Tea-Cozy by The Cozy Chicks
Long day today. Meetings and deadlines, traffic and headaches, arguments and resolutions . . . but now the children are asleep, the spouse is dozing, and dinner was tasty and filling. Finally, it’s time for you!
Long day today. Meetings and deadlines, traffic and headaches, arguments and resolutions . . . but now the children are asleep, the spouse is dozing, and dinner was tasty and filling. Finally, it’s time for you!
I walked into Raizana Teas and was engulfed in the subtle tranquility of a sensory invitation to partake of real tea in a real tea house, made by someone who really knows tea. Sol Orazco greeted me immediately and soon I was enjoying the best cup of tea I had ever experienced. And I was relaxing.
Who doesn’t love a good cup of joe? Perhaps not everyone, but those who don’t love coffee, probably do like tea. Either way, this batch of authors have something tasty brewing up just for you. Coffee and tea house mysteries could be called the mysteries of the new millennium.
I will not get to see my mother for Mother’s Day this year because I’m in New York and she’s in California, but if I did, I would take her out for a Mother’s Day Tea. When I was packing my bags to return to New York from San Jose, I told her that I wanted to start drinking more tea instead of so much coffee. So she reached into her cupboard and brought out the best quality tea that she had and packed it in my bag. One was a “high mountain” tea from Taiwan and the other was a green tea that she ordered from Equator Coffees and Teas. She had me sample four different teas that night, just so that I could taste and appreciate the difference between good tea and really great tea.
Nothing says Spring or Mother's Day, like a tea party. Drinking tea was once a lost ritual in the U.S., but it is now making a comeback. The specialty tea market has grown and tea shops can be found all over, even in cities like Fresno! Tea can be sweet or savory, spicy or fruity and it has depth and flavor. Tea is for people of all ages, and especially for those people who like to feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.
Tea time and Mother's Day seem to go together, so I immediately thought about the simple tea infuser. Once nearly extinct, but now making a comeback, this lowly little item was a necessity for brewing the perfect cup of tea. Infusers were around for a long time before the invention of tea bags. Sometimes called a tea ball or tea egg, by the time of Queen Victoria, no respectable British household would be without one of these, but before we get in to the nitty-gritty of tea infusing, we need a little history lesson on tea itself.
This February something new and exciting moved into the spot on 10th Street in downtown Reedley that used to be the home of Domino's Pizza. Something not only healthier, but unique! Before you even walk through the door at Mooner's you are greeted with bright colors and a feeling of fun. This feeling continues once you step inside--combined with great fruit treats and drinks!
It was a bitter cold and gray rainy day in the Tower District. Fortunately, I found a parking place in front of my location. When I stepped through the first opening, it was an enclosed patio with tables and chairs. It looked like a great place to sit and sip in a few months and with a few degrees of rising temperature.
If you are looking for a unique tea shop experience, you have to check out the L.T. Sue Co. Tea Room & Emporium located at No. 1 China Alley, in Hanford California's China Alley Historic District. Not only is this place charming, but it offers over 100 different teas, good food and awesome coffee!
Check out our review of mystery author Elaine Macko's latest book Armed and our video interview with Elaine from Left Coast Crime. At the end of this article is a chance to win a copy of Armed & a box of bagged Stash tea (18 bags or so to a box) from Classical Coffee to enjoy with your mystery reading.