teaspoons & petals

introducing teaspoons & petals' new teacup and winter haiku line

It's been quite a while since I've shared my tea filled thoughts with everyone. Oh how I've missed it! But during this quiet time I wandered through the land of teaware as I searched for a new cup. And I'm thrilled to announce that teaspoons & petals has a new signature cup. Hooray! This delicate little beauty will hold 8oz of your favorite tea and its curves will rest gently in your palm. Its elegant handle is roomy, allowing a few of your fingers to rest within its bends and arc.

But before you scroll down to take a closer look at the new member of the teaspoons & petals family, just let me whisper one more secret in your direction. While searching high and low for the perfect tea cup, I fed my senses musical caffeine from the lady songbirds of jazz & blues: Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Lena Horne, Billie Holiday and Etta James. These smoky notes inspired my newest line of haiku that features 5 haiku exploring the intimate relationship between tea and music. Each word was inspired by a sip of a nutty oolong or floral jasmine and blues notes or a jazzy scat. Hear my inspiration for yourself. So without further ado...I'd like to introduce you to Music & Tea:

nina cup

tea drips like the rain

music sheets lined with blue notes

my stormy weather

etta cup

torn between two loves

voice draws me to the record 

kettle calls me close

 

ella cup

sing dear lady blue

teapot whistles harmony

enchanting duet

 

lena cup

steam rises from tea

gently catching her soft breath

the music begins

billie cup

smoky voice lingers

steam brushing against flushed face

lost in gentle warmth

Be sure to check my etsy site shortly, as I'll be uploading the cups to my shop later today so that you can take a closer look at each musically inspired haiku. But before you go, I'd like to send some love to Courtney Apple, the fabulous photographer who creatively shot the new music & tea line. I highly recommend that you steep a fresh pot of tea and browse her online portfolio that allows viewers to see the world in a light that is hopeful, vivacious and honest. I hope you've enjoyed this sneak peek treat!

Meet Ella, Etta, Billie, Nina and Dinah...

The Meaning Of Tea

Back in the fall, I hopped on a Bolt Bus headed towards NYC to attend a private screening of The Meaning Of Tea, not yet knowing that this film would greatly deepen and grow my connection to tea. The Meaning Of Tea is “a 74-minute documentary film that travels through India, Japan, Taiwan, Morocco, England, France, Ireland, and even Tea, South Dakota to ask a variety of people about their relationship to tea as a beverage, a means of relaxation, and a way of life.”

To state it rather simply, this film intensified my love affair with tea as it explored the emotional, historical, cultural and experiential role of tea throughout the world.

Scott Hoyt, the director of this cinematic journey, notes that “In this film, I seek to capture the compelling essence of tea as philosophy, art form, and as an old tea master once said, a means to cleanse the senses. While other documentary films on tea have focused on its history or sociology, I will focus on what Suzuki calls “the spirit of tea,” the rediscovery of simplicity, harmony, purity, and reverence for life.”

I feel truly fortunate to have experienced such a defining film, as it offered me the opportunity to take a look at how those closely connected to tea viewed its deeper meaning and significance. From tea sellers and pickers, to tasters, teapot traders and plantation owners, each offered an honest insight into the complexities of this plant and beverage from a deeply emotionally perspective. Each carefully crafted and seamlessly integrated scene touched upon the ritual, history, picking, selling, buying and tasting aspects of tea.