Angela Webster McRae's Blog, page 28

Sampling new teas from iTeaworld in China

The first day of spring. I had thought it might be nice to wait until the first day of spring to share the jasmine tea samples that iTeaworld.com recently sent me directly from China, but when I saw this elegant packaging and tasted some of their smooth floral teas, I couldn't wait!

This Jasmine Tea Selection arrived in an elegant golden-yellow-sleeved box.

It had an "Open" tab at the end, so of course I removed the sleeve and opened it!

Inside? All sorts of goodies to delight the senses, from 20 individual packets of loose-leaf jasmine tea to an envelope of fillable tea bags and a beautiful pamphlet detailing how to prepare both hot and cold-brewed versions of the tea.

I started with the Jasmine Bi Luo Chun tea, which is scented three times. Did you know that "bi luo chun" literally means "green snail spring"? Those tiny little snail-shaped tea leaves are always fun to behold—and although I've eaten snails before, precisely once, I am pleased that there are no snails in this tea! If you're not familiar with the process by which jasmine tea is scented, you can visit this page to learn more. I've seen videos online about the scenting process, and I'm always impressed at the time and care it requires. (And at night, according to iTeaworld. If I ever knew that, I'd forgotten it.)

This envelope of tea bags was a thoughtful addition to the package. I had assumed it would contain your standard-issue paper tea bag filters. 

But no! Inside are *silken* tea bags for you to fill if you so desire, and I did! Preparing the tea according to the directions required just 10-20 seconds of brewing in water at 80-90 degrees Celsius, and I went for 20 seconds, wondering if that could possibly be long enough. It was! The pamphlet said the tea could be brewed three to four times, and I easily brewed this Bi Luo Chun four times. I'll be trying the others throughout this month as well and will let you know what I think, but as impressed as I was with this first one, the lowest grade, I look forward to working my way up the progression in quality. (The teas range from three scentings with jasmine to nine scentings.)

Now, I knew that I enjoyed this tea, and I also knew that I was quite impressed at the splendid packaging, but when I went online to check it out (not wanting to be influenced by their PR before I'd even tried the teas), I was absolutely stunned to learn this set retails for only $39.99, and the first order over $9 gets free shipping. And even though the package was shipped from China, my teas arrived in less than two weeks, I believe, which is quicker than I can receive a letter here in the US these days. (A girlfriend mailed me a handmade card on January 11, and it arrived February 22, so I got teas from China much faster!) iTeaworld.com was a new name in tea to me, and I am absolutely delighted to share it with all of you! You can learn more about this sampler as well as their other Chinese teas at iTeaworld.com.

A surprise on Antiques Roadshow

I had not watched Antiques Roadshow in years, but the other night, I was looking for something to watch on Amazon Prime, just some nice background noise while I surfed Instagram or something. I saw that the new season of Antiques Roadshow was up, and Season 17, Episode 1 featured finds from Corpus Christi, Texas.

Learning about any antique object or artwork is interesting to me, but I was delighted to see a teapot appear on screen (this is a screen grab from my computer). According to this lady's aunt, the teapot was brought to Holland by the Dutch East India Company and was said to be a forerunner of the Delft Blue wares that are so popular today.

The expert sounded like he was about to burst her bubble when he said that "unfortunately," the teapot wasn't that rare, but he estimated that it was 300 years old and would bring at least $800-$1,200 at auction. So if I see one of these at the thrift store, just you try to beat me to it. Ha! (And now I'm hooked on Antiques Roadshow again. Check your local PBS listings if you don't get it via other channels, because these are definitely our kind of people!)

A tea-loving bunny!

 

Now, don't judge, because I am just getting started on my Easter decorating, and the tea trolley is definitely not done yet, but I glanced at this adorable bunny I plopped there this week and realized that oh my goodness, I meant to share him here in case one of you wants/needs to go find one at your local T. J. Maxx! I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket(book), so this is what I got.

And I love him! From his turquoise suit and cheerful yellow teacup …

… to his rose-embellished hat …

And even the way his little bunny paws are perched atop this teacup pedestal. He was just $16.99, which I thought was a great price for such a charming piece that's more than 14 inches tall!

Teacups and bunnies and cards, oh my!

 

Since Easter arrives on March 31 this year, I figured I'd better get started if I plan to get a few Easter cards in the mail to friends!

I used some stamps and dies I found on Amazon, the set here, which was a little iffy. I don't think the Origarch sentiments stamp as well as those in my Stampin' Up stash, but for just $9.99 for the stamps and dies, I'm happy to simply use the teacup and bunny stamps and pull the sentiments from my own stash.

I liked being able to use some bright-pastel cards and envelopes that seem well-suited for spring. I went to Hobby Lobby last week to purchase some white cards and envelopes, but they had a pack of 120 cards and envelopes (I'm talking 120 of each) on clearance for just $5 and some change. Sold!

And while I don't normally use a lot of lavender in my card making, I sure loved using this pretty wisteria color, which is perhaps my favorite spring pastel! What's yours?

A different kind of shamrock …

With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, I was busy looking through old photos on the Library of Congress website in search of something that combined the words "shamrock" and "tea." Well, I did find an old photograph that included both of those words, and while it wasn't at all what I was looking for, I was still intrigued. Do you recognize the dapper gent at the center of the photo?

The entry reads: "Photograph shows Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton (1848-1931), purveyor of Lipton teas and America's Cup challenger, and the crew of Shamrock IV at Morse's Dry Dock, Brooklyn, in preparation for the 1920 America's Cup race." (Source: Flickr Commons project, 2017)

If you haven't read A Full Cup, you can go here for my summary of the fine book about the life of Sir Thomas J. Lipton!

