We decided to feature a number of tea-related items this month to help you out of the winter doldrums. We have a few pink luster cups, a number of prints and stickers with the tea party theme.   The silver strainers are the most charming supplements to a steaming afternoon pot. ( Assuming you polished them in the morning! )

Don't you think Jay Paul caught Tasha in just the most contemplative mood in his photograph above? Tasha, of course, has observed her daily tea ceremony for years. Her girlhood friend Rose Mikkelson is older than Tasha and she still brews her pot every day too. Rose mixes Earl Grey and Lapsang souchong teas, 50/50. If you like a strong drink, this will do. I'm happy with two teaspoons in a pot. Tasha's recipe calls for a teaspoon per cup and one for the pot. She also insists that you brew the pot at least five minutes before drinking. That's a pretty sensible common practice, I think.  Strength is you individual choice.

In addition to reading Henry James, you might ask your library to obtain any of these books about tea, its history and consumption.

The book of tea. by Okakura Kakuzo ; with foreward & biographical sketch by Elise Grilli.  Rutland, Vt., C. E. Tuttle Co., [1956] 133 p. illus. Kakuzo, 1862-1913, examines and describes the Japanese tea ceremony.

The empire of tea : the remarkable history of the plant that took over the world / Alan Macfarlane and Iris Macfarlane.  New York : Overlook Press, 2004. xi, 308 p. : ill. A history of tea including its social aspects and a general history of the tea trade.

Tea : addiction, exploitation, and Empire / Roy Moxham.  New York : Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2003. xii, 271 p. : ill., maps. This book looks at the tea trade in Great Britain, especially, reporting on such enterprises as vast smuggling networks that sought to avoid paying import tax in the 17th century, and the saving, drying and reselling of once-used tea leaves to recycle them into "new money."

The world of caffeine : the science and culture of the world's most popular drug / Bennett Alan Weinberg, Bonnie K. Bealer. New York : Routledge, 2001. xxi, 394 p. : ill., ports. Another examination of beverages including cacao and coffee.

A history of the world in 6 glasses / Tom Standage. New York : Walker & Co., 2005. viii, 311 p.: ill. As the title suggests, the author examines the history of alcohol and fermented beverages through time -- as well as coffee, tea and cocoa.