Coffee in styrofoam is against my religion.
Betsy Cañas Garmon
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| my sprigware cup and saucer |
It's not my imagination. Coffee and tea actually do taste better when sipped from something lovely. A few years ago, I switched from coffee to tea, and contrary to my preconceived notion, it didn't kill me. My bits of insomnia are now nearly non-existent, but I do sorely miss my java. I had to celebrate this weekend and have a nice strong cuppa, with real cream, in my pretty new vintage cup! My dear friends, Kary and Teddy, sent it to me, as part of her one year blogoversary celebration giveaway over at
My Farmhouse Kitchen. Pop over and pay her a visit. Tell them Willow sent you. Grab a wonderful recipe or two, while you're there.
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sprigware collection
from Country Living |
Isn't it just too charming? Kary tells me its called "sprigware", I term I was unfamiliar with, so naturally, I headed to Google. I didn't find much on the subject, but I did learn that much china in early America was imported from Great Britain. "Sprigging" is a technique used in the manufacture of pottery, where ornaments are moulded or stamped separately, and then attached, or "sprigged" to the body of the piece with slip. Sprigging was used extensivley in Staffordshire. From what I can tell this lovely little sprigware cup and saucer dates from the mid-1800's.
That cup of coffee was extra heavenly. My will power remained intact, and I just had one cup. Kary was kind enough to tuck in a few packages of Starbucks delicious madeleines as an added treat. She must have picked up on the wavelength of my goal to make the best madeleines in the Midwest. I have a delicious new recipe for madeleines from Margaret, and her beautiful blog,
The Earthly Paradise. Now all I need is the pan. So, stay tuned.
come on over girl, I will serve you a great cup of coffee (one) and lend you my pan.
ReplyDeletecoffee is a huge weakness of mine...and love the header!
ReplyDeleteDon't cha miss the coffee? I've cut back but I'm not sure that I could replace it.
ReplyDeleteThe cup is lovely and I'm sure the madeleines will be the best in the Midwest. Headed over to My Farmhouse Kitchen.
oh willow...i am smiling...
ReplyDeletelove seeing how much you love the sweet little teacup...
you did a great job on the research...i always wonder how a little teacup like that....that is so old has remained intact for so long...
glad you are enjoying the madeleines too...
your photograph of the little cup is just beautiful...
Happy you have it...
sending love, my sweet friend
kary and teddy
xxx
One of the best housewarming gifts I've received is a pair of glass cups with saucers. They are SO cool. Both coffee and tea taste better than even in my best coffee cups.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah.
LOVE LOVE your new vintage tea cup. And you are absolutely right. It is an insult to drink a nice hot cuppa in styrofoam! :)
ReplyDeleteI love Madeleines, and make two different kinds. I was a young wife when I started and my friend and I could only afford one pan, so we borrowed back and forth between our kitchens. Now I own many so while one pan is cooling another is ready to go in. Your little cup is adorable, and I agree with you it makes coffee/tea taste better when you drink out of something special.
ReplyDeleteI *puffy heart* that sweet little tea cup. It makes the treat of coffee that much more special when it is served in such a way.
ReplyDeleteWe tea during the week, and coffee as a treat on the weekends. I look forward to the taste, but just 2 cups. I'm a hand thrown pottery person myself. However one takes it, a warm cup is one of the heavenly pleasures of life.
ReplyDeleteOh, so English, and lovely! I look forward to the teacup or mug I will choose each morning almost as much as the tea! Interesting history of sprigware.
ReplyDeleteOh you luck lady!
ReplyDeleteI do think that anything other than china ruins the taste and I even think that the cup should be hand washed,thoroughly rinsed, and dried before use. I don't like the feel or tast of machine washed cups.
What a beautiful cup, I have never heard of sprigware. How wonderful to receive as a gift. I don't drink coffee but I think tea would taste all the better when sipped from something as lovely as that.
ReplyDeleteGirl that cuppa looks might good. Too for coffee here, but I am getting a tea and gonna watch 'Madmen' can't wait. Love the new header too. Blessings
ReplyDeleteQMM
What a lovely teacup and what a sweet gift. I'm a coffee drinker myself though my sister has switched to tea.
