Hot Tea Month

January is hot tea month!

One of the things I miss most about our lifestyle right now, is my inability to host tea parties. I love to host tea parties! So, I thought I'd indulge in a little virtual tea party right here.

There is something so inspiring about a beautiful tea setting. It is simply beautiful, elegant and inspiring. Tea brings about the feeling that one should lounge and savor. Tea is not about hurrying. It is about savoring. About taking time to enjoy each other. Time to relax, sit, sip and savor. When you think of tea you don't think about running, chaos, noise. Tea inspires calm thoughts. Maybe that's one of the things I love most about it.

I absolutely adore teapots! I am not sure how many I have. More than some might think is necessary, but less than any true tea devotee should have I would think. I have elegant teapots, whimsical teapots, country themed teapots, holiday teapots. Many of my teapots were gifts from wonderful friends and so I treasure them even more dearly! This is also the blessing of tea parties, they are meant to be shared. Friends are meant to be treasured over a nice cup of tea and scones.

My most prized teapot isn't really a teapot at all. It's a coffee pot. It was my grandmother's china set that she gave to me just before she passed away. Oh how I loved to eat off the good china! So we serve tea out of it and we love and cherish every sip because it reminds us of her love. The pattern is Johnson Brothers Enchanted Garden. It is missing a few pieces that had broken over the years and originally I thought I would replace them, but then I thought those wouldn't be from her, so what's the point? So I never did. Part of the love affair with tea parties is the tradition of it all. You feel connected and like you are a part of some grand tradition.

My affection for Johnson Brothers however, led me to some other patterns and purchases, like the one above. That is Summer Chintz and I not only have a few tea cups and saucers, but this is also the pattern of perhaps my most extravagant purchase ever! I'll get to that in a moment. I also have two or three other Johnson Brother patterns in my collection. A white swirl and a pink house teapot and cookie jar. Well, I had a pink house cookie jar, it got broken in the move to the townhouse. I have also learned to let go through my love of beautiful tea things. I have learned that things are just things. Things are not meant to be permanent. People are meant to be permanent. I treasure my loved ones much more than any thing I could own, so I use them and if one breaks, no biggie. Clean it up and move on to the next one. I wasn't always like that. I used to love things. I used to mourn the loss of the things I loved. But now I love my things, but they are meant to be enjoyed and shared and one day either they will leave me or I will leave them. My loved ones will, hopefully, if I have anything to say about it, be there in heaven with me!

I have quite a collection of different tea cups. I actually have very few sets. The only complete set I own is the set from my grandmother. All the rest are odds and ends I've picked up here and there. So, my teapots and tea cups don't ever match, but that's ok. That's part of the charm of tea. it is eclectic. It can be just as easily elegant or whimsical with a full matching set, or with an assortment of mismatched items. You can try to pull together a certain color scheme if you like, but I love to set out my assorted tea cups and allow my friends to choose the one they like best. It's part of the fun and charm of tea parties, imo.

And then there is the tidbit tray. Did you just ask me what a tidbit tray is? That's okay, I never knew before my fascination with tea began either. It is a tray to serve tidbits on. No, seriously. There are many different styles of tidbit trays. My favorite is the tiered tray. I only two of these because they are difficult to store. But I do have plans for more, if we ever have room that is. Which leads me to the reveal of my most extravagant purchase ever...

My Summer Chintz Tidbit tray! I will not reveal how much I paid for it, only my husband and God know that! But when I bought it they didn't exist! I found it and the price was more than I would normally ever pay, but I loved it! I searched and searched for another one. All over the web I traveled in my search, only to find they didn't seem to exist! Not even the manufacturer had ever heard of them. So, with my husband's blessing, I bought it. And I haave never regretted it! I absolutely love it!! I do believe mine was handmade because the ones I see now do not look like mine, don't have the same hardware, and mine actually has a bowl on top (this is a picture of one I found online) which I cannot find anywhere.

And lastly, for this post at least, is the beautiful serva-snak dishes. These were my first find and I fell madly and completely in love with them! I have since gathered others, but none as beautiful as these fan ones. These are delightful because they have a little rimmed section of the plate for your cup. So, you can put your food and drink on your plate and mingle! These are wonderful if you don't have enough room for a sit down tea. Let everyone meander around and visit. Now, wandering the room is not the same kind of tea party as a sit down, so please don't give up the sit down variety! But it can be fun if you want to have a large group and think you can't do a tea party because there isn't room to sit. These trays can also be used at a sit down tea party. But our lives are so rushed already that the whole point of a tea party is to take the time to sit and refresh. And the point of sharing a tea party with friends is to sit and really visit! So, be mindful of the atmosphere you want to create when planning your party. But don't stress about it! Tea parties are meant to be fun!

Well, hopefully you are feeling inspired to enjoy a cup of hot tea to celebrate hot tea month. Perhaps throw in a scone or cucumber sandwich and really enjoy! I will be back soon with some recipes and other musings on tea parties.

Until then....

Be Blessed!