Product review: A gift of tea

Tea Party on a Tray
Retail
Photo courtesy of Tea Party on a Tray

All my friends and family (and quite a few strangers!) know that I am something of a tea fanatic. Consequently, I often receive gifts of teas, teapots and teacups of all kinds, tea-making accessories, and anything and everything tea-themed. I have to admit that I’ve got more tea “stuff” than most people, but I also admit that I enjoy it all.

I’ve never received anything like the Tea Party on a Tray that arrived here recently. It’s impossible to open the rather sizable shipping carton, look inside, and not feel a smile starting to spread on your face.

TPOT (please forgive the abbreviation!) is a cross between a gift basket and serving tea in your own tea room. Arranged on a gold catering/bakery round, pretty as you please, are all the fixings for your own tea party. As their slogan goes, you “just add hot water.”

First I removed the charming gift card and the tea-and-teapots ribbon, and peeled away the sturdy cellophane wrapping. (At this point, with all the crinkling, the kitties — depending on their personalities — either ran off in fear or came over for a peek.)

A teapot sat in the middle of the “tray,” surrounded by an assortment of teatime goodies. As I was a tea “party” of one, the teapot was actually a tea-for-one, comprising teapot, teacup, and saucer.

With the kettle whistling in the kitchen, I placed the tea sachet (Harney & Sons‘ Paris — does tea get any more elegant?) into the pot and poured the water.

While the tea steeped, I arranged the goodies on a plate: flavoured roasted pecans; dainty little cheese crackers; and Moravian lemon cookies — each package containing enough for my party, and then some. A rock candy stirrer and a package of lemon drops completed the “party.”

So here I was, on a gloomy afternoon, with the wind raging in wild gusts outside, cozy as could be with my pretty teapot, yummy treats, and comforting tea. TPOT even included a booklet describing tea customs, and another with poetry by Earlene Grey. I read through both of these, peacefully, while I sipped.

The pot (and the sachet) yielded enough for a second cupful, which allowed me to sweeten it first with the stirrer and then with the lemon drops. I didn’t expect to care for the addition of lemon to this tea, with its fruity/caramel flavour, but it actually worked quite well.

I don’t think I have to tell anyone how delicious the paper-thin Moravian cookies are, and the tasty pecans perfectly complemented the Paris tea. Clearly some thought had gone into choosing the specific elements of this tea time. (I do have to admit that I don’t eat cheese, and so relied on DH’s review of the Sweetie’s cheese bits, which can be summed up as “mmmmm.”)

To order your Tea Party on a Tray, you first choose the type of “party” you want, then select your teapot by style, theme, or occasion. (They have holiday and children’s tea parties too.) Parties range from the small tea-for-one I enjoyed, to a tea-for-two in many, many styles, to a truly pampering luxury tea party. Individual teas, treats, and a wide assortment of gifts and serving items are also available.

Contents of each party varies, but you (or the person you’re sending it to) will receive enough tea and teatime treats for a tasty and tasteful tea party — whether solo or shared. And then your chosen teapot becomes a permanent, charming, and useful memento. (My tea-for-one is white with gold accents, decorated all over with butterflies. And I plan on using it again.)

I can’t imagine a nicer way to brighten someone’s day than to send them one of the wide variety of “parties” offered by TPOT — unless it’s to bring it to them yourself!

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(We’ll get back to Georgia Teas Part 2 very soon — we’re waiting for one more tea to arrive.)

Rambling: Georgia (tea) on my mind - Part 1

A semi-brief personal history with one of the lesser-known teas
Stock photos

Even if you aced geography in high school, you may need to consult a current map of Europe to find the source of these teas, because I’m not referring to Georgia USA but to Georgia FSU. The former soviet bloc state, located in the Caucasus Mountain region, is now an independent country, and they produce some very interesting and tasty teas.

