Tea

Tea

Mary Cassatt. Tea. Cassatt. Oil painting. 1880. from freeparking on Flickr


Today's topic on my favorite blog NineteenTeen, has prompted me to share more on this topic.




Nearly two years ago I was a maid of honor in a close friend's wedding. I hosted an afternoon tea bridal shower for her. We had a variety of teas in old china cups, tea sandwiches, scones with jam and homemade Devonshire Cream and small sweets. I made a CD of tea music by romantic music by Rachmanioff, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Liszt and other artists.

I was surprised at how many women had never been to a tea party before. I got many compliments and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

I learned about the mysterious origins of tea and several myths revolving around that subject originating in Asia. An emperor of China was drinking a bowl of boiling water some time around 2737 BC when a few leaves were blown from a nearby tree into his water, changing the color. The emperor was pleasantly surprised by the flavor of the tea infused water and impressed by the restorative properties of the tea.

I also learned about the different types of tea and which teas work best with which foods and how tea became the national drink of Great Britain in the 1750s.

While doing my research, I learned about the history of tea rooms in the United States and their evolution to road side restaurants in the 20th century from this book

Tea at the Blue Lantern Inn: A Social history of the Tea Room Craze in America by Jan Whitaker

If you are a tea drinker, I encourage you to learn more about tea and the history of tea. I found it fascinating.