"There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Letters and Social Aims
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Letters and Social Aims
I was contemplating some things to photograph for my blog entry and realized that a number of my antiques are tea related. I love tea! I enjoy it in the mornings, as a rest filled moment in the afternoons or in the evenings. I even find tea a comfort in the middle of the night when I cannot sleep. I think my two favorite teas are either a cup of strong English breakfast tea with a spot of milk or a cup of Earl Grey.
I love my tea caddy from the 1800s. It sits on my sidetable that I have decorated as a desk. It is simple and yet elegant. But what I love most is thinking how many cups of tea the lady who owned this made and what conversations occured over those cups of tea.
The caddy still has it wooden lid...
and the lining along with a tea scoop. I discovered there were still tea leaves in it when I bought it. I left them there as a rememberance of when this caddy was used.
I love using old tea cups to sit out around the house. Here is a museum reproduction tea cup on my desk. I purchased it at the gift shop of a manor house in the north of Holland.
This recent find from a flea market is a silver tea spoon. I had never seen one like it before and loved its delicate form.
This is an antique Dutch tea stove. There is a copper bucket which used to hold hot coals with a special shaped teapot on top. The teapot is missing but I bought the stove to use for flower arrangements.
"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea."
~ Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady
22 comments:
Hello Heidie,
What a good subject for your post : TEA !!
We are also great tea-lovers. I remember when our daughter was still very young and we went to the UK she "ordered" already Earl Grey with her cream-tea :).
You must have visited the Thee fabriek in Houwerzijl then when you were up north. I like it a lot. Can't believe you found that wonderful silver teaspoon at a fleamarket!! Well i have to stop now, our daughter is coming back from school and so i'll have to make some TEA :)
Greetings, Janneke.
There's nothing so comforting as a cup of tea. My mother makes tea in the Nova Scotia way - always a pot with new leaves on the back of the stove. It's too strong for me!
I like a cup of green tea every morning, and Earl Grey to relax. I agree with you that a cup of strong Enlish (or Irish) breakfast tea is delicious. What do you like to have with your tea? I think there's nothing nice than a crisp cookie.
My goodness - just read over my comment and see that my fingers were moving faster than my brain....terrible spelling!
What a lovely posting. I couldn't do without my cups of tea during my day. I did not know about the tea stove - thanks for sharing. I love to learn new things.
Ahhh, bliss! I think I will forget about my coffee and put the kettle on instead...
A good cup of tea always hits the spot...thank you for your post.
That is really a nice teacup you bought in Friesland! Now you never forget to have also a nice small cake to enjoy with your tea!
Groetjes, Elly
Hi Heidi,
Thank you so much for your recent visit and kind comments. I now have my Eva Cassidy CD and am enjoying it immensely.
Your tea caddy is beautiful and so is the silver tea spoon. Our weather here is finally cooling and I enjoyed a cup of tea yesterday. My Mom recently gave me a teacup and saucer that had belonged to my Grandma. I never met this Grandma as she passed away before I was born, but it was nice to feel her presence while enjoying my tea.
Hugs,
Kim
I'm with you on the Earl Grey! I actually haven't had a cup of tea in a long time, but have been thinking about it as the days are getting cooler.
Earl Grey in the afternoon and of course a cup of good English breakfast in the morning - yes, have a spot of milk in mine too!
The tea caddy is gorgeous.
Soon be on our way across the pond - leave Wed. evening and will be in my brother's village around teatime on Thurs. Getting excited as I get the packing completed and all the odds and ends done. It's a lot to do when you are leaving home for almost a month.
Will try to check in with you while away - meanwhile Heidi dear, take care and continue to enjoy lovely Autumn days.
Hugs - Mary.
Hi, Heidi! That Henry James quote is one of my very favorite in relation to tea! All of you tea paraphernalia is so lovely. Nothing I enjoy more each day than taking a cup of tea, especially in the afternoon--it really revives the day! I used to have bi collection of tea related things--cups, teapots, silver...but downsized the collection when we moved--had to--LOL! But I still have favorite pieces that I use all the time. I like a good strong tea in the mornings, English Breakfast of Lady Grey. In the afternoon a delicate jasmmine, green or white tea is so refreshing. And if there's a sweet treat to go along with the cup--so much the better! ;o) Thank you for sharing this lovely post, my friend...Happy Day ((HUGS))
I love love love that blue teacup and the urns that are near it.
How lovely your teaspoon is!!
Never seen anything like it!
I also enjoys tea - and Earl Grey, the "normal one" is my favourite as well.
Going to the cottage now - and they say we are meeting the first snow!
Have a nice week!
Tone
Hi
Sure you can use the photo's I made in Appelscha, Had a great time and I'am gona take you up on your offer to go there for a weekend and work on the centennial sampler, let me know when..!!
Love a cup of tea too!
Boil some water for me, tomorrow evening.
But i'am also a real cafe latte kind of girl, so I'am gona make me a cup of coffee now!
see you tomorrow!
Hugs
Saskia
Tea caddies are quite rare nowadays.Yours is a lovely one. What stories one could weave around the owners!
Do drop over to have a look at a giveaway on my blog.
Hello Heidi,
Like you, I am a tea drinker and can drink it at any time of the day (or night). I love your tea caddy ~ thanks for dropping by to say hello.
Marie x
I love tea, and can not really start functioning in the morning unless a have a few cups of freshly brewed tea. And I am an Earl Gray-girl... even though I happily enjoy other types too. And tea with milk is a must, I will have it no other way!
Thank you for your lovely comments in my blog. Is has been a pleasure to finish some of my WIP´s, and I can tell that you have finished quite a few of yours. At the moment I am working on my blue and white "tea towel-quilt" and I do hope to finish it some time soon (so I can start on some projects for Christmas...)
Unfortunately we do are not able to make use of the wool from our sheep. It is too coarse and too full of straw and the like for anybody to be interested in using it. The sheep get sheared once a year (around Easter time), and they really need to wool to keep them warm during the cold winter months.
I love this post. I love tea and all your tea goodies. The tea box is my favorite. I have a lot of tea cups and I always give a lot of thought as to which one to use.
LOVE the antique tea caddy - it is gorgeous! One of my favorite teas is Earl Grey also.
Hi Heidi,
I have become more fond of tea in later years, I´m more into coffee, But to enjoy a cup of tea in the evening by the fire in cold weather that´s great! And I have discovered so many new wonderful flavours of tea..not the old boring ones like earlgrey.
Thanks for stopping by at my place!
Please come back for my 100´d post and giveaway soon!
hugs
Liisa
Oops!
Of course I like earl grey too!! But I mean that there are so many new wonderful flavours too! Haha!
Liisa
What a great post once again Heidi. I too love tea and also drink it in the night when I cant sleep. It also makes me feel better if I am not feeling well.Your tea caddy is great, what a treasure to have and also the silver teaspoon, thanks for sharing
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