ReplyDeleteLooks great, and I don't even drink coffee. I wish I could but it makes me so darned anxious and then I'm up all night. Maybe if I made it with Irish cream and whipped cream on top...hmmmmm...that would match a nice sprig cup, oui?
ReplyDeleteHa! So right. The Brits have us pegged when they say that Americans don't even serve tea in a proper teacup. ;o)
ReplyDeleteHow many restaurants have ever served you tea in an actual teacup? I can't remember a single one. O well....
I know this is about the pottery, but as a tea drinker who has a real pot and a real tea cosy, I cannot understand anyone who would drink ter from anything other than a china cup (or mug). Sacrilege!
ReplyDeleteHad breakfast in Sidney Nebraska and was served good coffee in a china mug, bottomless... took me a while to realise I was expected to upend the mug when I'd had enough but by then it was too late and I buzzed for days!
Coffee or tea, as long as it's caffeinated, heh, heh...
ReplyDeleteMom has quite the collection of cups 'n saucers but she dinna use them, alas! But you're right in tha' the taste is better in something other than styrofoam...
Vintage cups are a delight! I found some in a thrift store, bought them all up (nearly a dozen) and gave them out as gifts to dear friends, saving only 2 for myself.
ReplyDeleteEnd of story? I broke one of them last week. Leaving me with just one. But lots of joy.
I could never replace my morning espresso. Though, a lovely cup of tea with madeleines would be fun too.
ReplyDeleteWow.Cool stuff. I am kind of tea specialist.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Who are these people that one sees walking around with styro-cups? I have NEVER used one; and WILL never.
ReplyDeleteWe always use antique glasses, cups, knives forks etc. So much more pleasant.
Dear Willow, As you may imagine, I am firmly with the drink from china brigade here and would [and have] never drunk from a cardboard cup.
ReplyDeleteAh, beauty from simples things. You've done it again!
ReplyDeleteHow nice that you won Kary's lovely tea cup. Coffee and tea always seem to taste so much better from a pretty cup! I like both beverages, tea of every kind, herbals and all the different black teas, and I must have my daily coffee. I drink at least two cups of good French dark roast or other strong blend. None of that Folger's or instant for me.
ReplyDeleteThat is a beautiful cup. I do love a good coffee but can only drink one cup. The second one tastes awful. Just wish I could manage even a half cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteIn another life time I ran a tearoom in the village I lived in. We served everything in terribly twee bone china and our customers loved it. The year after I sold the business the new people served everything in lovely big mugs (twice the size of the silly little delicate things we had) they received so many complaints they had to switch back to china! So there is a difference!
ReplyDeleteIt's insane drink anything from paper/styro. The flavor is indeed better in a real cup ; )
ReplyDeleteThis time of year, and with this hades type weather out here, cold tea is the best.
Just made some raspberry/green tea for work and it's delicious. We're trying more teas this year than ever before, thanks to the weather.
Great header.......Cheers!
I always think one of the few things in life you should spend that little extra money on in order to get real quality is a good bone china cup. Tea does indeed taste ten times better from it.
ReplyDeleteI loved learning about sprigware -- such pretty china!
ReplyDeleteGreat header. I love pretty china and pottery. Gotta have my coffee. Love Kary and Teddy, too. Congrats on the win.
ReplyDeleteThat cup is so beautiful! I love it's long, curved lip! Congrats! :)
ReplyDeleteI have two gorgeous vintage madeleine pans...one oval and one round. I'll bring you one on my next visit. :)
Willow, Thanks for sharing this. I should quit coffee, damn! (Do you remember that little voice...) How about this one...coffee coffee mmmmmm. Ha! The voice of this piece is friendly and informative. It was fun. ~Brenda
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, a vintage tea party, I'll have my Earl Grey with almond milk please!
ReplyDeleteBrenda, when you're up half the night for night upon night, you're willing to try ANYthing. Believe me, the notion of giving up my daily pot of strong brewed coffee wasn't my first choice. It worked though.
