This is the 3rd week special in our April Surprises month. This week’s special is: 15% off of tea accessories including: tea socks, tea pockets, the perfect one cup measuring spoon, the perfect one pot measuring spoon, the perfect cup and pot of tea spoon, one cup filters, t-sacs and tea strainers. This sale is valid through April 24th, on-line only and limited to stock on hand. Check out our information at the bottom of this page to learn about essential equipment for tea.

Updates:

• The new cookbooks arrive tomorrow, so if you pre-ordered your cookbook, it should be shipped sometime this week.
• Free Shipping until April 30th on orders of $20.00 or more.
• Selected Tea Accessories 15% off through April 24th.
• Master Tea Room Recipes on sale $49.95, regular price $65.00
• May 1st Hosting brunches, Tea Buffets and Large Tea Parties 11:00AM at The Antique Trove
• If someone you know isn’t getting this email and should be, please ask  them to check their spam folder.  ATT, Yahoo and SBC Global seem to be sporadically blocking my e-mails as spam. Thanks!

Have a great week!

Amy

Essential Equipment/Tea Accoutrements

When you’re having a tea party the right equipment can make all the difference.  Here are a few suggestions to help you get started.

1. A tea kettle or glass container – When making tea you really only need a few essential pieces of equipment. You need something to boil the water in.  This can be the traditional tea kettle or electric kettle or you can even use a glass container and heat the water in the microwave.  The tea kettle is best, but if you are in an office setting, the microwave will do.

2. Infusers – Next you will need a tea infuser of some kind.  The tea sock is a great one when you are having large parties.  It allows ample room for the loose tea to expand and release its entire flavor.  The sock works well for both a cup of tea and a pot of tea.  You can even hang several of them in a large pot on the stove to make a huge batch of tea.  Tea balls, pincher type mesh strainers, paper filters, stainless steel infuser baskets will all work for a cup of tea and depending on the size may work for a pot of tea. There are also individual strainers for you to pour your tea through to your cup as you drink.  Personally those are not my favorite as the rest of the tea steeps while you drink your cup and by the time you finish your pot, the tea tastes bitter.

Tea Pockets are one of my favorite ways to infuse tea.  I personally love to take these when I travel.  I make up a few bags ahead of time and just pop them in my purse and ask for hot water at a restaurant.

T-Sacs are very easy to use too.  You can hang them over the side of a cup.  The ones for iced tea are great!

3. Tea Cup – You need something in which to brew the tea. This may be a cup, mug, or tea pot.

4. Timer – It’s important to time the tea.  If tea is oversteeped it will become bitter.

Additional helpful equipment:

Measuring Spoon – For measuring the loose tea, use a teaspoon or tablespoon. You can buy tea measuring spoons for this specific purpose.  Some of us however, do not need a spoon and when you feel experienced you can even “pinch” out the right amount of tea with your fingers.

Tea cozy or tea warmer – For me, a tea cozy is essential as I do not like to drink cold tea. It’s amazing how fast the tea cools without something around the pot or a tea light underneath.

Electric coffee urn – For large parties, an electric stainless steel coffee urn works well. Make sure it has not been previously used for coffee as it will affect the taste of the tea. Take out the percolator filter. Place water in the urn, turn it on and wait until it’s finished. Then place your cup or pot under the urn and dispense hot water into your infuser into the cup/pot.  The water is not quite hot enough, but it will definitely do for large parties.

Sugar Tongs
Sugar Bowl
Small Milk Pitcher
Teaspoons – for stirring tea

Not Needed But Fun Accoutrements and Added Touches:

There are so many unique accessories you can use.  The list is endless and full of possibilities. Use your imagination and have fun! These are a few of my favorites.

Lemon squeezer – This is for adding lemon to your tea. Place a wedge of lemon inside and squeeze. They come in a variety of forms. My favorite is the lemon bird.

Decorated sugar – This adds a special touch to your party.  They come in all colors and shapes. I love to coordinate them with the season – roses and hearts for Valentine’s Day, shamrocks for a St. Patrick’s Day holly and berries for the holiday season. I love to put a few special ones on top of the regular white sugar cubes in the sugar bowl.  This way you don’t use too many and they really stand out against the white sugar cubes.

