Birth of a Tearoom -- Part 2

It's slooooow going, but we are making progress!

After scraping the floor in preparation for the linoleum tiles, the support wall was installed for the tea bar counter top.  Then the opening in the wall to the back room had to be filled in.

 And the walls in the tea service were painted with a paint color named--I kid you not--Teatime! 

 

 And after that, the tea bar could be mounted in place.
I can almost see the bar stools and tea sippers now!

Then the tea prep counter and cupboards went in and the floor was able to be laid.  

The slat wall to hold those 1000+ bags of tea waiting to be bagged has gone up too! 

And later this week, my two best workmen in the world will put up the tea cottage which houses the tea tins for tea service. 

The visions that have been floating in my head are actually starting to take form, and slowly, slowly, we are making a tea room.  I keep reminding myself--it's the slow and steady turtle that won the race. 



Birth of a Tea Room -- Part 1

So, where do I begin?

Here we go again.  Lease signed.  Sigh deeply.  Gather all the puzzle pieces.  Get set...Go!

 

Right away the utilities have to be put in my name.  Gas and electric--check.  The phone lines and internet will have to come later, when enough is done that I am there every day.  In the mean time, the shop number floats in cyberspace as a virtual number that rolls over to my cell phone.  It's pretty neat what they can do these days with technology.

Start drawing out the finished floor plan.  We'll need to close in the window to the back room, and build a support wall for the tea bar.  The carpet will have to come up in the tea bar service area.  My fantastic husband, Phil, dubbed The TeaMan, gets the horrible job of scraping the old glue off the floor in preparation for tile.  Trip to carpet warehouse to find tile...check.

 

Get exact measurements for countertop for the Tea Bar so that it can be ordered...check.  Measure this...squeeze that.  Holy crap!  My desk just won't fit anywhere!  I mean any which way you look at it.  OK, get on line and find a new desk and file drawers in the right dimensions.  Check. 

Think about health department regulations.  Walls in the service area will need to be painted in washable paint.  Ceiling tiles changed to washable tiles.  The rest of the carpet is serviceable but will need a good steam cleaning.   We'll need a counter to prepare tea at.  Sketch in...check.  Cabinets for storage under the counter would be nice.  Trip to Home Depot--yea! cabinets are on sale.  Buy two cabinets...check.

 

Thank heavens electrical is all right where we need it, and so is the basic plumbing.  But a call to the inspectors downtown tells me that we can't install the sinks and ice machine ourselves, and have to find a licensed plumber to do the job.  Call around for estimates...check. 

 

Order new business cards and postcards announcing our new location, plus a nice poster for the front window announcing that Elaine's Tea Shoppe is Coming Soon!...check.  Call the sign company.  Make sure they can install my lighted sign on the front of the building at least a couple of weeks before opening.  Have them make new lettering to go on the wall above the tea cottage...check. 

 

While my brother and husband continue to prepare the space, I think I'll take a breath here while I wait for estimates, tile and countertop to come in.  Whew!

Birth of a Tea Room - Prologue

I thought I would chronicle the move from our wonderful shop on Monroe St. to our new location on W. Sylvania Ave.  It's not quite as simple as moving from point A to point B. There's so much to be done in order to prepare the space.  I thought it might be interesting for others to see what all happens to bring a new shop into existence.

 

So, here's a shot of what our beautiful shop looked like right before we had to start tearing it down.  Within a matter of days, we went from this...

 

to this!!!

 

We sold all but about a dozen bags of tea (we usually have over 1000 bags on the shelves)!  It was cold, nasty and the end of February when we had to move.  And, since our planned new location fell through at the last minute, everything--merchandise, supplies, appliances, shelving and fixtures, sinks, tables and chairs, plants, signs, my desk, files and office equipment, over 150 teas in kilo sized bags, my extensive teapot collection, and everything else--had to be stored until we found a suitable new home.  Nightmare is the word that comes to mind!

 

But, we were determined to rise from the ashes again, and the search was on to find our new home.  The first place was quite nice--we met with the owner, agreed on all the details, and shook hands on the deal.  Later, he backed out, leaving us in a spot.  A hand shake used to mean something--so much for integrity. One perfect spot 4 doors down from where we were wouldn't rent because the building owner didn't want to put the money into it to replace the broken furnace.  I even offered to do that in lieu of rent the first year, but they just dragged their feet so we moved on.

