East Frisia: Tea Drinking Capital of the World

On our way to Berlin, where we have been spending the summer, we decided to take a little detour for a few days. After some consideration we chose a place that can quite rightly call itself the tea capital of the world. No, we didn't detour via Turkey or Morroco, but East Frisia. Where, I hear you ask? If like me the most you knew about Frisia was that it was somewhere that produced a lot of black and white cows, prepared to be amazed.

Taste test: Premium Everyday Teas

I've been struggling with what to call or how to classify this blog post. In truth these teas don't necessarily have a lot in common (price per cup ranges from 3.2p to a whopping 27.7p) but none of them are the standard big four - recently reviewed by me - and all of them are well-known and readily available in supermarkets and the like. Similarly none of them are loose-leaf choosing instead to offer their tea in convenient bags. These are the teas you might choose when you want the convenience of a teabag but think you'd like something with a bit more finesse than the average cuppa.

Taste Test: Everyday Teas

I realise I am in a fairly small minority in that I always drink premium loose-leaf tea. Despite loving a cup of splosh I only tend to drink one or two cups a day so I figure that it's worth spending a bit extra to ensure they're of a really good quality. But for many people the supermarket is where they do their tea-shopping and I can't deny that for a famously tea-loving country like Britain, teabags are where it's at.

Coffee: Going Over to the Dark Side

I have an admission to make: just lately I have been drinking more coffee than tea. This came about for a variety of reasons, the most important of which was our summer trip to the midwest of the United States. I have always drunk coffee (albeit decaf for some years due to boring health reasons) but have generally favoured an espresso with various milk options: a latte; a cappuccino; a Milchkaffee; whatever the local variety happens to be. I drink one of these most mornings but at other times of the day it just feels like too much milk.

A Kettle For The Perfect Cuppa

Right back when I started this blog I wrote about water temperature and how important it is to get it right when making different cups of tea. Ever had a really bitter tasting cup of green tea? Chances are you've scalded the leaves. It's one of those things that sounds like it's just for people who are a little too serious about their tea-making (really, moi?) but it's actually something that anyone who drinks anything other than good old black tea needs to remember.

Another thing I feel pretty strongly about is the quality of the water. Living in a hard-water area (as many of us do) I always use a water filter - both for drinking cold and for making tea. This is not just to avoid de-scaling the kettle on a monthly basis but also because the tea just tastes much better with filtered water. So when I was contacted recently to ask if I'd be interested in trying a Morphy Richards water-filtering kettle, I was really excited to give it a try; especially as, due to the hot and cold water pipes being too close together somewhere in my house, I've a rather complicated system involving my filter jug and various glass bottles that ensures I don't have to run the tap for 2 minutes before I can pour myself a drink of cold water. Anything to simplify my water-processing/tea-making situation sounded like a good idea.

Tea on the Go

For many of us, Christmas means a lot of time spent driving between relatives delivering Christmas cheer and indulging in one-too-many mince pies. One of the worst things about being on the road is drinking horrid machine coffee from a paper cup; I mean, I don't even consider drinking takeaway tea in those circumstances as, although I love a good cuppa, I'd rather avoid tea altogether than drink an underwhelming cup. I guess I'm just not one of those "can't live without tea types"; I find it relatively easy to give it a miss if there's only a disappointing bog-standard tea on offer.

The Ultimate Green Tea

Whist having a Twitter chat with blogging chum Caroline, No recently (gosh aren't we modern and multimedia) I realised it has been quite some time since I wrote a purely tea-based post. I have to admit it, delicious cakes can sometime overshadow the humble cuppa in my posts, but never in reality: cake is massively diminished without a great cup of tea to go with it.

A Dangerous Mug Obsession

 During our recent move Coffee Boy insisted that I get rid of some of my enormous collection of mugs. I was horrified at the suggestion. What? Give away that 25p IKEA mug I bought for work eight years ago? No way! But on arrival at our new house I had to admit that the drinking vessel situation had got a little out of hand.