Lace doilies – To cover the milk pitcher. You can even decorate them with beads to help weigh down the cover.

As promised, this month is dedicated to my on-liners. This week’s April surprise special is: decorative sugars are on sale 10% until April 17th. Plus remember you get free shipping for orders over $20.00 during the month of April.  Sugar sale applies to items in-stock, on-line only. Shop early for the best selection.  Stay tuned for next week’s April surprise!

Have a great week!

Amy

Recipe of the week:

Devonshire Cream

This is not the “real” English Devonshire cream, but our version.  It’s very tasty and keeps for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Serve Devonshire Cream and Lemon Curd in cute dishes such as these with little spoons.

• 1 8 oz. pkg. softened cream cheese
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 1/2 freshly squeezed lemon
• 2 t. vanilla
• 1 c. sour cream

In a  small  bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, lemon juice, and vanilla.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar.  Fold in sour cream.

Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Updates:

• Free Shipping until April 30th on orders of $20.00 or more.
• Master Tea Room Recipes on sale $49.95, regular price $65.00
• May 1st class — Hosting brunches, Tea Buffets and Large Tea Parties — 11AM at the Antique Trove

Apparently there is some confusion about the next class date.  It was on April 10th, but I had to change it to May 1st.  So the next class at the Antique Trove is on May 1st at 11:00 AM.  This class will be, “Hosting Brunches, Tea Buffets and Large Tea Parties.”

On another note, I have had some trouble with people not receiving my response e-mails.  They receive the notices about classes, newsletters and such, but when they e-mail me a question and I reply directly back to them, it ends up in their spam folder.

To correct this problem, please make sure amy@afternoontoremember.com and info@afternoontoremember.com is “white listed.”  Also, if you send me a message and don’t hear back from me, let me know. I respond to e-mail immediately so chances are it’s in your spam folder. But let me know and I will send it through another e-mail account.  The people mostly affected are Yahoo and AT&T customers.  I’m not sure why this is happening, but it is becoming more frequent.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Amy

Updates:

• Free Shipping until April 30th on orders of $20.00 or more.
• Master Tea Room Recipes on sale $49.95, regular price $65.00
• May 1st Hosting brunches, Tea Buffets and Large Tea Parties 11:00 AM Antique Trove

Apparently it looked like our Master Tea Room Recipes cookbooks were sold out. They are indeed not. I’m so sorry!  Thanks to our loyal customers who let us know (about five of you at current count), I have fixed the problem. Sorry for the inconvenience if you were trying to order them.  They are still on sale and will be until the end of the month.

Amy

The latest newsletter is out!  Included inside are tips for a great tea party, a scone recipe and more! Our tea of the month is:  Rhapsody in Raspberry which is raspberry mango and it’s 25% off this month. Also be sure and check out our April special of free shipping for orders of $20.00 or more.   Have a great Easter holiday!

Amy

Thanks to all who came to the class this Saturday.  We had over 50 people there again!  Wow! You all really amaze me!  I am so grateful that so many people want to come to my classes. You’re amazing!

Unfortunately I printed out handouts for everyone but left them in the car!  So, here’s the link to a pdf of the handout.  I’m so sorry I forgot to give them to you!

Many people have asked if the information is in one of the cookbooks. The sandwich information is in the Master Tea Room Recipes cookbook. This book was originally intended for other tea rooms, caterers and people doing large parties but I’m finding that a lot of my customers are interested in this book as well.  I’m sorry I didn’t have more copies at my booth.  The cookbook is on special for $49.95 from now until April 30th.

The next class will be May 1st at 11:00 AM and will focus on Large Tea Parties, Brunches and Tea Buffets. Just in time for Mother’s Day!

Have a wonderful week!  For all of you loyal on-liners, I have a few specials coming up for you. I didn’t want you to feel cheated because you couldn’t come to my classes. Look for them in April!

