Tea in Children's Books VI

Welcome to the sixth installation in this series of tea scenes from children's books. Last time, Miss Mary Mack and an elephant drank tea together in Mary Ann Hoberman's Miss Mary Mack; Princess Hyacinth and the boy who saves her with is kite drink tea in Florance Parry Heide's Princess Hyacinth: the Surprising Tale of a Girl who Floated; and we played "I spy" with a page from Richard Scarry's This is My House.

A grandmother and her son, and the cat, too enjoy tea in the garden in Yucky Worms, by Vivian French with illustrations by Jessica Ahlberg.

A little mouse stages a tea to disguise his red ripe strawberry from a hungry bear in The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear, by Don and Audrey Wood with illustrations by Don Wood.

Who knew dragons drink tea?!  In World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You've Never Heard Of, by J. Patrick Lewis with illustrations by Anna Raff.

Let me know if your favorite children's book has a tea scene. You can also tweet the title with the #teainbooks tag.  Catch up on the series here. 

How to Make: Candles

From Hiob und seine Frau by Georges de la Tour via Wikimedia Commons (source)

Have you made your own candles?  Following on our review of the LPdT Fleur de Geisha candle, we've rounded up five candle-making recipes.


Practice recycling. Make a candle from old wax. {The Nest}

Got a spare teacup? Make your candle in it. {Martha Stewart}

Or in a French yogurt jar.  Oh la la!  {Style Me Pretty}

In keeping with the season, make your candle in a seashell. {Design*Sponge} 

Need more inspiration?  Here are 10.*  I like the simplicity of the roll-up beeswax candles. {Babble}


*Two of the ten are candles in teacups and yogurt jars.

Review: Le Palais des Thes Fleur de Geisha candle

My summer schedule does allow me a long lunch but I have found a way to make my lunch time seem luxurious and leisurely.  The Fleur de Geisha tea-scented candle from Le Palais des Thes!

I haven't drunk the namesake tea - Japanese green tea flavored with cherry blossoms - but I gather it's good.  Nicole Martin via Twitter wrote, "If it smells anything like the tea, I'd be in heaven."  Well, the candle does smell amazing.  You can smell the candle before you open the box.  It is a heady scent.  However, the scent of the candle itself is milder which I appreciate.  The rice powder must contribute to the smooth, silky aroma, like the scent of a high quality face powder.  When I burn the candle during lunch, it is like eating in a garden during sakura season.

As expected the packaging is fantastic.  Though I don't want to finish off the candle, I look forward to reusing the holder. Le Palais des Thes offers five tea-scented candles.  View them all here.

Thank you, Nathaly and Fraiche PR.

Tea Review: Tea Mania Four Seasons

I was pleased when Peter Pocajt of Tea Mania emailed me about reviewing their teas. He sent two oolongs: Four Season and Jade Pearls First Flush.  Yesterday I finished the Four Season sample.

"Rich taste with charming flowery nuances" perfectly captures the taste and aroma of this oolong! The floral notes are mostly detected by smell and are not overwhelming.  The tea lingers on the tongue, almost coating it.  The flavor profile is of Southeast Asian fruits.  Not jackfruit or durian!  Think lychee.

Here's how I prepared this oolong: add 1 heaping teaspoon to a basket and steep in 250mL of 80-degree Celsius water for 2 minutes.  Additional infusion were 1 minute.  (Or you can follow the steeping guide at Teamania.)

Gaiwan wish list

The lip of my favorite (and only) gaiwan cracked this week.  I will keep using it until I find a replacement, or two!  A short list of gaiwans is below.


Clockwise from top left: Wabi Sabi Gaiwan {Mighty Leaf}, Glass Gaiwan {Tao of Tea}, Traditional Gaiwan {Canton Tea Co}, Gaiwan and Tasting Cups {In Pursuit of Tea}, and Gaiwan Ju Hua {Camellia Sinensis}.

A fifth option, also patterned and carried by Camellia Sinensis, is the Gaiwan Yun Tian.  Not technically gaiwans, but I like taster sets, like this one from Adagio or this one from Rishi Tea.

Tea paintings

Screen capture of Still Life with Chinese Tea Pot, by Max Weber (source)

We have an eclectic art collection but surprisingly tea is not depicted in any of our pieces.  It is not possible to acquire Max Weber's Still Like with Chinese Tea Pot (shown above), but I will keep my eyes open for something else!

Here are two round-ups of tea depicted in art:

• Depictions of tea in art, by Ifang Hsieh (T Ching)
• 10 famous tea paintings, by Carmen Rotaru (River Tea)