Tea Parties Raise $10,000 for Women in Transition

Tea with a purpose
Monthly teas turned into nonprofit ministry to help women in transition

You never know where a passion for pretty things will lead you. Thada Ziegler's love of teacups, beautiful dishes and vintage silver led her – and her husband – to sleeping in a closet.

"My husband and I are nuts about estate sales," Thada said. Over time she developed a huge collection of teacups and related serving items.

A volunteer coordinator at the Union Gospel Mission [in Spokane, WA], where Ziegler helped out, knew of her collection and suggested Ziegler host a tea for the residents of Anna Ogden Hall.

Ziegler and her husband love to entertain and agreed to host the tea. She knew the dining room in their Colbert home wasn't big enough to accommodate a large group. But, their master bedroom was huge. Her husband Warren, moved their king-size bed into the walk-in closet. Three years later, it's still there.

"That first tea was so much fun." Ziegler said. She knew she wanted to do it again, and decided to use all the proceeds to raise money for Ogden Hall.

Soon Ziegler was hosting teas every month, and Taste and See Ministries was born. Wide French doors open to reveal Ziegler's former bedroom transformed into a charming tea parlor. A garden-themed mural arches over one wall, and sunlight pours through the windows. Crystal water goblets sparkle.

Tables topped with lace are set with heavy silver and delicate cups and saucers. Fringed lamps and fragile china rest on lovingly restored side tables. Hand embroidered vintage napkins and antique linens add to the old-world feel of the room.

"I love to hear women laughing," Ziegler said. "I like to pamper them."

In two years Taste and See raised $10,000 for Anna Odgen Hall. Recently, Jan Pike, a former customer, started helping Ziegler with the teas. The ladies also began teaching a class at Ogden Hall called, Tea 101. The class covers everything from how to set a proper table to the history of tea. At the end of the class, Pike and Ziegler host a tea party for the residents who've completed the course. "The women are transformed," said Pike.

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Tasseography 101

Tasseography is the ancient art of interpreting the patterns of tea leaves in a cup in order to provide insights into the subconscious. The process is quite simple.

1. Choose a light-colored or white tea cup with no pattern and a wide brim. Make a cup of tea in it using a high-quality loose leaf tea without dusty particles. Do not use the contents of a teabag.
   
2. Meditate and empty your mind as your tea steeps.
3. If you are left-handed, lift the cup with your right hand and vice versa. Sip your tea while you continue to empty your mind. Slowly allow your mind to begin to focus on an important thought or issue. Leave a little tea and all the tea leaves in the bottom of your cup.
4. Gently swirl the leaves in the cup clockwise three times bringing the leaves up to the brim. Pour out the remaining tea by turning the cup upside down on a saucer. Take three breaths then turn the cup right-side up. The leaves will be distributed around the inside of your cup.
5. If your cup has a handle, start there and read clockwise. If it doesn't have a handle, begin at the 12:00 spot. Make notes of the symbols you see in the leaves (like Rorschach inkblots) and also note the location (rim, middle, or base).
6. Note the first thing each symbol brings to mind.
   
7. The first symbol represents your dominant trait or someone near. Symbols in the rim represent the present. Symbols in the middle section represent the near future. Symbols in the base represent your ultimate truth for all time.

Some common symbols and their usual meanings:

• wings - messages
• egg - good omen
• leaf - new life
• hammer - hard work needed
• sun - happiness
• birds - good news

Explore more symbols and their interpretations here.

For more information on the art of tasseography, visit Tasseography.com or enjoy these books

Test Your Tea Knowledge

1) Definition of English “High Tea” is:
A) An evening (dinner) meal where tea is served.
B) Tea service characterized by ritual and formality, as in ‘high society’
C) Also called “Afternoon Tea.”
D) None of the above.

2) A “gaiwan” is:
A) A bamboo strainer
B) A Chinese covered cup
C) A whisk
D) None of the above

3) The English baked product 'scone' is pronounced:
A) “sk—on”
B) “sk—own”
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

4) To properly care for your porcelain teapot and make the best tea, one should
A) Wash thoroughly after each use with mild soap and water.
B) Wash in a dishwasher.
C) After each use, wash with 2 tablespoons baking soda and boiling water.Soak overnight and rinse with clean water.
D) Never wash with soap or in the dishwasher. Rinse with clean water, invert and air dry.

5) Rank these drinks in order of consumption worldwide from most to least: Coffee, Milk, Tea, Water.
A) Coffee, Tea, Water, Milk
B) Milk, Water, Tea Coffee
C) Water, Tea, Coffee, Milk
D) Water, Milk, Coffee, Tea

6) Tea is produced from which plant?
A) Chamomile
B) Camellia sinensis
C) Ilex paraguariensis
D) Aspalathus linearis

7) Mate and Rooibos are varieties of tea.
A) True
B) False

8) White, Green, Oolong, and Black teas all come from the same plant?
A) True
B) False

9) Drinking tea will make you lose weight?
A) True
B) False

Answers: 1-a; 2-b; 3-c; 4-d; 5-c; 6-b; 7-b; 8-a; 9-a
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Tea as Tourism

Sri Lanka Turns to Tea to Lure High-end Tourists

With its stunning views over Sri Lanka's rolling green tea hills, the Norwood Plantation Manager's bungalow was designed to compensate British tea planters for their lonely lives far away from home.