Amy

P.S. This is a note from Amy’s husband Pat.  It’s time for KCRA’s A-List again.  Somebody nominated An Afternoon to Remember.  For that, we thank you.  The fact that we are getting any votes after the tea room closed is an amazing testament to you, our customers.  I am not asking that you vote for us since the tea room is no longer open.  However, if you are willing to support a passion of mine beyond my family I would be greatful.  If you could vote for Bedwell’s Karate that would be fantastic (or if you know anybody who could benefit from the martial arts, send them our way.)

This is just a reminder that the “How to Make and Garnish Tea Sandwiches,” class will be this Saturday, March 27th at 11:00 AM at the Antique Trove in Roseville.

This class will focus on:

• How to adapt recipes for tea sandwiches
• Tips for how to cut tea sandwiches
• How far ahead you can make and garnish tea sandwiches
• How to store tea sandwiches

All classes are free and you don’t need to sign up.  However, if you think you might attend, please send me an e-mail so that I’ll know about how many to prepare for — we’ll taste teas and a few goodies.  Hope to see you there!

Update on cookbook:

Our new cookbook will be out soon!  The proof came back but there were a few corrections so we’re waiting on the second proof. I’ll let you know when the final copies arrive. I can’t wait to share it with you!

Next class:

Brunch Ideas for tea buffets for Spring and Mother’s Day! April 10th at 11:00 AM.

Have a wonderful Day!

Amy

Thanks to all of you who attended my last class!  We had a fantastic turnout! Wow!  I meant to have my husband take a picture but I forgot. Hope you are all having fun making sugar!

For those of you who missed the class, the sugar recipe is in the, “Making It Your Own Afternoon to Remember,” cookbook. The Almond Fruit Tea Spritzer recipe we served is in the, “Tea Time Tidbits and Treats,” cookbook.

Some helpful tips to remember when making sugar:

• only use the amount of water specified, the sugar won’t unmold if you use too much water
• use superfine sugar
• work quickly and put a damp paper towel over the bowl while you are working
• choose molds which are small enough for bite-sized sugar

Here’s where you can find an assortment of candy molds to make the sugar:  www.candymoldcentral.com.

Our next class will be on March 27th. How to Make and Garnish Tea Sandwiches.  This class will focus on:

• how to adapt recipes for tea sandwiches
• tips for how to cut tea sandwiches
• how far ahead you can make and garnish tea sandwiches
• how to store tea sandwiches

If you are interested in large tea party recipes, be sure and check out our “Master Tea Room Recipes,” cookbook.  This book is full of tea sandwiches, desserts, and scones and the recipes are all geared toward large parties. If you’re not sure how much filling you will need to make 100 tea sandwiches, this is the book for you!

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, all tea will be 15% off on March 17th (on-line only) until midnight.  Stock up on your favorite teas!

Have a wonderful day! Check out my tea plant. Isn’t it gorgeous! Can you believe a delicious cup of tea comes from two leaves and a bud? That is all they pick — the tender leaves. Unfortunately my plant is not big enough to make much tea, but I still love looking at the leaves anyway.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Amy

Calendar Updates:

• St. Patrick’s Day tea sale – all tea 15% off on-line only
• We do have Assam in stock at the Antique Trove as well as on-line – Harmutty Estate, Leopard’s Blend, and Hajua Estate. Assam was the tea used in the Almond Fruit Tea Spritzer at the last class.
• The new cookbook proof arrived yesterday, however it needs to go back to the printer for a few minor corrections.  After the proof is approved, I’ll be ordering the new cookbooks. They should be in the first week in April as long as the proof is accepted on time.
• The sugar is now on-line. I have ordered more decorative sugar.  The butterfly and leaves were a big hit! I have also ordered a few wedding sugars and baby sugars for those of you hosting wedding and baby showers.
• March 27th -11:00 AM at the Antique Trove, How to Make and Garnish Tea Sandwiches

Now that we’ve had a few nice days here (even though it’s back to rain at the moment), I have spring fever.  I worked in my garden a bit, bought some new plants and cleaned up my patio. I also finished the new cookbook!  I have a bit of editing to do this week and then it’s off to be published.  This past weekend, I had a big party at my house and made recipes from the cookbook so we could get take a picture for the cover.  As many of you know, we try and do things ourselves, but we are a bit challenged in the photography department. One of our friends who is an artist came over and just “magically” rearranged all of the food and now we have a great photo!  I can’t wait to share it with you!

