International Tea Day

By a resolution adopted in 2019 by the United Nations, May 21st has been decreed to be International Tea Day. It is celebrated annually to raise awareness of the long history and deep cultural and economic significance of tea around the world. 

In celebration of International Tea Day, we set up a sampling of a variety of teas and herbal tisanes in the Rosemary House and also in the garden under the pavilion.

In the shop, Susanna was offering Eight Treasures of the Shaolin. This delightful blend of black and green teas combined with pineapple and strawberry flavors was prepared as an iced tea since temperatures in central PA on this tranquil Saturday were well into the 90s. She also offered a hearty Assam tea from India and an organic Turmeric Chai tea laden with a variety of spices including cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, black pepper, and turmeric of course. This one was a favorite!

Under the pavilion, Nancy was serving Triple Mint Tea, a naturally caffeine free herbal blend that is a refreshing combination of peppermint, spearmint and catnip. This minty  tisane is a nod to our herbal heritage as it is a blend that mom created during the early years in Rosemary House. There was a Gunpowder Green tea to taste. The unique pearl shape of the tea leaves imitates gunpowder pellets, hence the name. This was a nice mellow green tea. And an Iced Tea Punch was also served, brewed with Harney & Son's Big Red Sun as the punch base, frozen orange juice and lemon juice along with some sugar produced a refreshing thirst quencher on this steamy day. The recipe is shared from a KY tea friend.

Linda's Favorite Tea Punch

Pour 1 quart boiling water over 2 heaping tablespoons of Big Red Sun loose leaf tea. Steep for 5 minutes. Strain. (for ease of use, we recommend Tea Saks to contain the loose leaf tea).

Remove and discard the tea. Add 1-1/2 c. sugar. Mix well until dissolved. Add the following ingredients: 1 - 6 oz. can frozen orange juice (thawed) 1 - 6-oz. can frozen lemonade (thawed)

and 10 cups of water. Chill. Yield: 1 gallon

Thank you for celebrating International Tea Day with us!

Another milestone! PSU Graduation 2022

How it started

How it's going

 Congratulations, Angelica! Penn State University, Graduation Day, May 8,2022. 

Double Major: Community, Environment, & Development and Spanish

The future is yours!

Peter Rabbit's Birthday Party Tea

Guests gathered in the tea room this past Sunday to celebrate Peter Rabbit's birthday. Although written in 1893, the tale of this mischievous bunny, authored by Beatrix Potter, was not published as a book until 1902. In celebration of this famous rabbit, we welcomed guest chef Faith Cohick to present her themed tea to honor Peter Rabbit. 

Rabbits perched upon each table, and could be found tucked around the tea room. Menus announced what each course held.

The first course featured Mrs. McGregor's Special Salad with Mixed Greens, Strawberries, Toasted Almonds, and Feta Cheese topped with a Fresh Lemon Hone Vinaigrette. Bottomless pots of tea were served throughout the day.

Savories and Sandwiches included Benjamin Bunny's Balsamic Blackberry Tart with whipped ricotta, Jemima Puddle-Duck's Carrot Cake Sandwich on Cinnamon Swirl Bread, Mr. Tod's Zucchini Herb Bites, Peter's Radish Petal Sandwich with Pepper Spread, Mrs. Tittlemouse's Sun Dried Tomato, Parmesan and Basil Whirls, and Samuel Whisker's Spinach and Artichoke Crostini.

The scone course included Miss Moppet's Blueberry Lemon Scone and Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's White Chocolate Vanilla Scone served with Peach Jam and Devonshire Cream and fresh fruit.

 The dessert plate held Mrs. Rabbit's Mini Bundt Carrot Spice Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Icing (complete with birthday candle), Flopsy's Chocolate Raspberry Cream Tart, and an Almond Bunny Sugar Cookie.

Special thanks to Faith Cohick for coordinating and hosting this special birthday party in honor of Peter Rabbit. We look forward to welcoming Faith as our returning Guest Chef in June. The next themed tea (already sold out) is a "Passport to Africa". We can't wait to experience her creative interpretation for this event!

 

Happy May Day!

This clever hand crafted tea bag holder was a favor at the annual Penn Cumberland Garden Club Herb Tea held last month. The sweet perfectly formed paper cone filled with flowers looks like the ideal petite May Day basket for the fairy folk. The tradition of hanging a May Day basket has long passed us by, but we like to reminisce about the joy of finding a sweet basket, perhaps from a secret admirer, gaily swinging in the breeze on the doorknob on May Day. 

