Wednesday Tea For Me and Thee

We’ll be having Ginger Peach Green Tea in my blue bamboo Tetsubin teapot.  This metal teapot has its own mesh strainer and keeps the tea warm for a long time.

The Blue Willow teapot will be perfect for a pot of Dragon Eye Oolong tea.

 This teapot has a rather interesting Pagoda style shape.

The pretty little blue and white cups were purchased at The Tea Room in Savannah, GA.

 Now all that’s left is to decide what little treats we should have with the tea.  What would you like?  Please check out the lovely Plumed Pen blog for lots of wonderful tea parties.

Royal Canadian Tartan teacup

This teacup was given to me as a gift by a friend when we spotted it in a little antique shop.  For some reason I think we were visiting Madison, GA at the time.  She insisted that, since I was born and raised in Canada, I needed to have this cup and saucer.

It has a pretty tartan ribbon design with maple leaves and gold trim.  This bone china pattern was made in England to be sold as Canadian souvenirs.

There is a little cluster of maple leaves inside the teacup.

  It was made in England by Windsor, probably in the 1940’s.

I’d really like to add some more tartan teacups to my collection.  I’ll be watching for them on the other blogs participating in Teacup Tuesday.  You can find the links on Terri's and Martha's beautiful blogs.

Savannah Tea Rooms

Two weeks seemed like a very long time away from my computer.  It is amazing how much you miss and how hard it is to catch up with email, blogs, etc.  The boys go back to school tomorrow, so maybe things will settle into a regular routine once again.

Today, I’ll share the two tea rooms I visited while in Savannah.  On Monday, July 19, I had lunch at The Tea Room on Broughton Street.  They require 24 hrs notice for afternoon tea, but their luncheon tea options are also delightful.  The pretty table settings are perfect for the soothing, comfortably lit room.

I’ve been looking for more of those same green glass tumblers to add to the six in my collection.  I like the blue willow china and the various clocks from the owners collection that decorate the walls.  The large bouquet of calla lilies (my favorite flower) was lovely on the table in front of the fireplace.   The abundance of interesting books was a nice touch and did you notice the lovely tea caddies on the mantle?

My tea choice was Royal Golden Yunnan which was a satisfying brew to enjoy with my yummy soup, egg sandwich, salad greens and dessert plate.

The scone and cake was delicious and the shortbread was a real treat.  I was delighted to see that the fresh orchid blossoms, which I consider one of their special features, were still plentiful. 

On Tuesday, I returned for an afternoon tea tray.

My server suggested a wonderful first flush Darjeeling that I highly recommend.  It is called Gopaldhara Estate from a tea garden located on the north eastern slopes of Rongbong Valley of the Darjeeling district.  The tea tray sandwiches were really good and I was surprised that I even liked the Lapsang Souchong tea marinated chicken salad.

The decor of The Tea Room is based on the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh (a Scottish architect and designer) whose work was featured in several Miss Cranston’s tea rooms in Glasgow, Scotland.  They have a terrific gift store at the front of the tea room and sell an outstanding variety of loose teas.  The mother and daughter owners are friendly and knowledgeable and happy to share their tea expertise.

Since I only had a couple of days on my own, I decided to squeeze another tea room visit into my schedule on Monday.  After a trip back to my hotel to deposit my purchases, I walked over to the Gryphon Tea Room on Bull Street in the historic district.  It is owned and operated by the Savannah College of Art and Design.

This historical building was Solomon’s Apothecary from 1913-1984 and has some of the original woodwork drawers and also gorgeous Tiffany glass lamps and stained glass windows.

Much of the artwork on display is by former SCAD student Chia Chiung Chong.  My Darjeeling tea and scones were good and I enjoyed talking to my server who was a recent graduate.  The teapot was such a unique shape and I was tempted to purchase one.

We had planned to visit a third tea room on Abercorn Street called the Whimsical Teacup on our way out of Savannah, but sadly we discovered that it has closed.

Savannah trip

We just got back from Savannah, GA and we’re off again tomorrow to Villa Rica for a week.  I hope to share more photos and tell you a little about the trip when I return.

The historic district in Savannah is such a beautiful area.  The buildings are gorgeous and there are 22 famous squares to visit, plaques to read, sculptures and fountains to see and lots of great stores and restaurants.

I had afternoon tea at The Tea Room twice and also visited The Gryphon tea room with its authentic Tiffany glass fixtures.

Walking here is such a pleasure and everywhere you turn there are moss draped live oaks and brick paved pathways leading to wonderful historic homes.

 If walking becomes tiresome, there are tours by horse drawn buggy or by trolley.  We did an Oglethorpe trolley tour which included a 90 minute narrated tour of the historic district on the trolley and then unlimited van travel for the rest of the day. 

The fountain in Forsyth Park was created in 1858.  This is where we met the interesting “Gullah man” who was weaving lovely roses from reeds.  He was a poet and a veteran too.

This wonderful fountain is one of only three or four like it in the world.  The sculpture is magnificent.

Can you see the detail in this center section with the bulrushes and birds with outstretched wings. 

Our hotel (The Planters Inn) was in a very convenient location.  I could walk out the door and be at The Tea Room on Broughton St. or on River Street in the opposite direction within five minutes.  Every afternoon we would relax in the lobby before dinner and enjoy the complimentary wine and cheese.  Room service meals were provided by the famous Olde Pink House restaurant right next door to the hotel.  We were told that the red Georgia clay building was whitewashed and so it turned pink.

There is much more to share from my Savannah trip, but for now I’d better get back to doing laundry, repacking and getting ready for a tea presentation I’m attending this afternoon.  I’ll look forward to catching up on all your terrific blogs in a week or so. 

Home Away From Home

I’ll be hanging my hat at the Planters Inn in Savannah GA for the next few days.  I can’t wait to once again take afternoon tea at The Tea Room on Broughton Street.

There are several new spots to visit thanks to suggestions from friends.  Here’s hoping for lots of new tea things to share when I return.

 

Teacup Tuesday

The teapot and matching teacup are from my dinnerware service and are Wedgwood Queen’s Ware in the Edme pattern.  The other cup and saucer is made by Wood & Sons in their Toile de Jouy pattern. 

The Queen’s Ware or cream ware is such a lovely neutral and mixes well with lots of china patterns.

I really like the texture and the pedestal base of this pattern.

The Wedgwood site has a lot of information on Queen’s Ware which got its name from Queen Charlotte wife of George III. 

I’ve always loved toile fabric, so this cup by Wood & Sons is another favorite.

This pattern was also made in pink and blue.

There are lots of wonderful teacup and teapot posts to see today.  Check out Artful Affirmations, Martha's Favorites, Silken Purse and Sandi.

Lavender Green Tea

On one of my visits to Jade's Tea I tried a lovely Lavender Green Tea.  I quite liked this tea and decided to purchase some to brew at home.

It says on the bag to use boiling water, but a lower temperature is better for the green tea. 

It occurred to me that this would be easy to blend myself at home.  Why not add some culinary lavender to a favorite loose green tea.  This way I could control the amount of lavender flavor.

This worked out perfectly and it was easy to just sprinkle some lavender into the filter basket with the loose green tea before brewing.  Now I can enjoy a cup of relaxing and fragrant Lavender Green Tea whenever the mood strikes.

Sadly, I just learned that Jade’s Tea will be closing on July 30th.  I’ve only just begun to enjoy her tea room and now it will be gone like so many others.  I wish her all the best with the new online tea business.