Tea is many a splendored thing! It's not just for drinking, or putting in your plants - what about tea painting? A lot of teas have amazing color, especially when they've steeped for a long time and are highly concentrated. Ever since I first tried it in Mexico last March, as it is a staple tea there, I've liked Hibiscus tea, but for more than just its taste. It makes the most beautiful, alluring, deep, blood red pigment. When I first noticed this I immediately wanted to stain everything with it, and played around with drips on a paper napkin. That being said, I've also dripped it on my pants by accident and that, too, was stained. So it's very powerful. The image to the right is what it looks like steeped for 20 minutes or so. 

So today I finally took the time to lay it down in my sketchbook. It's watercolor paper, so it was able to absorb it better than other paper would, but it still took longer to dry than regular watercolor. I'd be interested to see variations of it less and more diluted and how the color would intensify with more layers. Surprisingly, it dried more purple than red, but I still think the color is beautiful. Here's how it turned out just a little bit wet still: (below)

I will conduct further experimental endeavors in time!

I read this joke today: What is the tea leaf's favorite form of literature? Poetea.

I was quiet, unchanged, laughless. It is a terrible joke, after all, and i was inspired to form this gem (and source of undue pride): Who is the tea leaf's favorite poet? Tea S. Eliot.

My first addition to the tiny world of tea humor spurred a hunt for classic T.S. Eliot verse concerning tea or tea leaves or cups, any semblance of tea culture in the influential work one of the most important English-language poets. I came to a few lines near the end of "Hysteria." The image Eliot presents is an elderly server spreading a cloth over a rusting green table. The server says to the narrator and his laughing female companion, "If the lady and gentleman wish to take their tea in the garden," and repeats once, "if the lady and gentleman wish to take their tea in the garden," an echo. This server's trembling hands and advanced age date the tea service. The insinuation of an echoing sounds gives the narrator a distance from what Eliot may have felt was only dusty ritualism. Published in 1915, Eliot (27 years of age at the time) presented a young, progressive voice that was distracted by things more visceral than the tired convention of high-brow tea drinking: the raucous laughter of a woman, her movements, and her shining teeth.

I imagine this is commonly felt by young people growing in a society that values tea the way the English did during Eliot's youth. Appreciation of tea both in and out of social constructs takes time and attention. I value my coffee house years (in which I am still shoulders deep) and the tea experiences they have given me.

So who really is the tea leaf's favorite poet? Probably not T. S. Eliot. Allen Ginsbergamot? I'll have to read into it.

Long before globalization was a popular term and conference calls connected continents, arduous trade routes were responsible for spreading product and cultural traditions from one people to the next. Fragrant teas and spices traveled across oceans and lands spawning new customs in new worlds. Along with aromas, flavors and health impacts of teas also came rituals such as the reading of tea leaves, or tasseomancy. Tasse comes from the French word for tea and the Greek suffix, mancy, indicates the Greek word for divination.

 A fun parlor activity between close friends and family, or a more serious event hosted by a seer of sorts, reading tea leaves is a way to enjoy your tea even after you've enjoyed it. Before you begin, you will need a teacup, a saucer and plenty of loose-leaf tea...simply choose a flavor you love! The tea is prepared as usual except this time you will not use a strainer when pouring into your teacup. The person having their fortune read will need to hold the teacup in their palms and focus their thoughts while drinking until about a fourth of a tea spoon of liquid is left in the bottom with the tea leaves. The cup is then swirled around a few times by the reader and tipped upside down on the saucer to drain remaining tea while the leaves stick to the bottom and sides of the cup. Now, peer into the cup now and check out the pictures, numbers and letters that may have formed!                                                                                             

 Symbols read in the tea leaves are very open to interpretation and glossaries may be found in books on tasseomancy or on the internet. Some symbols are more common than others; I've included a short list of these:

• Anchor:  At the top of the cup, an anchor can mean career or romantic success. In the middle, it symbolizes health and at the bottom an improvement in health or wealth.
• Bell: The bell means unexpected news is coming! The news is good when at the top of the cup and several bells may mean a wedding.
• Eye: This can mean a warning of caution or an overcoming of trials or difficulties.
• Hourglass: The hourglass represents a decision that must to be made.
• Mushroom: A mushroom symbolizes growth or setbacks unless it is flipped and then it may mean frustration.
• Spoon: Generosity.
• Umbrella: Annoyances and a need for shelter are foreseen by an umbrella

Tea Cup Photo Competition

Our wonderful panel of judges have picked their favorite tea photos from our Spill It Tea Forum and the $100 tea gift certificate winners are:

1) $100 Most Original Tea Cup winner:  

 Cup O' Tea Bags by ElfRenee

2) $100 Most Unique Use of Tea Cup winner:

  Carpenter's Cup by Guannan

3) $100 Most Original Tea Cup Setting winner:

Tibetan Tea in Beijing by AFrisk

We actually had an Honorary Mention tea photo for Most Original Tea Cup.  Our judges had a tough time choosing so we decided to award this tea cup photo a $25 gift certificate as well!

 Cat and the Fiddle by Kathy

Congratulations to our winners! Your photos were very creative, beautiful and worthy of loads of free, gourmet tea!

Enjoy!