It would be nigh impossible to pry my hand from my Diet Dr. Pepper, but my artist friend Franni Farishon may be changing all that – she visited me at the Studio a couple of days ago, and boy, did I learn a lot about the Joys of Tea. The Good Kind. Franni brought some mind-blowing loose tea samples from Discover Teas in Virginia (which is owned by her daughter Chris) to share. Here’s a delightful picture that Franni drew of our tea-for-two party.

Drawing by Frances Farishon

Some things that surprised me – first, you can brew a fabulous cup of tea in just three to five minutes – and you don’t have to use boiling water. We had a delicate Cream Earl Grey that tasted like vanilla bergamot blossoms and brewed in practically no time – it was fun to watch it steep, and it really did taste creamy and silky without anything added. I also learned about Puerh. It’s a fermented tea that can be steeped over and over again all day long, and will yield new and different flavor notes with each steep. Wow. Finally, the aromas of the different teas are practically hypnotic.

So I ordered some teas from Discover Teas along with a Tea Press (who knew?) and when they arrived, quick as lightning, I brewed up a cup of Tropic of Jasmine – swoon. The cup came from Franni, who asked her daughter to include in the package it as a gift for me. Tea drinkers are so nice! So, OK, all you tea drinkers out there in SHARDS Land – why didn’t you tell me what I’d been missing?? This stuff is amazing! Thanks, Franni and Chris!

Here are some more photos of Franni’s Tea Tutorial (she brought cookies, too- yay!):

PS – speaking of SHARDS Land, the winner of the Friday Freebie gift certificate to Mulberry Paper and More and a Lotus Book kit goes by the email of  “clayartist@cox.net” – congratulations! I don’t recognize your name by your email, but thanks for subscribing and I’ll send along your prize as soon as you are kind enough to send me your name and address. Thanks, and happy Monday to all!