Innehållsförteckning för November - December 2010 från TeaTime

I love to entertain, especially during the holiday season. Whether I’m catering the reception for my husband’s pianostudio recital or hosting an intimate gathering in my home, I find that planning the food can be a lot of fun as well as a bit of a challenge. There are certain dishes my guests consider requisite, yet I dare not replicate the menu from year to year. The delightful recipes that grace the pages of this issue will certainly make this year’s planning easier. From Thanks giving to Christmas to New Year celebrations, these creative menus are sure to please your family and friends. And what would the holidays be without Christmas music? Because my husband and children are all musicians, the strains of carols constantly fill our home at this…

China is to tea what France is to wine. The tea bush Camellia sinensis (meaning Chinese varietal) is named in honor of tea’s ancient country of origin. The varieties of teas coming from China are virtually countless, and some estimates reach 8,000 to 10,000. With such a vast array of teas grown and produced in 16 different regions, China is the world’s largest tea producer. While Sri Lanka and Kenya with their giant tea estates export more leaf tonnage, China still supplies 18 percent of world tea exports. Tea bushes in the high altitudes of many mountainous regions in China stop growing during the cold winter months and start to flush again with new growth in the early spring. The harvest season in China runs from March to late September,…

Thanks giving weekend is a celebratory holiday, much of it centered around food and kin. Gathering around a dish-laden table with family members to give thanks for blessings is a wonderful tradition. TeaTime has revamped your favorite Thanks giving staples into an afternoon-tea menu for the day after this meaningful celebration. Turn your leftover turkey into Turkey Salad Toast Points and your potatoes into stuffed Fingerling Potatoes. Or serve up brand-new items such as Lamb Sandwiches or Sausage- Kale Scones. And don’t forget the seasonal sweets to round out the offerings. Whatever you choose, this light and refreshing tea menu is the perfect post-Thanks giving treat. sausage and kale scones Yield: 18 scones Preparation: 5 minutes Bake: 12 to 16 minutes ½ cup cooked, crumbled hot pork sausage 1 cup…

Count down to midnight, say goodbye to the old year, and join in a chorus of “Auld Lang Syne” while enjoying an intimate New Year’s Eve tea. Refreshments such as our striking Ham Salad Tea Sandwich Stackers topped with an egg slice and secured with a wooden skewer are treats for both the palate and the eye, while the Raspberry Roulade brings a touch of bright color to the table and a bite of sweetness to the menu. Steep a pot of special tea to commemorate the occasion. And if desired, serve sparkling cider or Champagne to greet the New Year. Tap into your creativity, and fashion a shimmering centerpiece with glass vases, faux snow, painted branches, and glitter. Dress your table in a delicate palette of white, silver, and…

If one word defines New York City’s Chinatown, it is abundance. For the tea lover, the opportunities to discover new riches seem endless. Tea is for sale everywhere in Chinatown’s myriad shops, where the tea drinker will find a friendly welcome and the chance to savor rare and unusual wares. First-time visitors may find New York’s Chinatown overwhelming. Canal Street, the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare, is crowded, noisy, and chaotic. Tractortrailers becalmed in traffic blare their horns. A multilingual cacophony rises as residents and tourists jostle for space on sidewalks bottlenecked by street vendors’ tables. A wild profusion of merchandise lines the street: fresh fish, herbal medicine, mangos, incense, kung fu regalia—all cascade on the eye as if from a swirling horn of plenty. KAM MAN 200 Canal Street 212-571-0330 The…

Once there lived a lady in a cottage in the wood. She collected teacups, collecting all she could. There were ten passed from her mother and twenty from her friends Placed on shelves around the room stretching end to end. Her favorites were from England with flowers painted small. A special one had traveling ships with sails grand and tall. Some cups were round and others square with handles big or small. And on one shelf, from far Japan, no handles there at all. On Saturdays, she’d go to town to search the open fair. She’d hunt each aisle up and down to find a treasure there. She’d pass the chairs and cupboards, the books, the plates, the knives, And then she spied a beauty right before her eyes. A…

november 13 Tea Party and Craft Class 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Bohnet House Anna Marie’s Teas Liberty, Missouri Gather in this 1913 Carriage House for a Christmas crafts class, and enjoy holiday music and cinnamon-spiced tea while making swags of artificial greens, preserved leaves, and more. After class, guests will be treated to a formal tea party with a menu of autumn favorites. Tickets are $39 and can be purchased online at annateashop.com or by calling 816-792-8777. Lodging is available at Terrace Avenue Inn bedand- breakfast (terraceavenueinn.com). 14 Thanks giving Tea 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Patterson Homestead Dayton, Ohio Experience an 1860s Thanks giving afternoon tea at the historic Patterson Homestead. Interpreters in 19th-century costume will serve hot tea, along with a variety of breads, tea sandwiches, and…

The holiday season sparkles wiThexcitement. Exchanging gifts, decorating the Christmas tree, and singing carols are all highlights of Yuletide. Entertain your family and friends with a merry table set with Santa Claus plates and a berry-laden centerpiece. Mix solid and patterned dinnerware for a jolly tablescape, and incorporate striped napkins and polkadotted napkin holders to contrast and complement the red-handled flatware. Combining large white tea mugs of different patterns suits this easygoing style. Usher in Christmas day with a festive meal, and get ready for a celebration! For more inspiring holiday tablescapes, go to teatimemagazine.com/ tablescapes. g…

