Some readers may already be aware of the delicious teas – Bilbo Baggins Breakfast Blend, Gandalf the Grey Herbal Tea and Hobbit Meadow Mint Herbal Tea – available from Mint Brook Meadow Teas. Our good friends there are supporting The One Expected Party and providing tea bags for our Afternoon Tea Buffet! We recently caught up with the folks at Mint Brook Meadow Teas to find out more about their adventures in Middle-earth tea making; here’s what they had to say:
Tell us how Mint Brook Meadow Teas got started.
Mint Brook Meadow Teas began when two dairy farmers were looking for a way to supplement their income because the price for milk continued to drop. People have always loved to make tea from the mint that grows wild along the creek banks here in Ohio, and they decided to see if there was a market for it commercially. The idea gradually caught on in local markets and the line was expanded to include blends of other herbs as well as black and green tea.
What made you decide to create ‘Hobbit Teas’ – have you always been fans of Middle-earth?
The dream for Hobbit tea was born when the director of the company, Dante Tropea, had the opportunity to hear the music of Howard Shore performed in Cleveland Ohio. He has been a fan of Lord of the Rings and all things Hobbit since his childhood, and thought it would be fun to be involved somehow. His creative gears started turning and he thought if there was anyone who could provide a quality tea worthy of Hobbits it would be a tea farmer. And by the way, we would love comments at our website www.hobbittea.com as to how other people first came to love The Hobbit. Please let us know.
What makes your teas particularly ‘hobbity’?Do you think the inhabitants of the Shire would enjoy your teas?
Our Hobbit tea line includes mint as well as other herbs, which we grow here on our farm. As you know, hobbits are fond of all things grown in the earth and they love to work in their fields and gardens. I think the habitants of the Shire would really enjoy having a cup of Hobbit tea for breakfast and second breakfast and all throughout the day!
Would hobbits approve of your business style? (Do employees stop for second breakfast?!)
We are in the middle of Amish country, which is not that different from Hobbiton, so I think the hobbits would feel quite at home if they should ever stop in! Our favorite part of the business is farming, which I think the hobbits would find very agreeable. The employees do enjoy stopping for a “second breakfast” of tea and pastries on occasion!
You have some lovely artwork on your boxes – can you tell us about the artist and the design?
The art on our boxes is not the work of just one artist, but rather a compilation from a number of young art students who love Middle-earth as much as we do.
Do you think the Professor himself would approve of your teas?
We can only hope. If there is any of our teas a ‘good English person’ should like, I think it is our Bilbo Baggins Breakfast tea. This is a black tea with orange peels and cinnamon. [greendragon says, as a Brit and fervent tea drinker, I can confirm that the Bilbo Baggins Breakfast Tea is superb!]
Do Mint Brook Meadow Teas make other teas besides the Hobbit Teas?
We are planning to expand the line of Hobbit teas in the near future. Any suggestions for new blends? You can send us ideas at info@mintbrookmeadows.com
Thanks to our friends at Mint Brook Meadow Teas for supporting The One Expected Party! It’s not too late – buy your ticket here! And you can order teas to go with your second breakfast – or elvenses, luncheon, dinner, supper… – here.
Feeling the need to celebrate The Hobbit and its Oscar nominations (and wins!) by buying some goodies? Get on over to The Hobbit Shop – where they are offering free shipping on all orders, no minimum, now through Saturday 23rd! Click here to visit the shop!
Only days away from the Tolkien event of the year and we are pleased to announce our latest sponsor for ‘The One Expected Party’ – Sideshow Collectibles! Sideshow is not just a long-time friend of TheOneRing.net, they are also manufacturers of some of the best Tolkien related collectibles available!
Sideshow Collectibles
More than 15 years ago, Sideshow Collectibles embarked on a mission of connecting people with their favorite icons from the worlds of film, television and comic books. This innocent quest has since blossomed into a unique celebration of popular culture, made possible by a worldwide devoted community committed to the art and lifestyle of collecting.
Sideshow Experience is an insight into our travels, a showcasing of creative endeavors, personal expression, and meaningful relationships developed through this unusual journey.
Sideshow is pulling all the stops to help support our event. From loaning us a life-size troll, Gollum and a few other decorative pieces, they are also generously donating some extremely unique collectibles for our silent auctions and giveaways. We mentioned previously the Artist Proof Balrog, but we are now also pleased to announced a few other hand signed pieces of fine art: Gandalf On Gwaihir Over Helm’s Deep Artist Proof by Alan Lee (signed by Alan Lee, Richard Taylor, and Ian McKellen); Barad-Dur by John Howe (signed Richard Taylor, Peter Jackson and John Howe); and Rivendell Artist Proof by Alan Lee (signed by Richard Taylor, Alan Lee and Peter Jackson). Yea – those are some impressive pieces and available at the party!
Tickets are still available to the public, so don’t miss out! This will be one party you simply cannot miss!
Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is leading this years Saturn Awards with nine nominations announced overnight. Nominees include Peter Jackson up for Best Director, Martin Freeman for Best Actor and Ian Mckellen for Best Supporting Actor.
Complete list of nominees:
Best fantasy film:
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
LIFE OF PI
RUBY SPARKS
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN
TED
Best actor:
CHRISTIAN BALE, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
DANIEL CRAIG, SKYFALL MARTIN FREEMAN, THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
HUGH JACKMAN, LES MISERABLES
JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT, LOOPER
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, KILLER JOE
Best supporting actor:
JAVIER BARDEM, SKYFALL
MICHAEL FASSBENDER, PROMETHEUS
CLARK GREGG, THE AVENGERS
JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES SIR IAN MCKELLEN, THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
CHRISTOPH WALTZ, DJANGO UNCHAINED
Best Director:
WILLIAM FRIEDKIN, KILLER JOE PETER JACKSON, THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
RIAN JOHNSON, LOOPER
ANG LEE, LIFE OF PI
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
JOSS WHEDON, THE AVENGERS
Best Production Design:
CLOUD ATLAS
ANNA KARENINA
LIFE OF PI
DARK SHADOWS THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
LES MISERABLES
Best Music:
LIFE OF PI
FRANKENWEENIE
ANNA KARENINA
SKYFALL THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
Best Costume Design:
ANNA KARENINA
CLOUD ATLAS
DJANGO UNCHAINED THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
LES MISERABLES
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN
Best Makeup:
CLOUD ATLAS
HITCHCOCK THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
THE IMPOSSIBLE
SKYFALL
TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN, PART 2
Best Visual Effects:
THE AVENGERS
BATTLESHIP THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY
JOHN CARTER
LIFE OF PI
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN
The Saturn Awards, is compiled by officials from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, winners will be announced at a Hollywood ceremony in June (13).
Weta Digital is nominated for Visual Effects for its work on “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” That means co-founder Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White could all be walking away from the Academy Awards ceremony this Sunday with golden statues. And the competition comes in the form of more folks at Weta Digital for work on “The Avengers,” and “Prometheus.” “The Life of Pi,” and “Snow White and The Huntsman,” are in the mix as well. Pundits say it comes down to Hobbit vs. Pi. Whatever the outcome, Weta Digital has had a pretty astounding year and with the warm glow of Smaug on the horizon, 2013 looks promising as well. You probably knew all that but what you may have missed are the terrific reels Weta Digital has available to help viewers (and maybe voters) understand what went into the creatures, environments and characters it created for the first of three Hobbit films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s 75-year-old children’s book.
One of the six showcases on YouTube, “VFX of The Hobbit: Fantastical Creatures & Lands of Epic Beauty & Darkness,” something of a highlight of all the videos, has been watched more than the rest but for anybody who loves cinema, loves the Hobbit film, technology or visual effects, the whole collection is outstanding. And so, we present them all below, embedded in one place for your viewing pleasure.
VFX OF THE HOBBIT: FANTASTICAL CREATURES & LANDS OF EPIC BEAUTY & DARKNESS
Once again it has been a long time since I posted in this series, but what with the run-up to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure and the reaction to it, TheOneRing.net has been a busy place, and now we’re coming up on The One Expected Party on Oscar night! But I’ll delay no longer.
In the first entry I recalled getting the permission to interview the filmmakers and going down to start my work, back in September-October of 2003. The second one dealt with my first interview and tours of the Three Foot Six office building and the Stone Street Studios. Now, more of the facilities I visited.
The Film Unit
My third full day in Wellington was Wednesday, October 1. Melissa Booth called and said I could come to the new Film Unit building to meet Barrie Osborne. He, as I cannot stress often enough, was the one responsible for getting me New Line’s permission to interview the filmmakers for my book. This meeting, though, wouldn’t be for an interview. (I interviewed Barrie twice for the book, first a couple of weeks later and again during my third Wellington visit in December, 2004.) He was driving out to the old Film Unit facility that afternoon to give the people working there, sound mixers, editors, and other post-production crew members, a pep talk.
As most readers know, the race to finish The Return of the King was on by that point, and a lot of people were working long hours. I was told that Barrie often gave these pep talks, and the filmmakers really appreciated them; it was part of what gave the production that feeling of being one big family. I could at least introduce myself to Barrie and ride with him to the Film Unit; the half-hour drives there and back would allow us time to talk about my project. Continue reading “Researching The Frodo Franchise: Part 3, Places Full of Magic”
Some readers may already be aware of the delicious teas – Bilbo Baggins Breakfast Blend, Gandalf the Grey Herbal Tea and Hobbit Meadow Mint Herbal Tea – available from Mint Brook Meadow Teas. Our good friends there are supporting The One Expected Party and providing tea bags for our Afternoon Tea Buffet! We recently caught up with the folks at Mint Brook Meadow Teas to find out more about their adventures in Middle-earth tea making; here’s what they had to say:
