Tea is for Travel

Photography by Laura Moss. Styling by me, Meredith McBride Kipp.


It’s the time of year again when most of us are aching for exotic excursions and warm weather. I came up with a way to savor both; sans security lines at the airport.
Travel to Morocco, China and the Philippines via these delicious tea-based cocktails that I have painstakingly (wink) tinkered with and tested.

Let your summer out early with these colors and flavors and ENJOY!
(and leave a comment if you have suggestions on the recipes)

Moroccan Mint Marteani

travel inspiration: Morocco

For the tea:
5 cups water
4 bags of black tea
4 tablespoons brown sugar
Bring water to boil and then add the tea and brown sugar. Let tea cool, then transfer it to the refrigerator to cool completely.

For the cocktial:
4 ice cubes
16 fresh mint leaves
2 cups tea
2 tablespoons Rose’s lime juice
1 cup vodka
Shake ice and mint leaves in a cocktail shaker for a minute or long enough to bruise the mint. Add remaining ingredients and shake. Pour into glass and garnish with lime and fresh mint sprig. makes 3-4 drinks

Green Tea Fizz

travel inspiration:  China

For the tea:
Brew a pot of green tea (I used FAUCHON‘s Le Jasmin Chung Hao). Sweeten it with honey to taste (I used honey from a local beekeeper). Cool the tea in the freezer until starting to frost (you want this drink icy-cold and refreshing).

For the cocktial:
In each glass, pour equal parts green tea and (also extremely chilled) prosecco. Garnish with a squeeze of cumquat or orange, rub the rim with the rind, and serve with a curled sliver of rind on the rim. makes 6-7 drinks

 

Salabat (Ginger Tea) Mule

travel inspiration:  the Philippines

For the tea:
3 cups water
3 tablespoons brown sugar
5-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced into discs (grate a little bit of it too)
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, then simmer for 10 minutes. Cool tea then transfer it to the refrigerator to cool completely.

For the cocktial:
2 ounces Goslings dark rum
4 ounces cooled and strained Salabat ginger tea
Club Soda
Lime
In a glass filled with ice, add the rum and ginger tea. Top off with club soda, and a squeeze of lime. makes 1 drink

Photography by Laura Moss. Styling by me, Meredith McBride Kipp.

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amerelife.com by Meredith McBride Kipp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

© Meredith McBride Kipp and amerelife.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Meredith McBride Kipp and amerelife.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

DIY Shagreen: Console Transformation


Photo by Laura Moss. Interior design & styling by me, Meredith McBride Kipp.

I found this great console table recently and dragged it home. It’s got great lines and would look perfect covered or lacquered in just about anything (except mauve). I envisioned covering it in real shagreen (j’adore shagreen) but my lack of diamond-tipped tools and experience steered me towards a nice faux alternative (they have alligator, ostrich and other textures too)!

If you dare to DIY—avoir patience! Here’s how I did it:
1. I cleaned the table thoroughly to remove all oils, dirt, etc. Then, sanded the entire table with a fine grit paper (I would go a little heavier next time: the more surface texture you can create the better) and wiped it down with a tack cloth: much better than cleaning again because you don’t want to add moisture to the surface you are about to adhere to.
2. I measured out all my leather pieces (with a little excess) and cut them with scissors. If you’re going to cut the pieces to precise dimensions, I’d use an exacto and cutting mat. If you are using a textured fabric or leather, make sure you center your pattern before you cut your pieces.
3. After stirring the DAP Weldwood Contact Cement (follow the directions well), I poured it into a glass tray (easy-wash surface)—for my mini-roller—and applied it generously to all surfaces of the table as well as the backs of all the pre-cut leather pieces.
4. After letting it “set for over 40 mins”, I attempted to apply all the pieces, but had little to no luck bonding leather-to-table. I went to bed completely irate: for not doing it the easy way from the get go (glue gun, staple gun, heavy duty spray adhesive: my usual). To my surprise and delight,  I awoke to surfaces that actually bonded! They had just needed more cure time. From there it was easy…
5. I aligned and bonded all the leather surfaces and trimmed them with a sharp exacto (always & often change your blades!), using the table itself as my straight-edge. The material cut like butter.
6. I cut the 45-degree angles with a proper metal angle (after learning the hard way on the now “back” of the table) and trimmed off all the excess.
7. I reached out to my leather expert cousin, Ted Kruckel, at Gigi New York (where all of my favorite accessories are from) for recommendations on what to use to finish the edges with. He recommended I use Basic Adhesives for custom-matched leather edge paint. Since I wanted to finish this project asap— so I could share w/y’all immediately— I decided to custom-mix acrylic t-shirt paint instead (same material I’m almost positive), and I painstakingly hand-painted all the edges. This gave it the finished, deluxe look I desired. et Voila: free to fabulous in less than 24 hrs…

Creative Commons License
amerelife.com by Meredith McBride Kipp is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

© Meredith McBride Kipp and amerelife.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Meredith McBride Kipp and amerelife.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.