Something Nice from Cork, Ireland

Hello dear Ladies,

Thank you for stopping by. Without your viewership, there wouldn't be as much motivation for a blog.

Hopefully I will have a finished sewing project to show you very soon!  I have indeed sewn all year long but not as much for myself as for others in the fam. And, also I keep thinking I will get thinner and better looking for the modeling of the garment. A good friend emailed me and told me to stop cheating by showing the finished dress on the dress form. She wants to see me in it. So that is just what I will do. You can always tactfully say  I look okay for my age!

Above: My teacup is Stechol Gracie China from Homegoods/TJMax. These teacup sets usually cost about $3.99 and sometimes less if they are in the discount shelf. They are not as fragile as the antique cups but are light as a feather with a delicate feel and a very glossy finish, so nice to the touch. Although they are dishwasher safe, I notice the dishwasher eventually causes the color and the picture of the peony to fade after a lot of use so lately I have been hand-washing these teacups with a little soda-bicarbonate made into a paste. 

For those of you who think there is just nothing better than that mellow golden blend of Yorkshire Gold, (not Yorkshire Tea, but Yorkshire Gold) but are finding it scarce in local stores, I found something quite interesting today at the grocery store, which cost all of $4.00.

Someone mentioned this to me awhile back and my ears started ringing the minute I saw it, because I remember I had nodded politely and never followed up on it. I had made up my mind nothing was as good as Yorkshire Gold. I mentally brushed off the suggestion to try Barry's Tea. The ingredients are Rwandan and Assam, the same as Yorkshire Gold. The package first attracted me because of the word "gold" which indicates lack of bitter tanic acid and not much caffeine, plus that beautiful color.

Well, as you serious tea-ers know, Yorkshire Gold is a careful blend of Kenyan, Rwandan and Assam tea leaves. It seems to lack that bitter tanic acid taste found on ordinary teas and doesn't have the caffeine after-effect.  Someone once told me never to drink it because I would never be content with any other black tea.  That is exactly what happened.  We even started stocking it ourselves at home and selling it to friends.

Also, the painting of the Yorkshire Dales on the box was so pretty I always used the empty boxes for little tea-treats and sandwiches to give to people for their car trip home. A few years ago the company changed the painting and that is when I noticed a slight change in taste.

I must mention Yorkshire Tea in a red box that none of my friends, who were my customers, liked, due to its hard taste, and I couldn't even give it away. Sometimes I thought there was a bit of Yorkshire Tea (the red box) in the Yorkshire Gold. 

Lately, though, the company seems to have changed their formula and my customers and I both notice it. Some of us had a tea tasting, with samples of tea from older shipments, and from the individually wrapped tea sachets (also different in taste), the loose leaf, and the newer shipment of plain tea bags.

Everyone agreed there was a difference in taste.  We stopped ordering the big shipments and started buying it again by the small box when we could find it locally.

Mr. S. and I have done a taste test with two cups of tea each, using Yorkshire Gold in one and Barry's Tea in the other.  We think Barry's tea is our new fave and we will be deciphering the taste over time. It is delicious! There is a difference but possibly, if Yorkshire Gold had stayed the same in taste, they would have been the same.  Barry's tea claims to be rich in antioxidants. It tastes as good as Yorkshire Gold. I feel "well" after drinking it, as if I had taken a dose of vitamin C.

Also, I like that the box shows it is packaged and distributed from Cork, Ireland. It feels exotic to  have  something in the house from Cork.

Below, you see a cookie tin my husband brought home from England 30 years ago (when he went without me) and I get a smile out of that boy waiting with a grimace for the little girl to get out of the phone booth. He might be waiting to make his own call, or he could be waiting for his sister so he could accompany her home again.

Mr. S. Has a famous saying, "I will make it up to you some day," so he owes me a trip.

Since I also like tisanes and fruit infusions, herbal tea, I was looking around for a pumpkin flavored herbal tea.  The local grocery store had none. I noticed a white tea sold by Starbucks called Youthberry Tea. The name itself made me smile but I was not brave enough to buy it. The ingredients were:

An Infusion Of [Water, White Tea, Candied Mango Pieces (Mango, Sugar, Citric Acid), Candied Pineapple Pieces (Pineapple, Sugar, Citric Acid), Rise Hip Peels, Apple Slices, Hibiscus Flowers, Red Currants, Artificial Flavor, Rose Petals, Açaí Fruit Powder (Açaí, Maltodextrin)

On second thought, I might be able to make something like it at home. I was trying to avoid the sugar. Those fruit ingredients look good!

I believe Celestial Seasonings has a pumpkin tea but it would require a longer trip to a more specialized grocery store. I am stopping at home  and will stay stopped until my sewing is finished.

Thanks again for stopping by.  

I better get back to my sewing. If the sun shines tomorrow I will try to get a good picture at a great distance of the new garment....I heard a person looks thinner and younger at a distance 😉