Right out of high school, when I was in LPN training, one of the hospitals where we did our Clinical studies, there was Red Rose tea in the cafeteria. I fell in love with the stuff, and always got hot tea at lunch and iced tea on my break.
When we lived in Tennessee, Red Rose was not available, but I found JFG tea to be a fine substitute. There’s nothing quite like leaving a gallon of water with 5 teabags sitting outside on the porch to make suntea. After a half cup of sugar is added, the best iced tea in town.
Then we moved to Illinois. I couldn’t find any teabags that I liked, and believe me, we tried many that first on the prairie hot summer. Not only is sweet-tea not heard of in restaurants in the North, but I couldn’t make anything good enough at home either.
So I asked my friend back in Tennessee to send boxes of JFG teabags. I got my sister in Ohio to send Red Rose teabags. For Years we carried on this way, and my family’s tastebuds were happy.
Last summer, I went to a grocery store across town I hadn’t been to before. They carry Red Rose teabags! Talk about one excited customer!
I sent my sister an e-mail saying she is saved from having to shop and send for me any longer (not that she minded. Sisters do things like that.)
During my time as Hostess in the church kitchen, I have added little touches of hospitality, and Red Rose teabags are in the cupboard there. Apparently, there was a luncheon the other day, and Red Rose tea was offered. A guest just raved over it, and asked her member/friend where to get some. The question was put to me this morning, so I mentioned the proper store. All the way across town, but worth the trip, really.
Now there’s gonna be a gift box on its way. I mentioned to the member that the website has recipes and other items in the company store. I didn’t explain about the Whimsies figurines in each box. They make great little giveaways to children.
Little touches of niceness do mean much for some folks. I hope your favorite drink is obtained easily, and when you have it, there’s good company, too.
Now I gotta go brew something to sip. The weatherlady says it is a chilly 55o outside.
~~love and Huggs, Diane
You hit a nerve. My mother and I have had an ongoing battle about tea for years. She is a Red Rose devotee, while I won’t gladly drink anything but Lipton. I had an article about teas that upheld my prejudice, but had the misfortune to lose it before giving it to Mother in smug triumph. The article described the optimal tea as one that grew in the very highest elevations possible for its propagation, and only the tender top leaves were to be picked since those closer to the ground were older and not as delicate. The method of drying these leaves was given in exacting detail, as well, but my memory fails here.
She gave me several hundred Lipton tea bags a few years ago when they changed the color of the box to yellow. She insisted they changed the tea, too. I called the company and was assured they had not. Rose was not convinced.
I defer to her superior knowledge of the tea making process, however. The water must be fresh. When made for breakfast (no coffee in their household!), she runs the water until satisfied it is all new stuff that hasn’t been sitting in the pipes all night losing its oxygen. The kettle is filled.. The water must reach a fish eye boil; a small amount of it is poured into the pot to warm it, this is then transferred to the cups to warm them. At long last, one tea bag per cup goes into the pot and is followed by briskly boiling water. The timer is set for four minutes. Cream or milk is poured into the cup before the tea.
Tea was more than a ritual, more than a stimulant, more than a beverage in my family. Problems? My grandmother would say, “Let’s have a good old cup of tea”, and the problem would be solved in the ensuing chat with tea. Anger? All disagreements, no matter how deeply upsetting, would come to an end when someone would say tersely between gritted teeth, “Want a cup of tea?”. Tea was medicine that may not have cured anything, but it certainly made it more bearable. The world stopped in the afternoon. It was tea time. You needn’t wonder what I’m doing at 3:30 in the afternoon ! Friends and neighbors know that is a good time to visit.
My grandmother brought our tea to us in bed in the morning. What a lovely way to start the day – until she decided I looked pale and beat a raw egg into it. That remedy didn’t last long, though.
I’m glad you enjoy the stuff of life, but I must argue with your method of making iced tea. Every night of my life in the summer, the biggest pot is filled, the water boiled to fish eyes; a knife is inserted to bring the temperature slightly below the boil and two tea bags denuded of their labels are thrown in and stirred briefly. Boiled tea is bitter, so the knife treatment is important.
So – we drink Red Rose in California, and Lipton in Seattle. One compromises.
When we drink tea it is Red Rose. I used the tags to make pictures for my doll house.