Literary Teas - Edith Wharton's Black Tea Blend
Blender's Notes:
Edith Wharton (Edith Newbold Jones) was born on January 24, 1862 into a wealthy and socially prominent family. Spending many of her early years touring Europe with her family, Edith was exposed to different styles of art and architecture, which would play a role in her life (as a landscape architect and designer) as well as in her writings. Throughout her 75 years, Wharton exhibited a great drive and energy towards a variety of interests.
She began her writing career at a very young age, having a volume of poetry privately published at the age of 16. Her literary accomplishments were vast and well acknowledged. She was awarded a Pulitzer Prize (for The Age of Innocence) as well as nominated three times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. She is most known today for her novels, however, she also was a published author of short stories, poetry and design. In her mid-30's Edith co-authored a successful book on design and architecture, The Decoration of Houses, and at 39, Wharton designed and built her home called The Mount in Lenox, MA with her husband.
Many of Wharton's novels poke fun at the social mores of her upper class society in an intelligent and humorous manner. Tea plays an essential part in her writings as many central themes of her stories happen whilst partaking of tea. "Lily, with the flavor of Selden's caravan tea on her lips, had no great fancy to drown it in the railway brew which seemed such nectar to her companion; but, rightly judging that one of the charms of tea is the fact of drinking it together, she proceeded to give the last touch to Mr. Gryce's enjoyment by smiling at him across her lifted cup." (The House of Mirth). "Aren't you tired? It will be good to have some tea when we arrive-I'm sure the aunts have got everything beautifully ready," he rattled on, taking her hand in his; and her mind rushed away instantly to the magnificent tea and coffee service of Baltimore silver which the Beauforts had sent, and which "went" so perfectly with uncle Lovell Mingott's trays and side-dishes. (Age of Innocence)
For our Edith Wharton blend we pay homage to her descriptions of the undercurrents rippling through fashionable society. We have combined a refined, high-grown Darjeeling black tea with a little passionfruit and citrus flavor, a dash of spice and lovely flower petals to create a taste that is smooth and elegant. Perfect for an afternoon tete-a-tete.
Ingredients: Black teas, papaya pieces (papayas and sugar), apple flavor, gooseberry flavor, pear flavor, raspberry pieces, alfalfa leaves and marigold petals.
Certified Kosher
Brew tea at 212º - steep for 3 minutes.
4 Ounces of loose tea makes approximately 50 cups of tea.
A sampling of works by Edith Wharton:
Verses, 1878
The Decoration of Houses, 1897
Italian Villas and Their Gardens, 1904
The House of Mirth, 1905
Ethan Frome, 1911
Fighting France, from Dunkerque to Belfort, 1915 (war)
French Ways and Their Meaning, 1919
The Age of Innocence, 1920 (Pulitzer Prize winner)
A Backward Glance, 1934 (autobiography)
The Buccaneers, 1938
Check with your local bookstore for more titles or for recommendations for further reading.