 

One by one another dozen or more potential places fell through.  One was a medical suite broken up into lots of small rooms.  The owner thought he would "sit on it" until another medical business came along.  Another great location had the space broken up between main floor and downstairs, where the bathroom was.  Too many steps for my (and others') arthritic knees!  Others spaces were too large or too small or too expensive. 

 

And then, one day, my wonderful brother (a retired carpenter who has helped me immensely with each shop incarnation) and I checked out the W. Sylvania spot.  The square footage was listed as almost exactly what we had on Monroe St.  A beverage type business had just moved out, so the plumbing for all the required sinks and ice machine was already in place--a major plus.  Upon measuring it out, we found it was actually over 100 sq. ft. smaller!  But, with lots of floor plan revisions, we decided we could make it fit. 

 

And, so, it begins... 

 

We've found a new Tea Home!

We've finally found a new location to house the 4th incarnation of Elaine's Tea Shoppe.  We tried our best to stay close to the same area in town, and you will soon be able to visit us at:

3115 W. Sylvania Ave.

Toledo, OH 43613

just 3 blocks east of Secor Rd.

We're busy putting everything in place--building a new Tea Bar, adding flooring, painting, installing sinks, satisfying all the health department requirements, and basically prettying up the place!  We'll keep you posted on our progress.  Right now, we estimate that we will be able to re-open sometime in mid-June.  



It's Christmas at Elaine's Tea Cottage! 

Courtney and Elaine baked up a storm of home-made cookies and brownies for Open House guests to enjoy.  Plus we had samples of our three favorite wintery teas to taste:

White Christmas, Orange Spice flavored white tea

Warm Winter Blend, a fruity and spicy black tea

WinterBerry Cream, our luscious Midwest Living creation

 

          

The Ohio National Guard Recorder Duo played Christmas music from 12-2pm lending a festive holiday spirit to the day.  Customers loved the live serenade as they sipped tea and nibbled on lots of goodies.  

A Sweet and Peaceful Tea

Sunday, yesterday, was a Sweet and Peaceful day. I had the great pleasure of taking tea with a friend at Sweet Shalom Tea Room in Sylvania, Ohio.  As always, Chris, the sweet proprietor, and her partners-in-peace had prepared a lovely themed tea on the 1950's.  Chris served as "Aunt Bea" for the day, from the Andy Griffith show.  It took us all back to a saner, more peaceful time. 

The menu was right out of the simple food of the 50's.  Plain cream scones with butter and apricot jam--warm and melt-in-your-mouth good.  Second course of quiche followed by third course of tea sandwiches: ribbon, chicken salad, and cucumber cream cheese.  Plus banana nut muffin with cream cheese frosting and peanut butter cholocate chip cookie.  
The place settings were so lovely, as usual; perhaps a bit simpler, as they would have been in the 50's.  The tea menu allows for a different tea with each course, so my friend Karen and I chose our favorites for each.  Never too much tea, and the variety offered in one setting was heavenly!  Karen had never been to a formal "tea", so it was a real treat for her.  It's always a treat for me, too, as this is where I get to relax and enjoy being served instead of serving customers myself.  That magic, rejuvenating power of tea in a warm inviting setting--one can hardly ask for more!
One of the touches I particularly enjoyed was the mantle in our room, decorated with Hats and Hankies from the era.  For those of you not old enough to remember days pre-Kleenex, a lady always had her hankies.  I remember ironing them with my grandmother, and always enjoyed the variety of prints and patterns they came in.

And then it came time to bid farewell to this retreat to the serenity of the 50's.  It was a most lovely day filled with good food, good tea and good company.  As we left, Aunt Bea stood at the front door, wishing us a "Sweet Shalom." 

 I could swear I heard Andy whistling his tune as we sauntered back to our 21st century lives, sated and filled with marvelous memories of sweeter days gone by.

