3.23.2011

First Keen Tea Thyme Contest - Hurry, Ends March 25 @ 11:59 p.m.

If we still used tea as currency - as the ubiquitous "they" did until the nineteenth century, I'd be filthy rich! I've got more tea than I know what to do with. Plus my 30th b-day is around the corner and I'm ready for some fun. So I've decided to host a tea giveaway!

You've got until 11:59 p.m. on Fri., March 25, 2011, to answer the question below by e-mailing me.

Please do NOT post your answer below. You can post that you will e-mail me the answer so I'll know to look out for your entry. If you post the answer below, your posted comment will be removed and you'll be disqualified. Sorry to be so touchy about that, but I want to keep this fair & fun. I'll select a winner randomly based on the number of correct entries onSat., March 26, 2011. After contacting the winner, I'll post his/her name as well as the correct answer.


Who (unintentionally) invented the tea bag? 

Why bother entering? 'Cause you'll win tea, silly! :) The winner will receive a goodie bag of at least five samples of my custom blended tea from Adagio, including the following:
  • Vampire Lemonade
  • Toasted Marshmallow
  • A Love Affair
  • My Name is Bruce
  • Sassy Cupid


The winner also gets a choice of five other samples from my Steepster cupboard, which is updated regularly. All samples will make at least five cups of tea. I'm generous when sending; ask around. :)

So, when answering, please include the five additional tea samples you'd like. Again, please do NOT post the answer below. And remember, the contest ends Friday at 11:59 p.m.! The clock is ticking! :) :)

If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me. Good luck! :)

SerendipiTEA: High Tea Society Kit

Image of High Tea Party Kit - Classic

Now you can own - and host! - your very own High Tea Society Kit! Learn how to make the essential cucumber sandwiches, mini scones and other treats to impress your friends at your next garden party.

Seriously, folks, this kit is out there. I'm all for tea, you know that, but this just reeks of pretentiousness.

And yet I totally want one!




High Tea Party Kit
The cookbook will show you how to prepare the sandwiches, scones and cupcakes. The rest is in the kit: party invitations, cupcake wrappers, loose leaf tea, table name place cards and to finish your cake stand; chocolates and biscuits. Over $120 value on sale for: $69
- High Tea at The Victoria Room cookbook 
- Madame Flavour Signature Blend 250g loose leaf black tea 
(from three renowned Ceylon Estates) packed into a foil pouch. 
- Madame Flavour elegant black embossed display & storage tea tin. 
- 12 reusable cupcake wrappers from Cupcake Wrapper Co 
- 10 Cristina Re invitations with fridge magnet & 10 envelopes 
- 10 Cristina Re place cards 
- 3 x 100g bars of Green & Black’s chocolate 
- Citrus Lemon Butterbursts biscuits from Luken & May 200g pack 
- Gift wrapping and gift message


Over $120 value on sale for: $69 inc gst 
Postage and handling is $10. Delivery in Australia only. (Damn! I can't get it...any Aussies out there interested? Go halvies?) 






Anyone else concerned that the link says "bigcartel?"

Teaist Apprentice - Part One

Ally sits alone at the 24 hour diner across the street from her college campus, and next door to her apartment. It's almost four in the morning and she has a paper due for her Japanese culture class at 8 a.m. So far she's typed her name - Ally Davis, the title of the class, and the following sentence:

I hate this paper.

She sighs and reaches for her coffee cup. Empty. She walks over to the counter and asks for a refill, but the waitress shakes her head. No.

"Listen, lady, I've got a paper due and I'm ready to pass out," Ally says sharply.

"Sorry sweetie. The coffee urn is fried. Something happened to it. We have hot water for tea, though."

"Tea?" Ally takes a turn shaking her head. "That's not gonna help me stay awake."

"Well it's that or soda. Sorry hun." The waitress hands her a clean mug from behind the counter and takes Ally's overworked one.

"Sit down, honey, and I'll bring the tea over. Milk and sugar?"

"Sure." Ally takes her seat, unhappy, a bit shaky from all the coffee, yet determined to stay awake and finish the paper. She's a 4.0 and isn't going to let some stupid CORE requirement class ruin her pristine GPA.

The waitress appears in front of Ally all of the sudden - Ally must have missed her walking up - and holds a large wooden box with intricate carvings. "Is a freakin' genie gonna pop out of that?" Ally jokes.

The waitress smiles mysteriously and places the box on the bistro table, next to Ally's computer. Then she slides a second table over to Ally and returns with a pot of hot water, milk and sugar. "Try the Assam Melody," she advises before heading back behind the counter.

"Is this for real?" Ally asks herself as she opens the box. The lid removes easily and a waft of dewy grass, musky air and a softness she can't identify gusts through her nose. The box features rows of teabags, lined up at attention, soldiers ready to serve.

