Calendar Girl

As we speed towards the end of the year, I've acquired numerous tea-themed calendars for 2017.

This pretty "Tea Time" 4 x 6 photo calendar was created by Sylvia from SMD Paper Arts.

I ordered this "Collectable Teapots" from Amazon and was disappointed by the poor quality. The paper was thin and the photos left much to be desired (I've seen better photos on Blogland!). 

I love my "Collectible Teapot and Tea" wall calendar so much that I'm willing to pay full price for it!

This cute magnetic calendar with a memo pad was purchased at the Dollar Tree.

Another recent Dollar Tree find was this pretty mini "Tea Time" wall calendar.

My tea Advent calendar.

This week's holiday tea: Organic Candy Cane Green Rooibos by The Traveling TeaRoom.

Bring on candy cane EVERYTHING!

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tea Cup Tuesday

  Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Wonderful Gifts from Oz

Last month, I received a surprise package from Lyn,  my teacup swap partner last spring.

Lyn sent me these delightful souvenirs from her country. 

How cute are these koala socks and stationery?

I also love this kool kangaroo tea towel.

Lyn also generously included these teas and dark chocolate ginger (you know me so well!).

Steeping the Australian Eucalyptus & Black Tea.

The eucalyptus tea had an interesting woodsy taste!

According to the tea seller, The Spice Grinder,  this "uniquely Australian bush flavour [is] perfect for your sinuses." It looks like this will be my go-to tea during allergy season!

Thank you for the wonderful package, Lyn!

This week's holiday tea: Celestial Seasonings' Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride Herbal Tea.

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tea Cup Tuesday

  Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

Marketing

During the last couple of weeks, I've been hitting the November markets and bazaars. Last weekend, I dropped by the Hamilton Potters Guild's Fall Sale which featured pottery galore, including Christmas items.

Angels we have heard on high

Unique teapots that caught my eye (I totally want the white one with the butterfly!).

I hemmed and hawed over these adorable teapot necklaces. But I found them too heavy and pricey (they cost more than my functional teapots!) so I left them behind.

I did bring home these teapot ornaments. My tea-themed Christmas tree will be going up soon!

Yesterday, I went to the Afri-Can-Market, which supports the Stephen Lewis' Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, where I purchased these cute "mug bags". Of course, mine will be utilized as  "teacup bags"!

I also went to a church bazaar where I picked up these purple broaches. 

The one on the left is black and lavender while the one on the right is dark purple (it looks black in the poor lighting). Both will match my purple wool coats perfect (yes, I have multiple purple coats!).

The same vendor was also selling this cute, crochet, purple  teapot cozy.

Even though I knew it would be too big for my teapots, I just couldn't leave it behind!

I've already started sipping my holiday teas. 

This week's holiday tea: Mistletoe Chai Rooibos by Monarch Tea Co.

I had tried out this tasty tea at the RBG Tea Festival. What makes this chai tea unique is that it contains coconut pieces and rose petals.

Have you been attending bazaars this month?

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tea Cup Tuesday

  Friends Sharing Tea

Tuesday Cuppa Tea

The First RBG Tea Festival

Last Saturday, I wen to the Royal Botanical Garden's First Tea Festival. 

The Tea Festival had 25 vendors and drew large crowds (who knew that Hamilton had so many tea lovers?). The tea sampling and presentations were so much fun!

Taiwanese Tea Ceremony: Osmanthus Black Tea

Madeline Chang from Bon Tea Place led the Taiwanese Tea Ceremony. It was an interactive presentation and the attendees were encouraged to "receive" the teas prepared by the 10 trainees.

 

Taiwanese Tea Ceremony: Autumn - Pai Mu Dan Organic Tea

The white teaware and tea represented the autumn season.

Taiwanese Tea Ceremony: Winter - Young Pu-Erh Tea

The black teaware and tea represented the winter season.

Taiwanese Tea Ceremony: Spring - Bi Luo Chun Tea

The green teaware and tea represented the spring season.

Taiwanese Tea Ceremony: Summer - Oolong Oriental Beauty

The red teaware represented the summer season. 

