A different type of bergamot tea: Bee balm herbal and homegrown, too!

Bergamot tea, aka bee balm, is said to have a similar fragrance to Earl Grey. 

If you've had tea with me or read my blog from time to time, you probably know one of my favorite teas is Earl Grey. It's a delightful black tea flavored with oils from the rind of the bergamot orange, a Mediterranean  citrus fruit. Earl Grey is my go-to drink for Afternoon Tea, but I've recently discovered that's not the only bergamot tea and it's literally in my own backyard.

Bergamot tea, also known as bee balm, is a perennial herb with bright red or deep purple flowers and a proud member of the mint family.  It grows best in plant hardiness zones 3 - 9 which explains how one such plant found its "happy place" in the wild flower garden of our northern Michigan home.

Harvesting some fresh bergamot leaves in our northern Michigan wild flower garden for herbal tea.

The lavender bee balm, which is the variety growing in our yard, has been described as having the taste and fragrance of  the bergamot orange.  According to "Growing Your Own Tea Garden" by Jodi Helmer (featured in BTS' Tuesday Tea and Tome, June 19, 2019), because bee balm smells like Earl Grey, it was actually used as a replacement for black tea after the Boston Tea Party.

In Helmer's book, she also provides instructions for the best brew of bergamot tea which is simply adding two tablespoons of fresh bee balm leaves (or one tablespoon of dried leaves) to one cup of boiling water, then steeping  for ten minutes. In other recipes I've found on-line, you can add some of the plant's flowers for a little extra sweetness and color. (Helmer also notes, like other mint plants, bee balm can be very invasive, so she recommends dividing it in half in the fall to keep its growth at bay.)

Steep leaves for ten minutes

Add flowers for color 

I tested out the herbal tea, fresh from my garden, with some hand-picked bee balm leaves and a few of its tiny flowers. It's refreshing and minty, but not terribly sweet or overpowering.  I will be sure to enjoy it during summer afternoons in my up north tea garden.

But, unlike the Bostonians of the late 18th century, when out for Afternoon Tea, I will not be replacing my cherished Earl Grey with a bee balm tisane.

Bee balm plant, like most in the mint family, is invasive. We'll be cutting this back in the fall.

 

Does BTS have a familial connection to William and Kate's bedroom design? You be the judge!

Much in common with Marcus E: Royal connections,  my Poang chair

 

A recent article in Hello! magazine revealed that Prince William and Kate shake up the norm for bedroom placement at Kensington Palace (Prince William and Kate Middleton's unique bedrom set-up at London home revealed). That type of headline is what gives "click bait" its name, and, of course, we had to check it out. Turns out, they buried the lead. There's an "Engman" connection to a part of their family bedroom design and that's our one degree to the private domain of the residents of Kensington.

First, not to string my dear readers along any further, the "unique bedroom set-up", as noted in Hello!, deals with the location of  William and Kate's master suites (there are two). While the majority of multi-level homes have bedrooms upstairs, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have their  bedchambers on the first floor. The live-in staff resides on the second floor. 

Initially, I was a bit let down, because which level William and Kate's respective ensuites are on is not even close to where the imagination starts when the "unique bedroom set-up" flag is waved. But, when I saw my family name connected to certain areas of  the Cambridges' royal apartment, I was twice bitten and zero shy.

Marcus Engman, formerly of IKEA, a relation of BTS blogger?? (picture from Ingka website)

Engman is my maiden name - my dad's parents emigrated from a Swedish settlement in Finland at the beginning of the last millennial - and, as Hello! reported, it is also the surname of  IKEA's former Head of Design, Marcus Engman.  When Kate met Marcus during a 2018 visit to the National Museum of Architecture and Design in Stockholm, she shared with him that they outfitted the bedrooms of both  Prince George and Princess Charlotte with IKEA furniture. 

Marcus, pleased to hear that news, said, "I'm proud that we can suit everybody. That's what we want IKEA to be - for the many people of he world, both royalty and ordinary people".

Niece and daughter in Finland

An Engman at the arctic circle

                                       

While there aren't many Engmans in our part of the world, there's a fair amount in Sweden and Finland where lots of our family still resides.  Our Engman cousins have visited our homes over the decades and my husband and I and our children, along with my brother, Ed and his family, made the trek to Finland in 2001, staying with even more Engmans.  While there we toured many of our ancestors' homes, including the family plots at a village cemetery (where the Engman name is also on display). 

Visiting Engmans in Finland, past and present

With that context, I reread the article a few times and saw no mention of other Engmans or tea or BTS. But, nonetheless, I feel a connection with Marcus. He has met the wife of the future King of England, and I've met Prince William's uncle, and brother of the late Princess Diana, Lord Charles Spencer.  My house is appointed with  Poang chairs and Billy cabinets, and, although I don't have the fair-hair genes, Marcus and I do share a prominent Engman trait - those  facial indents that only show up when one is smiling. 

                                                                                                                                                                                   

BTS blogger with William's Uncle, Lord Spencer

So, while we found that we are different from the Duke and Duchess as far as bedroom location, we did find a common denominator in home design.  And, while there may be six degrees of Kevin Bacon, there appear to be far less between  Marcus Engman and your BTS blogger. 