The Assam Melody is in a red teabag and catches her eye. She removes one tea bag, then reads the label.
"Ingredients: tea." Helpful, she thinks.

This isn't Ally's first cup of tea, but this is the first one on her journey to teaism:  the art and craft of enjoying the harmony of tea. She slides her finger under the envelop flap and removes the tea bag. Then she pores boiling water over the tea, which immediately turns a tan liquor, and enjoys the scent that escapes the cup. She breathes in deeply and closes her eyes to sip...

...She opens them, expecting to see the waitress behind the counter, the police officers joking at one of the booths, and a potential bum sipping free soup at the counter. But instead she is in a field, surrounded by scented leaves, sunshine on her skin, and questions in her mind. Where is she? When is she?

Stay tuned for Part Two, arriving here by Wed., April 6. Leave questions below (or e-mail me) for Ally to answer on her search to becoming a Teaist Apprentice.


**This story is a work of fiction. All characters, events, stories, etc, are the creative mastermind of Carolynne Keenan. Do not share without permission. Make sure to enjoy the story and see the rest of Keen Tea Thyme. Thank you.**

Teaist Apprentice - In Search of Teas' Origins

I'm a writer by blood, by experience, by love. I wrote in diaries when I was a child - I didn't have a happy childhood, not that I was abused or anything. But I was bullied starting in middle school and through high school. (When I was younger I was best friends with all the popular kids, and friends with boys, so that helped.)

Being bullied at first broke me. I had always wanted people to like me, and I didn't understand why they would pick on me for being a tomboy, or reading on the bus, or writing in my journal. But eventually I learned to deal with it. That's what the real world is like - people make fun of those who are different, unique, etc.

This post isn't meant to be a pity party for me or anything. I like who I am now, and the experiences I went through helped me develop a thick skin and a quirky sense of humor. I can laugh at myself...and others. (We all do it. Come on. Admit it.)

As cheesy as this statement is, it's true: writing saved me. Writing saves me still. I love to write anything - I write up templates at work, and volunteer to take notes. I'm constantly trying to describe items and experiences in my head. I have story ideas written on napkins, business cards, sheets of paper, even a linen blotter (for your face, girls). I have a box full of story ideas.

I also enjoy hunting down a good story. Research is so exciting - you find new things and learn something new every day. At least I do. I loved journalism and miss being a reporter quite often. (Although I don't miss the pay. My new job pays much much better.)

ANYHOO - long story short (haha), I've decided to introduce you to our very own Teaist Apprentice, Ally. This fictional character will travel through history discovering the origins of tea in different cultures.

Ally will take questions too - post below your tantalizing tea questions, historical event inquiries and curiosity about tea ceremonies. We'll travel through time and learn all about teaism, as she undertakes a quest to become the next Teaist Apprentice.

Check out Part One where our story begins...

First Keen Tea Thyme Contest - Hurry, Ends March 25 @ 11:59 p.m.

If we still used tea as currency - as the ubiquitous "they" did until the nineteenth century, I'd be filthy rich! I've got more tea than I know what to do with. Plus my 30th b-day is around the corner and I'm ready for some fun. So I've decided to host a tea giveaway!

You've got until 11:59 p.m. on Fri., March 25, 2011, to answer the question below by e-mailing me.

Please do NOT post your answer below. You can post that you will e-mail me the answer so I'll know to look out for your entry. If you post the answer below, your posted comment will be removed and you'll be disqualified. Sorry to be so touchy about that, but I want to keep this fair & fun. I'll select a winner randomly based on the number of correct entries on Sat., March 26, 2011. After contacting the winner, I'll post his/her name as well as the correct answer.


Who (unintentionally) invented the tea bag? 

Why bother entering? 'Cause you'll win tea, silly! :) The winner will receive a goodie bag of at least five samples of my custom blended tea from Adagio, including the following:

  • Vampire Lemonade
  • Toasted Marshmallow
  • A Love Affair
  • My Name is Bruce
  • Sassy Cupid


The winner also gets a choice of five other samples from my Steepster cupboard, which is updated regularly. All samples will make at least five cups of tea. I'm generous when sending; ask around. :)

So, when answering, please include the five additional tea samples you'd like. Again, please do NOT post the answer below. And remember, the contest ends Friday at 11:59 p.m.! The clock is ticking! :) :)

If you have any questions please feel free to e-mail me. Good luck! :)

3.21.2011

RealiTEA: Radioactive Tea not expected in Japan, despite fears

We're all thinking about - and praying for - the Japanese after the tsunami and earthquake, but some have apparently worried about radiation affecting the tea.

This didn't cross my mind in the slightest, but as soon as I saw this story's headline I immediately thought of Fallout 3 (xbox 360 game):

This story discusses the threat of radiation on tea, but insists that consumer fear is exaggerated. It's a decent story which presents both sides (a Journalism 101 rule which often fails in modern media). Take a moment to read it: