Brazen Review ~ Tea With Friends, Elizabeth Knight

'Find yourself a cup of tea; the teapot is behind you. Now tell me about hundreds of things.' ~ Saki

Taking Tea -
All tea - Black, Green, Oolong, or blended, which includes more than 3,000 varieties comes from an evergreen bush, Camellia sinensis. Tea ranks as the world's second most popular beverage; water clinched the number one spot. High in some vitamins and minerals, tea boasts a number of health benefits to those who consume more than two cups daily. Popular herbal teas, made with herbs, flowers, roots, berries, bark, or leaves from any plant other than Camellia sinensis are not really tea. These brewed beverages are actually called infusions or tisanes. Who knew? This Broad learned something (a lot of somethings) new!

Knight organizes this charming book neatly. An opening, Taking Tea, explains the who, what, where, why and how of the domestic ritual. Then the author devotes a section to each of the twelve months of the year, suggesting tea party ideas and sprinkling in lovely quotes and interesting tidbits about drinking tea, including practices from tea drinking countries around the world.

After reading Knight's delightful book, this Broad has become infatuated with the idea of hosting a Tea. Even though the day honoring St. Patrick is gone for this year, I think I'll start with March's offering, St. Patrick's Day Ceili Tea!

'In the lilt of Irish laughter you can hear the angels sing!' - Chauncey Olcott and George Graff, 'When Irish Eyes Are Smiling'.

The invitation should read - 'In honor of St. Patrick's Day, join me for a cup of Tay! Please prepare to toast the auld sod with an Irish story, song, or poem.'

Tea With Friends was a pleasure to read, and the illustrations were colorful and whimsical. I'll recommend this book to anyone curious about or already besotted with all things tea.

Overall Rating - ♣♣♣♣♣

- Moíra ♣

Comments

Braised Broads

Homemade Yogurt! Yes, that's right, homemade yogurt. This is something I've been wanting to try for a while now. I mean, I've been making my own detergent and started making my own granola, why not yogurt too? So this started me browsing through all of internet land looking for a recipe I liked. I guess I really shouldn't say recipe, as this implies differing ingredients. The recipe for yogurt is pretty universal: milk and starter. Starter being yogurt with active cultures in it. If it has it, it will say somewhere on the container. If you do not have this you will not make yogurt, you'll only make milk that has been heated, left to sit, and cooled. Not very tasty. Now there can be additions like dry milk powder or even gelatin for extra thickening if you're using, say, skim milk. The biggest difference really is how many ...

Tuesday Teaser ~

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading . Here's how it works.. Grab your current read Open to a random page Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure what you share does not give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!) Share the title & author too so other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Hi, All! I've been absent the last two weeks, catching up on my reading. Now I've got a new teaser to share. Mina reviewed one of Katie MacAlister's books awhile back, and that review left me eager to search out this author. When I saw this title, I had to give it a try. One hilarious escapade after another, Men In Kilts is sure to elicit a giggle even from the staunchest of readers. If you like humor sprinkled throughout your romance once in awhile, this is ...

The Binder's Daughter, Matt Hofferth

Fantasy Writing, Vampires, And A Dash Of Romance... The title of this book is somewhat deceiving as the story is told from Michael Allen's perspective. Beginning with his normal young adult life in Chicago and taking the reader through his brutal transition to vampire, this novel continues into the present day where our hero leads a solitary life. Haunted and tortured by the memories surrounding the night he was bitten, Michael maintains a lonely existence, fighting against 'The Beast' and hating the very nature of what he is. When Michael begins hearing a strange voice and finds himself inexplicably drawn to Kiara, a local young woman with a life almost as strange as his own, a longing takes root deep inside him - a longing that could end in disaster. What Michael doesn't know is that Kiara has secrets of her own, some she doesn't even know she keeps. Together, Michael and Kiara discover the peace of self-acceptance through their unconditional acceptance of one ano...

Brazen Broads Book Bash

Search This Blog