About

Why and how I came to love tea and Jane Austen so much.

Tea in my life.

Growing up and into my adulthood, my family always had tea at get- together’s, or even if it was just an impromptu visit. One of our traditions and a particular delight for my siblings and I was the Kluntje (rock candy sugar for tea) that was placed in our fine china teacups which my mom and dad brought back from Germany.  The teapot would sit on a Stövchen (a tea warmer with a tealight candle in it.) Having our tea was something so special that we all treasured. That feeling of warm hearts and togetherness.

My dad is from the Ostfriesland area in Northern Germany which has the largest consumption of tea per person in the world at 300 liters per person every year. We have a special Ostfriesen Tea there which is a strong black tea blend that is mostly Assam.

In 1991 when I stayed with my grandmother for a summer and in 1999 on a trip to Germany, again to visit her, I really got to experience tea time as an Ostfriesen. My Oma (the name for grandma in German) had all the best china including the hand-painted traditional Ostfriesen Rose set from the Warnecke Porzellan company.

My parents would tell stories of their grandmothers and how people would sometimes pour their tea into a saucer. Here’s a quote from an article on tea etiquette which mentions this practice.

In Victorian days, tea drinkers poured their tea into saucers to cool before sipping, this was perfectly acceptable. This is what writers of the period mean by ‘a dish of tea.’

Afternoon to Remember

Dad would tell us about the Ostfriesen Tea Ceremony and how there was a special cream spoon. It would prompt other discussions about both my parent’s grandparents. Having tea together as a family is a treasure.

My mom always set a beautiful table for our tea and she made everything so special. What fun mom and I had practicing pouring tea out of the teapot and trying to perfect our technique without dripping on the tablecloth. I can’t imagine what life would have been like without tea playing such a part in it.

Jane Austen; my favorite author.

Jane Austen’s works were really the first novels that I found myself truly enthralled in.  In fact, she is the favorite author to so many people around the world and countless products have been inspired by her work, including Jane Austen Novel Teas™.

At this time, I have four teas in the line which are based on her novels, Sense and SensibiliTea ™, Donwell Abbey Strawberry ™, Mansfield Mocha Tea ™, and my newest flavor, Northanger Night Tea™ . 

I am also a fan of the many film adaptations of her work as well as some of the films and TV shows that pay homage to her, such as Austenland, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and Clueless. Masterpiece on PBS has many of them and they even had a whole program back in 2007 and had an option to host a viewing party each week while they were airing.

Whether you love the books, the movies and TV shows, or anything Jane Austen, I hope you love Tea, just as I do and you will give Jane Austen Novel Teas™ a try.

Make sure to head back to the shop page now because you or someone you admire or love, deserves a little Jane Austen Novel Teas™ today and everyday.