I’m also looking forward to my next class coming up this Saturday at 11:00 at the Antique Trove.  I’ll be talking about Spring Tea Parties and how to make decorative sugar.  I love to teach this class!  It’s fun and even though it’s still a bit chilly, it gets me in the mood to have an outdoor tea party.  There are so many cute ways you can decorate for a spring tea party, especially with Easter right around the corner.

I should receive our new sugars, new tea cup votives and menu stands just in time for Saturday.  They are so cute!  I’ll put them on-line when they arrive for those of you out of towners.  In addition I also have another spring shipment coming with buffet markers, tea cup ornaments, dessert stands and a few other goodies. They probably won’t be here before March 6th, but we’ll cross our fingers!

I know there is a lot of excitement about this class in particular. It’s also a great help if you are doing a wedding shower or baby shower tea party. The class is free and you don’t need to sign up.  However, it would help me greatly for preparation purposes, if you think you might attend, if you would please just hit “reply” to let me know you might be there — that way I have an idea for food and tea preparation and chairs.  Thanks!  Hope to see you there!

For all of my loyal and patient on-line customers, I did receive quite a few responses about on-line classes.  I’ll be working on that new project for you this summer. Unfortunately it will have to wait until then.  My spring schedule is pretty busy as I’m writing a book for tea room owners and need to get it published before the World Tea Expo in June.

Have a wonderful day!  Hope to see many of you on Saturday!

Amy

Events:

• March 6th:  How to Host a Spring Tea Party and How to Make Decorative Sugar 11AM Antique Trove
• March 27th:  How to Make and Garnish Tea Sandwiches 11AM Antique Trove

Smoked Almond Chicken Salad Recipe:

This is one of my favorite tea sandwiches.  Regular almonds will work fine, but the smoked almonds really make the difference in this recipe.  Many places carry smoked almonds in bulk such as Costco and also Winco (in the bins).

• 2 c. cooked chicken-pulse in food processor or chop finely
• 3 T. green onions, sliced thinly
• 1/4 c. smoked almonds-chopped
• salt to taste
• mayonnaise
• butter
• bread
• parsley for decoration — if desired

Mix together first 4 ingredients.  Add just enough mayonnaise to bind the
mixture together.  Spread butter on bread.  Add filling and top with second
slice.  Cut into desired shapes.  Sprinkle parsley on sides of sandwiches for
decoration if desired.

Anyway, this past weekend she came to visit and talk tea.  She arrived on Friday.  After a great lunch we headed over to the Antique Trove where I showed her my tea booth.  On Saturday went to San Francisco.  I took her to Samovar Tea Lounge at Yerba Buena for lunch where I had a Wuyi Dark Roast and she the Yunnan along with a delicious turkey sandwich. Then we headed to China Town for an afternoon of tea tasting.  We started with Vital Tea Leaf which is one of their tea shops on Grant St. (they actually have 3 shops on Grant St.)! As we walked in, Uncle Gee (as they call him), invited us to sit down and join a tasting.  He entertained us for well over an hour and we tasted about 4 teas. I wanted to show Julie the shop, not for the tea, but for the experience.  It’s so fun to listen to him talk and entice others to join the tasting. You can’t believe exactly what he says,  it’s definitely a tourist attraction, but fun nevertheless.

After our tourist experience, we headed over to Red Blossom.  This is the Crème de la Crème of tea shops.  They sell limited premium and rare teas from Asia and around the world. I was after an oolong called Ancient Tree Shui Xian. I had bought an ounce of it back last fall when my son Jacob and I had visited.  When we walked in we had asked if we could do a tasting of the Scarlet Robe teas they had.  The owner Alice, whom I had met once before, said, “Why don’t you join us over here? We’re just getting ready to do a tasting on those teas”.  I was thrilled to death to join the others- as usually you are not invited to join a group already in process.