For more about the long history of May Day baskets, check out this article written by Linton Weeks in 2015 for the NPR History Department, A Forgotten Tradition: May Baskets. Here's a short excerpt: "A reporter in the Sterling, Ill., Gazette in 1871 explained the seasonal ritual this way: "A May-basket is — well, I hardly know how to describe it; but 'tis something to be hung on a door. Made of paper generally, it contains almost anything, by way of small presents you have in mind to put in it, together with your respects, best wishes — love, perhaps. It is hung after dark at the door of anybody the hanger fancies. — Which done, the said hanger knocks and scampers."

Happy May Day!

It's Violet Jelly Making Time!

These sweet little violets are popping up throughout our garden, a sure sign that spring has arrived. This little perennial blossom, one of the herbs the colonists found here, is native from Canada to Carolina and is adored for its sweet blossom. Now is the time to gather a jar full of these petite blooms in anticipation of making violet jelly. Gather a quart jar of blooms, with the understanding that the more flowers you gather and steep, the richer the purple color of the jelly.

This loosely packed jar of blossoms was quickly gathered one morning this week. It's best to harvest the blossoms on the morning you plan to use them. Herewith are the directions for making Violet Jelly from The Bride's Herbal, written by our mother, Bertha Reppert. "Fill a quart jar with violet blossoms; cover with boiling water. (Approx. 2-1/2 c.) Steep for 24 hours. (Note: I only let it steep for 2 hours.) Strain. To 2 cups of this liquid, add the juice of 1 lemon, and 1 box of Sure Jel. Bring to a boil and add 4 cups of sugar. Bring again to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Ladle into jars. Seal with paraffin or freeze." The end result is a beautiful jewel-like jelly with a delicate sweet grape-like flavor. If you do not seal or can the jelly, it will keep refrigerated about 2 weeks.

 The Herb of the Year for 2022 is the Viola which includes violets, pansies, and heartsease. As we celebrate the herb of the year, we will be serving this jelly after our free Herb Garden Tour hosted during National Herb Week this coming Thursday, May 5th at 6:00.  Susanna will guide a tour of the herb gardens, guests will create a violet pot pourri, and then we will sample some herbal treats prepared by Nancy. This event is held rain or shine, no need to pre-register.

We also plan on serving this sweet jelly at our (now sold-out) Mother's Day Tea on Saturday. 

In the language of flowers,

Blue Violets symbolize Faithfulness.

Dame Violets for Watchfulness.

Sweet Violets are for Modesty.

Yellow Violets stand for Rural Happiness.

A St. Patrick's Day Afternoon Tea

St. Patrick's Day is always a fun day to celebrate! The tables set, lots of shamrocks can be found on the tables, menus, and teacups. Festive and fun, shades of green, delicious afternoon tea treats, coupled with the expressive music from our favorite fiddler, it was a cheerful day!

May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.                                                                                                                                                                                              

The first course featured a Kiwi & Blueberry Lemon Salad with aged Irish Cheddar Cheese.

May your heart be light and happy, may your smile be big and wide, and may your pockets always have a coin or two inside!

The sandwich plate held a Miniature Reuben on Toasted Rye, Shamrock Topped Minty Pea & Pecorino Round, Warm Irish Potato & Cheddar Cheese Bites, Merchant Chicken Salad Tea Sandwich, Rolled Asparagus Sandwich with honey & lime mayo, and a Corned Beef and Swiss Reuben Spiral.

May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks, May your heart be as light as a song. May each day bring you bright, happy hours that stay with you all year long.

Guests enjoyed an Irish Soda Bread Scone seasoned with caraway seeds and loaded with pecans and golden raisins along side a Traditional Irish Tea Barmbrack. The raisins for the barmbrack were soaked overnight in a strong black tea. Fresh fruit and scone toppings completed the plate.

For each petal on the shamrock, this brings a wish your way; Good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day. The dessert medley featured a moist Chocolate Guinness Cake, Rosemary Shortbread Shamrock, and a sweet Chocolate Almond Truffle.

In addition to our usual tea selections. we offered a trio of Irish themed teas including Irish Breakfast, Shamrocks and Shenanigans and Irish Whiskey Cream.