Tuesday Tea and Tomes 'Miss Austen': We give it much approbation - but it's not about Jane!

Miss Austen is a fictionalized tale of  Jane Austen's sister, Cassandra, and her role in the author's life

 

That Jane Austen novels continue to entertain and enlighten for more than two centuries after they were written may have come as a great surprise to the author, but not her sister. Cassandra, Jane's greatest fan, supporter and protector of her legacy, was  her older - and only - sister among six brothers. In a time where a woman who remained single and sought pursuits outside of keeping up a home not only raised a gentrified eyebrow, but often ended with the uncertainty of relying too heavily on the kindness of others.  This ordinary, but extraordinary, life of the Austen sisters is brought to life by Gill Hornby in the tone of Jane: descriptive, snarky and, as often the theme of her stories, a few misguided actions based on "first impressions".

The Austen sister's Chawton abode, courtesy brother Edward

The book begins with Cassandra, now in her sixties and two decades since Jane's passing, visiting Kintbury, a village, that  in today's world, is a thirty mile drive north of Winchester. This village is rich with connections:  it was the home of Cassandra's fiancé, who tragically died of malaria while serving as a British army chaplain in the West Indies, and also, in the particularly good fortune of a Janeite-historical fiction author,  the home of Gill Hornby.

Cassandra's journey to Kintbury comes shortly after the death of her fiance's eldest brother, Fulwar Fowle. Like the Austen sister's father, Fulwar was a pastor, however, unlike the Austens, no Fowle son was interested in succeeding their father as a clergyman of the parish. That meant the three daughters of Fulwar -  two unmarried, one widowed -  were forced to quickly decide upon a permanent solution to impending displacement. . . or so some thought.

BTS in Bath, a place not well loved by the Austen sisters

Hornby deftly volleys readers back and forth from the Austen girls in "early bloom" to Cassandra's senior years, searching in the Kintbury rectory for any incriminating personal correspondences of her beloved sister. In this search, she assumes the role of uninvited puppet master of the Fowle sisters' destiny.

Last residence of Jane Austen in Winchester

Hornby not only has the Kintbury connection to Cassandra, but also understands the role of the invisible sibling of a well-known author.  Her brother is writer, Nick Hornby, whose novels include, "High Fidelity" and "About a Boy", both made into feature length movies.  In an interview with inews last year, Gill Hornby said, while laughing, that she was "absolutely used to being batted out of the way at cocktail parties as people try to get to the main event". 

Rachel plays the pianoforte in Chawton Cottage

In 'Miss Austen', Cassandra reminisces about happy times spent with Jane at Chawton (a cottage on the estate of their wealthy brother, Edward), the challenges of living in Bath with their parents and the very sad last days in Winchester.  (We visited all three sites, 2006 and 2011, and now have added Kintbury to our wish list of future trips.)

There's also a tie-in to 'Persuasion' and Anne Elliot's situation that sees Cassandra and her presumed charges changing courses faster than a phaeton being pulled by a team of horses.

We loved this book and all the stories within a story. A recent check on IMBD shows 'Miss Austen' is in development for an upcoming movie. Perhaps, Gill Hornsby, like Cassandra, will get her due and become the "main event". 

Adagio's Bella Luna blue tea comes once in a blue moon. Order yours this month!

Adagio's Bella Luna blue herbal tea celebrates the seasonal blue moon this month.

 

Something rare comes "once in a blue moon" and Adagio's Bella Luna blue tea is no exception to the well-known idiom. 

The herbal tea from Adagio, which contains lemongrass, butterfly pea flowers and other natural flavors, is only sold on days of a blue moon, the next one coming August 22nd of this year.

So, what exactly is a blue moon? According to timeanddate.com, blue moon has two definitions. The first refers to the third of four full moons in an astrological season (solstice to equinox) and is termed a "seasonal blue moon".  The second, and more common meaning of the term, is called a "monthly blue moon" and this happens when there are two full moons in a calendar month. 

Bella Luna blue is an herbal blend, refreshing and no caffeine

While there are a few accounts of where the term "blue moon" came from, one thing is for sure - it isn't blue. But, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be celebrated with color. Enter Adagio's Bella Luna blue tea to make a rare occasion even more special!

Bella Luna blue lives up to its name, turning a rich color after steeping for several minutes

Bella Luna blue delivers not only intense color, but delicious flavor as well. A wonderfully refreshing tea, it's delightful as a summer sip (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, that is).

Add lemon for more color

Adagio recommends steeping the loose tea leaves for ten minutes and that's exactly what we did with great results. The dry tea ingredients work their magic in the hot water immersion, quickly turning into a rich indigo color. The package also suggests adding a few drops of lemon juice for more surprises. (*spoiler alert* it turns a lovely shade of violet.)

This is a fun and tasty hot tea drink perfect for star parties, light afternoon teas and, with the quick color change display and no caffeine, a delight for children's' teas, too!

Don't hesitate to order Bella Luna blue. Remember, the chance to buy it comes only once in a blue moon!

For more information, go to adagioteas.com 

Product review disclaimer:  I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free or discounted price. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.