A Day in the Life...of a Tea Room Owner

A Day in the Life…(warning...lengthy)

10:10am  Racing to the shop, and thank God it’s only 2 minutes from home.  My dear, sweet Siberian got her heart set on a squirrel again this morning and it is just too hot to leave her outside for the day. So, after several other bribes, “Frosty Paws” doggy ice cream finally coaxes her safely into her crate for the day. 

10:12am  Pull in the parking lot—thankfully no customers are waiting for me to open.  I just hate disappointing customers or making them wait.  Check the mail, park and unload my car: computer bag with my new computer which has not yet made my life easier, since I still have to tote my old computer too, as my new one has windows 7 that won’t run most of my old programs and it will take me months and months to convert over and run the learning curve on new ones.  So much for efficiency.  By that time, my computer will probably be outdated and I’ll need a new one which won’t run any of the “old” programs I just learned…. Well, you see where I’m going…  At any rate, my computer bag is heavy and a pain which is why I finally got one on wheels. 

I also have a batch of fresh scones that I made last night. Thank God for my KitchenAid mixer! I make them at home and sell them under “cottage industry” for two reasons. First is that when I moved to this new location, downsizing so that I could stay alive in this insane economy, I really didn’t have comfortable space for my convection oven and baking ingredients and paraphernalia.  Also, my food license cost would have doubled each year if I baked them on site as opposed to “cottage industry” in my home.  So, it was an easy financial decision.  The only problem is, my husband is getting fat as he can never resist a piping hot scone fresh from the oven!  (Just kidding, dear!) 

10:15am  Unlock doors, take the signs out to the road.  When I moved to this location, I got my own road-side sign on the large sign for our small plaza.  It is worth, well, almost all the tea in China to me.  It brings me so much business to have people driving by be able to see the name of the shop right out there.  I didn’t have that at my last location.   

But, in this economy, seems like enough is never enough anymore, so I put more push-in-the-ground changeable signs to put out teasers like an enticing “Lavender Lemonade” sign on a hot summer day, or one that says, quite honestly, that we have the “Best Teas in Town”, since there are not one, but two other tea shops practically within a stone’s throw from me.  When many towns don’t even have specialty tea shops, we have 3 within a mile of each other.  Sometimes the retail gods are just unkind, I think.  But then, other times, I realize that when tea drinkers try my tea—as they always make the rounds to all the tea shops, they never go back to the other ones, having discovered that my teas really are the “Best Teas in Town”.  So, in the end, it’s all good. 

Lights on, music on, plug in the hot water urns. Start to put dishes away from yesterday and an early customer comes in.  Yea!  Sample tea’s not made yet, but I guess that’ll have to wait.  Of course she needs the larger bag of Very Berry White tea, of which there are none on the shelf, so I have to bag some for her on the spot.  No problem, I love bagging up whatever the customer needs, but I am frustrated that I just can’t seem to keep up on bagging.  It’s a never ending task, of course.  I stock my shop with a few bags of each tea, so that the customer doesn’t have to wait to have their tea bagged every time they come in.  I use triple lined bags specially made for tea storage, so the tea stays fresh, and the customers appreciate not having to wait.  But with over 150 teas in stock, that’s a lot of bagging! 
That’s another consequence of this horrible economy.  I can no longer afford employees.  So I do it all myself.  ALL.  I used to have 2 employees, back in the good ol’ days when I first opened the shop—before the economy began to tank in 2001 and now we’re left with this daily struggle for survival—at least in our town.  I’ll spare you what I really think of the whole thing. It’s such an awesome and overwhelming responsibility to run a business like this by oneself, I can’t even allow myself to think about it for long or I crumble into mush.  I’m just like the bunny that just keeps going and going…  I don’t have any choice--other than close the shop.  And that’s just not a choice I want to make right now.  Or can.  But, that’s another discussion for another time.

Back to the brighter side of things, I help the customer find a new tea to add to her repertoire—perhaps my most favorite shop thing to do—and check her out.  Back to set-up:  make sample tea for the day.  What to have today…?  Definitely iced, as it was over 100 degrees yesterday and going to be in the 90’s today.  I glance through the “Tea Cottage” of tea tins I have on the wall and Peach Apricot pops out at me.  Ooh…that’s a good one iced! I’ll make that. 

