Come along inside… We’ll see if tea and buns can make the world a better place.
A Proper Tea is much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards. ~A.A. Milne
Welcome, welcome! It is 7 AM PST, and I have a mug of Yorkshire Gold, brewed for 6 minutes.
Have a seat and make yourself comfortable.
*The polls were a bit messed up, so the correct polls are here!
Make yourself at home, share your recipes and favourite tea icons, best teas, best flavours, best places to buy tea, favourite tea memories, tea quotations, photos of all things tea, including delightful teapots and teacups, and of foods that accompany tea, etc. Do you have a question about tea? Someone here is bound to know the answer!
Anything that won't fit in a comment can be posted elsewhere and linked to; I'll add a post/edit this post as the mood moves me.
So, I invite you all to join me, for an all-day celebration of tea, and the goodies that can accompany it. Please feel free to invite tea-loving friends!
**********************************
I love trying new teas, though I also have a few that I favour when I want a comforting cup - Yorkshire (or even just Tetley, on a rainy day), an oolong (I'm particularly fond of Octavia Tea Amber Dragon), sometimes Darjeeling...
What's your favourite tea beverage?
Tea Rituals
I'll admit that I love strong black tea first thing in the morning - indeed, unless I'm on holiday travelling, when I go for coffee first thing, my day doesn't seem right unless it starts with tea. I would call it the morning ritual for tea with me, so much so that my dog can predict my next actions.
Sometimes, I like to have my tea with the good old-fashioned English Country Rose set:
But I think my favourite teapot is my elephant one:
Do you have a Tea Ritual?
**********************************
I know I'm forgetting some great scenes in books/movies where tea is concerned (I'm certain Cranford had a scene, for instance), but here were some that immediately sprung to mind:
- Mr. Thornton and Margaret Hale, North and South
- Mr. Tumnus and Lucy, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
- Anne Elliot with the Musgroves, Persuasion (Austen)
- Tea with the Miss Brownings, Wives & Daughters (Gaskell)
- Algernon and Jack, The Importance of Being Ernest
- Cecily and Gwendolyn, The Importance of Being Ernest
- The Mad Hatter's Tea Party, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Choose your Best Tea Scenes, or tell me which one(s) I forgot!
**********************************
First, Scones, of course! There are so many varieties, but the recipe I find myself using most frequently (with no complaints yet) is the one I'm going to share:
Cream Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream or milk (you can get away with skim milk in a pinch, easily)
Egg mixture for brushing tops of scones:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon cream or milk
Sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. In a small measuring cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Do not over mix.
Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat the dough into a circle that is 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle into 8 triangular sections. Alternatively, you can cut the dough into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) cookie cutter. Make a mixture of one well-beaten egg with 1 tablespoon cream. Brush the tops of the scones with this mixture. This helps to brown the tops of the scones during baking. Sprinkle each with sugar.
Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a scone comes out clean. Remove from oven and then turn your broiler on high. Sift confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar heavily over the tops of the scones and place them under the broiler. Broil for just a few seconds, turning the pan as necessary, until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown. Make sure to watch the scones carefully as the sugar will burn very quickly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with Devon cream or softly whipped cream and your favourite jam.
These scones apparently freeze very well, but I've never had any left over to freeze! Makes 8 triangular scones or 10 round scones.
Berry Yoghurt Cake
This is a freely adapted coffee cake that goes very well with black teas or coffee. Although I use yoghurt, one could easily substitute sour cream or Miracle Whip. I do recommend using at least 1% fat as the low/no fat yoghurts are a bit too runny. I usually use a fruit-flavoured yoghurt to complement the berries, but the beauty of this one is that substitutions are always fine.
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yoghurt
1 cup mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, or all of one kind)
Topping:
2/3cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream 1/2 cup butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into butter mixture. Add yoghurt and mix; gently stir in berries
In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts. Pour half the cake batter into a buttered and floured baking pan. Sprinkle with half the brown sugar mixture and top with the remaining batter.
