FLOWER PETAL JELLIES
When there is time, making jams and jellies is one of my favorite past times. There is always such a feeling of accomplishment to seeing the jars displayed on the pantry shelf. I also enjoy sharing them with friends and neighbors. It evokes fond memories of making jams with my mother-in-law, Helen, who shared her…
Read MoreOn The Search For Creative Knitters
Entries being accepted for 2020 Tea Cozy Competition MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — As the world stays at home, a West Virginia tea company is encouraging people to show off their creativity for a chance to win prizes. The Larkin Tea Company in Martinsburg, West Virginia, is on the hunt for knitters to put their skills to…
Read MoreHot Cross Buns
Written by Judy Larkin Hot-cross buns! Hot-cross buns! One a penny, two a penny, Hot-cross buns! If you have no daughters, Give them to your sons; One a penny, two a penny, Hot-cross buns! That was a jump rope ditty that children sang as they played at Easter Time. When I was growing up in…
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IN TIME FOR EASTER
IN TIME FOR EASTER As children, my sister and I always decorated Easter eggs, and this was a tradition that I continued with my boys and then the grandsons. We would have so much fun experimenting with different designs and ways to color the eggs. This year I got the brilliant idea of seeing what…
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Are Your Hands Red and Raw from Constant Washing?
Here in West Virginia at the Larkin Tea Company, we’re not actually distilling hand sanitizer but because our hands are raw from washing them fifty thousand times a day, we’ve made our own hand lotion using green tea and coconut oil. (It could also be used as a body lotion.) It is a very easy…
Read MoreTea and The Coronavirus
People have been asking us about how safe it is to drink tea from China. Due to the proposed tariffs on tea from China, we ordered our supplies before the end of 2019. All the Chinese tea in our possession was harvested and delivered well before the virus broke out. It takes over two months…
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March Newsletter, 2020
Again, during the month of March, we are honoring the rich heritage of Ireland, the ancestral home of the Larkins. CELEBRATING THE BEAUTY OF THE EMERALD ISLE We met the artist, Helen Magee while attending the Showcase Ireland Trade Show in Dublin, Ireland this past January. Her landscapes of the Irish countryside are so beautiful…
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February Newsletter, 2020
IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER In the bleak midwinter Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow, In the bleak midwinter by Christina Rossetti It’s February and it’s cold. In the Larkin household that means it soup weather. A warm bowl of…
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What speaks more of the Holiday season than cranberries?
Judith Krall-Russo, fellow Certified Tea Specialist and Food Historian, who calls the American Cranberry “The Queen of the Bog” writes: “The large American cranberry is one of a few fruits that are native to only North America. Native Americans prized this tart berry using them not only for food, but also as a medicine and…
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