I had Iced Oolong this morning and hot green tea with lunch. I hope the reports of wonderful health benefits are true. I believe that if I drank from one of your beautiful teacups, every part of me would benefit!
Hi Snap, what a wonderful ea china you show today and a nice story. Thank you for sharing this delight. May I invite you for a tea, too? Best greetings to you and your furbabies, Johanna
I was so wrapped up in reading the story, I forgot to say how much I like your teapot, a real treasure. The teacup is pretty, very dainty looking. Judith
i love your "drink more tea" teapot! so adorable! and loving ur teacup and saucer too, gorgeous pink! i do love bridgewater collection also. thanks for sharing the monkey tea story! x susan
I loved the story. I think we should have more monkey tea, don't you. What goes around comes around... thanks for the story I loved it and your precious teapot.
August 16, 2011 at 1:51 PM
Anonymous said...
Great tea story. Hope you are enjoying yours. xox Corrine
Your new cup is so pretty with all those colorful violets strewn all around it! The tea pot too is fab, the sayings just wonderful! Thank you for sharing the story, I enjoyed reading about Monkey Tea. Hugs, Terri
Hi Snap, What a darling tea cup from Ross. I find the best treasures there too. Love the tea pot and the sayings on each side. Your story is delightful with a wonderful meaning behind it.
I would like to share a new tea cup and my favorite tea pot with you.I found the tea cup at Ross. Pretty in Pink!On the bottom it reads:Fine ChinaDishwasher SafeMade in China
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I've had the Bridgewater Tea Pot (for Past Times) for years.I love that is says Drink More Tea on one sideand Love and Live Happy on the other!
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I'm still reading The Chinese Art of Tea by John Blofeld.It can be rather dull reading, but is fascinating at the same time!Mr. Blofeld collected tea stories, tea songs, tea poetry his entire lifetimeand shares some of those in this book.Here is one I especially liked and will share on Food and Feast tours at the museum:
Under Rare, Legendary and Otherwise Curious Teas he listsMonkey Tea.
"The first Monkey Tea came from a lonely place haunted by wild beasts, but in the hidden valleys there used to be numerous monasteries with monks or tenants engaged in farming and fruit growing.
According to an old story, a very young novice from Heavenly Wisdom Monastery was looking after some pear trees covered with ripening fruit. Suddenly a large tribe of monkeys came swarming from the forest and set about gobbling up the pears. By the time a few monks came running to help, the trees had been stripped and branches broken, so they all walked back to the monastery with dragging steps, expecting a severe scolding from the abbot. Instead, the old man said resignedly: 'Heaven commands us to show compassion to all living creatures, and so does the teaching of the Buddha. Things come and go. Moreover, monkeys, like all sentient beings, have a spiritual nature. They have taken our pears. Well, so be it.'
Henceforward those holy men allowed the mischievous animals to come and go freely, and the latter, gradually losing their inborn fear of humans, came to regard the monks as friends. The winter that year was unusually cold: heavy falls of snow lay upon trees and mountains, and hundreds of pitiful beasts starved to death. After some weeks a horde of ravenous monkeys invaded the monastery grounds and ran agitatedly around, half-pleading, half-menacing, as though to say:'Please give us food, or else we shall just have to break in and take it."So the abbot ordered that bags of food be taken out and distributed to the monkeys; whereupon the animals uttering loud cries seized the bags and ran back into the forest.
With the arrival of spring came the time for harvesting tea leaves. While this arduous labour was being performed, monkeys came swarming down from the peak dragging along the old bags which now bulged with freshly picked young tea leaves. 'It was as though one's friends were to come back with baskets of peaches to make return for a gift of pears!' The tea, having been picked in places inaccessible to man, was found to be of unrivaled quality. In view of these circumstances, fine tea from that locality became known as monkey tea." Thanks to our tea party hostesses.These are just a few of the tea parties in the Land of Blog.Teapot and Tea Things TuesdayTea Time TuesdayTeacup TuesdayTea Party TuesdayTuesday Tea For Two
Wishing YOU well and a wonderful cup of tea!
27 Comments
Close this window Jump to comment formI had Iced Oolong this morning and hot green tea with lunch. I hope the reports of wonderful health benefits are true. I believe that if I drank from one of your beautiful teacups, every part of me would benefit!
