My New Tea Pot, I Couldn't Pass It Up!

We went garage sale-ing on a Saturday this past month. (6/3/17). I found this tea pot for $2. I didn't have any tea pots up to this point. I just thought I didn't need a tea pot. I brew my tea in a mug. Tea pots were just clutter in my opinion.

...But, this tea pot was so charming! I like the simple blue and white design in the glaze. The wire handle has character. The lid is so cute. The opaque glass windows seem very delicate, and allow light to pass through the tea pot.

I decided if I was going to buy this tea pot then I would have to actually make use of it. I would not let it become clutter.

The very next day, Sunday, I set up a "tea" meal. I dug my cookie press out of the cabinet and made some fancy Butter Cookies. (I was glad to utilize my new oven! I probably would have made a small batch of less fancy cookies if I was still using my toaster oven.😊)

I made some tea sandwiches by using a cookie cutter to make heart shaped slices of bread. I had to be a little creative with the filling. I had no deli meat or sliced cheese. I did have some shredded cheddar cheese and some tomatoes, though. I made a cheese spread with shredded cheddar, cream cheese, a little mayonnaise, fresh dill weed, fresh green onions, and a little salt. It turned out to be very similar to a cheese ball in look and consistency. I spread the cheese mixture onto each slice of bread and put tomatoes slices in the middle.

The next week my sister came for a visit. I showed her my new tea pot and shared with her my enthusiasm. The tea pot is the perfect size for brewing a couple tea cups worth of tea at once. As I said, I usually brew my tea straight in the mug. There are a few down sides to this method that a didn't fully realize until I had a tea pot.

Number 1. I have to use a large mug to get the most out of my tea bag. I don't think tea bags steeped twice yeild enough flavor, but if you brew the tea bag in a large enough amount of water the first time it gives enough flavor to the whole batch, and makes the most out of each tea bag. The tea pot does this job much better than picking out an extra large mug.

Number 2. I like to brew my tea, covered, for a minimum of 15 minutes, especially when I am drinking tea for medical benefits. To do this in a mug I have to set a plate on top. I need it to be covered in order to keep the heat in and, also, to keep to much water from evaporating. You'd be surprised that you can actually notice a difference in the water level between tea that was covered while brewing and tea that wasn't. A tea pot has a lid and solves both of these problems.

Number 3. It takes tea a long time to cool to a comfortable drinking temperature when it is in a large mug. The quantity of hot water just doesn't cool off very quickly. And, once it does get down to a comfortable drinking temperature you have to guzzel it rapidly before it becomes too cool to be enjoyable. The tea pot is the perfect solution. After the 15 minutes of brewing you can pour a small cup of tea. The small cup cools quickly. In such a small quantity you are able to drink it all before it gets too cold. The tea in the tea pot, on the other hand, stays hot for quite some time because of the lid and quantity of hot liquid. I can enjoy small tea cup-full, after small tea cup-full over the course of an hour or so, all at the perfect temperature for drinking.

Yes, I have turned my tea sipping into a science.😊

After my sister went home (she lives a few hours drive from us) she found some tea cups that matched my little tea pot almost perfectly! They were listed on a garage sale site. She bought them and gave them to me as a gift!

The tea cups have a marking on the bottom, which my tea pot does not. The cups are, also, hand painted and the design on the tea pot is printed. These cups are probably more special than the tea pot, but only because they are probably more valuable, but because they are a gift from my sister. 😊 The tea pot is probably a cheap reproduction.

The tea cups do have in common with the tea pot these opaque see through-ish pieces of glass. Isn't that so neat!

Epilogue:

Sadly, I did break my tea pot. 😢 I am not sure exactly how it happened. I was moving my tea pot to the other counter space in order to get it out of BMW's reach. I don't know whether I knocked it against the counter or if it just slipped out of my hands. The next thing I knew it was shattered into pieces on the title flooring. I did shed a tear. 😢 I am glad I had made up my mind to make practical use of the tea pot. In that case, at least, I did get to enjoy my tea pot while I had it. I brewed tea in it a handful of times before the tragedy.

I have since employed my coffee press to brew tea. I can still enjoy the tea cups, and reap the benefits of the tea being able to cool off quickly in the smaller vessels.