Special thanks to Keith Engle, also known as Sasanach, for the lively traditional Irish tunes played on the fiddle. Find him on Facebook, here. We captured his music with this short Facebook live post. Follow this link to Sweet Remembrances Facebook page for a snippet of the music.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, 2022!

May Peace Prevail

 

A Valentine's Day Tea - 2022

Valentine's Day has come and gone, but not without a celebration in the tea room. Forever Yours Spritzer awaited the guests arrival. A strong brew of naturally caffeine free Forever Yours tea (available at The Rosemary House), chilled and mixed with your favorite lemon lime soda creates this colorful and refreshing punch.

Once everyone has selected their personal pot of tea, the salad is served. The "I Love You!" Salad included fresh Spring salad greens topped with plump raspberries, sweet raisins, pecans and feta crumbles and then dressed with a Love is... Raspberry Champagne Vinaigrette.

The sandwich plate included All you need is love Turkey & Havarti Cheese with Orange Cranberry Marmalade, Be Mine Valentine! Herbed Party Sandwich on Rye Bread topped with a heart, Spicy & Sassy Radish and Chive Sandwich on Pumpernickel with a petite heart on top, A Bushel and a Peck Ham Salad Heart open faced on white bread, Sweet Nothings Fruited Chicken salad with a pair of hearts, and my Heart's Delight Raspberry and Pecan Brie Tartlet completed the sextet of sandwiches.

The scone course featured our Love Me Tender Traditional English Cream Scone and a Love Me Sweet Double Chocolate heart shaped Scone with mini chocolate chips. Also on the plate were Love Me Dear sweet cream and raspberry preserves for the scones, and two 'stuffed' strawberries, one with Love Me True Sweet Mascarpone Cream and the other with I Love You so! Chocolate Cream.

For dessert, Hugs and Kisses Coconut & Pecan Petite Cake, Cutie Pie Raspberry Mousse Filled Chocolate Cup, Sweetheart Chocolate Cheese Cupcake, and Loves Me, Loves Me Not Raspberry Linzer Cookie.

Vintage Valentine candy boxes complete the holiday theme.

Pamela's Victorian Bell Mansion Afternoon Tea

A girl's excursion took us (Susanna and Nancy) north to Bellwood, PA via State College to pick up two college seniors (Angelica and Sara) for an early Valentine's Day tea party at Pamela's Victorian Bell Mansion. We have wanted to visit this tea room ever since Angelica started college, Pamela announced this may be her last month serving tea so we quickly made reservations. We were all thrilled to see that we had a Sunday free on a day she was serving.

The table was adorned to the max, festively set with matching Royal Albert china and coordinating cloth placemats. A delicate pedestaled cup of Raspberry Sorbet was waiting for our arrival and provided a refreshing start to our culinary adventure. A pot of Pamela's Personali-Tea was already on the table. A flavorful black tea with bold spicy notes was warming on this chilly Sunday afternoon.

The first course included a Strawberry Salad topped with your choice of feta cheese or cheddar. Tomatoes, strawberries, almonds, and fresh feta mixed with an assortment of spring greens provided a lovely start to our afternoon tea service.

Pamela presented each course with a flourish and a description of what in included. Here she is sharing the tiered tray of Afternoon Tea Sandwiches. Our pot of Pamela's Personali-Tea was empty so we ordered a pot of Raspberry Chocolate Tea. The other flavor option was Strawberry Chocolate which we enjoyed after our desserts arrived.

 On the top tier, there were cucumber squares and chicken salad in mini croissants, along with a ham sandwich with Dijon mustard. The bottom tier held a cranberry cream spread on cinnamon bread, and a walnut and cream cheese on a cinnamon swirl sweet bread. They were all very tasty.

The final presentation was served atop a pedestaled cake plate and that held the scones and Valentine sweets. Two large footed dishes graced the table with Pamela's sweet cream and strawberry preserves. The scones included a choice of English cream or chocolate chip. The sweets featured a crisp Italian cookie with a delicate anise flavor, and a chocolate truffle. 

There was a lot to look at around the tea room. Pianos, teapots, Victorian frou frou, and lovely decorations set the scene. The 1822 historic house is decorated from top to bottom. Here are just a few of the nooks and corners. Pamela told us that the house was just sold, so I'm not sure what that means for the tea room. She has been serving tea here for 20 years. We are so glad that we got to experience this beautiful destination.