After another really busy week we needed to slow things down and have some quiet time. For me, the perfect comforting afternoon is definitely with a cup of tea in one hand. I was fortunate enough to inherit both my grandmothers’ tea cups years and years ago, and this inspired me to collect more pretty vintage cups and china.
I am always in disbelief when I pick up an antique tea cup and see just how small the cups were back then, probably because the tea was so precious and expensive.
It’s funny when I think about how different my experience with tea is today compared to my grandmother’s. I don’t think I ever saw her with a mug – it was always a tea cup and saucer. It was a ritual for them, a moment to stop, sit down and drink a cup of tea. I never saw her walking around the house multitasking while drinking her tea. It was expected that everyone in the house would stop, come together, and sit and chat while they slowly drank their tea. It was never a rushed experience.
I always found these daily tea times very calming and the routine of just stopping and enjoying a hot cup of tea together was very reassuring. There was something about it that respected the tea, the grower, the plant, mother nature, the hardworking picker, the drying process and the fact it had travelled half way across the world.
Most days I forget just how much work has gone into one cup of tea. I just throw a tea bag into a huge mug and walk away. I think I actually think more about whether the tea bag is biodegradable (which is of course important), but I don’t actually really appreciate the tea itself.
As a gardener and vegetable grower, I know how much effort it takes to grow produce and I must try much harder to appreciate my cup of tea, not just leave my mug going cold on the side and then gulp it down like it’s a nothing drink.
I need to remember what my grandmother taught me, to take the time to just sit and drink my tea without feeling guilty that I am not on my phone, my laptop or doing three other things at the same time.
Maybe I’ll call it my TTO – tea time out.
These beautiful, organic teas were sent to us by Le The Chic and we featured the Leger Comme Une Plume and Sommeil de Bebe flavours. I tried the Sommeil de Bebe which strikes some powerful apple and citrus notes. Mars loved the Leger Comme Une Plume because it has anise, fennel, liquorice root and nettle, the perfect blend of liquorice flavours.
Enjoy the video below where we brew our delicious teas and I reminisce while looking at my antique tea cup collection.