One of my favorite vintage cookbooks was also one of my first purchases on ebay. It's the Grand Union Tea Cookbook from 1903. The pages are browned and crumbling but the text is in great condition and I love reading it. Today I wanted to share some advice for making a tea "cosy".

"A cosey is not hard to make and will last for years. Cut two semi-circles of any material you choose, woolen goods are the best, although silk and satin are often used for fine coseys. The semi-circles should be large enough to allow for seams and to cover the teapot. Cut the lining for the cloth. This is best made with silesia. Sew the lining and cloth together, then wad each side. Cotton batting or wadding will do, but down is better.

Sew the two sides of the cosey together after they are lined. The cosey may be finished with thick cord or left plain. Most elaborate coseys are used for fashionable afternoon teas. They are painted or embroidered in exquisite designs, but they do not keep the teapot any warmer than a cosey made of flannel. Most of the paper pattern manufacturers sell patterns for coseys."

They give instructions for using the cosey as well:

"Let the pot stand on the kitchen table, not on the stove, and cover it with what is known as a cosey or wadded cover large enough to slip over the pot. Let the tea stand just five minutes. Then fill up the pot with boiling water, place it under the cosey again and let it stand, as before, anywhere, except on the stove, for ten minutes. The brew will be perfect, an altogether different drink from stewed tea."

The method they use for brewing is quite different from what I'm used to doing. They warm the pot as usual, but then they add one teaspoon of loose tea per person plus one extra, THEN they add just enough water to make a thick mixture of the leaves and brew as instructed above. It could be the tea they marketed wasn't as strong as English teas.

MORE: Make your own cozy with these easy instructions:
http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/teacozy.html
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