Tea Quotes

A few tea quotes I've come across and like.

"Would you like an adventure now, or shall we have our tea first?" - Peter Pan

"Tea is liquid wisdom"

"Where there is tea there is hope" -Sir Arthur Pinero

"Drink tea and carry on"

Soho Spice from Yumchaa

When I want to relax and have a quiet tea out of the house I like to go to Yumchaa on Parkway. The atmosphere is just right for sitting and sipping with a book or notepad.

Tea Wall

I really like that they have all the teas out so you can give them a sniff before trying. And their tea wall!

Last time I was there I tried there Soho Spice blend. They describe it as follows: "A spicy and citrusy black tea blend"

Ingredients: Keemun black tea, cloves, almond pieces, orange peel, marigold blossoms, cornflowers, flavouring

Dry Leaf: black curly leaf dotted with blue cornflower. Nice spicy smell.

Liquor: clear orange colour with a hint of light brown. Lovely orange scent with spicy notes of cloves and cinnamon. Reminds me of Christmas punch or mulled wine.

The taste is fresh and bright with a marmalade finish. I quite like it and can definitely see why Yumchaa consider it a winter warmer.

Tea Cocktails

I'm not a big drinker, it's not that I don't like alcohol I just don't find it that interesting or good most of the time. Beer tastes too yeasty and I don't like the harsh burn of most spirits. I do however like Gin and I love tea (see my version of the wonderous Hot Toddy for proof), so I have been happily surprised by the number of pubs that have started serving Tea Cocktails (hot or cold) yet few have actually managed to make something intriguing and tasty.

The first one I had was a Royal G and Tea (Gin and Earl Grey Tea with a dash of lemon and sugar) at The Colonel Fawcett in Camden Town. It sticks in the mind because it was the first Tea Cocktail I had come across outside of my own kitchen, but sadly the tea was not good quality nor properly steeped and honestly the idea was pretty standard fare.

Others trials have regretfully been unmemorable due mostly to lack of imagination. Most seem to think that regular tea with alcohol and sugar added will somehow magically make for an interesting tipple. At best it's soothing. At worst it is a bitter concoction reminiscent of hokey medicinal elixirs.

Then in swoops the Mad Hatter's Tea a wonderful blend of tea, Gin and pink peppercorn syrup. The mix was excellent with no flavour drowned out by the other. I thought the syrup might have more bite but it was sweet and zingy complimenting the Portobello Road Gin well. The tea was good quality and well prepared making the whole a delight to sip.

Mad Hatter's Tea

And the china tea cup was the cherry on top!
I will definitely be going back to the Elk in the Woods and try their other Tea Cocktails and trying to come up with more ideas of my own.

A Tea Plant of my Very Own

So now that I live in the UK I found that I can have a whole bunch of plants in my garden that would have previously perished in the subzero temperatures of Montreal winters.

I thought about all those lovely fresh herbs I could have pretty much year round and then I went and bought three tea plants because hell I can have TEA plants!

I gave one to my mother, who also loves tea and gardening, and the other two I potted up in lovely pale sage pots (I live in a rented flat and want to be able to take my babies with me when I leave) and sat them on garden chairs to stop curious slugs and snails.

So far my little beauts are doing nicely and in 2-3 years I can harvest my own first flush (probably only enough for a cup or two) and make my own tea!

I still haven't bought the herbs.

If you want tea plants of your own and live in the UK I suggest checking out Tregothnan's shop here as they make not only very good tea, but are one of England's first commercial tea plantations.

Jing Organic Dragon Well Green Tea

My mom found this tea in her guest room and decided that it was left by some family member or friend as a thank you gift. I've of course claimed it as mine own, my precious, and have proceed to drink pot after pot of the stuff.

Jing Organic Dragon Well Green Tea

Dry Leaf: long, flat and vibrant green tending to a darker forest green with hints of yellow-gold. Has a sweet fresh cut grass smell with a slight saltiness (I included a dry leaf picture from the JING website as my shot is not very clear).

Wet Leaf: pale green-yellow leaves and stems, uncurled and showing rough chopping. Malty scent with hint of seaweed, fish and iodine. Light butter tones.

Liquour: Clear pale lemony colour. Light smells of cut grass and steamed sweet chestnuts. Smooth almost oily texture with a cooling effect on the tongue when exhaled. Sweet herbaceous flavours with slight chestnut, butter and cream.

A good soothing tea with comforting flavours for those moments you want to prolong, like watching your favourite movie in flannel pyjamas.

Hot Toddies

'Tis the season for runny noses and sore throats.

Knock on wood, I've been fairly lucky so far and have only been blowing my nose constantly, however that hasn't prevented me from indulging in my favourite cold cure - the hot toddy.

My grandmother used to give me these soothing beverages whenever she was called upon to care for me during a bout of winter illness. Her version was simple: black tea, squeeze of lemon, and honey...
It wasn't until I was a teen that I realised adults got a more restorative variation of the drink with alcohol in it (usually rum, whiskey or gin).

I know that many make hot toddies with hot water only, but I have to say I quite enjoy the extra added flavour and relaxing qualities that tea brings to the mix. Also it's much better if making a virgin toddy as hot water with lemon, honey and spices just doesn't seem to soothe in the same way. So here is my recipe.

Tea toddy
- 1 cup black tea (I usually use Earl Grey as I always have a lot about and I like the way the bergamot flavours pair with the other ingredients)
- Squeeze of lemon (fresh or not either works) to your taste (I like bitter flavours so use half a lemon)
- 1 teaspoon of honey
- 1 teaspoon roughly chopped ginger
- 4 cloves
- Optional - 1 shot gin (I'm a gin lover and find it goes really well with the Earl Grey, but you can use whiskey or rum instead)

Just toss all the ingredients into your cup of tea and give it a quick stir. You can strain the spices out but personally I think the longer they're in there the better.


Check out this more traditional tea-less toddy.
Felicity Cloake's Perfect Hot Toddy

English Bell China - Shore & Coggins Longton

    Bought four of these little beauties at a secondhand store for a steal. They are the latest addition to my tea cup collection... well they would be if I had my collection with me here in the UK, so I guess they are really standalones until all my tea cups can be reunited. I miss them so. My teapots too. I have some empty bookcases they would brighten up. Ah well till then I'll just have to sip my tea, pinky up of course, from these English Bell China tea cups by Shore & Coggins or Longton.

A little history on the china:
    Shore & Coggins Limited produced these in their High Street Works, Longton, Stoke-On-Trent. Couldn't find the place, but there is the Gladstone Pottery Museum in an old Potteries, apparently the last complete Victorian Pottery factory in the UK. Must go have a look sometime.

    Back to Shore & Coggins. Their firm dated back to 1887 when it was J. Shore and Co. but in 1905 a new partnership lead to it being renamed Shore, Coggins & Holt, this only lasted 5 years and then Holt vanished and they became Shore & Coggins Ltd. The works closed in 1966.
The stamp on my cups puts them between 1930-1936.