Valentine's Breakfast

I'm back again, with more Valentine goodness. This morning I served pancakes and milk...with a cheery Valentine theme!
The syrup is of course, lite, and the milk...non-fat!

Polka dot cupcake wrappers and dot straws...

Mmmmmm!

Valentine's Tea

'Tis the season for chocolate!!! This morning, I'm enjoying some hot tea and a couple of sweets while puttering around the house.

Take a peek at my kitchen hutch...decked out for Valentine's.
I found this cute little "Be Mine" banner on Etsy last year.

Little love sentiments on place cards being held by silver teapot place card holders.

Sequined hearts in the apothecary jars...

My tea...'Valentine's Blend' from Harney Tea. It's a chocolate tea blended with rosebuds...perfect for the season! I chose the tagalong container with tea sachets.If you are not familiar with tea sachets, you must know that they are my favorite. What is the difference between loose tea, tea sachets, and teabags? High-quality loose teas are made from the whole tea leaves and retain the distinctive flavors of the plant. Teabags consist of smaller pieces of the tea leaves or tea fannings and lack the full flavor of loose tea leaf teas. Think of tea sachets as the ultimate teabag, ensuring the convenience of a teabag without compromising flavors and benefits of tea.

This is the 'Valentine's Blend' tea sachet.
Chocolate tea for two...this tea is fabulous y'all!
How to use a tea sachet:
The little white teapot is holding hot water...ready to steep the tea sachets. If you are served hot water and a tea sachet {or teabag}, place the sachet into the teacup. Pour the hot water into the teacup and allow the sachet to rest in the water for approximately five minutes {or the strength you prefer}. Do not dunk the tea sachet or wrap the string around your teaspoon to drain it. Place the used tea sachet on a separate saucer.
I use these little teabag rests for my used sachets...
Thank you for stopping by to visit. Don't forget to enter my Shabby Apple giveaway. The deadline to enter is Friday night, Feb. 10th, 2012 at midnight!

Flower Blooming Art Tea

Art Tea. Blooming Tea. Flower Tea. Those are some of the names used for a category of tea that is the dried tea leaves and flowers which are hand-tied into balls the size of a large marble. The other day I had a chance to sit down and really enjoy the latest edition of "TeaTime Magazine" and sip some Flower Tea. I have a been a faithful reader of this Hoffman Media Publication since their very first issue. The magazine is always filled with delightful teascapes, recipes for tea party foods, and interesting tearooms around the Country.
"TeaTime Magazine" is also celebrating National Hot Tea Month during January...you can visit their Facebook HERE and find a lot of great tea ideas!
The Flower Tea I steeped in a glass pot is 'Jasmine Fairy Maidens,' available at Harney Tea. This tea is sweetly flavored with jasmine flowers and has a vegetal flavor. It is a very light tasting tea. The water for this tea should be heated to 180 degrees and the tea ball steeped for 3-5 minutes. When steeped, the green tea leaves gradually blossom revealing a cluster of orange flowers perched atop a sphere of tea, while the jasmine petals blossom upwards. This tea may be infused 3 or more times.
The tea leaves and flowers are shaped into a ball, the size of a large marble...
Flower teas make great centerpieces or may be presented in a goblet.
A buttermilk scone and my homemade strawberry preserves pair well with the very light tea.

Remember that there are many health benefits of tea...it helps to lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, aids in digestion and weight loss, and of course the caffeine gives you a boost of energy...a pick-me-up in the afternoon!

Practice hospitality...serve someone tea!

Celebrating National Hot Tea Month!

Today starts my month-long celebration of National Hot Tea Month! What's not to like about tea? It's tasty, easy to make, and affordable.

My love of tea started very early in my life. Like most Southerners, I was introduced to iced tea at a young age. But I didn't begin my love affair with hot tea until about the year 2000. At that time, I began researching and studying all about tea and etiquette. The more I read about world's SECOND most popular beverage, the more I wanted to know about it.

This afternoon I was happy to sit down a rest a bit after the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's rush. I'm looking over one of very favorite tea books..."Tea & Etiquette," by Dorothea Johnson & Bruce Richardson. Ms. Johnson, founder of The Protocol School of Washington, was one of my etiquette teachers years ago and she has teamed up with Bruce Richardson, owner of Elmwood Fine Teas and the author of twelve other tea books to write this richly-illustrated book.

