Tea Time
November 19, 2005
A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards. ~A.A. Milne
As some of you may already know, I grew up with a very English, maternal grandmother and, therefore, a mother who was quite enamored with her heritage. Whenever I became ill, I was cautiously nursed along to full health with tea and toast. Tea was something everyone could drink. Even a small child could properly drink tea. While coffee was considered an adult drink that my father secretly would allow me to sip when my mother wasn't looking, tea was almost as common as water. So common, I am afraid I quite took it for granted as a child. Of course, summers with my grandmother were spent playing croquet, going for long, brisk walks and having tea and scones. The scones were not something my mother regularly made, so tea was made somewhat special because of them. That and the fact that my grandmother collected odd tea cups and saucers so that choosing a cup for tea was always a pleasure in and of itself.
My grandmother came over from England with her family when she was a child. She and her family boarded the Lusitania in the autumn of 1909 and made the crossing from Liverpool to New York. Six years later, the Lusitania would be torpedoed by a German U-boat with a loss of 1,195 persons. My grandmother's family was from Keighley, Yorkshire, England. Her mother's side of the family was native to the Yorkshire area, but her father's side, being McKniffs, was from Ireland. My grandmother was just shy of ninety-four when she passed from this earth and she still had fond memories of England and of seeing the Statue of Liberty as the Lusitania drew near New York's harbor.
I grew up in New Hampshire and was quite delighted when a New Hampshire tea company offered to send me a large tin of the tea of my choice for my drinking pleasure and, perhaps, a pleasant nod to other bloggers in their direction. Through several e-mails to and from Marshall Malone, Portsmouth Tea Company's president, I learned that he and his wife were actually "southern transplants" living in New Hampshire. Of course, this caused me to be somewhat dubious. I was uprooted from New England to the Carolinas as a teenager and had never even seen a southerner drink hot tea. On one of my first restaurant outings with friends I was served iced tea in an exceedingly large Mason jar and wasn't sure quite what to do with it until my friends noticed my bewildered look and informed me that I was supposed to actually drink from the Mason jar. I thought perhaps it was a quaint pitcher and that my glass would come along shortly. I smile now when I think back to those early days when I still thought a hush puppy was only a brand of shoe.
Before I knew it, though, the UPS man was at my door with my package of Irish Breakfast tea. Preferring my tea strong and able to withstand a more than generous amount of milk, I had debated over choosing the Irish Breakfast or the Milk tea. Mr. Malone assured me that he was quite fond of the Irish Breakfast tea himself and so sent it along to me. My girls and I were quite anxious to try our newly acquired tea and, unwilling to take the time to make scones, we took out a bag of Pepperidge Farm Chessmen and set about making a pot of tea. I have to say that we were quite delighted with our tea that day. And the next day. And the next. I'm afraid we will be ordering more tea from the Portsmouth Tea Company before we know it. A cup of it sits to the right of me at this very moment.
The Irish Breakfast tea is strong, although, instead of the suggested steep time of three minutes, I couldn't keep myself from steeping the leaves for a full five minutes. Having said this, the tea was not bitter in the least. It was full of flavor and stood up well to milk. For those considering converting over from coffee to tea, I think you will find this tea worthy of consideration. To Mr. Malone, I thank you heartily for sending along this wonderful tea. It will complement my great-grandmother's recipe for scones quite well. Here is her recipe:
Scones
2 cups flour
3 Tbl. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
6 Tbl. shortening
1/2 cup milk
raisins
Sift dry ingredients together. Cut in shortening. Stir in milk. Add raisins.
Roll into circle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into pie wedges. Brush tops with a
beaten egg. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 400* for 8-10 minutes
until golden brown.
On a side note, I believe that the Malones are a homeschooling family. I can't think of a more delightful business for a homeschooling family to undertake. Unless, of course, they opened an antiquarian book shop that also served their delicious tea.
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Comments:
I have recently started enjoying tea. I usually drink coffee but I wanted to limit it to one cup per day. Right now I am drinking an herbal/lemon tea and it is so good with lemon slices and honey. So refreshing!
