Table of contents for March - April 2010 in TeaTime

Spring has slipped in again, with delicate green leaves sprouting on the trees, birds chirping joyfully, and soft breezes blowing. All this bounty from nature tempts me to take my tea outdoors. When time is short, a simple hot cup of my favorite green blend will do, but I think the idea of an outdoor tea with a bevy of my friends sounds like a great way to welcome spring. With winter past, you may find that the delicious tea menu of organic foods in “An Alfresco Tea Luncheon” will prompt you to plan just such a tea as well. This issue is filled with many other delights for you to consider. You will find two additional, imaginative full teas, including a Passover-inspired high tea, with foods that were developed…

Since its humble beginnings as a drying cloth, the tea towel has taken its place around a loaf of freshly baked bread, as a decorative runner on a tea table or a dining table, and even as a valance along a curtain rod. Whether family heirlooms or gifts from friends, tea towels may be considered by some to be too fragile to enjoy as anything other than decoration. But these linens are more than delicate decoration. Even vintage tea towels found in antique shops or passed down through generations were— and are—meant to be used and shared. Tea towels earned their popularity through their hearty durability, becoming a workhorse in the kitchen. Some of the earliest came about through the repurposing of flour sacks. These inexpensive and often discarded scraps…

Locally sourced ingredients are not only more environmentally friendly, but they also tend to be tastier and fresher. Try bread from a nearby bakery, look for meats and cheeses from the area, and seek out as much produce as possible from a farm stand or farmers’ market. In honor of Earth Day and with an eye toward healthful living, we present a recipe for a teatime classic that features organic and natural ingredients. Whole-grain bread is a departure from fluffy white bread, but its nutty flavor and chewier texture offer a new taste for afternoon tea. A fresh, silky spread made from avocados, a hint of cream cheese, and the fresh zing of cilantro is a lively base for buttery all-natural turkey and organic sharp provolone cheese. The stunning yet…

COVER Wedgwood Ulander blue fine bone china five-piece place setting ($750), teapot ($825), wedgwoodusa.com. COME FOR TEA Page 8: Leeds Pottery Blue Shell Edge teapot and cup and saucer by Hartley Greens & Co., www.worldwideshoppingmall.co.uk/potteryshop/shelledge.asp. NECESSARY THINGS Page 11: Organic tea set cookies by Beautiful Sweets (from $15), beautifulsweets.com. Page 12: Mikasa Daylight china 5-piece place setting ($100), teapot ($186), mikasa.com. Lolita Lempicka organic tea box of 25 tea bags ($68), cambriacove.com. Soap and Paper Factory Green Tea body scrub ($36), fizzy bath powder ($36), boxed soap ($24), and solid perfume ($18), soapandpaperfactory.com. Bamboo garden tool salad servers ($20), greenpartygoods.com. Page 13: Mutowels (from $8.95), cooking.com. Hillhouse Naturals Living Green collection (from $12), hillhousenaturals.com. Elum Designs Hollywood Regency Green collection ($16), Rococo bound journal ($21.99), elumdesigns.com. John Master’s Organics Green…

march 2 Tea and Etiquette with Alice in Wonderland 2:30 p.m. Lady Bedford’s Tea Parlour and Gift Shoppe Pinehurst, North Carolina Wear a “mad hat” for this fun and educational tea and lecture. Over a delectable spread of tea and treats, educator Helen O. Von Salzen will speak on various topics developed by famed tea and etiquette expert Dorothea Johnson, whose magazine columns and books are nationally known. A prize will be given to the guest with the most imaginative hat. For reservations, e-mail tea@ladybedfords.com, or call 910-255-0100. 6 Purses & Pearls 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Four Seasons Hotel Boston, Massachusetts Enjoy a special afternoon tea benefiting Starlight Children’s Foundation. Don your pearls and gather your friends for a charming afternoon of tea, children’s activities, and entertainment. Guests may…

The spring air practically pleads with you to spend time outside enjoying the greening environment and balmy breezes. Now is the perfect time to cultivate beautiful plants, so why not turn a neglected corner of your backyard, some window boxes, or even a few pots indoors on a windowsill into an herbal tea garden? There are sundry simple-to-grow plants and flowers that perfectly lend themselves to tisane, offering a chance to try something new in your afternoon-tea ritual. Fresh plants contain high levels of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and other compounds that enhance immunity and promote overall wellness— and it’s easy to enjoy these plants in a refreshing beverage. Herbs are easiest to grow as they need very little attention. Of course, the richer the soil, the more the plants will…

Menu Spinach-Basil Scones with Cracked Pepper and Lemon Double Cream Spicy Turkey Panini Vegetable-Quinoa Salad Chilled Mango Lassi Soup Orange-Thyme Madeleines As springtime finally comes into full bloom, the world around us is intoxicatingly lush and green, with flowering trees and budding branches adding dainty pops of color here and there. Spend an afternoon enjoying the warming air with a season-perfect tea luncheon. Our menu is filled with fare that takes its cue from the beauty outdoors for its bright color and delicious ingredients. Nutty quinoa, a whole grain native to South America, is a fresh, creative base for a vibrant salad. Crunchy almonds and salty pecorino Romano cheese add to the beautiful mix, which is a lovely accompaniment to Spicy Turkey Panini. Scones laced with baby spinach get a…