This book is a must-read those who take tea for business or pleasure. It includes chapters on tea history, tea & health information, hosting an afternoon tea at home, tea faux pas, guest duties at a social tea, going out to tea, business tea etiquette, finessing the food at tea, tea types, steeping guides, and recipes. This book is available to order on the sidebar of my blog under "Miss Janice Recommends!"
"At tea, as in any other interaction, we are not free to act merely as we please; but we must act with mutual consideration, as befits our interdependence."
~Dorothea Johnson

My secretary is set with all the proper tea accoutrements needed for Tea for One!

Today I'm using my 'Blue Willow' teaware by Johnson Brothers. I steeped Pomegranate Oolong tea and made delicious Cashew Caramel scones.
A white battenburg lace tea serviette...placed to the left of the plate with the napkin fold facing the tea plate.

A tea knife {I used a luncheon knife} is used to slice through the scone horizontally. Place small dallops of the cream onto your tea plate...never spooning directly onto the scone. Break off a bite-size piece with your fingers and use your knife to dab a bite-size piece with cream.

A votive candle is used inside the silver teapot warmer to keep the beverage hot.

The teacup, is filled 3/4 full and sat on a doily on the tea saucer...with the handle always at 4 o'clock! The Pomegranate Oolong tea is available at Harney Teas. The leaves of Ti Quan Yin Oolong are infused with tangy pomegranate. This is a wonderful tea y'all..try it, you will love it!

A traditional English scone...

The Devonshire cream is placed on a butter pan plate and then served onto the tea plate...Remember, do not spoon the cream directly from the pat plate to the scone!

To sit and have a cup of tea is one of the most relaxing things that you can do. It is not the actual drinking of the tea, but the ritual of boiling the water, preparing the tea, and patiently waiting and anticipating some quiet time. It slows you down from your hectic pace and gives you a chance to take a deep breath and relax.

Thank you so much for visiting with me today. Remember, tea is considered the beverage of hospitality--so go steep some tea and...Make it Southern!

NATIONAL ICED TEA MONTH

The lazy days of summer are upon us. You might be enjoying sunny days at the beach or the lake or taking in a movie at the theatre. Well, I've been enjoying tall glasses of iced tea, 'cuz...June is National Iced Tea Month.

In 1904, a gentleman by the name of Richard Blechynden was trying to sell his hot tea at the World's Fair in St. Louis and because there was a heat wave, no one was buying any, so he added some ice and iced tea became popular.

Like most Southerners, I began drinking iced tea at a young age. Iced tea is considered the beverage of hospitality, the table wine of the South, and sometimes referred to as the champagne of the South.

Take the heat out of your summer, slow down and join me in sippin' some great iced tea! Today I'm serving Iced Pomegranate Tea from Harney Teas. It's the extra large tea leaves from Ti Quan Yin Oolong tea, infused with tangy pomegranate and is the perfect cold beverage to sip while nibblin' my Taste of Gourmet dips with pita chips and crackers.

"HERE'S WHAT I WORE" The apron is the latest addition to my collection...from The Pink Monogram. It's monogrammed in pink and has the pink polka dot grosgrain ribbon trim at the bottom. *LOVE* it!

The sideboard is set with dips and chips and iced tea....

The tea serving tray...with my monogram on the tea pitcher, from 2PreppyGirls. The goblets are by Lilly...the 'Trouble Hibiscus' pattern. I found mine at PreppyPrincess online.

These cute goblets are must-have for the Southern hostess! They will certainly get a lot of use during 'Merlot Hour'. *LOVE* the pattern:)

The monogram decals from 2PreppyGirls are easy to apply to glassware. Love them!

Love these beverage napkins. One can never have too many cute paper napkins, can one?!

I found these pink & green paper plates at The Hobby Lobby.

Pink & green flowers in a cute, preppy vase....monogram decals from 2PreppyGirls!

I used the Lilly 'Taboo' placecards as ID cards for the dips...

These dip mixes are a staple in my Entertaining Pantry and you can purchase them at my Taste of Gourmet site here.

A cute little chip tray...pink & green-ess cute!

Thank y'all for visiting with me. Chin Chin!!!

You can purchase the Pomegranate Iced Tea here.