A Greener Start to the Day

This morning as I walked, still bleary-eyed, into the kitchen, I was hit by a horrible realisation: we had run out of milk. Although this didn't pose a major problem for breakfast - fruit, yoghurt and granola is my preferred option at the moment - it did mean I couldn't start the day with my usual cup of tea. In the old days I used to like a latte first thing in the morning, but over the past few months I find I just can't wait for that first cup of lovely, refreshing tea. A fairly strong black tea with milk is now, definitely, my preferred way to start the day.

The Purple Palace

I was wondering through Covent Garden, enjoying the Christmassy buzz, recently when I decided to pop into the Tea Palace shop. Before their Westbourne Grove cafe and shop closed down I had a very enjoyable afternoon tea there so was keen to see how the new place compared. I have to admit I was really shocked that the previous place had shut. It was very busy when I went there and whenever I passed it seemed to be fairly packed. The afternoon teas on offer were also pretty pricey so I assumed they were making a packet. But given their decision to close, and subsequently open a retail shop - without a cafe - in the centre of town, I suppose I was wrong.

An Ulterior Motive

It is a fact that Coffee Boy is an excellent present buyer. He always buys me really great gifts, and I never have to drop any heavy hints. I realise I am very lucky to have such a thoughtful partner but this year I suspect there was a fairly strong ulterior motive to the birthday present he got me: a cupcake making course. I was really pleased that he had not only come up with an original pressie but that he had done his research and found a highly recommended place that offered the course. Having finished my latest project recently I finally got a chance to go along to Cakes 4 Fun in Putney this week.

Come Over to Keemun

Regular readers will know that I have never claimed to be a tea expert, just a very keen enthusiast. My tea education is a constant source of pleasure and excitement and a recent discovery is no exception. I love all sorts of tea but if it's first thing in the morning, or I'm having a slice of cake, it has to be black tea. I have a few blends that I really love but if I'm going pure I generally stick to a malty Assam or a refreshing Darjeeling. Indian black teas are where it's always been at for me. If I'm in the mood I do like a Lapsang Souchong but on the whole I've always found black teas from China to be a bit lacking in depth for my taste.

A Beautiful Boîte

I have to admit to a secret longing. It's been nine months now and I feel I have to come clean. At the beginning of the year I was visiting friends in the Czech Republic and whilst hanging out in their kitchen I spotted a gorgeous tea tin that had come from shop in Paris. It was a lovely flat oval shape and when you pulled back the sliding lid, there beneath it was another lid which you pulled off using a little handle. I didn't even try the tea inside but the tin lodged there in my psyche just waiting for a chance to assert itself.

A Rare Treat?

I was recently shocked and embarrassed to discover that not only was there a mail order tea company I hadn't heard of but that it had actually won the award for best online retailer in the UK's Observer Food Monthly Magazine. Suitably ashamed I decided I needed to check out the Rare Tea Company forthwith.

China Tea from a Russian Shop in Paris

I was recently invited to dinner by a friend who is an amazing cook. Needless to say I was quick to accept the offer, not least because she is also a tea fan and I knew she'd have something interesting for me to try. Well, she didn't let me down. She had made the most amazing Asian food with dim sum, noodles, gyoza, pak choy, tofu and an absolutely delicious mango dessert. And the tea offering was pretty darn good too.

Hot or Not?

I was enjoying a cup of white tea yesterday when it occurred to me that I haven't written explicitly about water temperature. The more tea-savvy among you may know all about this, but I suspect there's a good chance that some of you don't realise just how important it is to use water at the correct temperature when making a cuppa.

Smell Over Substance?

Why are most fruit and herbal teas so disappointing? They promise so much with their heady aromas and intense colours but when it comes to drinking them they are usually a big let down.

Embrace the Blues

When my partner bought me a tea tasting day as a birthday present last year I was really excited. Although I was no regular tea drinker I had been to my fair share of tea shops, and even one or two Chinese tea houses; I was really looking forward to learning a bit more. But I was in no way prepared to discover a whole new type of tea. Of course I'd heard of green tea; white tea? - sure I'd even tried it; black teas? - well obviously, didn't we all grow up with them at home? But blue tea?- what?! When the Master Tea Blender gave it its other name, oolong, I realised I had heard of it but I really had no idea what it was.