Plum Deluxe Tea and Books

On Sunday afternoon, October 25th, I'll be returning to Shorepointe Assisted Living for their monthly Afternoon Tea and program.  This month my subject will be a local personality, Mrs. Henry [Clara] Ford, even though she's been deceased since 1950.  

In 2005 I wrote a magazine article about her, as well as planned a theme tea in honor of Henry's 147th birthday.

While thinking about my upcoming Clara Ford presentation, I received an e-mail from Andy Hayes of Plum Deluxe Signature Teas in Portland, Oregon. He wondered if I'd be interested in sampling some of his teas, and share them on my blog.  His teas, which are a tribute to his mother who lost a 6-year battle with breast cancer, are hand-blended in small batches, organic, fair trade, and non-GMO [genetically modified organisms].  I told him I'd be happy to sample his teas, and selected his #1 seller, 'Reading Nook' Black Tea Blend.

My research on Clara Ford was 10 years ago, so I stopped at the public library earlier in the week to check out Clara's biography to refresh my memory.  For the record, Clara was a tea drinker.  ;-)

When I returned home, a package from Plum Deluxe Tea was in the mail, as well as Susan Branch's latest, 'hot off the press' book, The Fairy Tale Girl.  And as a side note, Susan Branch is a tea drinker too!

Inside the package from Plum Deluxe Tea were three samples - Reading Nook blend [black tea], Afternoon 'High Tea' [white tea], and Pumpkin Spice Tea [Honeybush and black tea blend].

Since I've got two books to read, the first tea I chose to prepare was 'Reading Nook' - black tea blended with rosebuds, lavender and chamomile. The packet says it pairs with creativity, reading, writing, conversation, and relaxing.   What a great combination!

The dish on the left [below] is the dry leaf, and on the right is the infused leaf.  You can see how one teaspoon of the dry leaf more than doubled in size after steeping. The taste of rosebuds wasn't as pronounced as the lavender and chamomile, but the dry leaf has a mild, pleasant floral aroma.   

The serious, more studious side of me said I needed to read the biography first while drinking my complimentary mug of tea, while the fun side of me wanted to delve into The Fairy Tale Girl. Which book do you think won out?  ;-)

The Afternoon 'High Tea' white peach tea [blended with apricot pieces, marigold petals, and pear essence], and Deluxe Pumpkin Spice Tea will be reviewed in a later post.