Get the ice container out of the refrigerator to fill from the ice machine in the back room.  Another fallout from the downsizing.  The service area in this new shop isn’t big enough for the ice machine to be up front, so every day I have to fill a plastic container of ice and keep it in the fridge for ice for the day’s use.  I had to sell my old full size fridge and downsize to an under-counter model to fit the space as well.  Everything is in miniature here, but there are some positive trade-offs to these changes.  The compressors on the old fridge and ice machine were/are so loud, I wouldn’t want them up front in the service area, where my desk and work space is, too.  Being a bit hard-of-hearing, I would have trouble hearing customers over the loud hums every time they kick on, as I did in the old shop.  And with a smaller fridge, which seems to work fine for me here since we no longer do the lunch food service, the electric bill is smaller too.

So, I make the sample tea—juicy Peach Apricot, Iced—and while I’m at it, my first cup of tea for the day.  That’s the biggest plus for me in owning a tea shop.  Hot water on tap all day long, and over 150 premium teas at my fingertips.  I don’t wade through all of those every day; I do have my favorites.  I love green and white teas.  Our Monk’s Green is one of my all-time favorites.  It’s an Osmanthus scented tea, with tiny white flowers that smell softly of peaches.  And today I’ll blend it with a white pu-erh since I’m trying to heed Dr. Oz’s advice to drink pu-erh in the morning to shrink fat cells.  What the heck, it’s worth a try!  And, I’m a firm believer in the myriad health benefits of drinking tea regularly.  More than a believer.  I’ve experienced results and so have many of my customers.  Anecdotal evidence, I know, which holds almost no credibility in the medical community, but just google the research studies on tea, and you’ll see that there are plenty of bona fide double-blind studies done on tea which show astoundingly positive health benefits. 

Finish putting away dishes—the French presses from yesterday, plus mugs and iced tea glasses, silverware, and dishes from scones served.  And there was such a rush for the last two hours of the day yesterday, that the whole counter is a mess!  Tea tins and bags from refills that I didn’t have time to put away yesterday, ones I left out to remind me to bag for the shelves today, and some that need to be blended.  I love to make my own tea blends.  All but the chamomile ones—I’m allergic to chamomile.  If I blend it, which involves lots of stirring, my nose, face, neck, and arms itch for the rest of the day.  I have to beg a friend to help or enlist my husband, who’s virtually become the TeaMan around here, counterpart to my TeaLady role, whenever I need a chamomile blend tea made-up. 

11:15am  Set my computer up.  Sort through mail; throw out most of it. No bills today—yea!  Better check e-mail.   A task I used to love but have come to dread.  So much spam.  So much desperation advertising.  Even from companies that I like—they just send too much that checking e-mail has become a dreaded, arduous task.  It’s virtually ruined as a method of communication—and it was a great one.  But people are so inundated with unwanted e-mails that many don’t even read their mail anymore. 

Case in point:  I have been trying to keep in communication with customers through a dedicated e-mail newsletter list.  I send it only once a month.  It is colorful, not too wordy, has lots of pictures, and cuts to the chase of what’s important happening at the shop: new teas, classes, etc.  When I moved the shop 2 ½ years ago, I sent out e-mails letting the list know what was happening.  I was closed for about 2 months setting up the new shop, and I sent out numerous  e-mails letting customers know our projected opening date, then the real opening date, and then made a huge announcement of our Grand Re-Opening. 

About a year after I’d moved a woman came into the shop and said, “So this is where you moved to.  I’ve been looking for you for the longest time.”  I told her what I’d told everyone else who’d had trouble finding me after the move: “You need to get on our monthly e-mail newsletter list so you can keep up on what’s happening at the shop.”  And she quickly retorted, “Oh, I'm on it, but I don’t read my e-mail.  I get too many of them, and I just gave up on it!”  Now, I sent out at least a half-dozen e-mails telling of the shop move, and she hadn’t even read the subject line of one of them.  Sometimes it makes you just want to give up!  I gently suggested she just watch for them since I don’t bombard anyone with excessive mail, and check each month to see what’s happening at the shop.  I’ve actually started a monthly tea sale for newsletter readers only, just to bribe people to actually read their mail.  It’s all I can think to do. 

