Brewing

Please note our newest Winter Hours below:

Wednesdays: 1-5 pm

Thursdays: 10 am-5 pm

Fridays: 10 am-5 pm

Saturdays: 10 am-3 pm

As always, other times by appointment.

Be sure to join me for my newest class at OOB/Saco Community Education,

COOKING WITH TEA

Wednesday February 9th

6-8 pm

Old Orchard Beach High School

For details or to register visit www.oobsaco.maineadulted.org

Please note our special holiday hours for this week beginning 12/27/2010:

Monday Dec. 27th: Closed

Tuesday Dec. 28th: 1-5 pm

Wednesday Dec. 29th: 10 am-5 pm

Thursday Dec. 30th: 10 am-5 pm

Friday Dec. 31st: 10 am- 2 pm

Saturday January 1st: CLOSED FOR HAPPY NEW YEAR HOLIDAY!

We hope you can join us for this week’s sale to purchase some of your favorite tea at 25% off and other selected merchandise at 20% off the regular retail price.

Stay tuned for new merchandise and events in 2011!

Our next Tea 101 class has been scheduled for Saturday September 25th from 1 to 3:00 pm. It will be held here at Nellie’s shop. For a descrition visit our Classes and Events page.

Cost : $15.00 per person                                                      

Contact us to reserve your space.

Stay tuned for other fun events we’re planning…

Like, A class on Pu’erh Teas,

 and a Japanese Tea Ceremony…

We look forward to welcoming you to the Wonderful World of Tea!

School’s in session for most towns, or soon will be. As I get settled in at USM for the new academic year, Nellie’s will be quiet much of the time. During my irregular hours this month, I’ll be getting the shop and inventory ready for a wonderful fall and holiday season. We’ll be full of new tastes and appearances.

NELLIE’S WILL BE CLOSED SEPTEMBER  1ST  THROUGH  SEPTEMBER 13TH. However, I will be available by phone or e-mail and will be happy to help you meet your needs for tea and related accessories. This first week I will be in the area as I immerse in helping to get the academic year off to a good start at USM, and can arrange to meet you at the shop. From September 9th through the 13th I will be attending a tea workshop in Charleston, SC. I can’t wait to report on our visit to the only Tea Estate in the U.S., located just outside of Charleston and operated by the Bigelow Tea Co.

I will be at the Scarborough Farmer’s Market this Sunday September 6th and look forward to seeing you there. The market will continue through the month of September.

I’m looking forward to soon announcing new plans for Nellie’s. Things are not quite ready yet, but before the month is out, I hope to have news to share with you.

Meanwhile, we had a marvelous time during the Scarborough Project Graduation ” Tea by the Sea” fundraiser last month. Held at The Breakers Inn at Higgins Beach, the day was gorgeous and the turnout perfect.

Wedding season is upon us. We have in stock Harney and Sons Wedding Tea, a favorite blend of white tea with vanilla essence and rose petals to give it a beautiful visual appeal. The light subtle taste of this tea is always popular and well received. Its packaging in a beautiful silvery tin makes it a perfect gift for a bridal shower paired with an beautiful family tea pot. Or the small tagalong tins make wonderful favors for your guests at a bridal shower tea party or a bridal luncheon for your wedding party.

In recent days, my thoughts are frequently drawn to China, most specifically Sichuan Provence, the area so horribly affected by the recent devastating earthquakes. When traveling last fall to parts of China with others interested in the culture of the ancient tea leaf, we flew from Beijing into Chengdu, a city of beautiful roof top gardens and home to one of ancient China’s most famous poets.

After spending a day in Chengdu, we began our journey through the surrounding countryside, traveling into the mountains where we climbed for more than half the day before reaching Qing Cheng Shan, a remote mountain seldom visited by westerners, where we spent the night at a Daoist Temple. We spent our time there meeting with the Daoist monks, learning about their lifestyle, their local wild tea plants, Tai Chi, and drinking in the clear, beautiful mountain air and breathtaking views. As we enjoyed the simple, but deliciously spicey food and wonderful tea, it was a pleasure to leave the world behind for 24 hours.

Reluctantly we left the mountain the next day, traveling back through the agricultural towns, where the road took us past straw mats spread on the ground on which so many local products were drying in the sun: spicey red peppers, rice, corn. It is unthinkable that this province of abundance has been subjected to such a devastating event. I think of the warm and friendly people we met there: Echo, our local guide who is a bright, intelligent college student, a wisp of a girl with dreams of visiting the western world one day; The daoist monks with whom we met, bright, centered, and spiritual beings yet very knowledgeable of current affairs and the world; The friendly local people who waved and smiled, thrilled at glimpsing us western visitors. I wonder how all of them are, hoping they have survived this devastation. As I read the media coverage of the searching, grieving, and sometimes angry survivors, I wish there were something more I could do than pray for their peace, as I can only imagine this will be very hard to accomplish. I hope to eventually hear from Echo that she and her loved ones are safe and well. I hope this is so.