Tea Houses and Trinkets by Alondra Deltoro
Mr. Tea and the Traveling Teacup: A Madeline's Teahouse Mystery by Leslie Matthews Stansfield follows Terry and Karen Sutter as they try to crack down what has been haunting their teahouse. After the death of their mother, the two sisters decided to come together and give their childhood home a new purpose. They’ve always wanted to create a teahouse and now that it is finally coming together….they're met with trouble. What was seen first as a dream come true has now turned into a nightmare come alive! Every night, teacups mysteriously fall and shatter onto the floor. Could it be that their tea house is haunted? Here’s the list of potential ghostly perpetrators: the previous owner who’s rumored to have left buried treasure, two neighbors who simply just vanished over forty years ago, or Terry and Karen’s very own mother who is just trying to talk to them! With all this talk about a haunted teahouse, the oldest of the two, Karen, thinks that it would be fun to have. This attitude, however, changes when Terry comes home one night to find what appears to be BLOOD on the stairs leading up to the attic! Is it a ghost...or a warning? The teahouse’s newly acquired mascot, a psychic macaw, may provide some unexpected clues. But before the sisters solve the mystery, they’ll have to encounter many more surprises.
ORIGINS OF TEA HOUSES
Karen and Terry’s business venture of a tea house is a very unique one. Originating in China during the Tang Dynasty, the tea house’s purpose was to provide the public with an outlet for entertainment or relaxation. It wasn’t until the Song Dynasty when entertainers such as jugglers, poets, actors, opera singers, and storytellers were bought into the tea houses. One of the more popular methods of entertainment was storytelling, in which the form of “spoken novels” really took off. This took place within story teahouses. Each week, a chapter was printed and distributed to the public for one penny. The novels were then performed by professional storytellers twice a day. They’d sing, act, speak- really giving the audience a show in order to keep them coming back. It is said that it’d take them several months to finish a novel in its entirety.
There are also “chess tea houses”, “pure tea houses”, and “grand tea houses”. The latter are tea houses that are located in the best locations and offer tea house goers the luxury of vast open spaces for seating as well as private rooms. Delicately prepared desserts and snacks are made and served alongside a variety of teas of course.
For more info on teahouses check these links out:
The History of Chinese Teahouses A Brief History of Tea Houses in Beijing https://destinationtea.com/teastory/
The History of Chinese Teahouses
Today we're going to take a look at Chinese Teahouses as places where communities gather for news, entertainment...
A Brief History of Tea Houses in Beijing
Fran Lu
There's no better way to learn old Beijing's folk culture than from the history of the teahouses.
Baubles to Die For by Tonya Penrose is a tale that revolves around the gifted amateur sleuth Page Wright and her cousin Betsy Ross’s quest to figure out what exactly is going on with her neighbor...You see, while eating lunch with one another at the Bistro, they observe a tense-looking exchange between their no good neighbor, Catherine Lange, and a suspicious-looking man. What they say to one another gets exposed via a napkin that makes its way over to where Paige and Betsy stay, but that wasn't what raised a red flag for Page. It was the pistol that was passed underneath the table! Page's sixth sense activates and lets her know that something much more menacing was happening. The two go on to see Catherine on multiple occasions, dripping in her canary diamond jewelry, making threats to five individuals from her inner circle. What is also worrying is the fact that there is an undercover FBI agent living in the bungalow next door! On alert now that trouble lurks, Page must persuade an always reluctant Betsy into helping when the nudge comes to act, knowing time is pressing.
YELLOW DIAMONDS
It seems that evil villain Catherine Lange’s canary diamonds may have an important role to play in the progression of “Baubles to Die For”. Let’s learn more about this piece of jewelry.
The canary diamond is said to be one of the most popular colored diamonds on the market. The intensity of a diamond's color can be measured on a scale. It ranges from D (being colorless) all the way to Z (being yellow A.K.A the “canary diamond”). However, the label canary diamond, or canaries, only comes when the diamond is an intense yellow color.
So what is it that gives these diamonds its yellow hue?
A diamond gets yellow when while in the formation process, it gets exposed to nitrogen. This is why there are only a few that this happens to since it could be a rare occurrence. Another factor that plays into the color is how much nitrogen the diamond gets- the more exposure, the deeper the yellow.
Here is a chart that demonstrates the different levels of intensity:
Fancy Light Yellow
Fancy Yellow
Fancy Intense Yellow
Fancy Vivid Yellow
This diamond is said to symbolize “the beginning or continuation of a life living happy and in love”. It also represents humility, hope, friendship, and happiness.
For more about yellow diamonds, here are some resources:
Yellow Diamonds- All about the Canary Yellow Diamond
What To Know About Yellow Diamonds | Meaning, Quality, & Cost.
What Are Yellow Diamonds, Are Yellow Diamonds Expensive And More FAQ