Dan Robertson is the founder and owner of The Tea House and World Tea Tours, based in Naperville, Illinois. Like many tea professionals who have been in the business 10 years or more, Dan had to educate himself. When he began, there were no Speciality Tea Institute courses, tea tours, or a tea expo, so he created his own itinerary and traveled to tea-producing countries to study the cultures that produced the leaf in all its varieties. Dan speaks Chinese and has studied the ancient culture for nearly three decades. Since 1997, he has researched, organized, and led tours to give leaf lovers a unique handson opportunity to experience tea—the drink, the meal, the culture, and the business. Known for his warm and engaging style, Dan conducts tea-training sessions and…

AS AUTHOR TRACY STERN SAYS, “It’s high time to think outside the teabag.” Whole tea leaves create the best infusions, and the possibilities for combinations and blends are seemingly endless. Tea expert Stern guides the way as Tea for You explores the personal process of creating a custom tea blend and then using that blend in new and exciting ways. The petite volume starts with basics, such as how to brew the perfect cup, and gives in-depth flavor profiles of the types of white, green, and black teas, herbal varieties, and the sundry extra ingredients that can be added to create a custom mix. After describing the ingredient options, Stern gives a handful of recipes to create unique blends using these herbs, teas, and spices. Inspiring combinations include Anise-Chocolate Assam,…

TEA AND COOKIES These beautifully decorated treats are perfect for a sweet afternoon tea. Ingredients are all natural, organic, and sourced from small family farms and other sustainable producers. A lovely gift for the hostess of a tea party, these cookies taste as great as they look. ($15 for 4 cookies; beautifulsweets.com) TEA LEAVES The Daylight pattern by Mikasa brings the beauty of nature in springtime to the tea table. With its vines of bright green leaves, the fine porcelain china is ideal for casual and formal entertaining alike. (From $19.99; mikasa.com) LOVELY LUXURY Body Scrub, Fizzy Bath Powder, Boxed Soap, and Solid Perfume are part of the Green Tea collection by Soap and Paper Factory. Combining crisp, invigorating fragrance with undeniably glamorous packaging, the products are a pampering treat…

When your garden yields more herbs than you can feasibly use fresh, drying them is the perfect option. (Most flowers are best used fresh.) Place the herbs, either on the stems or as single leaves, between two layers of paper towels, place on a sheet pan, and put the pan in a cool, dark, dry place. Alternatively, you can bundle the herbs together at the base of the stems and hang them upside down in a cool, dark, dry place. Let herbs dry until they are crisp and brittle, usually 3 to 5 days, depending on the amount of moisture in the air. To make tea using dried herbs, proceed as you would with a storebought tea blend, using an infuser basket or strainer. Water should be just below boiling,…

From bright and verdant to complex and woodsy, herbs add wonderful flavor to food. Fresh herbs, in particular, are versatile enough to be complementary elements or the essence of a dish. Many varieties are easy and inexpensive to grow, adding instant cheer to a window box or backyard garden. Dill, rosemary, basil, and parsley are, perhaps, the most familiar, but others such as chervil, cilantro, and sage offer their own interesting flavors to sweet and savory recipes alike. Greet the arrival of springtime with an assortment of these six tea-perfect foods infused with the flavor of herbs. CHERVIL-DILL EGG SALAD SANDWICHES Makes 12 sandwiches 24 slices soft white bread 6 large eggs, hard boiled and peeled 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper…

Often used in German, Austrian, and Hungarian cuisine, caraway seeds offer unique flavor that complements a variety of ingredients. The tiny, sliver-shaped pods—frequently used in seeded rye bread and in heavier, warming dishes such as stews and sauerkraut—are boldly scented and have a pleasingly crunchy texture. The seeds come from the same family of herbs as chervil, parsley, and dill—the delicate herb featured along with caraway in this buttery scone. Fragrant Caraway-Dill Scones are a delightful addition to your tea tray. With a tender crumb and savory taste, they are lovely paired with a cup of refreshing green tea. Caraway-Dill Scones Makes 18 scones 11/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup unsalted butter, well chilled and diced 2…

Remembering the intimacy of sharing tea with my grandmother, it’s a special joy to have a young granddaughter who likes to drink tea with me. But since she lives 500 miles away, our tea parties happen only a few lovely times each year. The friendship of a little girl can be delightful, so in 2007, I began having “girl time” with Leah, the 5-yearold daughter of a friend. We spent the first Friday morning of each month together, concluding our time with lunch. Activities included reading (Beatrix Potter was a favorite), visiting the children’s gallery in the local art museum, watching the many birds that come to feed on our patio, and having tea parties. After less than a year of our mornings together, her father announced he was being…