The Heritage Grand Scarlet Robe was delicious. There is a famous story which has many versions but the one I like best tells of a scholar who made tea from this tea plant before taking his examinations.  He was the only scholar to pass the exams.  In gratitude, he wrapped the tea plant with his scarlet robes.  The tea is also called Da Hong Pao.  This plant is the “holy grail” of Wuyi Oolongs.  This tea is charcoal roasted which causes the intense toffee and caramel notes.  It’s rich, fruity, floral and sweet all at the same time. I had bought a Wuyi Grand Scarlet Robe from them a few months earlier but I was anxious to see how this one differed.  As it turned out, they are completely different. I liked them both but nothing could compare to the one I had come for-my Ancient Tree.

When I couldn’t find it,   I asked Alice.  She said she only had a very small amount of it left but that I would be able to buy it.  She explained that the famous restaurant owner, Charlie Trotter, purchased the bulk of it for his restaurants.  He had high end customers who requested superb tea after dinner and this was the one he wanted.  Later when I returned home, I looked up this tea and found out that they only make about 30 pounds of it per year.  I felt so honored to have purchase her last little bit! The tea leaves are hand-bruised and roasted over fruitwood charcoal.  It’s absolutely divine! It’s $450 per pound which is high compared to the other teas I purchase, but so worth it.  Because you can get multiple infusions, it actually isn’t as expensive as it sounds.

Now back to the tasting-After the Heritage Grand Scarlet Robe, we tasted a Song Zhong which is a varietal of the Phoenix Oolong.  I can’t even give words to describe the tea.  It’s best described from their website:  “The dry leaves carry a hint of cantaloupe and honeydew, lychee and brown sugar. Initial mouth feel is smooth and elegant, with a clarity that sets the stage for a heady mid-palate release of flowers, lychee fruit , honey and Eiswein. A remarkably long finish soon follows, anchoring these flavors long after the tea is gone.” Wonderful!

The next tea we tried as called Aged Phoenix.  It was crafted in 1996 and then stored until 2001 where it was roasted again and allowed to further age.  It’s sweet, smooth and roasty and tastes like black walnuts.  I have never tasted a tea quite like this.

Last but not least came the crowning experience of our day. The people with whom we had joined the tasting were friends of Alice’s.  One in particular, Shea, was a wine connoisseur and had worked out a trade for his wine with Alice for one of her own personal Pu-Erhs.  This tea was in brick form and was brought back from China by her family in the 1980’s.  It was carefully wrapped in paper. You could see how the oil of the tea had over the years seeped through to the outside of the paper. By the way she handled the tea, I knew this was something special.  She carefully unwrapped the paper and laid the tea in a special silk-lined cardboard box.  Then she took her pick and delicately cut off a tiny portion of the tea.  She then placed it in her Yixing pot and rinsed it with hot water quickly.  After making the tea she carefully poured out a tiny cup to each person. The timing was a bit unfortunate because right at the point where she began serving the tea, the conversation became a bit lively over another subject. By this time you see,  we had gotten to know each other a bit and right at this moment a few people were engrossed in conversation. For me though,  I felt very fortunate I was able to share this experience with her alone.  I knew what it meant to share this tea and I felt extremely honored. Eventually the others focused on the tea, but I was happy to have had my special moment with Alice.

After our ecstatic experience at Red Blossom, everything else paled in comparison.  We stopped at a linen shop where Julie purchased beautiful handkerchiefs and linen bags. Then we hurried over to the Ferry Building as we had planned on making the Imperial Tea Court our last stop of the day.  We arrived there at 6:00 thinking we would have 30 minutes before they closed, but as we walked in we discovered they were no longer serving tea for the day.  We could get something to go if we wanted.  I was very disappointed as I had wanted to end the day by having them do a Gongfu demonstration for Julie.  Sadly we settled for a Yunnan to go. It was then that Julie said, we should have ended with Red Blossom. I agreed.  The evening did revive however, as we happily talked tea all the way home while eating our left-over turkey sandwiches from Samovar and drinking our “to go” tea. Despite our experience (or lack thereof,) at Imperial Tea Court, it was the perfect tea day!