PA Tea Festival - In The Garden

Welcome to the first annual Pennsylvania Tea Festival held this past weekend in the gardens of The Rosemary House and Sweet Remembrances. Upon arrival, attendees received a souvenir Tea Tasting Cup that they were encouraged to use throughout the day at the many vendor booths that offered tea samplings.

Susanna greeted attendees on the side porch of The Rosemary House where she answered questions, directed visitors to the tea tasting area, and offered assistance as needed. Kudos to her for pulling together this memorable event.

When you first entered the gardens, Janice Ritter (L) and Lorna Reeves (R), editor of Tea Time Magazine greeted you warmly. They had a wide variety of their tea themed publications for sale, a new tee shirt line, and complimentary copies of the October issue of Tea Time Magazine. A special thank you to Tea Time Magazine for their sponsorship and support of this premier event.

Nous Teas journeyed from New York City and shared the pavilion space with Tea Time. They specialize in premium organic loose leaf tea and their commitment to giving back to the community.

Camellia's Sin Tea Parlor had a booth opposite the pavilion. This local Carlisle, PA tea room, now celebrating their 11th year in business, was offering samples of their teas and scones.

As you wandered down the garden path, a gift basket provided by festival sponsor An Early Elegance out of Gettysburg, PA was available to enter for a door prize drawing. Congratulations to the winner, Donna Lerew of York, PA!

Passing through the arbor, took you into the center garden where tables and chairs were set up to enjoy Afternoon Tea or Cream Tea outside provided by Sweet Remembrances.

At the opposite end of this garden was a demonstration of the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Urasenke style, as represented by the Gessha Japanese Tea House in York, PA (a private tea house). Japanese sweets and traditional whisked bowls of matcha were offered.

During the day, Susanna conducted Garden Talks Herbs for the Tea Pot and a (few for the cooking pot, too!). In the afternoon she talked about 'A Weed for Every Need' which concentrated on herbs and weeds that are excellent healing tisanes. Everyone gathered around the large amusement park tea cup to begin the tour.
on Friday and Saturday. The morning talk featured





Tucked in the corner of the third garden was the resource area where there was information about sweeteners provided by Sonnewald, a tea recipe offered by East Indies Tea. Co., tea samples distributed by The Tea Source, Tea Scapes Tea Bar, and An Early Elegance, and other little surprises.







And right near the resource center was the opportunity to purchase ice cream! Our local Bruster's blended specialty tea flavored ice cream just for this event. There was chocolate earl grey, lavender vanilla, chai, and a chamomile honey almond blend. Simply yummy!

There were several vendors located in this garden area. We welcomed Mursalski Tea. They offered a sample of their iced tea crafted from mursalski, jewel of the mountain. They also had chocolates created with this herb.

Mike, the Craft Tea Guy out of Philadelphia, PA had a variety of feel good herbal tea blends with clever names and unique packaging to purchase.

And Tea You There, from Baltimore, MD had a booth that included tea, sugar scrubs, lip balms, and bath bombs.

Tucked in the gazebo was Rhonda, Dancing Moon Beam. She offered Tea Leaf Intuitive Readings, 15 minute sessions. 

And the musical line up for the festival included Sasanach, an Irish fiddler, and Jonathan Frazier, talented in all the arts including music!













The three out buildings were utilized for the festival as well. The one directly behind Rosemary House was the tea tasting area, the building behind Sweet Remembrances housed two vendors, and to the right of that building was the speakers area. Back behind the red buildings were all the additional vendors that joined us for this two day event. We'll share more tomorrow.

The Tea Pot Totem in the Snow

The Winter of 2016/2017 in Pennsylvania has been kind to us. Although there have been some bouts of very cold weather, the majority of snow storms missed us this year. Here we are, marching into spring, and an overnight storm has descended upon the area with threats of another storm next week. A one-two punch after a relatively snow-free winter. 

This storm isn't really a punch though, the big fluffy flakes are coating the trees, bushes, and the tea pot totem, but sidewalks and roads are simply wet. No shoveling. No school delays. It's really a win-win with beautiful snow to look at and no hassle involved. The location of our retired (meaning chipped or handle-less) tea pots has transitioned over the years. Originally, they were supported on a pussy willow tree that sadly succumbed to a summer storm. We retrieved all the tea pots, and moved them to the wooden arbor that joins the Rosemary House gardens and Sweet Remembrances gardens. It was a process that included the voluntary help of some of the neighborhood kids. 

Late this summer, a situation arose (Susanna will happily tell you about it if you ask) that opened up a new location for the tea pots. Over several weeks, we moved the tea pots from the arbor to our newly found totem. The teapots make a much better statement on the Tea Pot Totem then they ever did on the trellis. We still miss the pussy willow tree, though. 

From Tree to Trellis

Sadly, our festive tea pot tree came down in a rainstorm earlier this summer. The tree, with three distinct branches instead of one solid base, pulled apart into three directions. Fortunately, most of the teapots survived the fall and were transferred to the entrails wagon until we selected a new home for the collection. Eventually, the trellis arbor between the Rosemary House and Sweet Remembrances was designated to be the new home, and with the help of some energetic kids, we began placing teapots up, over, and around the arbor. It's a different 'look' than the tree,but quite fun in its own right.The teapots have a new home, and we're happy to keep adding to the collection.