11:20am  Another customer comes in.  She asks if she can sit and have some tea and scones—do we still do that?  “Of course!”, I tell her. She explains what a hectic day it’s been for her already and how she desperately needs to just sit and re-group.  Besides, it is just beginning to rain outside, and as I look up I also hear a loud grumble of thunder.  “That’s what we’re here for,” I add.  We only have 3 small tables now but that keeps it quiet and intimate, serene and always relaxing in the tea shop.  So, once the ladies, and some gents discover this about us, they usually come back for more.  There’s nowhere else in town you can go to find this kind of peace and quiet, not to mention the exceptional tea and made-from-scratch scones.

I explain that I just made a fresh batch of cranberry scones last night which she said sounded great to her, and did she need to look at the tea menu or already know which tea she wanted?  She asked for a nice strong tea like Irish Breakfast, which, of course, we have, so I set about making her tea and warming her scones.  I also serve real clotted cream from England.  A pain to get in stock and maintain, but really the best thing to serve with scones, along with a nice strawberry jam.  I pull the glass plate, add a doily, and two new bird spreaders criss-crossed between little cups of clotted cream and jam while the scones are warming.  Tea first, though, always.  It amazes me how many employees over the years would want to serve the food first and the tea later.  I could never understand that.  What restaurant have you ever been to where you didn’t get your beverage first?  And I want their first taste to be the tea.  To me that’s primary-that first sip of tea starts the whole relaxation response.

4:50pm…Well, after that, it’s all a blur, and that’s as far as I got blogging today.  Where the rest of the day went would take 20 or so pages to elaborate.  So, it’s time to close up shop for the day and head home.  Grab dinner and do books on my laptop while my hubby and I watch a little TV.  Maybe I can put together that teapot order I’ve been wanting to do, and just don’t seem to find the time during the day.  And I need more infusers—almost out of those, plus the honey stock is getting low, and I would really like to find some more colorful teakettles to carry.  Oh, if only I could clone myself or figure out how to add another 24 more hours to each day!  But, I’ll think about that tomorrow.  Like Scarlet said, “After all, tomorrow is another day.”

WOW New TeaShirt!

Front of Shirt

                                                                    

We're excited to premier our brand new TeaShirt design with our favorite tea quote from Eleanor Roosevelt.  Tell the world what a WOW (Wild Orchid Woman) lady you are with this great design.  Every woman understands this quote to the core--we often shoulder burdens that would send most men into blind panic.  And we do it with grace and ease.  Like the woman on this shirt, calmly relaxing in hot springs in some lovely surrounding. 

Supplies are limited, but if interested, just call Elaine's Wild Orchid Teas @ 419-885-1515.  We have sizes: S, M, L, XL, $19.95, and XXL, $21.95. +S/H

So, the next time you find yourself in hot water, just tell yourself how WOW you are, remember your inner strength, and of course, have a nice cup of tea! 

Back side

Mad Scientist Strikes Again!

One of the things I love to do is create new tea blends and so, I've been playing Mad Scientist again.  I've come up with a couple that I think are worthy of adding to our stash. 

One is Buddha's Chocolate Chai.  We've been wanting to add another Chai to the mix and some interesting flavor notes came to me one day.  This blend has rich chocolate blended with all the usual Chai spices, but also has a haunting note of grenadine, a favorite monk's imbibe.  It's a must to add milk and sugar, at least in my opinion, and I find myself rewarded with a rich, satisfying, and comforting cup.  Who needs dessert?

The other new concoction, just in time for Valentine's Day is JazzBerry Champagne.  This one is a white tea blended with just a touch of black tea for jazzed-up raspberry flavor.  Along side, you'll find the taste of juicy champagne grape.  I love the white teas for their delicacy and great punch of health benefits, and I'm especially liking the addition of just the right touch of flavor, making sure to not overwhelm the delicate tea.  What a great way to celebrate Valentine's Day! 

Drink Up & Be Healthy!