December is filled with seasonal parties, family gatherings, and jovial get-togethers. With a nod to Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, we’ve assembled a host of Victorian-inspired dishes for your holiday high tea. From our succulent Roasted Goose to the doublelayer Lemon Cake, every selection in this menu hits just the right note. Decorate your table with red linens and traditional greenery, light stately candles and a warm fire, and set out your best tea service. Christmas is the time for festive celebration in true Dickensian style. potato-parsnip soup Yield: 8 servings Preparation: 15 minutes Cook: 30 minutes 2 tablespoons salted butter 1 large shallot, minced 6 cups peeled and cubed golden potatoes 3 cups peeled and chopped parsnips 4 cups chicken broth 2 cups half-and-half 1½ teaspoons ground coriander 1 teaspoon…

almond cake with cherry filling Yield: 1 (9-inch) layer cake Preparation: 10 minutes Bake: 23 to 26 minutes Cool: 1 hour Refrigerate: 30 minutes ½ cup butter, softened 1½ cups sugar 4 large eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 teaspoon pure almond extract ½ cup ground toasted almonds 2¼ cups cake flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon salt 1¼ cups heavy whipping cream 1 recipe Cherry Filling (recipe follows) 1 recipe Decadent Cream-Cheese Icing (recipe follows) Garnish: sugared cherries* and sugared mint† • Preheat oven to 350° • Spray 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with nonstick baking spray with flour. • In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after…

visions of sugarplums Rishi Tea’s award-winning caffeine-free Organic Cinnamon Plum Tea paired with a glass pitcher and an attractive brew basket is a perfect pick for the tea lover. ($29; rishi-tea.com or 866-747-4483) grab and go With Art of Tea’s travel press, fresh-brewed loose-leaf tea can be enjoyed anywhere. Included in this gift set are two tins of holiday teas, Holiday Berry and White Coconut Crème. (Specially priced as a set at $35; artoftea.com or 877-268-8327) let it snow Brew a pot of Zhena’s Gypsy Tea’s 100% organic and fair-trade-certified Polar Berry (black tea with cranberries and spices) or Santa Spice (caffeinefree Rooibos with ginger, nutmeg, and spices), then sit back and watch the snow fall outside. ($7.49; gypsytea.com or 800-448-0803) luxury in a box Sophisticated and sleek, Talbott Teas’…

The teacup stands equally as a trademark of make-believe tea parties of early childhood and the focal point of the most sophisticated formal high teas. Its distinctive shape, delicately curved handles, and companion saucer give this utilitarian piece a personality unique to its owner. Whether it’s a hand-painted keepsake from a friend, a wedding present passed down through generations, or even a chipped cup that has been restored again and again, teacups are beloved collectibles, no matter how expansive the collection. The evolution of the teacup began in China and spread through Europe in the 17th century as a handle-free vessel. Chinese teacups had no handles and were held by the thumb and forefinger at the lip and base of the cup. Europeans’ intolerance of the hot temperature eventually led…

Communities across the nation join together during the Christmas season at Charles Dickens–inspired events. The fifth annual Dickens of a Christmas in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, transforms the town into a Victorian English setting, where vendors and entertainers are dressed in period costumes for an old-fashioned Christmas. The city of Roanoke, Virginia, offers a number of attractions, including street performers, seasonal items, a live nativity scene, horse-drawn-carriage rides, and more From a farmers’ market to craft displays and festive music to scenes from Dickens’s A Christmas Carol performed in various downtown locations, Lafayette, Indiana, has a wonderful event planned for the holidays. And downtown Northport, Alabama, becomes pedestrian-style only as working artisans, people in period costumes, musicians, Father Christmas, bagpipers, horse-drawn-carriage rides, and much more abound. Join one of these celebrations near…

Beth Johnston has a passion for tea. She discovered her love for the beverage through a cup of Mango Ceylon, which inspired her to open her own tea business, Teas Etc. Now, after more than a decade in the industry, Teas Etc is an award-winning company known as a leading importer of tea, herbs, and other products. BeThis a member of the Specialty Tea Institute and serves on the World Tea Expo Advisory Board and Education Committee. She is also an instructor of WTE’s New Business Boot Camp, as well as a speaker for many core conference classes, such as the Organic Certification class. Beth continues to grow her company and to travel, learn, and educate others about her favorite beverage. Q: What spurred you to start your own tea…

So many different types of tea exist, from oolong to pu-erh, that sometimes it can seem overwhelming. For people trying to navigate the wide world of tea varieties, Mary Lou Heiss and Robert J. Heiss have written The Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook: A Guide to Enjoying the World’s Best Teas (Ten Speed Press, 2010), a companion book to The Story of Tea: A Cultural History and Drinking Guide, nominated for both the James Beard and IACP awards. With chapters on purchasing tea, how to steep tea, and tea storage and freshness, in addition to practical discussions on the six classes of tea, this guidebook is chock-full of information for the tea lover. The authors discuss green, yellow, white, oolong, black, and pu-erh teas, from how the leaves are plucked to oxidation.…

COVER Photography by Mac Jamieson, food styling by Virginia Hornbuckle, photo styling by Lucy Wilson. Antique cake stand from private collection. Christmas Rose teacup and saucer ($101) and teapot ($405) from Spode, 888-778-1471. CONTENTS Page 3: Arte Italica Flora cup and saucer ($47), arteitalica.com for retailers. MASTHEAD Page 6: Spode Christmas Rose 5-piece place setting ($159.95) from Replacements, 800-REPLACE, replacements.com. COME FOR TEA Page 8: Royal Crown Derby India teacup ($90) and saucer ($60) from Bromberg’s at the Summit, 205-969-1776. NECESSARY THINGS Page 12: Polar Bear and Santa Spice Tea Tins ($7.49 each) from Zhena’s Gypsy Tea, 800-448-0803, gypsytea.com. Organic Cinnamon Plum Tea Gift Set ($29) from Rishi Tea, 866-747-4483, rishi-tea.com. Grand Luxe Gift Set ($40) from Talbott Teas, 888-582-6567, talbottteas.com. Transparent Travel Press with Holiday Berry tea and White…