Posted by: Randi at November 21, 2005 3:25 AM
I have read through your nostalgic moment and would like to do so again and again. Thank you for writing this.
I wish I could claim homeschooling, but we are, instead, serving closely with a private classical christian school. I serve as the board chairman and my wife is an active volunteer. Though we do feel called to use every opportunity to educate our children, we agreed that this school could take on some of those tasks more efficiently than we could. I stand in wonder at homeschool parents and have now witnessed an entire generation of children coming out of the movement. They never cease to amaze me.
Posted by: PortsmouthTeaGuy at November 21, 2005 3:33 PM
Thanks for this reminder of the finer things in life, and taking time to enjoy them. Also, thanks for your grandmother's recipe for scones!!! We're going to try blueberry, instead of raisins.
I posted a link to your entry as well.
Posted by: /tim at November 21, 2005 6:12 PM
My first taste of a real cup of hot tea was in Glasgow, Scotland. I was never the same afterward. Though we rather despair of getting good tea now in Brazil. Make mine a fine Earl Grey ...
Posted by: JasRandal at November 22, 2005 12:59 AM
As you know, I am a lifelong Southerner, and I grew up drinking not only iced, but also hot, tea. I admit that I've had hot tea less often since grad school, when coffee entered my life, but in my undergraduate years I often had a mug of hot tea on the desk beside me. Of course, in those days I knew of nothing more sophisticated than Lipton's.
Nowadays Lynn drinks a lot more hot tea than I do; just last night I brewed her a cup of Earl Grey to soothe her sore throat. I might also point out that the domestic packaging facility for the Twinings tea company is not, as you might think, in New England: it's in Greensboro, North Carolina, about an hour from our house.
I may not drink all that much tea today, but I've become quite a fan of scones. I'll have to give that recipe a try, though I prefer nuts to raisins.
Posted by: Bob at November 22, 2005 2:54 PM
Bob, did you realize that the only tea plantation operating in the U.S. is on Wadmalaw Island off of the coast of Charleston, S.C.? It is now owned by the Bigelow Tea Company that produces that awful blend, 'Constant Comment'. A tea in name only since it would take a very discerning palate to even detect the actual tea amongst the various flavorings added to this blend.
Having said all that, I must admit to actually downing a paper cup full of 'Constant Comment' last night at a friend's house. The girls and I were babysitting her house while she had packers there preparing them for moving. My friend seemed to love her brand of tea quite dearly and I found myself unwilling to dispossess her of this affection. Afterall, she is a Texan. ;)
Posted by: Firefly at November 22, 2005 8:09 PM
That's a beautiful teapot and cup!
Posted by: Tim's Mom at November 22, 2005 11:58 PM
I'm loving your page...you explain so much to me! I don't drink hot tea (with the exception of Green Tea) because it reminds me of being sick, what a kid would feel is deathly sick. Just the thought of tea and toast augh! But it is funny, I make my sweet tea (iced) with Red Rose, grandma's brand! At first it was the little Wades they put in the box that I wanted, now I won't buy anything else.
I compare all scones to grandma's scones and have yet to find any that stand up to hers. You know, I even passed on the tea with her, but she still let me use the tea cups :-)
Don't be mortified, I'll drink out of a jar. I've adjusted quite nicely - but do remember vividly being introduced to the "jar" at a pizza place and thinking "What???" I'm laughing at myself - peanut butter jars are better than Mason jars hahah. Sooooo far from a nice English tea time. xxxooo
Posted by: Liz at November 23, 2005 4:29 AM
One great thing about being a Texan is that we can drink tea cold out of a Mason Jar or hot out of a proper tea cup and it is all within our culture.
Posted by: Amy at November 24, 2005 1:08 AM
I am also a transplanted resident of New Hampshire who now lives in the South! Everyone in my office gives me an odd look when I make a cup of hot tea with (gasp!) milk in the afternoon. They have no idea what they're missing! =)
Posted by: Mike at January 23, 2006 12:10 PM
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