My “love affair” with Georgia teas began several years ago. We were on our way home from a day down the shore in New Jersey, and stopped at Delicious Orchards farm market in Colts Neck. On the far side of their candy counter they had a display of loose-leaf teas. Packaged in clear plastic zipper bags, they were “sample” sized — about an ounce each — and priced at under a dollar each, so I figured I’d pick up a few. Along with the Darjeelings, senchas, fruit flavours, and English breakfast blends I discovered what they had labeled “Russian Georgian Tea.”

Of course I had sampled tea imported from Russia — various Kousmichoff and “czar” blends, as well as Wissotzky teas (the company originated in Moscow and is now located in Israel). But these were all China and India teas that had been re-packaged in Russia. I’d never heard of teas actually produced in Russia or Georgia. So I did some research and discovered that tea has been grown in Georgia since the mid-1800s!

That first cup of “Russian Georgian” tea (a misnomer, of course; Georgia is not part of Russia) was surprisingly good. Because we couldn’t get to Delicious Orchards very often, I began ordering the tea from them by the half-pound and then by the pound — that’s how much I liked it.

A short time later I found another Georgia tea in the Stash Tea catalogue, so I ordered a few ounces. The tea, I believe, was called Guria Long Leaf, and was listed under black teas. I don’t know if it was that particular sample of tea, or perhaps something in the shipping or storage, but I was disappointed with its rather flat taste. I later learned that Guria teas were the first to be produced in Georgia and had won awards in the late 1800s. Unfortunately this particular sample was simply not very good. (It appears that Stash stopped offering this, or any other, Georgia tea, so I’m guessing it was not a customer favourite.)

Fast-forward a couple of years — still sipping my “Russian” Georgian tea — when DH, on a trip to Sweden, stopped in at Tea Centre of Stockholm and brought home a few of their teas. The teas were clearly of a very good quality, so I took a look at their website: one of the teas they carry is Georgia tea! Tea Centre lists it as Grusinien, which I presume is the name either in Swedish or in one of the Caucasian languages of Georgia.

On his next trip to Sweden, DH brought back a few ounces of Grusinien — and again, wow! I liked it even better than the one from Delicious Orchards, and again I’ve been buying it by the half-kilo.

More recently, via the Teamail discussion group, we learned of a British company, Teacraft Ltd, that was working with Georgia growers and processors to market their teas. So far I’ve sampled four of those teas.

And that will take us to Part 2 of this rambling review, to be published next week.

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Product review: Tea cozies and hot pads

Granny’s Tea Cozies
Retail and wholesale
Photo courtesy of Granny’s Tea Cozies

Let’s face it: If you make your tea in a traditional English style teapot, you’ve got to have a good cozy to keep the tea in the pot hot until you drink it. Not to mention that an elegant cozy that complements your tea ware adds so much to the tea table.

This company’s slogan is “We Specialize in Pretty,” and they’re not kidding. The shape, the fabrics, and the festive ribbon ties all really are very pretty.

Generally at home I like a popover cozy, but when space is tight — whether at home or especially in a tea room — these “snuggle” or “bachelor” cozies make so much more sense. And extra credit, of course, when they look good doing it.

These cozies can be adjusted to fit almost any teapot, so even if you have different sized pots you won’t really need more than one — although you’ll want more anyway. But …surprise! Each cozy is reversible, so you actually get two cozies for the price of one. My cozy is a gorgeous dark red botanical design reversing to a complementary toile pattern similar to the one pictured above.

Now here’s the proverbial icing on the cake: each cozy is available (at a slight additional charge) with a matching — and yes, reversible — scented hot pad. Wrap up your teapot with the cozy, then set it onto the hot pad; the heat from the pot coaxes out a delightful scent of fresh baking. The four-channeled pad is not over-filled, so your pot sinks in just enough to keep it stable.

Well-made and washable, they’ll keep your tea hot, and they’re just plain pretty. What more could you ask for?

Granny’s Tea Cozies also carries a selection of teapots, tea serving ware and accessories, and elegant little teapot-shaped night lights. Online retail ordering; resellers and tea room owners need to sign up for an account to access the site’s wholesale pages.

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