August 15, 2011 at 6:39 PM
Very pretty!
August 15, 2011 at 9:07 PM
Hi Snap, Gorgeous tea cup --and teapot... Having a gorgeous cup makes the tea taste better. Right????
Loved reading about the monkey tea.
Hugs,
Betsy
August 15, 2011 at 9:25 PM
I love the tea theme. The arrangement of the Drink More Tea-pot is so beautiful.
August 15, 2011 at 9:50 PM
Hi Snap,
An interesting post! Love your pretty teacup and I like the teapot too. Thanks for joining me for tea today and enjoy your week.
Blessings,
Sandi
August 15, 2011 at 10:07 PM
That's a cute teapot...and the cup and saucer are pretty.
August 15, 2011 at 10:20 PM
I agree..Drink More Tea!! cute pot and cup but best is the story! Thanks for sharing that kindly w/ your readers! Hugs
August 15, 2011 at 10:38 PM
If I ever get to England, the souvenir that I'll bring home will be a Bridgewater tea pot!
August 16, 2011 at 1:02 AM
Hi Snap,
what a wonderful ea china you show today and a nice story. Thank you for sharing this delight. May I invite you for a tea, too?
Best greetings to you and your furbabies, Johanna
August 16, 2011 at 3:36 AM
What a great story! I hope you'll share other interesting tidbits from the book.
Judith
August 16, 2011 at 7:12 AM
I was so wrapped up in reading the story, I forgot to say how much I like your teapot, a real treasure. The teacup is pretty, very dainty looking.
Judith
August 16, 2011 at 7:13 AM
Fascinating information about my drug of choice.
August 16, 2011 at 9:33 AM
i love your "drink more tea" teapot! so adorable! and loving ur teacup and saucer too, gorgeous pink! i do love bridgewater collection also. thanks for sharing the monkey tea story! x susan
August 16, 2011 at 10:16 AM
I LOVE that teapot! That's a great find...and great advice! How fun and a great story as well. Thanks for sharing & visiting!
Ruth
August 16, 2011 at 11:13 AM
Hi there just got here to look at your lovely forget-me-knot tea cup I love it. Fabulous! Vee
August 16, 2011 at 12:20 PM
Your dainty teacup is very pretty and I really like that teapot. Thanks for relating the story of how Monkey Tea got its name - I'd never heard this.
August 16, 2011 at 12:32 PM
I loved the story. I think we should have more monkey tea, don't you. What goes around comes around... thanks for the story I loved it and your precious teapot.
August 16, 2011 at 1:51 PM
Great tea story. Hope you are enjoying yours. xox Corrine
August 16, 2011 at 2:25 PM
Thank you for your tea in that lovely cup
That book must be really interesting
Hugs
August 16, 2011 at 2:25 PM
Lovely teapot and teacup. Since pink, green, and white are my favorite colors, I am really in love with the teacup.
I love Ross. The one near me has a great inventory all the time. I've seen pretty teacups there, but not the one that you have.
Thanks for sharing,
Patti
August 16, 2011 at 3:40 PM
Your new cup is so pretty with all those colorful violets strewn all around it! The tea pot too is fab, the sayings just wonderful!
Thank you for sharing the story, I enjoyed reading about Monkey Tea.
Hugs,
Terri
August 16, 2011 at 8:53 PM
Hi Snap, What a darling tea cup from Ross. I find the best treasures there too. Love the tea pot and the sayings on each side.
Your story is delightful with a wonderful meaning behind it.
Thank you for sharing!
Hugs, Celestina Marie
August 17, 2011 at 10:18 AM
What a lovely teacup. Enjoyed the story of tea. Thanks!
Sherry
August 17, 2011 at 11:57 AM
Fascinating story! Love your new teacup - gorgeous flowers! Hope you have a marvelous day,
Kathy
August 17, 2011 at 1:46 PM
Thank you for stopping by my blog. Loved this story. Happy sipping.
August 18, 2011 at 7:47 AM
Wow! What an interesting post. Tea Cup Tuesday has taught me so many things. Thanks for this story. Have a great weekend. Blessings, Martha
August 19, 2011 at 10:01 AM
I love the teacup, so feminine!...Christine
October 1, 2013 at 11:08 AM