NorthWest Tea Festival

I have flubbed in not keeping you abreast of events, but this very weeekend, the Northwest Tea Festival is happening in the Seattle Center in Seattle, WA.  I know Marilyn from Marmalady's will have a booth.  I hope to do better in the news department soon.

Some Alarms Come True

Hello Friends - Just had a detached retina operation - might not be back blogging untill sometime next week.  Just got 2 new Turkish teas, so I'll be reporting on them.  In the meantime, this might amuse you.

The Earl Visits Turkey

Doesn't that look inviting; a bit mysterious, beckoning one to an adventure.  My cousin always told her kids they were having an adventure when she was lost.

Today, high up in a poison ivy covered tree I spotted a bunch of white morning glories - lovely against the red of the ivy.  The golden rod is fading, but the purple, blue  and white asters are starring the fields.  It is raining again and will off and on for the next three days, so we are under a flood watch.  Please God, no, we are barely out from under this one.  Today we got an enormous load of free new boots and shoes at the aid station.  They are so needed, as people's footwear is  practically being eaten by the mud and muck.

We have gone to many countries on this tea journey, but only once to Turkey.  Today, however, we are going there again, and the Earl of Grey is there as well.  From the top, the English label reads Tomurcuk, Earl Grey Tea Caykur.  The tea is produced in the Eastern Black Sea region with no pesticides or chemical additives and had 0.6% natural bergamot essence added.  The rest is in Turkish.  The dry leaves are small, a couple grades up from CTC, quite dark and with a delicate scent of bergamot. 

I brewed the tea with boiling water for 3.5 minutes, using a tespoon per cup.  The tea has a strong earthy aroma balanced with a delicate scent of bergamot.  It primarily tastes like the tea I had at my favorite Turkish restaurant, although the bergamot adds a very nice lightness of citrus, which in my opinion, it needs.  I've never been too sure I liked the restaurant tea, but this one, I really like.  You can get it from http://www.amazon.com/ if you want to try it.  It's not too expensive.  I bought some other Turkish teas as well, so you'll be hearing about them.  The plain ones, I may try with some of the Austin Sugar Works sugars, for the little addition of flavor.

How Sweet It Is

A very typical Swiss Chalet

Fall is really hustling right along and I have noticed some beautiful things. Just down the road from us is a about a ½ mile long hill of nothing but golden rod, along yellow sweep of color, glistening in the sun. The swamp maples are flaming red, redder than I’ve seen them in a long while. Redder even than the poison ivy or the more maroon of the sumac. Color is creeping around on the hills, but all of it is still pretty pale. Hopefully we will have a hard frost that will deepen the colors.


Our deceitful river has its moments of beauty also. Sometimes it is so still, we see those upside down reflections, so beloved of photographers. It is too soon for most people around here to view the river with anything but fear and distaste. The aid stations are still going strong, with many people coming for help. We are reminded that winter is not very far away.


I have a new product to tell you about, tea sugars. These are hand made by Elayne Crain at Austin Sugar Works  www.austinsugarworks.com . They come in a number of shapes and flavors and I bought some to try. I got mint, ginger and lime and Elaine gave me some samples of rose and others I’ve not tried yet. The lime looks like a lime slice, the ginger is a lion, the rose is a rose and the mint looks likes snow flakes. I tried them with plain teas, so I could see how they affected the tea. They are all delicate flavors and could easily go in almost any cup of tea, although I think they would be wasted on a strong one. For me, I like the fact they add the gentlest amount of flavor to your tea, just a small, elusive hint, which is just perfect. I was afraid they would overwhelm the taste of the tea, but they don’t.


The sugars are all natural and hand made, as I said. They dissolve very quickly and they are pretty. They are much too expensive for everyday, but if you want to add a “sweet” touch to a special tea party, these could be the very thing. Elayne also suggests using them as decorations on cupcakes or cookies. Visit her site and check them out.


PS, I am still not a sugar in tea person, but  I would use these at my tea parties to please my guests..

False Alarm

This is the pulpit in a small but exquisite German church in which my many greats grandfather was christened. 

Hello again.  I do not have a detached retina, so no operation, hooray.  I do have a problem, but the eye doctor says it will cure itself.

I was having some chutney with a chicken dish for lunch today.  It's very good, but doesn't sell at the farmers market any longer, so I looked on line and there it is.  It's called Chutney Fever and is made right here in Trumansburg, NY, about 10 miles north of Cornell University.  It comes in 6 flavors, but I have only had 2 - Apricot Ginger and Peach Tamarind.  They are delicious and organic and make wonderful tea sandwiches, either alone or with cheese or peanut butter or chicken, ham, etc.  They are also very nice with scones.  The online address is http://chutneyfever-store.stores.yahoo.net/  They are a little expensive, but a small amount has big results.  I am a great fan of cheese and chutney sandwiches, myself, and these chutneys are a lot better than Major Grey's.

I am so glad to have our own water back and not have to mess with either bottled or overboiled water for my tea.  And... we can now shower and wash our clothes safely.  Owego continues to struggle with the devastation, but we are determined to bounce back.

Silver Leaf Tea Company, http://www.silverleaftea.com/ is the source for today's Evening Blend.  it is a mix of Indian and Chinese teas and is billed as having lower caffeine.  The dry leaves are huge, twisted and an interesting mix of brown and silver or pale green.  The aroma is interesting, as well.giving off a gentle but definite mix of tree bark accented with peach and tamarind.  I brewed it for 3.5 minutes with boiling water, as there were no guidelines with it. 

The resulting brew is very pale and doesn't smell like much other than fresh wash or milking parlor soap..  Even before tasting it, I wonder if I used too little.  I probably should have weighed it instead of spooning and eye-balling it.  Yup, it is just plain weak.  I may make more today, if so, I'll write about it.

Well, I made it the right strength and I have to say it's hardly worth the effort.  It's OK.  It has a bit of tamarind taste, over a bit of earthiness, but it is really nothing special, although as I finish my very large mug of it, it seems to gain more depth.

Excuses, Excuses

Hello tea friends.  Won't be here for a while - I have a retina detaching and have to have it repaired either today or tomorrow.

The Master Gardener class is really interesting and one of the people I ride with is a tea person.  Totally cool, eh?  The group from our county was not as snazzy or prepared as the others, but we have a good excuse - the flood.  Sure is better than "The dog ate my homework", right?

I'll be back as soon as I can.

Bearly Here

An old courtyard in Durlach, Germany.

We got beared again last night!  The buggers really tore up the bird feeders.  Oddly enough, they were only interested in seeds, not suet.

I received my monthely Steepster Select tea offering.  This month is all oolongs.  if they are as good as lat month's, I'll be a happy camper.  Again, they are from companies I've not tried before.

That, my friends, is it for today as I must run off to take the first of my Master Gardener's classes.  I am so pleased to finally be able to do it and doubly pleased to have something else to think about other than the misery in Owego.  Sadly, others cannot so easily escape.  My post woman's kid's house was totally condemned and they had just finally fixing it up.  She has lost all her sparkle, as I am sure her son and his wife have.

Benoy Thapa, from Thunderbolt Tea, said that Darjeeling and Sikkim have experienced a bad earthquake, especially Skkim.  he was asking for prayers for the people there.  Darjeeling is functional again.