Combine the remaining brown sugar mixture with 2 tablespoons butter and sprinkle over the top of the batter. Bake until toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Looking for something less sweet? Try this excellent Irish Soda Bread, good freshly made or toasted later. I'm told you can substitute dried blueberries or cranberries or cherries for the currants.
Irish Soda Bread
*4 cups + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
*4 tbsp sugar
*1 tsp baking soda
*1 1/2 tsp salt
*4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced
*1 3/4 c buttermilk, shaken*
*1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
*1 tsp orange zest
*1 c dried currants
*I didn't have buttermilk, so I added 1 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice to skim milk, and it was fine.
Oven: 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, using a mixer (Garten suggests a paddle attachment, but I didn't have one so I used a regular hand mixer). Add butter and mix on low speed until mixed into flour.
With a fork, lightly beat liquid ingredients with orange zest. With mixer on low speed, slowly add wet ingredients to dry. Combine the currants with 1 tbsp flour to coat, then fold into dough using spatula or large spoon. The dough will be quite wet.
Dump dough onto a well-floured board and knead a few times into a round loaf. Place on sheet pan, and lightly cut an X on the top of the bread. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Here's what it looks like:
*Soda bread recipe adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home
Cookies! This is my favourite oatmeal cookie recipe. No raisins needed, though I did toss in some currants. You can also add orange zest or chocolate chips, or dried apricots/cherries... the possibilities are endless.
Oatmeal Cookies
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or, if you love vanilla, which I do, closer to one teaspoon gives this a really rich flavour)
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup rolled oats
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the shortening, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter until blended. Mix in oats and walnuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls, 1 inch apart, onto greased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately remove cookies to wire racks and allow to cool.
If you're someone who finds yourself with loads of ripe bananas or zucchini, consider the following with your tea:
Zucchini Bread, relatively simply made
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1 large zucchini, or 2 small ones, grated/2 large ripe bananas, mushed up
1/2 cup sour cream or light mayo - I've been using Miracle Whip!
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves (all optional, but they give the
zucchini a bit of zip)
1/3 cup crushed walnuts (optional)
Beat sugars, oil, eggs, zucchini, mayo (or Miracle Whip), and vanilla
together, then add baking soda, salt, and flour, stirring until blended.
If using spices and nuts, add now. Pour into loaf pan (I lightly butter
mine). Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes.
That's it. You could also quickly mix up some lemon juice and white sugar over low heat, and once that becomes all syrupy, pour it over the cooling bread.
In the mood for something more savoury?
Apple And Cheddar Tea Sandwiches
1 large loaf or two small loaves artisan style raisin walnut bread
1/4 cup honey Dijon mustard
6 Granny Smith apples
10 slices extra old white cheddar cheese
Slice loaf into 10 slices (to make 5 sandwiches). Spread each slice with honey mustard.
Thinly slice apples with a mandolin or a sharp knife. Top bread with a single layer each of cheese and apple slices. Cut crusts off and cut each sandwich length-wise into three pieces. Enjoy!
Asparagus has been fresh and inexpensive lately, so I tried these, and they're lovely:
Curried Asparagus Lemon Rolls
1 loaf white bread sliced length-wise - or tortilla wraps
1/4 cup mayonnaise (light is fine)
1 tbsp curry paste
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 bunch of asparagus, blanched
Remove crusts from bread, if using bread. In a bowl, combine, mayonnaise, curry paste, lemon juice and zest. Reserve.
Spread mayonnaise mixture on each slice of bread.
Cut 3 pieces of asparagus to fit the width of the bread and place at one end of the bread. Roll bread up, to create a pinwheel. (This is easier with tortilla wraps.)
Wrap each roll in plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve. Slice each roll into six; makes about 48 rolls.
**********************************
ETA 1: endlessdeep has made some delightful, gankable Tea icons here
ETA2: valancy_s suggests the tea ceremony scene from The Karate Kid 2 for the Best Scenes.
ETA3: nutmeg3 reminds us that Vin Diesel had a, er, cutting moment with tea in The Chronicles of Riddick.
