violet spring

We were delighted and confused by a week of summer-like weather here this past March, and it also delighted and confused all the lawn violets into blooming much earlier than usual.  Violets have their beautiful shady purple-indigo color and fragrance, of course, and they can add a unique flavor to tea -- especially tea served in the springtime.  Kusmi Tea offers a violet blend, as does Dammann Freres at Formaggio Kitchen.  And Simpson & Vail infuses black Rose Congou with violet for some impressive flower power. A plate of lemon tartlets topped by either candied or fresh violets would complement the perfumey base of the tea as well as offering a nice bright visual counterpart.


(Pictured:  Violet -- Mary Eaton, 1917, Wikimedia Commons)

Tea Cup Ballet -- Olive Cotton, 1935 

(image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

get your irish up

It's quite a success story how a wave of immigrants -- once described as potato-eating savages by many 19th century folks living in the U.S. at the time -- made it to become an established part of America.  By equal parts hard work and corruption, the Irish found their place here and have shaped the nation -- and they've also given us our annual March 17th holiday of St. Pat's.  Along with slabs of corned beef and cabbage, green beer, Guinness and parades, most of which have little to do with St. Patrick himself but hey, it's really a spring holiday, not a religious lesson.  In terms of tea, the native Irish love their Assam-based brew (and not just at breakfast, even though it's often referred to as Irish Breakfast blend), and of course there's Irish coffee as well.  Americanized Irish coffee nowadays is essentially a concoction of coffee, whiskey or Baileys crowned by frothy aerosol-whipped cream and served in small-handled glasses.  In reality, however, the drink involves strong coffee, brown sugar, whiskey, and a head of thick, pure, straight cream that creates a top layer to sip the rest of the beverage through.

As someone with a twinkle of Irish heritage, my favorite things about St. Pat's are soda bread with tea and lemon and McDonald's Shamrock Shakes.  It's hard to resist the Shamrock Shake's deliciously-colored excess of pale minty green milkshake, white whipped cream and a red maraschino cherry, available only around this time of year -- and when you think of all the calories involved that's probably a good thing.  There are recipes a-plenty to make Shamrock Shakes at home, but considering that mega-calorie count it's better to get one for the road and to walk alongside your local St. Patrick's Day parade marchers, sipping thickly through your straw and contemplating how the Irish have truly triumphed from famine to feast.

cafe couple

At the Cafe -- Felix Vallotton, 1909 (from the-athenaeum.org)

red eye and late nights

Instead of the usual tea and a book feature, this month maybe coffee and a book would be better -- namely two Chicago gems like Stewarts' Red Eye Coffee and Nelson Algren's Never Come Morning.  The Stewart Coffee Company has been around since 1913, and Stewarts' Red Eye blend came about when Stewarts was given a top secret World War II military assignment of creating a brew to keep U.S. fighter pilots alert and at their sharpest.  Around the same time, Chicago author Nelson Algren was prowling the streets of the northwest side following the mostly troubled lives of characters like Bruno Bicek, Steffi Rostenkowski, Momma Tomek and Catfoot Nowagrodski.  Algren's realistic yet finely worded style and his compassion for those who can never quite seem to get on the right side of the tracks is best known in his later novel, The Man with the Golden Arm, but Never Come Morning is an equally worthy read.  And I'm guessing he drank many a cup of coffee in late night vigils while watching the happenings around the Division, Milwaukee and Ashland triangle -- or while typing his long manuscripts -- and I'm sure he would have appreciated a dose of Red Eye had it been available to him at the time.  Fortunately, it's available to us all now and it also has a great coffee can design.

happy argo day

If you were born today, you're an Aquarius, you share a birthdate with famous folks like the late Paul Newman and the living Ellen DeGeneres and David Strathairn, and if you live near an Argo Tea Cafe and belong to their LoyalTea Club, you can get a free small drink from their extensive menu.  If you were born tomorrow, you're still an Aquarius and you can still get the free birthday drink.  And so on.  Birthdays come but once a year, so choose wisely.  And if it's not your birthday or you don't live near an Argo, you can still listen to their online radio playlist anytime you please.


Pictured:  Two Women in a Cafe -- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, ca. 1927

keep calm and drink tea

A $3.99 purchase at TJMaxx.  We are most amused.