Now that I'm rewriting SCONED TO DEATH, I am going into the details. Since it is about an old red school house that has a yarn shop and a tea room, I started getting into the tea they served. I had already made a point that some of the tea blends are made by someone local who uses flowers and things from her garden.
I had gotten the idea from some tea blends I had bought at a holiday sale at the Huntington Gardens. They had tins of black tea blended with rose petals and another that had marigolds and cornflowers. That was years ago. The Huntington does sell a rose tea blend, but I was surprised to see that it has artificial flavor.
Thank heavens for the Internet--that's how I found out about the artificial flavor and also how I found a way to get rose tea without artificial flavors. I found another blend that sounded interesting and with a few clicks, the two teas were on their way to me.
I love coffee, but I also love tea and drink a cup most nights while I watch a half hour comedy so I can go to sleep with a smile.
As soon as the teas arrived, I was anxious to try them. When I opened the canister of rose tea, I was surprised to see actual rose buds and large pieces of petals in the lose leaf tea. The scent was lovely. When I brewed a cup, the color had a faint pinkish cast. The taste was lighter than what I remember from the Huntington tea, but that might have been because of the artificial flavor. I actually liked this one better.
The other tea was an Earl Grey blend that had touches of vanilla which gave it a rich taste.
My interest in details for the book included fashion. I realized that Annie Sara would not need a different wardrobe for running the tea room and yarn shop. And since she and Gray are involved with serving in the tea room, they would need some form of apron.
I hadn't really thought much about aprons but then I saw an article on CNN about aprons because there is a new season of The Bear and they wear aprons. Chef Carmy wears a Bravard apron which is from a French company and had a certain status. I had never thought about aprons having a status.
I passed on that for Annie Sara and Gray and instead have them wearing Japanese cross back aprons that are almost like pinafores.
How convenient that I have one of those.
8 comments:
Good morning -- Lots of good details in today's post. I've never owned an apron -- my grandmother always wore one -- she was appalled that I didn't have one for her to wear when she visited and helped in the kitchen. That was in the days when we had to dry dishes with a towel so she tucked a towel in the waistband of her dress. I remember embroidering a set of towels -- each with a little saying for the day.
Earl Grey is my favorite tea and the touch of vanilla sounds so good. Both my kids drink very strong black coffee -- doesn't appeal to me in the least.
The weather here is crazy -- it got up to 116, then down to 99 -- now it's going up again. The 10-day forecast shows it going up to 114, then down to 98. This is the monsoon season but so far, not a drop of rain.
I started a C2C blanket with an ombre yarn called Seaside -- the subtle changes of color look great in the diagonal stripes. I haven't decided whether to make it a square or rectangle -- have a few more rows to go before I get to the transition point.
Enjoy your day, and your rewriting -- hope all the characters are doing what they should be doing!!
When I'm not reading I like to crochet and watch BritBox on TV. They are always having tea which prompted me to try some herbal blends. Very relaxing and a nice change from other beverages. I'm also fascinated by their scones and cakes. They can't possibly eat them at every tea. I would be as big as a barrel. Looking forward to your new book.
Patty, I tried adding a few drops of vanilla extract to a cup of Earl Grey tea. It was great. I liked it as much as the blend I got. I am a big strong black coffee drinker, too.
Who would have thought that 99 would seem cool. It's still nice here. Cool morning and not scorching the rest of the day.
I hadn't thought about doing corner to corner with the yarn that changes color. It has to look interesting.
My characters are doing their best to show me who they are.
Sally, I keep thinking about getting BritBox. It is amazing how many different kinds of tea there are, particularly if you get into herb teas. I have a feeling that for most their afternoon tea is something lighter than all those plates of scones and sandwiches.
I have started wearing aprons recently because I just love them and its something that reminds me of my mom and my childhood. Plus they sure save my clothes from stains. I am a tea drinker. I do have coffee in the mornings but then it's tea for the rest of the day. I prefer an orange pekoe tea with just milk. I also like a mint green tea. Not a fan of sweetened teas. A good cup of tea and one of your books makes for a lovely, cozy afternoon!
Sharon
Sharon, I'm glad that my books add to your cozy afternoon. Orange pekoe tea with milk is really good. I forgot about it and will have to try some.
I never could get into coffee. I am a tea drinker. I enjoy getting tea from Starbucks or Coffee Bean at Farmer's Market and sitting outside and getting lost in a book. My favorite at Starbucks is Emperor's Cloud. My favorite at Coffee Bean is Jasmine Dragon. Both are green teas. I do that all year round.
My mom used to wear aprons all the time. I kept some as remembrances.
I just started a new afghan that uses the alpine stitch. It is going to be a lap blanket and not so big.
Enjoyable post, Betty. Coffee and I are best friends but I'm not so much into tea, except occasionally for herbal varieties. And I liked your interesting stuff about fashion and aprons!
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