Teacup Tales

Welcome to Teacup Tales! As the season of Autumn begins and the weather cools (hopefully here), I'm drawn to the hues of orange and brown and the scents of cinnamon and pumpkin spices. I've been leafing through my magazines and cookbooks looking for new recipes. Probably my go to fall favorite is pumpkin bread which I will feature later this month. In two weeks my town will hold an Antique Fair downtown with one hundred booths selling vintage items. Last year I bought a beautiful citrine sterling silver ring at the fair. Hopefully there will be much more tea ware this year. There are very few antique and thrift stores in my area so I look to ebay and etsy for my shopping needs/wants. Today's featured teacup is one I found on ebay. "Autumn stars shine through gaps in the walls...He ...brews midnight tea by the stove's ruddy light." ~From a Taoist song, quoted in The Chinese Art of Tea  by John Eaton Bloefeld This is the oldest Royal Albert...

"May we live long and share the beauty of the moon together, even if we are a hundred miles apart." ~ Unknown poet internet On September 27 many people around the world will be celebrating the Moon Festival also known as the Harvest Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. Traditional celebrations take place on this date in China and other neighboring Asian countries. The Chinese have celebrated the harvest during the autumn full moon since the Shang Dynasty (16th to 10th century B.C.) Moon Cakes are eaten on this night and given as gifts to family members and hosts. They are cut into wedges and served with tea.  Typically moon cakes are sold in tin squares and are individually wrapped. The fat content is epic! Many cakes are filled with lotus bean paste and an egg yolk. It doesn't take many wedges to fill your appetite. Not a great photo...but this is a photo I took in 2003 in the Sichuan area of China during the week of the...

                                                                 Hello Tea Friends, Hope you are enjoying the beginnings of autumn-like weather or surviving 106 degree temperatures as we had last week. I'm so looking forward to cooler days and nights. Saturday morning I woke up early, walked my dog and sat down with the latest Tea Time Magazine (I've been saving it) and became quite excited to learn about all of the upcoming Tea Festivals. What a great combination: travel and tea!  I've never been to a tea festival before and would love to hear from any of you that have. Are you planning to attend any of these festivals?  Have you attended any of these festivals in the past? How fun would it be for a group to meet at one of these festivals!                 ...

Ahoy Tea Friends and Happy September, As summer winds down, I have been thinking about some of the tea related travels I experienced this summer. Probably the most wonderfully unique place I've had afternoon tea was on the Queen Mary which is docked in Long Beach, California. We were taking a short cruise to Ensenada, Mexico and the port was a block away from the Queen Mary. I couldn't pass up the chance to have tea at this historic site so I made a reservation for their first seating at 11:30. I was happily surprised when I realized this table was reserved for us. (Sorry, it was tricky to get decent photos with the window light.) The room was clean, modern and spacious. I didn't want to eat a traditional British afternoon tea course because I was boarding the cruise in just over an hour. Didn't want to start the trip on too full of a stomach. I opted for half a shrimp salad with hearts of palm, avocado and hard boiled eggs along with the Gravlax (...