ETA4: Heh - it's as though someone at basicbases knew about the Tea Party: tea and coffee icon bases here. (Note: You have to join the comm to see the icons.)
ETA5: soniag has an excerpt and illustration of tea with Mr. Tumnus and Lucy here.
ETA6: Oh, YUM! rustydog made Strawberry scones, and talks about tea rituals. Lovely!
ETA7: Food and kitties in maddeinin's post. Awesome photos, awesome food. (And awesome kitties!)
ETA8: Figgy scones! A recipe (and tea photo) courtesy of winterspel. Mmmmm.
ETA9: argosy brings us music (!) and a discussion about tea in literature. Yay!
ETA10: Wondering what to put on your scones? Wonder no more, as tinuviellen provides us with an excellent lemon curd recipe. Yum!
ETA11: Hee! soniag has a link to a fabulous ode to tea - A Cup of Brown Joy!
ETA12: Looking for something more savory than sweet? caerwynx has just the thing! Ina Garten's Guacamole Salad. It sounds delicious!
ETA13: Some people are lucky enough to crave iced tea at the moment (say I, looking at grey skies and barely-68 temperatures) - peacockharpy offers up the perfect glass of iced tea to refresh yourselves!
ETA14: argosy has reminded me of another Tea in Books moment: Tea with Badger!
ETA15: winkingstar has provided links to Scottish Honey Scones (yum!), and a song all about tea, and then she tempts us with a description of the Teaism restaurants!
ETA16: main_hoon_emily reminds us of the most excellent use of tea to solve everything for the Doctor in Doctor Who and she also offers up recipes for Strawberry sandwiches and chocolate chip scones. One can rarely go wrong with chocolate!
ETA17: Icons! ancarett, who makes beautiful icons, has some tea ones to share!
ETA18: If you use fruit in a dessert bread, it's very healthy! deaver shares a recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Tea Bread. Yum!
Welcome, welcome! It is 7 AM PST, and I have a mug of Yorkshire Gold, brewed for 6 minutes.
Have a seat and make yourself comfortable.
*The polls were a bit messed up, so the correct polls are here!
Make yourself at home, share your recipes and favourite tea icons, best teas, best flavours, best places to buy tea, favourite tea memories, tea quotations, photos of all things tea, including delightful teapots and teacups, and of foods that accompany tea, etc. Do you have a question about tea? Someone here is bound to know the answer!
Anything that won't fit in a comment can be posted elsewhere and linked to; I'll add a post/edit this post as the mood moves me.
So, I invite you all to join me, for an all-day celebration of tea, and the goodies that can accompany it. Please feel free to invite tea-loving friends!
**********************************
I love trying new teas, though I also have a few that I favour when I want a comforting cup - Yorkshire (or even just Tetley, on a rainy day), an oolong (I'm particularly fond of Octavia Tea Amber Dragon), sometimes Darjeeling...
What's your favourite tea beverage?
Tea Rituals
I'll admit that I love strong black tea first thing in the morning - indeed, unless I'm on holiday travelling, when I go for coffee first thing, my day doesn't seem right unless it starts with tea. I would call it the morning ritual for tea with me, so much so that my dog can predict my next actions.
Sometimes, I like to have my tea with the good old-fashioned English Country Rose set:
But I think my favourite teapot is my elephant one:
Do you have a Tea Ritual?
**********************************
I know I'm forgetting some great scenes in books/movies where tea is concerned (I'm certain Cranford had a scene, for instance), but here were some that immediately sprung to mind:
- Mr. Thornton and Margaret Hale, North and South
- Mr. Tumnus and Lucy, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
- Anne Elliot with the Musgroves, Persuasion (Austen)
- Tea with the Miss Brownings, Wives & Daughters (Gaskell)
- Algernon and Jack, The Importance of Being Ernest
- Cecily and Gwendolyn, The Importance of Being Ernest
- The Mad Hatter's Tea Party, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Choose your Best Tea Scenes, or tell me which one(s) I forgot!