The plantation remains, but the bungalow has been refurbished and converted into a boutique hotel to woo high-spending tourists who want a few quiet days sampling the colonial tea estate life.

''We have had mostly British visitors,'' says Asela Wavita, manager for Tea Trails, a firm set up by Sri Lankan tea company Dilmah to manage the bungalows.

''I guess it's the concept, the British colonial feeling, that appeals to them -- they can experience what their ancestors enjoyed.''

Tea Trails has refurbished four former managers' bungalows set in well-kept gardens, deep in the hills that have produced Ceylon tea since the 19th century.

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Tea as Art

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Tea Recipes #4

The hottest culinary trend is using tea, both in brewed and leaf form, as an ingredient in entrees, desserts, hors d'oeuvres, and more. As the saying goes, "tea isn't just for drinking anymore." Cooking With Tea by Robert Wemischner and Diana Rosen is a fabulous resource for tea basics (types of tea, brewing, cooking with tea) and tea recipes. As an added bonus, the appendices are as entertaining and informative as the rest of the book. Topics include:

• Pairing Teas with Food
• Seasonal Menus
• Glossary of Words Used for Tea Tasting
• Resources for Unusual Ingredients
• Resourced for Connoisseur Teas and Teapots

A few of the enticing recipes:

RATA-TEA-OUILLE serves 4

• 1 T. Darjeeling tea leaves
• 3 c. water
• 4 Japanese eggplants
• 2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cubed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• grated fresh ginger root to taste (typically 1 T.)
• pinch of chili powder and sugar, optional

Brew the tea in hot water for 3 minutes, then drain through a fine-meshed strainer pressing hard on the leaves to extract as much infusion as possible. Set aside.

Char the eggplants on the stovetop or under the broiler. Split lengthwise keeping halves attached. Place in baking pan and stuff with tomatoes, zucchini, and onions and season with salt, pepper, and grated ginger. Pour the brewed tea over all and bake uncovered at 350, basting occasionally. Cook for approximately 30 minutes. Add chili powder and sugar as desired.

HONEYDEW GREEN TEA FRAPPE serves 4

• 3 T. loosely packed green tea leaves of your choice
• 2 oz. crystallized ginger, roughly chopped
• 4 c. cubed ripe honeydew melon
• 2 c. ice cubes made form distilled water
• superfine sugar to taste
• garnishes: thinly sliced honeydew melon, crystallized ginger in long pieces, and fresh ginger juice

Chill 4 tall glasses. Brew the tea leaves in 1 quart of water and allow to steep 4 minutes. Pour the tea through a fine-meshed strainer, pressing hard on the leaves to extract all the liquid. Add the crystallized ginger to the brewed tea and let cool about 15 minutes. Chill in refrigerator until cold. Pass liquid through sieve to remove ginger pieces.

Puree the melon and ice in an electric blender. Add tea/ginger infusion and process just to blend. Pour into tall chilled glasses and sweeten to taste with superfine sugar. Add a dash of fresh ginger juice (optional). Garnish with a thin slice of honeydew wrapped with a slice of crystallized ginger.

JADE SHRIMP IN DRAGONWELL TEA serves 4

• 2 quarts water
• 1 oz. loose leaf Dragonwell tea
• 1 lb. peeled and deveined medium shrimp (tails on)
• 1 T. sesame oil
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 oz. fresh ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 lbs. fresh spinach leaves, stems removed, washed and dried
• salt to taste
• 2 T. sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• garnishes: julienned yellow and red peppers and finely slivered scallions

Bring water to just under a boil. Add tea and shrimp and cook over low heat at a bare simmer for 3-4 minutes or until shrimp are opaque. Remove from heat and let stand until cool, then refrigerate.

Just before serving, heat sesame oil in large skillet and add garlic and ginger root. Cook for about 20 seconds being careful not to burn. Add spinach and salt to taste and cook just until spinach barely wilts. Drain. Put spinach in a bowl, arrange chilled shrimp on top, sprinkle with sesame seeds, garnish with peppers, sprinkle with scallions.

Teabags: How can I miss you if you won't go away?

The teabag versus loose leaf dispute makes the Hatfields and McCoys look like the Osmond Brothers. When 95% of all tea sold in the United States is pre-bagged, what's to argue? Isn't the customer always right? Well, yes and no ...

Without a doubt, teabags are convenient beyond compare. They're portable, easy to use, and make for non-messy disposal. But flavor is what counts in a cup of tea, and that's where a teabag's dirty little secret is exposed.

Tea leaves are graded according to size. The largest is the whole leaf, the smallest is called "dust" or "fannings." The dust tea is quite literally that; it's the pulverized leaves that sift to the bottom of the tea box. Prior to the invention of the teabag, it had next to no value. But once the teabag came into vogue, and especially the modern opaque paper bag which prevents consumers from seeing what they're drinking, dust became king.

With the resurgence of quality tea drinking's popularity, tea bag experimentation is picking up speed. Different materials such as nylon or silk, different sized bags, and different shaped bags such as pyramids are being marketed as the answer to the whole leaf drinker's dilemma. The unassailable truth remains, however: a tea leaf needs elbow room to unfurl and steep if it is to infuse to its fullest potential. So it's back to the drawing board for teabag designers.