A new scrub with green tea

It's been a while since I've spotted any new cosmetics containing our beloved camellia sinensis as an ingredient, so I was delighted to come across this Raw Sugar Whipped Scrub with green tea, cucumber, and aloe vera at Kroger recently.

I was especially delighted that it was in their clearance section, so this $15.49 product was just $5.42, and I do love a good scrub cream. Olay made a great one with tea in it a few years ago, and I bought it every chance I got, but alas, it disappeared from shelves. Lots of products these days claim to have green tea in them, so I've learned to really read the labels to make sure it's not just the *idea* of tea that they're selling!

This scrub's lovely floral scent is just divine, and it's a thick, paste-like scrub, and with almost 60-year-old skin, I appreciate that it's only lightly scrubby, with not quite the grittiness of the old scrubs that felt like melted sandpaper. I like sloughing off a few skin cells but certainly not all of them, if you know what I mean, and I definitely follow up with a light moisturizer these days. A little googling revealed that this scrub cream is occasionally on sale at various drug stores and grocery stores, and I see it's currently part of a bundle on Amazon, too, so if you're in the market for a scrub cream, you might look for this one! 

Updated to add: In response to a reader question, I wanted to note that yes, this IS a body scrub, not a facial scrub, but because it said "for sensitive skin," I've been happy using it as a facial scrub. If you have SUPER sensitive skin, this may not be something you want to try. (But boy, do I love mine!)

A new facial scrub with green tea

It's been a while since I've spotted any new cosmetics containing our beloved camellia sinensis as an ingredient, so I was delighted to come across this Raw Sugar Whipped Scrub with green tea, cucumber, and aloe vera at Kroger recently.

I was especially delighted that it was in their clearance section, so this $15.49 product was just $5.42, and I do love a good scrub cream. Olay made a great one with tea in it a few years ago, and I bought it every chance I got, but alas, it disappeared from shelves. Lots of products these days claim to have green tea in them, so I've learned to really read the labels to make sure it's not just the *idea* of tea that they're selling!

This scrub's lovely floral scent is just divine, and it's a thick, paste-like scrub, and with almost 60-year-old skin, I appreciate that it's only lightly scrubby, with not quite the grittiness of the old scrubs that felt like melted sandpaper. I like sloughing off a few skin cells but certainly not all of them, if you know what I mean, and I definitely follow up with a light moisturizer these days. A little googling revealed that this scrub cream is occasionally on sale at various drug stores and grocery stores, and I see it's currently part of a bundle on Amazon, too, so if you're in the market for a scrub cream, you might look for this one! 

A family birthday lunch!

Yesterday after church, Alex and I headed to my sister's house for a soup-and-sandwich birthday lunch in honor of Daddy, who turned 85 last week. Now, how many pitchers of tea do you suppose I've shown here over the years? Dolly Parton was definitely right when she called this "the house wine of the South" in Steel Magnolias.

Daddy is in great health, has a lovely lady friend (someone our family went to church with years ago, which is a bonus!), recently took up pickleball, and was telling me something about "some elderly people" last week, so I'd say that at 85, he's doing pretty good. Here he is with his first great-grandchild, baby Ezra, who was born to my niece Cari and her husband, Blake, last July. Ezra is the star of the show at family gatherings these days.

Cari's older sister, Madison, loves nephew Ezra and has babysat him on many occasions already.

Amelia, my youngest niece, is one of Ezra's favorites as well! (We all love that he is going through his little mohawk phase.)

And here's Daddy with my sister, me, and Cari. Very grateful for another fun day celebrating my dad! 

A trip to Cheaha State Park and a fun find

Yesterday was such a pretty day that Alex and I decided we needed to get out of the house and go gallivanting, so we ended up in Alabama at Cheaha State Park, which is the highest point in Alabama and definitely feels like it once your car winds its way uphill! Here, we had stopped to enjoy the view when we realized we were looking down on …

A helicopter! It appeared to have picked up a large red box-shaped something or other way down below, and we agreed it seemed highly unusual to be looking *down* on a helicopter in the air!

We stopped at several stores along the way, including a couple of thrift shops, one of which appeared to be open but was closed (lights on, cars lined up out front) and one of which appeared super junky outside but inside was one of the nicest, most well-organized thrift stores I've ever been in. Didn't buy anything there, but it was fun to look. Then, Alex spotted an antique mall near Lake Wedowee. The first thing I saw inside was a nice display of uranium glass, which my friend Connie has asked me to be on the lookout for. And what did I buy for myself?

Only one thing, but it was something I've had on my bucket list for a while, a vintage Blue Willow teapot! I've been around Blue Willow all of my life, it seems, but developed an appreciation for it only later in life. I had priced new Blue Willow teapots on Amazon for about $50, but this isn't exactly a scarce pattern, and I certainly don't need a big collection or anything, so I had a feeling I would spot one "in the wild" one day. This Sadler version was just $17, in mint condition, and it was the perfect souvenir of a fun day trip!

American Dream Tea

I was at my friend Nancy's Carriage House Country Antiques and Gifts in Senoia recently when I spotted a new-to-me tea blend, this American Dream Tea from Metropolitan Tea Company.

I loved the bright, strong scent of the tea bags when I opened this *paper* canister of tea. Although the front of the package describes it as a black tea, the back says it includes black tea, green tea, and natural flavoring. Interesting!

I wish I knew what all was in this blend, because it's great! It's definitely a brisk blend, but I also detected something floral. Maybe the green tea was a jasmine-flavored one? Or maybe it's the natural flavoring? I actually bought this tea mainly because I wanted the cute container for my July Fourth tea trolley, so discovering that the tea is tasty, too, is a nice bonus!