I was born in a British household, surprisingly located in Mandarin,
Florida where good strong tea was part of everyday life. Tea was
consumed from the opening of eyelids in the pre-breakfast hours, in a
continual stream throughout the day, to the last cup before bed. Every
time there was a joy, sorrow or achievement ~ tea marked the occasion.
Broken bones or hearts were treated with a "cuppa" as were
anniversaries and celebrations.
I was fortunate to develop a tremendous interest in plants
through my father, a landscape architect. In my adventurous youth, I
began cultivating many tea "tisane" herbs and true tea blends, both
experimenting and inflicting them on friends for years. I'm happy to
say every one has survived and appears to be thriving today.
Over the years, my handsome horticulturist husband (Scott) has
helped me to develop a lavish herb, flower & foliage garden every
place in the world
that we have called home - currently in Sandusky, Ohio.. My husband's work placed us here and we couldn't be more delighted with the area.
I go by the unusual job description of: Teaist ~
a tea artist or "one who blends teas" and I feel incredibly lucky to be
able to create and sell something that has been so long a part of my
life and one of my greatest pleasures.
In addition to my love of cooking & reading, I'm also an avid spinner having learned to spin wools, silks, hemp, bamboo & alpaca in March of 2003 and with two three wheels and a dozen sixteen drop spindles later... I've never looked back. I enjoy
spinning on my wheels but nothing beats spinning on a drop spindle...
except maybe knitting your own hand spun
yarns. Spinning is sheer joy, moving meditation, a time for me to
completely relax. And drinking a pot of fragrant loose
tea while spinning in my garden is heaven on earth!
As for the teas...I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. As an old friend, Li Ju Chou, used to say to me: "Tea ~ good for you!"
Cheers,
Bonnie Rose