Tea Insanity

I wonder if many other people out there have made tea into as much of a lifestyle as we have? This is most of the tea from our “tea cabinet” (not shown: loose bags or boxes that are too ripped up), which is a corner cabinet with a two tier, spinning lazy susan style shelving thing in it.

We also have these things in there (the tupperware is espresso).

Next to the “tea cabinet”, is the “stuff for tea cabinet”.

Fancy tea set, espresso set, honey server.

Awesome mushroom set and steeping pot for loose leaves.

Mushroom plates and one of Annie’s little tea sets (the newest, and least chipped from childhood play).

Ananda’s set…the cups each have a matching saucer. iPhone cameras in dim lighting have limited abilities.

I forgot to take a picture but under those cabinets, on the counter, are the espresso maker and the big electric kettle.

Then the display cabinet on the other side of the kitchen is full of my Paul Cardew Alice in Wonderland stuff - my oldest daughter’s favorite. She’s had tea parties for her birthday two years in a row just to get it all out. The cups have book quotes swirling around the insides.

It’s kind of unreal the level of satisfaction silly crap like this gives me. My beautiful antique mushroom tea set - all those “sandwich plates” have dips for the cups to sit in. They’re by some italian artist and all signed in non-identical ways on the bottoms.

We’ve been drinking nothing but chai with lots of turbinado sugar and almond milk in it, lately. Yesterday was tiny wedges of (Sara Lee thaw and serve, let’s not get crazy :p) french cheesecake with strawberry topping, and champagne grapes.

I don’t think I ever would have picked out this set myself, it’s Lynn’s china with a real gold edging on every piece and the classic floral thing - but I’ve been really glad my Nana and Pa DID buy it for us several years ago (as our first real tea set, when I started doing afternoon tea most days with my then-three children). The kids love it so much, I think it strikes them as “fancy” in a way none of the rest does.

Ginger spice cookies, full of cloves and cinnamon…my whole house smelled like cinnamon :)

Usually we do tea outside. In the beginning it was always under the trampoline, then it kind of migrated to our deck. There’s often a question for tea, that everyone goes around answering. Lately it’s so hot and stormy outside (summer in the tropics) that nobody wants to go outside for it.

In the beginning, none of the kids actually drank the tea. Now, they drink 3 cups each on an average day. In the beginning, I couldn’t keep Aaron still for it. Now I have to make him go get his bike out of the street and put it away because he’s so eager to come when I call them all for tea.

I feel like this is something I’ve done right as a mother, that all five of them will look back on really fondly.