In a meta study reported in the December issue of UK Nutrition Bulletin  correlating 40 research papers linking black tea and disease prevention, results of the study suggest that drinking three to six cups of tea daily can cut the risk of a heart attack by 60 percent. The papers also supported strong evidence that one to five cups daily clearly reduce the threat of type 2 diabetes, reduce clotting which can lead to strokes, and help control blood pressure. Results like that make it difficult to understand why the FDA still prevents tea purveyors from making any health claims about tea. Clear data is out there.

Well, January is National Hot Tea Month, and we say, "Drink Up & Be Healthy!" While we usually only hear about green tea when it comes to tea being healthy for you, these studies show that regular old black tea is unquestionably good for you especially in contributing to cardiovascular health. One study showed that 3 cups a day can reduce the risk of stroke by 21%, and 6 cups raises that to 42%. And, did you know that within one-half hour of drinking a cup of tea, your blood pressure goes down? Black tea comes in more flavors and varieties than any other type of tea, so the only real problem might be narrowing it down to which one to enjoy.  I'm off to enjoy a nice cuppa decaf chai before bed.  

Christmas Cheer!

The shop is a-bustle

with shoppers galore.

Looking for teapots

and teacups and more.

So many quite lovely

varities of teas.

And even some ornaments

for decorating trees.

But most important of all,

Friendship and Good Cheer.

We're wishing to all

the very best of New Year!

Wishing you the warmest Christmas or whatever holiday you might celebrate.  Savor the gatherings and goodies of the season, and enjoy your favorite cup of Christmas Cheer too!



The Golden Hour of Tea

The Golden Hour by Kellie Hill

Here's another painting by one of my favorite contemporary artists, Kellie Hill.  Her work is often evocative of much more than the simple subject depicted.  This one is more than a cup of tea on a lace tablecloth covered table.  I sip tea all day long, but this painting evokes something more. That special tea time where one might prepare their best tea in a treasured tea cup, when no one else is around and you can relax with just your own thoughts in restful, restorative tranquility. The Golden Hour. Perfect title. Elegant simplicity, peaceful serenity, Zen.

The Subtle Charm of Tea

There is a subtle charm in the taste of tea

which makes it irresistible

and capable of idealization.

It has not the arrogance of wine, the self-consciousness of coffee, nor the simpering innocence of cocoa.

~Okaura Kakuzo, Tea Master, Author, Poet

People don't send note cards often anymore. Now, they barely e-mail. Tweet in 140 characters or less is more the aptitude these days.  This quote would be too long even to tweet, but the sentiment expresses how I feel about tea.  So, I've put it on a note card and send it out whenever I get the chance. 

There is a subtle charm in tea.  Perhaps that is why it is missed by so many who must be bombarded with intensity before they "get" a thing.  Tea is subtle.  Tea is balanced.  While it has caffeine which provides alertness; it has L-theanine which lends calm.  No major jolt, just a pleasant relaxed focus.  Yet, within the subtle charms of tea exist a mighty power.  When life has us frazzled, it's tea that we reach for to comfort and calm, give us clarity, and bring us back to center again. 

While there are over 10,000 (or more?--I read varying numbers on this) varieties of tea to be enjoyed, there is a simplicity to tea that invites all, from peasants to kings and queens. Yet, there is a deep complexity in tea's subtle flavors, and one could spend a lifetime exploring.  There are less fruitful ways to spend one's time, and I can think of no better pursuit than to look forward to that next cup of tea.  

Ayubowan!

 Ayubowan!

This is the friendly greeting you receive everywhere in Sri Lanka.  Lalith Guy Paranavitana, owner of Empire Tea Services is offering his wonderful Tea Tour of Sri Lanka again this coming January.

If you are even remotely thinking about going, don't hesitate a minute longer.

It was the trip of a lifetime, will be long remembered for its tropical beauty, kind and gentle people, and of course, all that wonderful fresh tea!

Here are a few photos of our memorable trip.

This official greeter at the Galle Face Hotel has been at his post for something like 70 years!

Beautiful Hotels 

Ladies Plucking Tea -- only two leaves and bud for all tea from Sri Lanka!!!

We even plucked some ourselves!

 We visited 4 factories and saw how tea is made from start to finish!  First it is withered in large bins shown here, then rolled to crush the leaf and open the cells so that oxidation can begin.  Then leaves are put on tables to oxidize.  Then dried and sorted by leaf size.  Then, lots of tea tasting.

