The Journey Begins with One Lovely Teapot…

Tea life is about feeding the soul through beauty, food, and friends. My calling and privilege are to create these special moments for others. This is my tea life. I will chronicle my tea journeys as well as give you menus, recipes, and beautiful photos. As inspiration hits, I will add little bits of wisdom and stories. Every moment counts!

 My tea journey began over 30 years ago with receiving the gift of a lovely china teapot.  I have no idea why this loved one thought that I might like this, and little did anyone know what it started in my life.  Friends and colleagues saw the teapot and thought teacups were great gifts to give me for Christmas and other special occasions.  Soon I had amassed a large collection of beautiful teacups and teapots which I displayed proudly in my home.  After so many years of growing my collection I realized I needed to use my teacups and teapots.  Thus, I transitioned into not only collecting but giving teas.

Giving teas started with a simple mother/daughter tea in my backyard about 25 years ago.  This was in early May and it was a very nice way to celebrate Mother’s Day.  Soon my sister Peggy joined me in hosting this early May tea which soon became known as “The Friendship Tea”.  This tea was served buffet style in my backyard.  What started out as a small affair soon grew into having between 40-50 guests.  In the beginning we asked guests to wear a tea hat but found that many people, including my sister Peggy, did not like wearing hats.  One year we had record heat and guests had to eat in over 100-degree heat!  Each year we asked guests to share in some way.  For several years we had guests read special poems they had brought with them.  After a few years of this, we decided to mix things up a bit.  Special memories were made when we asked guests to bring a photo of their mother and to tell about her.  Another favorite memory was the year that my kitchen was being remodeled.  We had anticipated that the work would be all completed by the tea party date.  However, our anticipation turned to dismay when we experienced delay after delay in the remodel; tea party date came with a gutted kitchen and my husband washing tea party dishes with the garden hose on the back lawn! 

For these “Friendship Teas”, my sister and I set up different colored tea tablescapes at each table.  We would have a blue table, a purple table, a flower table, etc.  Then we would decide which table we liked the best.  This was fun.  These teas got to be very expensive, exhausting and time-consuming, especially for my sister who had to pack and tote all her tea dishes and food to my house.   After over 10 years of hosting these teas, we stopped giving them much to our friends’ disappointment. 

Lauren, my only granddaughter got to come to our last two teas.  Her first tea was the year she learned to crawl while watching us prep for the tea and the second year she wore a cute butterfly outfit and had her own tea table. 

Doing these teas with my sister provided us with many happy memories. Ten years of experience giving these teas provided me with a wealth of information.  We always served our food buffet style as that was the easiest way for us.  In doing this, we always had to prepare more food as we didn’t control how many of each savory and/or dessert people took.  The tablescape always looked great because the plates were already on the table, adding beauty to the scene.  There are pros and cons to both buffet style and serving style.  Buffet style allowed my sister and me to join the fun and enjoy our time with friends.  This worked well for us.  Our serving tables looked fabulous!

Several years after I started collecting teapots and teacups, my younger sister Becky who lives in Kentucky sent me a book called “The Tea Table” by Shelley and Bruce Richardson. This started my journey with their story and with TeaTime Magazine. Following is one of my all-time favorite tea recipes from their book.

Sticky Toffee Tea Cookies

• 7 oz. English toffee bits
• 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 6 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons white sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 egg
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 5 tablespoons solid shortening

Preheat over to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, salt, and baking soda. Add the toffee bits and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, and egg. Add butter and shortening and mix well. Add the candy/flour mixture and blend well.

Drop by tablespoonsfuls, one-inch apart, on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Makes about 36.