Tuesday Tea Tasting You'll rarely find me drinking a green tea. I'm just not that into it. But I like to keep trying and always love to be pleasantly surprised. And so it was with Rare Tea Company's Whole Leaf Green Tea. Their cute little caddies contain instructions helping me realise where I've been going wrong all these years - I like my tea light and sweet and so this green tea really doesn't need much brewing time. Just a quick minute to infuse for a tasty, refreshing cuppa. (My fault for...
Last weekend, myself and many other designer makers were invited to Liberty's British Open Call. A chance to show the Liberty buyers your products and get their valuable advice. It was interesting and eye opening but ultimately cold! After a ridiculously warm winter, England suddenly turned freezing and it happened to be that day that I was stood outside Liberty queuing with other designers...for 4 hours. It's over a week later and I've just about thawed out!! So after meeting the lovely Bryony...
If you live in Richmond...lucky you! Not only because of the park and the Thames but also because of the abundance of tea. If you don't live in Richmond...it's time to visit!
Tuesday Tea Tasting Hello healthy tea drinkers...this one's for you! Who knew caffeine free tea could be so beautiful? Tea Time is a tea subscription service that use no sugar or additives, no flavourings or enhancements and no chemicals: ‘What you see is what you get.' And with 'Four Beautea' what you see are Rose, Chrysanthemum, Osmanthus, Jasmine, Goji Berry. What you get is a light, floral taste, not overpowering but naturally refreshing and cleansing. Delivered weekly or fortnightly, you...
My cuppa at Stephen St Kitchen (part of the Benugo chain and a collaboration with the BFI whose offices sit above the restaurant) reminded me of an article in the BFI's magazine Sight & Sound. Something Brewing, written by Hannah McGill (January 2015), was a great article on how tea, and the drinking of it, is used in film. Geekily I've re-read this a few times as I find it fascinating how the simple cuppa has been used on screen to represent so many things, including status, formality,...
How have I not been here before?! I used to live near it and it’s lovely. Shame on me for not visiting The Tea Rooms sooner because the staff are so friendly (despite being super busy) and it’s a fab, cosy hideaway from the pram-filled pavements of Stoke Newington Church Street, and full of pretty touches like flower-filled teapots. Watching London's red buses pass by, I sipped their house blend which is from Mackwoods Labookellie Estate, Sri Lanka. I passed through that estate on a...
Those who know me will know how much I love this place. It is my first love when it comes to tea rooms due to many lovely memories there, cosy inside on wintery days or sitting in the sunshine in the summer. It has no website, no twitter, no instagram, it remains a vintage classic place for a lovely cuppa and a cream tea. As long as I can remember Blue Willow china patterns have donned the walls and the tables and in the years I've been going there the only change has been a recent extension...
On Hoe Street in Walthamstow, and filled with a pink glow, is Aura Rosa, a cafe & patisserie that draws you in with the sweet smell of baking. They are currently sorting their tea offering, and I shall definitely be returning soon to taste their range of Jenier Teas as the Golden Monkey and Chantilly Cream Chaicha sound delish. So I was one week too early for a good cuppa there, but when your standard English Breakfast cuppa is served with a melt-in-your-mouth macaroon, you can't complain!
Tuesday Tea Tasting: I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to green tea (and so are PG Tips having only launched the range in 2014) so I sent off for one of their samples to give it a try. Green tea can be slightly bitter I think, but PG's was pretty smooth and with Monkey on the label, it did make me smile! And now I want to give other green teas a try as I hear they are loaded with antioxidants and nutrients - so healthy and tasty.
Arlo & Moe is a neighbourhood cafe in Brockley - a lovely South London spot. With its colourful range of retro tables (I love a bit of formica!) it's cosy and inviting and so easy to just while away a bit of time. And I did, with two teapots of Kandula tea. First an English Breakfast - a Ceylon brew with flowery Broken Orange Pekoe leaves and a refreshing Moroccan Mint which is apparently beneficial for your digestive system - lucky as a wolfed down a few of their pastries too!