The Tea Scoop

Mad Tea Party Couture

So what to wear to a mad tea party?  You could of course dress as Alice in a cute blue dress and white apron with a black head band.  Or wear a poofy tail and long ears. Or you could see the offerings on Etsy. 

This shirt from theboldbanana comes in sizes from small to extra-large and is only $12.  I love the expression on the Mad Hatter's face as he gestures wildly. Adorable!

Or, from Banyantreeclothing,a more masculine style:

I love how edgy this one is, and the chaos of the tumbling teawares. A very different expression on this hatter's face.  $20, and they sell a women's version as well. 

This skirt, at $70, will steal the show at your next tea party.

SantaLuchia will have you wearing the tea party. What a fun print this is!

If you love the canon as much as I do, go look around on Etsy for a ton more fun clothing.  I just picked a few tea-themed outfits.  They have Alice costumes too. Support people who make stuff by hand!

A Mad Tea Party

I have a confession to make. I loved the Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter new Alice in Wonderland. I know a lot of people didn't.  I'm not even a newcomer to the rabbit hole.  I love variations on old tales, and I thought old Lewis Carroll might have approved of what happened with his characters. Of course, there is no knowing.  I love the whole topsy turvy universe, even if a lot of the nonsense is actually obscure political commentary with no bearing on my life. And there is a special place in my heart for the White Rabbit in particular.  Back in high school, I played the White Rabbit in a cheesy little show called "Disney Spectacular." It was my shining moment as I hopped across the stage, singing out, 

"I'm late, I'm late
For a very important date
No time to say
Hello, goodbye,
I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!"

I still have a picture of my bunny-self from that show, grinning next to my best friend, who played Cinderella.  Spectacular.  But ever since, I've been rather fond of Alice in Wonderland in general, and the White Rabbit in particular.  Which is why I was so enchanted last year when my mother-in-law gave me Paul Cardew's Alice in Wonderland teapot for my birthday, a teapot adorned with the white rabbit as the knob for the lid.

See, it's adorable!  Then for Christmas this year, her sister gave me the matching trivet, and MIL also gave me a set of two cups and saucers.  A tradition has begun, and I'm not complaining.  The designs on each piece are themed from a different scene in the story. The teacups have Alice and the animals swimming in her tears.  I'm in love with this set, and look forward to collecting other pieces.  

If you like them, check out Stash's offerings.  

And look for more Mad Hatter themed posts soon!

Tea on the Run

Before I actually write what I had planned, I wanted to express my gratitude for the person who invented laptops so that I could write this article while sitting out on my patio, in the sunshine, surrounded be green growing things.  It's a good way to start the week.

This week in particular is quite a week.  It's the end of the third quarter in school, and the end of my seven-week assignment to a lovely class of twenty-two fifth graders. I've greatly enjoyed my time with them, and am going to be sad to say good-bye to them come Friday afternoon. Less emotional, but still a shame, is that I will have to say good-bye to using a hot-pot in the classroom, as I g back to carrying my tea with me to different classrooms every day.  

With that thought in mind, I've been trying to decide which of my two travel mugs will have preference in the coming weeks.  I do love my 16 ounce Starbucks mug because it keeps my tea hot forever, and is utterly leak proof. It also has the little cup cap, which is rather nice.  On the other hand, my Tea Top Brew Mug from Mighty Leaf does have the advantage of keeping tea bags ready for reuse, if I am lucky enough to find a source of hot water.  

Do you have a favorite?

The Electric Lady

Ok, so I'm always interested in novelty tea accessories, and this morning, I found one that I had never heard of before.  

I love my stainless steel thermos. It keeps the tea hot for hours and hours, enough for my needs.  Any longer than eight hours, and there isn't any tea left to keep warm. But just in case you are the kind of tea drinker who tends to drink slowly and forget about it while you do other things, there is a solution for you. A travel mug that will keep your tea warm for as long as you need, via USB or DC power. In other words, you can plug it into your computer or your car.  It's the Electric Lady, available from Culinary Teas. 

Of course, it only holds 12 ounces, so it doesn't hold enough for me to need it. Alas.  But it might make a great gift for the coffee or tea drinker that has everything.  

Tea Kitchens

Also known as tea urns or tea warmers, these eighteenth century devices either had burners or iron elements that could be heated to keep water warm for tea.  These are from the Dewitt Wallace Museum.  Enjoy this photo post!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Highlights of the Dewitt Wallace

Let me tell you, choosing just ten for this was an incredibly difficult proposition. Not to mention that I did not succeed in photographing their entire collection.  

1.  

This beautiful set demonstrates English silversmithing at its best.  The canisters date from 1757-1758, and are silver gilt (silver with a gold wash).  They were created by Thomas Hemings. The chest made to contain the canisters is made of mother-of-pearl, and is lined with green velvet.  I stared at the chest for a long time. Here is a detail of the chest from above:

2. Below, this beautiful silver tea caddy was part of the silver collection at the museum.  I absolutely adore this and wish I could have it for my collection.  The shape of the canister itself is meant to mimic the chests in which tea arrived from China, while the finial is supposed to be representative of the tea plant itself.  The characters stand for righteousness and prosperity.  It was made in London in the 1760s by John Henry Vere and William Lutwyche. It's quite symbolic of the 18th century obsession that Westerners had with the Orient. 
 

3.  I have an unhealthy obsession with mote spoons.  I regularly check eBay and bid, but have yet to acquire one.  The DeWitt Wallace has many, but the next two were my favorite because of their whimsical nature.  Even the piercework in the bowl of the spoon is artful, even for such a practical purpose as catching tea leaves. I love the way the Harlequin doffs his hat.  He's adorable.  His maker was Londoner Emick Romer, likely in 1765-66.  

 
4. Doesn't this little man just make you want to run away and join the circus, taking your tea with you?  

 

5.  This gilted terracotta teapot struck me as I walked past the case.  Made in Staffordshire, England, in the first three decades of the eighteenth century, the design is pseudo-Chinese, again catering to the fad for all things Oriental that prevailed during the period.  I'm just in love with it. 

 

6. These Chinamen teapots are made of soft paste porcelain, and come from Chelsea, England, between 1745-49.  They look so jolly and cheerful, you can't help but smile after looking at very serious silver services for hours on end. 

 

7. During the eighteenth century, doll-sized tea sets for girls were an immensely popular toy.  This set is just one example.  I found it to be quite sweet.  

  

8.  I did not record any information about this teapot, because I have the Christmas ornament version sitting in my china cabinet to look at whenever I like.  It is the iconic teapot of Williamsburg.  I'm quite fond of it. It is also a fantastic example of the silver teapots of this period, with its wooden handle.  

  

9. This teapot, protesting the Stamp Act of 1765, I chose for its social significance.  It was manufactured in England, sold in America, and before the end of a decade, the Americans would be dumping tea into harbors up and down the coast. 

  

10.  Again with the whimsy. It just looks like it belongs in Las Vegas and not among the staid cup and saucers that it shared a display case with. 

  

I hope you enjoyed this photo journey.  Like I said, it was quite a challenge to choose, and I'm sure I will come back from the next trip with even more photographs.  

 

Recently on the English Tea Blog...

I've written about various accessories one can use to steep tea and teas to accompany your Thanksgiving meal.

I encourage you to go read, of course!

The End of Ingenuitea

It was more than two years ago that I wrote about my saga with Adagio's customer service and my Ingenuitea.  I have lived with the floating infuser since then.  When I remember, I preheat the Ingenuitea so that it swells enough to stay in place. But if the room is cold, or I have rinsed it with cold water, the removable strainer pops up.  I have had two different Ingenuiteas and multiple strainers.  It happens with all of them. Lately, I've been having trouble with it leaking.  

I'm also tiring of my Zarafina. It has worked well for two years, and continues to work well. It was fantastic for just one person: 16 ounces of tea.  But with two tea drinkers in the house, it's just not enough.  We need something bigger. I've been considering several options.

I really like the Trinitea from Adagio.  It makes 32 ounces of tea instead of 16, which is perfect for us. It also keeps the tea warm, great if I want to make it before I get in the shower and have it hot and ready when I get out. Reviews say that it keeps it between lukewarm and scaulding, which is perfect for the way I like to drink it. It says that it has variable timer and temperature control, which seemingly would allow for more control than the Zarafina, which has preset controls for the different types of tea. I'm thinking about ordering one, and if I do, I'll let you know what I think! 

Tea Top Brew Mug Contest

So I've been using the Tea Top Brew Mug for about a week now, and am still enjoying it.  Mighty Leaf is currently selling it for $12.95, but I want to spread the love around, and I am giving one away.  Here is the deal:

1. Post a link to this contest on your blog, website, or Twitter.  

2. Comment below with the address where you've linked to me. 

3. Contest ends at midnight (eastern) on September 30th. 

Mighty Leaf "Tea Top Brew Mug" Part Two

I have mentioned, perhaps, once or twice, that I love tea gadgets.  I'm utterly fascinated at the ingenuitea of the ways people come up with to drink tea, which after all, is a basically simple concept. But at the same time, sometimes there are issues one experiences drinking tea, and someone inevitably thinks up an answer to these problems. 

At home, I drink loose leaf exclusively, unless it's for a review. But when I'm running around all over the place, I don't always have that option, so I go for whole leaf bagged tea as much as possible, such as Mighty Leaf, Two Leaves and a Bud, or Revolution. I also like to re-steep as much as possible. But when I'm out, there is simply nowhere to put a drippy teabag. What if I am in the car, for example? Or class?  There might be the option to drop it in a trash can, but that seems wasteful to me. Besides, then I don't have tea for later, unless I brought a tin with me. And what if it's a tea I'm really enjoying?  In addition, sometimes the teabag plops down in the tea along with its tag, and then I'm stuck burning my fingers to fish it out. (I really dislike tagless teabags). 

Now that I have brought the gravitea of the situation to your attention, I wanted to announce that I ended up getting my hands on Mighty Leaf's "Top Tea Brew Mug" that I wrote about recently. I'm sitting here, with Mighty Leaf's Green Tea Tropical gathered up into the little holding area built into the design of the lid. 

See, isn't it neat looking?  My mug looks exactly like the picture. I also really like that the sipping area is contoured to avoid spills.  It is a pretty well thought out design.  While the construction is double-walled stainless steel, it does conduct heat.  Meaning, this is a good thermos to warm your hands on a chilly day, but I didn't think it would stay warm for hours and hours. Boy was I wrong! It kept it steaming hot for about two hours and drinkably warm for at least another two (after that there was nothing left in the mug for me to judge).

So how about functionality? Well right away, I can say that I love that there is no worry about my teabag falling in.  The little slot holds the teabag in place until I'm ready to pull it out of hot water. I was slightly worried that the teabag would brush against my nose as I drank, but it is just out of schnozz range. The bag is lifted out of steeping range, so my green tea is not the least bit bitter. My only complaint is that there is no way to close the lid, so it is far from spill-proof, and keeps it from being a toss in the purse mug, even when empty. 

However, the convenience of this mug makes it rank much higher than many of the conventional travel mugs out there, and will definitely be getting some use here at The Tea Scoop.