Alice in Wonderland's Tea

I've always been a fan of Alice in Wonderland and have a fascination for Lewis Carroll, although admittedly I don't know much about him. I have have a small collection of Alice and Wonderland themed goodies, from t-shirts to jewelry and more, and of course I own a Cheshire Cat plushie. One of my favorite bits of the story has to be the tea party!

While a majority of people are probably more familiar with the Disney version, I quite enjoy the original illustrations by John Tenniel.

Are you a fan of Alice? Would you sit down to tea with this group?

For further Alice in Wonderland reading check out this wonderful website:
http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/

THE BOOK OF TEA

While I write about tea here at Steeped in Tradition, I am more known for my mystery writing which appears on my cozy mystery blog, Cozy Up With Kathy. I was recently waiting for two books to arrive that I needed to review and I didn't want to start reading another full length mystery. I prefer to only read one book at a time, at least only one work of fiction at a time, and at least one of the books would arrive before I could finish a new one. However, I can't NOT be reading. I needed something, so I began to browse through my kindle checking out past purchases. I found THE BOOK OF TEA already downloaded and waiting. Surely that was a sign.

THE BOOK OF TEA by Okakura Kakuzo is delightful little book published in 1906 that talks about the history and philosophy of the beverage developing into Teaism. The book is divided into seven sections: The Cup of Humanity, The Schools of Tea, Taoism and Zennism, The Tea-Room, Art Appreciation, Flowers, and Tea-Masters. Okakura (his surname) imparts such vast knowledge, but does so in an utterly charming and witty way. He had me laughing out loud several times He also has me second guessing the choice to ever cut flowers again!

Okakura describes how tea use has developed, how it has changed in "modern" times; although his "modern" was well over 100 years ago. It's interesting to note how religion has altered tea and tea use as well. Well versed in art (Okakura was a primary founder of the Tokyo Fine Arts School and was later curator of the Oriental art division of the Boston Museum of Fine Art) he also addresses the art of Teaism and art appreciation in general. The addition of lore not only adds interest, the ancient stories highlight different aspects Okakura is teaching...and forces you to see connections and think, as any philosophy is wont to do.

Okakura discusses tea as an art form and a religion. What's interesting to note is that he wrote this book in English for a Western audience. While you can certainly purchase this book (I'd love a hard copy of my own) you can find several pdf and e-versions available for free. If you're at all interested in tea, culture, and philosophy this is a book that should not be missed!

St. Patrick's Day Cupan Tae

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

In honour of today's holiday I thought I'd share a little Irish tea history. As with England, Ireland only began importing tea in the 1800s and it was prohibitively expensive, thus it was a beverage for the upper classes only. As the century progressed, tea spread to the rural parts of Ireland and everyday people began to enjoy the beverage. However, the quality of tea was so poor that in order to make it palatable Irish tea drinkers would fill their cups almost 1/3 of the way with milk before adding the tea. In addition, the tea was steeped for long periods of time to make it as strong as possible, again due to poor quality. Oftentimes the tea would be steeped on the stove, and would remain there so visitors could join in a "cupan tae" (Gaelic for "cup of tea") whenever they'd pop in. Originally the tea was poured into cups first, then transferred to the fine China teacups so that the delicate cups wouldn't break from the hot liquid. It was later discovered that putting milk into hot tea after it is poured alters the flavor of the tea. Most Irish tea drinkers still prepare their beverage in this manner.

Up until WWII Ireland imported most of its tea from England. After the war, however, Ireland refused to allow Britain to use its western ports and its tea ration was drastically cut. After the war, with the help of new laws, instead of getting its tea from English auction houses, Ireland began importing its own tea right from the source. At first the Assam tea, the primary tea in Irish Breakfast tea, was favored, but teas from India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya soon joined the ranks of high quality teas. Now, Irish breakfast tea favors teas from East Africa.

On this St. Patrick's Day I hope you enjoy a good cupan tae!

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My Sources:
http://www.barrystea.ie/
http://oldfashionedliving.com/irishtea.html
https://dbsirishstudies.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/cupan-tae-the-history-of-irish-tea-drinking/
http://farmersalmanac.com/blog/2015/03/16/irish-take-tea/
http://www.arborteas.com/blog/history-of-irish-tea