The Steeping Chronicles

I'm Erica. I'm a tea sommelier here in San Antonio, a mom of five, and this all started at my own kitchen table in a season when a hot cup was about the only thing I could manage. Then my kids started sitting down with me. We talked. This is where I put the things people actually ask me: how to host a tea party without losing a whole week to it, what to send when you don't know what to say, and why your green tea tastes like regret. Pick the part you came for.

Fireball tea on a holiday tea bar with teapots, orange slices, cinnamon sticks and teacups
Know Your Tea

Fireball Tea: The Spiced Orange Black Tea Everyone Asks About

Spiced black tea with orange peel, clove and cinnamon, and no alcohol at all. What Fireball tastes like, how to brew it hot or iced, and the 3 ways I serve it for the holidays.

Know Your Tea

Fireball Tea: The Spiced Orange Black Tea Everyone Asks About

Spiced black tea with orange peel, clove and cinnamon, and no alcohol at all. What Fireball tastes like, how to brew it hot or iced, and the 3 ways I serve it for the holidays.

A tea party for one set at a kitchen table at night with a teacup, candle, and journal
Pour Into Yourself

A Tea Party for One: Why Self Care Is Not Selfish

20 minutes, one cup, and a table set for you instead of everybody else. How to have a tea party for one, and why the ritual holds when other things do not.

Pour Into Yourself

A Tea Party for One: Why Self Care Is Not Selfish

20 minutes, one cup, and a table set for you instead of everybody else. How to have a tea party for one, and why the ritual holds when other things do not.

Teacup, folded note and soft throw on a side table, a gift for someone going through chemo
Tea Gifts

A Gift for Someone in Treatment That Isn't Pink

Something soft, something to do while resting, a note that needs no reply, and a friend who keeps showing up after week one. None of it has to be pink.

Tea Gifts

A Gift for Someone in Treatment That Isn't Pink

Something soft, something to do while resting, a note that needs no reply, and a friend who keeps showing up after week one. None of it has to be pink.

Christmas cookie tray with gingerbread, shortbread and crinkles beside a teapot and Classic Chai
Know Your Tea

Tea and Cookie Pairings for the Holidays (From a Tea Sommelier and a Cake Master)

One rule sorts out your whole cookie tray: match the weight, then contrast the sweetness. Here is which blend goes with gingerbread, shortbread, crinkles and peppermint bark.

Know Your Tea

Tea and Cookie Pairings for the Holidays (From a Tea Sommelier and a Cake Master)

One rule sorts out your whole cookie tray: match the weight, then contrast the sweetness. Here is which blend goes with gingerbread, shortbread, crinkles and peppermint bark.

Virtual tea party ideas: laptop, kettle and an open mini tea party box on a kitchen table
Host a Tea Party

Virtual Tea Party Ideas for Teams, Alumni and Family Far Away

Ship the same tea, brew at the same minute, and give the hour a shape. My 60-minute virtual tea party run sheet for teams, alumni groups and family far away.

Host a Tea Party

Virtual Tea Party Ideas for Teams, Alumni and Family Far Away

Ship the same tea, brew at the same minute, and give the hour a shape. My 60-minute virtual tea party run sheet for teams, alumni groups and family far away.

Teacher gift ideas wrapped on a kitchen table with a teapot sampler and handwritten cards
Tea Gifts

Teacher Gift Ideas That Aren't Another Mug (Okay, One Mug)

A $5 teapot sampler for the whole class list, a $22 mini tea party for the teacher who went above and beyond, and the one mug I would still give.

Tea Gifts

Teacher Gift Ideas That Aren't Another Mug (Okay, One Mug)

A $5 teapot sampler for the whole class list, a $22 mini tea party for the teacher who went above and beyond, and the one mug I would still give.

Questions I get asked

Who writes The Steeping Chronicles?

I do. Every word. I'm Erica Powers, the tea sommelier who packs the boxes and sets the tables. The blog shares its name with my newsletter and it has the same 2 sides: the sweet side, and the real side where the honest stories live.

What kind of tea party do you write about?

The kind you can actually pull off on a Saturday. Bridal and baby showers, birthdays, church and senior groups, office gatherings, Galentine's, watch parties, and a table set for one on a Tuesday. I write for the woman hosting it, not for a magazine shoot.

Do I need china and a teapot to host a tea party?

No. You need hot water, something to steep in, and a table people can sit at. My own collection started as mismatched cups I picked up one at a time. If you want the vintage look without buying 40 of them, I rent china around San Antonio and my team washes every piece afterward.

Where do I start if I have never brewed loose leaf tea?

Start in Know Your Tea. Water that is too hot and leaves left in too long are what turn a good cup bitter, and both are easy to fix. Then pick 1 blend and brew it 3 times before you decide how you feel about it.

Send Someone a Tea Party

I started packing these boxes so I could send my kitchen table to people I could not get to in person. Every one holds loose leaf tea and something to do while it steeps, because the part that matters is the hour you sit down for. Pick the one that sounds like the person you are sending it to.

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