What's In, What's Out for 2011

Hello TEA Friends!

After all the shopping, decorating, baking, planning, eating and gifting of the holiday season, it's time to ring in the new year and focus on all that's ahead for the next twelve months. This is a great time to start fresh or renew unfinished projects. It's also the time that I look forward to some of the best reading material of the year: the highly anticipated "In/Out" lists of prescribed trends and fashions for the next 365 days. I cull newspapers, magazines and on-line sources to see if my toile pillows are still in style and if clutter remains an "out" (I'm forever optimistic that it will one day be "in").

This year, Barb's TEA Shop, has traveled to Las Vegas for the World Tea Expo, Louisville for the Jane Austen festival, and both upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan to uncover what's fashionable in tea for 2011. Here's our In/Out List for the new year.

Barb's TEA Shop's What's In/What's Out List in the World of Tea for 2011

IN ................................................................ OUT

Specialty loose teas................................................... Generic grocery store tea bags

Tea carts with room for wine.................................... No tea cart at all

Russell Hobbs tea brewing system ............................Tea made from hot tap water

Tea party attire: vintage jewelery, smart casual.........White gloves, mink stoles

Tea Whiskey ............................................................ An Old Fashion (because it's, well, old fashioned)

Pu-erh tea (old, but not old fashioned) .....................Other than Pu-erh, old tea

Honey spoons .......................................................... Three-year old honey in the bottom of the jar

Chamilia/Pandora bracelets with tea charms ............ Robin's-egg-blue-boxed chunky bracelet with heart

Chinese tea ceremony ......................................... Too ritualized tea (we're here to drink tea, after all)

Tea cozies ............................................................ Cold tea

Kim Wilson's Jane Austen's tea/garden books......... Any "Real Housewives of . . ." TV, even if they drink tea or garden

JASNA ................................................................... LOL, ROFL, BRB

Beautiful tea room in upper peninsula .................... Tea party moose hunting in Alaska

Blueberry tea from Blueberry Capital ......................Cherry flavored coffee from Cherry Capital

Tea Forte tea cocktails ............................................An Old Fashion (see above)

In-home tea tastings ..............................................Purse, cooking and Tupperware parties

Talbott Teas Cocoa cardamom seduction ................Drive-through peppermint mocha lattes (seductive, too, but at 400 calories per cup, they're out - at least until next December)

And finally:

Oprah's Favorite Things & Barb's TEA Shop's Wish List

(room for both of us, always "IN" and always IN good taste!)

Whether you're staying in to celebrate or heading out to party, we wish you a safe and happy New Year's Eve and a fantastic 2011!

Barb