bringing style to the art of tea appreciation
Ephemera I recently inherited boxes of family photos, ephemera, dishes, etc. Having culled the less important material, I’m now left with the more interesting remnants of past family life. There are plenty of faded black and white photos of my Dad’s family, in particular his mother who I never knew. Tales from my Mom’s side of the clan had become part of family culture since I was very young, but legends from my Father’s family and the characters that may […]
My Absence You will have noticed that I haven’t written anything on these pages since early June. My Google analytics numbers have plummeted. I apologize to my readers for my absence. I’ve had other concerns. My bright and lovely Mother, Ruth, passed away in July at the age of 95. I’ve been gathering myself together since then. The passing wasn’t sudden – we had over 18 months to cherish our moments with her – it is however still surreal. As […]
I am thrilled to be hosting an illustrated talk for the Bata Shoe Museum in midtown Toronto on Sunday May 13th (Mother’s Day). It’s entitled, High Style: A Fashionable History of Tea. In preparation, I’ve been considering the influence that tea has had on style throughout history. I’ve been delving into Asia’s ancient past, but also investigating tea’s introduction to society in Europe’s Baroque period and beyond. I’ve uncovered some interesting nuggets. During the early 1700’s 1 lb of tea […]
Pargeters by Norah Lofts My husband finds odd books in bins or at sales and occasionally comes home with some gems. Although he hadn’t read it, he thought I might enjoy a book called Pargeters by Norah Lofts, a prolific British author who wrote over 60 books. This was her last novel and it was posthumously published in 1984. The dust jacket was a bit faded and the cover illustration unsophisticated. 284 pages of historical romance in my hand with […]
At a runway show during Toronto fashion week last fall, I found a small bright pink tin of Kusmi Sweet Love tea in a gift bag. I thought the packaging and theme would be perfect for the love-fest that we know as Valentine’s Day. I’ve recently unpacked and sampled it. Sweet Love’s China black tea base is perfumed with all-natural aromatic morsels of cardamom, cinnamon, sweetness of licorice root, guarana seeds and pink pepper. I’m not a big fan of […]
Smoking out a Winner The origin of Lapsang Souchong, 正山小種 is also associated with war. There are several versions of the story, but each involves a prematurely halted processing of black tea, bohea class. In China, sometime during the Qing dynasty (1644 – 1912) invading troops marched into the tea producing area of the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian province. One version suggests the area itself was under attack, another that the troops required accommodation and for this purpose took over […]
Tea in the Castle Gardens Always on the look out for an esthetic setting for ‘picnicing’ my tea, we hiked the short uphill trek to Casa Loma, Toronto’s famous castle. It was built between 1911 and 1914 when Sir Henry Pellatt was at the top of his game. He was successful owner of The Toronto Electric Light Company, had investments in the railway and was Major General, The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. To celebrate his achievements, he hired architect, […]
Why would The Tea Stylist be attending and reporting on an event where fragrance was the focus? Because tea played a starring role! It all began when pr maven Desia Halpin Brill of Brill Communications hired The Tea Stylist to host a tea salon in honour of a transatlantic visit from Yardley of London‘s Managing Director, Quentin Higham. Yardley Honours the Royal Wedding While Yardley, which holds two Royal Warrants, reacquainted their guests with classics, Lavender and Lily of the […]