ReplyDeleteBetsy, I'd love one!
ReplyDeleteWe use decaf green tea leaves. For sun tea also. Soothing and no caffeine. But in the mornings I do want a nice cup of coffee, I drink two small cups. Like you, I like a nice cup for tea.
ReplyDeleteI love your pictures of the "sprigware" collection they are gorgeous. I defiantly agree with you Willow, coffee and tea taste so much nicer in beautiful china teacups.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy using your cup and saucer.
A cup that is beautiful and feels good in the hand is essential for both coffee and tea to tasted just right! Thanks for reminding me to revisit My Farmhouse Kitchen:)
ReplyDeleteCoffee to wake up in the morning is a must for me.......then no more throughout the day because Earl Grey always invites me to tea at 4PM!!
ReplyDeleteLovely china - it's a new one to me also - very sweet for coffee or tea, and good madeleines definitely with both!
Thanks for stopping by to visit my friendship post....nothing better than a true one of many years, especially when one has no sisters.
your tea looks inviting!
ReplyDeleteI drink tea mostly,
at times do coffee...
http://jingleyanqiu.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/thursday-poets-rally-week-25-poetry-awards/
ReplyDeleteawards for poets ...
Well, being the sentimental type I am, I do love a warming cup of tea in the finest china. Of course, the British within me regards Afternoon Tea as an absolute, categoric, imperative must :) And you're so right, tea and coffee in good crockery always taste so much better.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I love you new header! What is the painting called? It really is very beautiful.
Thanks, Sam, my header is a detail of Romaine Brooks' self portrait, 1923. I'm glad you like it. She's my current muse.
ReplyDeleteI have the pan, but not the perfect recipe! I'll give yours a try. Actually, I've been reluctant to make these as I understand they don't keep well. Does that mean one must eat all of them the day they are baked?
ReplyDeleteSuch a fortunate Willow! Glad you enjoyed the combination. I'm a mug person, a cup doesn't hold enough!
ReplyDeleteI love the cup, and I love the coffee. I'll take the coffee any way I can get it.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say that cup & saucer reminded me of a lovely design for teacups over at Daisy Quilts blog. Anyone interested in a pretty design that's free take a look http://daisyquilts.blogspot.com/2010/04/mothers-day-stitcheries-to-share.html
ReplyDeleteStrofoam cups are just plain awful to drink coffee or tea out of!!! In fact I'll include water too with that statement. -- barbara
ReplyDelete"coffee and tea actually do taste better when sipped from something lovely"
ReplyDeleteYes they do,
and I feel lovely when doing it too!
ps..
I have that song Tea for Two in my head now.
What a great post, I never thought of a cup of joe tasting better in a non-styrofoam cup! Kim Williams sent me over and said to say HI! :) Love the blog...I'll visit again.
ReplyDeleteYay! It's yours, then!
ReplyDeleteI can't drink coffee or tea in take out cups. I feel so non Canadian without the Tim Horton's paper...
ReplyDeletelove the design on tea cup, just simple and fresh.
Never ever styrofoam.
ReplyDeleteFirst tenet in my house.
Isn't it true that styrofoam and coffee are no-goes because the first melts on impact? ;-)
Never ever styrofoam.
ReplyDeleteFirst tenet in my house.
Isn't it true that styrofoam and coffee are no-goes because the first melts on impact? ;-)
Love the cup and have fun with your madeleine baking! They are quite easy to make actually. ; )
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago I visited a small city in Russia called Sortavala. We had coffee and cakes in a cafe and the coffee was served in cups and saucers, and I remember thinking that the coffee was much more delicious and the experience so different than the coffee shops in North America, who serve coffee in mugs or disposable cups. It's like you automatically slowed down and focused on the moment.
ReplyDeleteHere was a community that was so much poorer than mine in terms of money, but the experience of having coffee was so much richer.
Well I love Kerry and so can imagine she would be generous to send that over. And yes, how lovely. Amazing still is fact you only had one cup of coffee. I so agree about Styrofoam btw too! :)
ReplyDelete