The oolong tea had a fruity taste and was my favourite among the seasonal teas.

Taiwanese Tea Ceremony by the Children

The 5 remaining tea ceremonies were performed by children (the youngest was only 4!). 

They were all so cute!

Left: Jasmine Pearl

Middle: Dong Ding Oolong

Right: Ti Kuan Ying

Taiwanese Tea Ceremony by the Children

 Top: Toffee Pu-Erh (this was smooth and yummy!)

Bottom: Jasmine Green Tea

I also heard interesting talks about  "Tea's Journey Around the World" and tea blogging.

Left: Linda Gaylard (aka the Tea Stylist)

Right: T.J. Williamson from World Tea Podcast is the only blogger (to date) who blogs via podcasts.

Mistletoe Chai by The Monarch Tea Co.

The owner, Katie, also offered a fun session on the art of pairing tea with food where we had the opportunity to sample Walker's meltaway milk chocolate with Cream Earl Grey tea. YUM!!!

This collection of cups for tea leaf readings spans over a century.

The Art of Tea and Tasseomancy owner, Amy, also did a neat presentation on the history and practice of tea leaf readings.

Kevin Kong's Wellness Centre offered samples of this Pu-Erh that was produced in 2007.

Kevin also presented on "Chinese Tea and Tea Health".

Tea and sugar cookies with an Earl Grey glaze were served at the book launch of "Tea-Inspiration: Inspiration Words for Tea Lovers" by Lu Ann who blogs at The Cup of Life. Naturally, I had to support a fellow Canadian blogger and bought an autographed copy of the book. The pocket-sized book would make a great stocking stuffer!

 Of course, a tea festival wouldn't be complete without some tea pretties!

 

Top left: Royal Rose Chai by The Chai Palace

Top right: Black Scotch Tea by World Tea Podcast

Bottom: Cream Earl Grey (left) and and Strawberry Tea (right) by Blue Mountain Tea Company

 I think this was an oolong by the Bon Tea Place?

Top: Darjeeling Jungpana by Camellia Sinensis

Bottom: Fruity (herbal?) tea samples from Steeped Tea (left) and Tea-ara (right)

The most interesting and unique tea that I sampled was this Tangerine Pu-Erh. 

The 8-year-old Pu-Erh tea was stored inside a tangerine and processed for over 30 hours! I'm not a huge fan of Pu-Erh, but this one had a nice mild citrus flavour.

 

Left: Iced green tea by Drink Empower

Right: Organic Raspberry Lemon Kombucha by Booch

The freebies that I scored.

 

I'm starting to get into the Yule spirit so I brought home: 

Mistletoe Chai by The Monarch Tea Co; 

Nutracker Tea and Candy Cane Organic by The Travelling Tea Room

I hope that the RBG will host another tea festival next year!

I'm joining the following parties this week:

Tea Cup Tuesday

  Friends Sharing Tea

2016 Fall Teacup Exchange

The Enchanting Rose's biannual teacup exchanges are always rewarding experiences. A huge THANK YOU goes out to our amazing hostess, Stephanie, for working so hard to ensure that the 9th teacup and mug exchange ran smoothly for the 192 participants. 

I sent this Queen Anne teacup from my collection to Tammy in Wisconsin. 

Tammy doesn't have a blog so I'm sharing what I sent her here.

I rescued "Little Orphan Annie" a few years ago and thought that Tammy would give her a good home. I was glad that she didn't mind that it was a mismatched cup and saucer!

I was thrilled to receive this Hammersley beauty from Patti in Illinois.

I love the teacup's yellow trim, scalloped edges and dainty floral design!

Patti thoughtfully included these yummy teas and wafer rolls in my package. How cute is this tea towel? 

 

I also received this pretty lustreware dish in my favourite colours, as well as stickers and a bookmark.

Thank you, Patti, for the wonderful package!

Teacups from the 2014-2016 exchanges

Now we are six!

The lovely card handmade by Patti

Please visit The Enchanting Rose to see the other fun teacup and mug swaps!

The Enchanting Rose's Teacup & Mug Exchange #9 Reveal