 

We asked one of the experienced tea tasters how long it took to become proficient at tasting.  He said, "Well, I've been tasting tea every day now, 7 days a week, for 10 years, and I think I am just now getting good at it!" 

The tea tasting at each estate was so much fun. I have never, and may never again, tasted such fresh tea--some that had just finished that day!  That fresh tea aroma in the factories is something I will never forget. 

We got up close to the elephants!

And visited many temples and famous Buddhist sites.

Who knew Cocoa bean pods were this big?

I had to be drug out of this batik store! Beautiful wares!

Majestic waterfalls

The Jeep Safari was so much fun.

We waded in the Indian Ocean.

Wove through narrow, winding mountain roads.

And saw beautiful vistas in every direction!  It's easy to see why Sri Lanka is now one of the top tourist destinations in the world!

NYC & Tea

Just got back from a quick trip to NYC to celebrate one of those milestone birthdays with 3 other gradeschool/high school friends.  One of them lives in SoHo, so we were a few short blocks from Harney's new digs and of course we had to stop in for tea one day.  It was great, and John's grandson, Emeric, was most gracious and gave us a complimentary tea tasting.  My friends mostly like the flavored teas, and we thoroughly enjoyed them all.  I can't remember exactly which ones we tried, but I do remember that they were perfectly prepared.  That's always such a treat for me--a rarity to find well prepared tea anywhere outside my own shop.  But, I expected as much from Harney and Sons and was delighted with our tea and the melt-in-your-mouth scones. 

Afterward I took a stab at reading my friends' tea leaves.  I only found out a couple of years ago that my paternal grandmother read tea leaves.  I wish I'd known that when she was with us, but somehow it never came up.  So, I've decided I must carry on the tradition.  It was great fun, and something significant seemed to show itself in each cup!

Another quite new shop we had lunch at was the "Bosie Tea Parlor" at 10 Morton Street.  Again, the tea there was supurb.  I was very impressed with their extensive selection, and I felt right at home when the waiter had to interrupt taking our lunch order to answer the tea timer from another customer's pot of tea.  You know you're in serious tea territory when the tea pot takes priority over everything else! 

Their food was quite good.  The variety was excellent for a tea shop, the service and presentation elegant.  I do wish the scones had been warmed just a bit as they were served cold.  But, all in all, another lovely tea experience and I would highly recommend Bosie's to anyone passing through lower Manhattan. 

The World's Largest Teabag

Customers are always commenting on one of my sculptures I have near the front door.  It's possibly the world's largest tea bag--made out of clay.  I have it there with a sign that says: "This is the only teabag you will see in Elaine's Tea Shoppe.  We only carry fine quality loose leaf tea.  Please do not touch."
Well, of course, everyone does end up touching it.  It looks quite real, and they can't believe it is solid.  They also often think it is a purse at first glance.  So, I have lots of fun with it when they discover its true identity and composition. This type of art, called trompe l'oeil, is made to "fool the eye".  I love it when customers are fooled and think it is a real teabag. 
I miss having my hands in clay.  When my sculpture teacher passed a couple of years ago, the group that met regularly disbanded.  It's just not the same trying to work on my own in my own home.  I miss the group.  We laughed a lot. Ate lots of chocolate together. Drank a lot of tea together. And expressed ourselves with our clay creations.

A Bite of Tea

A delightful gentleman came in the shop yesterday and, as people often do, started telling me Tea Tales from his childhood.  The one that made me laugh was this.  He often spent time with his grandfather, an avid and daily tea drinker. His grandfather didn't like anything too hot, so he would always take the first sips of tea by scooping out a teaspoonful and blow on it, then take it like one would take a bite of food from a spoon.  The child, wanting to mimic and enjoy tea like his grandfather had, finally asked, "Can I please have a bite of tea?"
To this day, every time he takes a sip of tea, he is taking a bite of tea with his grandfather.
Lovely.

This lovely teacup and spoon is from: One Painting a Day

Small Studies by Kellie Marian Hill

http://kelliehill.blogspot.com/2010/01/tea-and-spoon-paynes-grey.html