**********************************
First, Scones, of course! There are so many varieties, but the recipe I find myself using most frequently (with no complaints yet) is the one I'm going to share:
Cream Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold unsalted butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream or milk (you can get away with skim milk in a pinch, easily)
Egg mixture for brushing tops of scones:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon cream or milk
Sugar
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place rack in middle of oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. In a small measuring cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Do not over mix.
Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat the dough into a circle that is 7 inches (18 cm) round and about 11/2 inches (3.75 cm) thick. Cut this circle into 8 triangular sections. Alternatively, you can cut the dough into rounds with a 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) cookie cutter. Make a mixture of one well-beaten egg with 1 tablespoon cream. Brush the tops of the scones with this mixture. This helps to brown the tops of the scones during baking. Sprinkle each with sugar.
Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the centre of a scone comes out clean. Remove from oven and then turn your broiler on high. Sift confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar heavily over the tops of the scones and place them under the broiler. Broil for just a few seconds, turning the pan as necessary, until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown. Make sure to watch the scones carefully as the sugar will burn very quickly. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with Devon cream or softly whipped cream and your favourite jam.
These scones apparently freeze very well, but I've never had any left over to freeze! Makes 8 triangular scones or 10 round scones.
Berry Yoghurt Cake
This is a freely adapted coffee cake that goes very well with black teas or coffee. Although I use yoghurt, one could easily substitute sour cream or Miracle Whip. I do recommend using at least 1% fat as the low/no fat yoghurts are a bit too runny. I usually use a fruit-flavoured yoghurt to complement the berries, but the beauty of this one is that substitutions are always fine.
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yoghurt
1 cup mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, or all of one kind)
Topping:
2/3cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream 1/2 cup butter with the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into butter mixture. Add yoghurt and mix; gently stir in berries
In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts. Pour half the cake batter into a buttered and floured baking pan. Sprinkle with half the brown sugar mixture and top with the remaining batter.
Combine the remaining brown sugar mixture with 2 tablespoons butter and sprinkle over the top of the batter. Bake until toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Looking for something less sweet? Try this excellent Irish Soda Bread, good freshly made or toasted later. I'm told you can substitute dried blueberries or cranberries or cherries for the currants.
Irish Soda Bread
*4 cups + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
*4 tbsp sugar
*1 tsp baking soda
*1 1/2 tsp salt
*4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced
*1 3/4 c buttermilk, shaken*
*1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
*1 tsp orange zest
*1 c dried currants
*I didn't have buttermilk, so I added 1 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice to skim milk, and it was fine.
Oven: 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, using a mixer (Garten suggests a paddle attachment, but I didn't have one so I used a regular hand mixer). Add butter and mix on low speed until mixed into flour.
With a fork, lightly beat liquid ingredients with orange zest. With mixer on low speed, slowly add wet ingredients to dry. Combine the currants with 1 tbsp flour to coat, then fold into dough using spatula or large spoon. The dough will be quite wet.
Dump dough onto a well-floured board and knead a few times into a round loaf. Place on sheet pan, and lightly cut an X on the top of the bread. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Here's what it looks like:
*Soda bread recipe adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa at Home
Cookies! This is my favourite oatmeal cookie recipe. No raisins needed, though I did toss in some currants. You can also add orange zest or chocolate chips, or dried apricots/cherries... the possibilities are endless.
Oatmeal Cookies
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or, if you love vanilla, which I do, closer to one teaspoon gives this a really rich flavour)
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup rolled oats
* 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the shortening, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter until blended. Mix in oats and walnuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls, 1 inch apart, onto greased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately remove cookies to wire racks and allow to cool.
If you're someone who finds yourself with loads of ripe bananas or zucchini, consider the following with your tea:
Zucchini Bread, relatively simply made
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1 large zucchini, or 2 small ones, grated/2 large ripe bananas, mushed up
1/2 cup sour cream or light mayo - I've been using Miracle Whip!
