January 10, 2019 – “Would you like a cup of tea?”

         I’ve said that often in the last few weeks during the holidays when friends arrive.

         Trust me – I break most of the rules of proper tea etiquette.

         I use my china Christmas Mugs instead of a teacup and so far the tea police haven’t come to handcuff me.

         I love the individually wrapped foil pouches that are prevalent in the market place these days from Bigelow, Twining’s and Constant Comment. Not like years ago.

         I remember my husband introduced me to Constant Comment and it came in a tin with an oval cover on the top that you pried up with the edge of a spoon or knife to get to the incredibly fragrant tea bags.  Gosh, I loved those old tins and suddenly they disappeared.  They were great for hiding a handful of grocery cash in the kitchen for those “skinny” paycheck weeks. 

         I am partial to Earl Grey and Lady Earl Grey tea and opt for decaffeinated tea now.  But, I do keep several brands and flavors in the house now that most have the freshness foil pouches.  My husband picks up different flavors than I do – so we always have a wonderful assortment. Usually around the holidays, I get one of those variety packs.  It is always good to have lemon,  mint, or chamomile in the house for cold and flu situations.

         Even with guests in attendance, I have an incredible habit which has been named the “Raccoon Sniff” – See November 4, 2016 blog for more details and a good laugh.

         When I open mine or any of my guests individual tea pouch, I pull the tea bag out, place it in the Mug and then pop the pouch open and raise it to my nose and give it a deep inhale – a ‘raccoon sniff’ to relish the aroma on the way to the trash can where I pitch the empty pouch. 

         The next thing in my tea making ritual is emptying the hot water kettle and re-filling it with fresh water and put it on to boil.  I don’t want water that has been previously boiled or sitting, I am not sure why, maybe I read that somewhere.

         I drape the tea bag into the mug or cup and when I go to pour the boiling water I press the tea bag tag to the counter top with a fingertip so that the string and tag don’t flip in from the movement of the water.  I have no idea where I came up with that technique – from a movie or seeing someone doing it in years’ past.  But, it suddenly became my technique and I don’t waiver from it.

         My husband on the other hand, he flips the tag through the handle loop in such a way that you can’t seem to “untie” it easily later.

         I have one friend who likes honey in her tea and I pull out the plastic honey bear I keep for just that reason.  I like a bit of sugar, and depending on my mood, I sometimes add cream too.

         Some people dunk their tea bag up and down to quicken the process, me I usually leave it patiently to steep. Sometimes I even cover the mug to keep the liquid hot.

         And, one friend, she uses one tea bag dipped into two cups always predicating it with, “One bag can make two good cups of tea”.  It makes me smile at her frugality every time, and the tea is always strong enough, so she has a good point.  I haven’t the chutzpah to pull that off down here in the South.  I do pull that trick when I make a potful of tea.  I put in only three quality tea bags for a 6-cup pot.

         I had another friend introduce me to exquisite pyramid shaped silk teabags as a gift.  What a delight they were and occasionally I will buy some.  Aldi’s usually keeps them in stock at a reasonable price. Those are the ones I shared with guests recently.

         The week before Christmas, I was at a restaurant and ordered hot tea and the little waitress brought me a cup of hot water and three Twining’s tea bags on the saucer.  That raised my eyebrows, yet no individual pot of hot water as I usually get at that restaurant.  She must have been new and didn’t know how the restaurant usually served the hot tea.   Why give me three bags if she isn’t going to offer to get me more hot water for tea when I’ve drunk the first cup? Trust me, those two other unused teabags I slipped into my purse and came home with me. I tossed them in my teabag chest. Yes, my frugality kicked in.

         I am still unsatisfied with Celestial seasonings tea as they claim “tea bags without strings, tags or staples” – or individual foil pouches – “keeping tons of material out of landfills each year.”  I find the interior fold over seal really doesn’t keep their teas that fresh. However, the first few cups of tea are wonderful, it is the latter ones I don’t find so delightful.  I am a good girl folding down the interior fold, but my husband isn’t – so I feel the tea goes stale.  Probably just a false assumption on my part – but that is how I see it.

         But, that brings me to the tea etiquette I ran up a few weeks ago – “never pick up a tea bag by the string – always use a spoon – so Celestial is “on point” in the etiquette arena.

         Another one is “don’t dunk the tea bag up and down.” Ooops I’ve done that a few times when I am in a rush. I’ll try not to do it in front of company in the future!

         Always have a saucer or tea bag plate available to your guest for their “spent tea bag.”

         Never use a Mug and never drink tea with the bag still in the cup.  OH, gosh, another of my faux paus.  I’ve been known to leave the bag in when my husband has “magically” looped around the handle and I can’t easily undo it.

         And, my favorite “don’t do” which I swear most tea drinkers do – Don’t squeeze the bag or wrap the string around the spoon.  When I see this done, I smile to myself knowing they are trying to get every morsel of essence out of that tea bag to enjoy in the hot steamy liquid in their cup.

         I honestly partially squeeze  my spent tea bag on the inside of the upper cup with my spoon so the spent bag doesn’t drip on the way to the compost pail, but I am too lazy to spiral the string around the spoon. 

         I get a kick out of the well-practiced ‘dexterity’ of the gals doing so – as I’ve never tried it myself.  Me, I’d probably be half way through the spiral, slip and end up flicking it across the room, much like the scene out of Pretty Woman with the escargot.

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Discussing Tea always brings me to a favorite childhood memory:

I had a birthday “Tea party” when I was a child.

         I was in grade school and was probably 8 years old at the time.

         My mother had a large table set in the living room with lace tablecloth, napkins, flowers and fancy teacups and saucers all around.  The guests, class mates, neighbors and one relative, were asked to bring their favorite doll for a fashion show and competition of which doll was the prettiest and each guest was asked to wear a hat and/or gloves. We had little tea sandwiches and homemade Petit Fours.  My Mom made those kinds of things all her adult life.

         I have only one dog-eared black and white photo of the birthday tea party, showing little girls in their mother’s going-to-church hats, and white gloves holding their favorite dolls.  I remember two of the young ladies were neighbors [I am still in contact with them] and one was a distant cousin I haven’t seen in years.  

         My Dad was enlisted to pick the prettiest doll.  I don’t remember which guest won and I don’t remember if there was a prize involved. But, we all lined up on the front steps and had our picture taken as a group. My Mom loved parties so I am sure there were party favors and possibly prizes.

         I do remember that my Mom borrowed fancy bone china teacups and saucers from her Mom’s teacup collection.  All different patterns and nothing was broken.

         I wore Mom’s open crown straw hat that had bronze netting over half a crown of silk flowers.  Until the day Mom died that hat was tucked into the top of her vanity mirror for safekeeping and displayed when she wasn’t wearing it to church. That hat was perfect on my Mom.

         Many times when I visited, I would try it on and admire myself in her vanity mirror, usually she’d catch me at this little ritual, and I’d return it to its rightful place.  When I cleaned out Mom’s house only days before she died, it was still hanging out on display a bit dingy from decades of dust, but still a lovely sight – Of course, I tried it on and admired it for a last time.  I left it for someone else in the family to enjoy.

         I think I’ll have a cup of tea and locate that tea party photo.  I bet Mom wrote all the names on the back of it in pencil, as she was known to do.