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves (all optional, but they give the
zucchini a bit of zip)
1/3 cup crushed walnuts (optional)
Beat sugars, oil, eggs, zucchini, mayo (or Miracle Whip), and vanilla
together, then add baking soda, salt, and flour, stirring until blended.
If using spices and nuts, add now. Pour into loaf pan (I lightly butter
mine). Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes.
That's it. You could also quickly mix up some lemon juice and white sugar over low heat, and once that becomes all syrupy, pour it over the cooling bread.
In the mood for something more savoury?
Apple And Cheddar Tea Sandwiches
1 large loaf or two small loaves artisan style raisin walnut bread
1/4 cup honey Dijon mustard
6 Granny Smith apples
10 slices extra old white cheddar cheese
Slice loaf into 10 slices (to make 5 sandwiches). Spread each slice with honey mustard.
Thinly slice apples with a mandolin or a sharp knife. Top bread with a single layer each of cheese and apple slices. Cut crusts off and cut each sandwich length-wise into three pieces. Enjoy!
Asparagus has been fresh and inexpensive lately, so I tried these, and they're lovely:
Curried Asparagus Lemon Rolls
1 loaf white bread sliced length-wise - or tortilla wraps
1/4 cup mayonnaise (light is fine)
1 tbsp curry paste
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 bunch of asparagus, blanched
Remove crusts from bread, if using bread. In a bowl, combine, mayonnaise, curry paste, lemon juice and zest. Reserve.
Spread mayonnaise mixture on each slice of bread.
Cut 3 pieces of asparagus to fit the width of the bread and place at one end of the bread. Roll bread up, to create a pinwheel. (This is easier with tortilla wraps.)
Wrap each roll in plastic and refrigerate until ready to serve. Slice each roll into six; makes about 48 rolls.
**********************************
ETA 1: endlessdeep has made some delightful, gankable Tea icons here
ETA2: valancy_s suggests the tea ceremony scene from The Karate Kid 2 for the Best Scenes.
ETA3: nutmeg3 reminds us that Vin Diesel had a, er, cutting moment with tea in The Chronicles of Riddick.
ETA4: Heh - it's as though someone at basicbases knew about the Tea Party: tea and coffee icon bases here. (Note: You have to join the comm to see the icons.)
ETA5: soniag has an excerpt and illustration of tea with Mr. Tumnus and Lucy here.
ETA6: Oh, YUM! rustydog made Strawberry scones, and talks about tea rituals. Lovely!
ETA7: Food and kitties in maddeinin's post. Awesome photos, awesome food. (And awesome kitties!)
ETA8: Figgy scones! A recipe (and tea photo) courtesy of winterspel. Mmmmm.
ETA9: argosy brings us music (!) and a discussion about tea in literature. Yay!
ETA10: Wondering what to put on your scones? Wonder no more, as tinuviellen provides us with an excellent lemon curd recipe. Yum!
ETA11: Hee! soniag has a link to a fabulous ode to tea - A Cup of Brown Joy!
ETA12: Looking for something more savory than sweet? caerwynx has just the thing! Ina Garten's Guacamole Salad. It sounds delicious!
ETA13: Some people are lucky enough to crave iced tea at the moment (say I, looking at grey skies and barely-68 temperatures) - peacockharpy offers up the perfect glass of iced tea to refresh yourselves!
ETA14: argosy has reminded me of another Tea in Books moment: Tea with Badger!
ETA15: winkingstar has provided links to Scottish Honey Scones (yum!), and a song all about tea, and then she tempts us with a description of the Teaism restaurants!
ETA16: main_hoon_emily reminds us of the most excellent use of tea to solve everything for the Doctor in Doctor Who and she also offers up recipes for Strawberry sandwiches and chocolate chip scones. One can rarely go wrong with chocolate!
ETA17: Icons! ancarett, who makes beautiful icons, has some tea ones to share!
ETA18: If you use fruit in a dessert bread, it's very healthy! deaver shares a recipe for Banana Chocolate Chip Tea Bread. Yum!