As you may have already guessed, tea is my all-time favourite drink. I drink about 5 cups of tea a day and, whilst that may not seem a lot to some people, I make those 5 cups count!
Lets be British about this – if you’re going to have a cuppa you’ve got to do it properly. None of this milky-as-hell, ten-spoons-of-sugar malarky. And why is the most common type (if it can even be called that) of tea, ‘builders’ tea? Builders have severely gone down in my estimation for drinking copious amounts of awful tea. I find most normal cups of English Breakfast tea down right frightful and often comment that its like drinking mud.
I’m a sucker for a cup of Earl Grey. No milk (I’m lactose intolerant anyway). I don’t understand why people say that Earl Grey is ‘fragrant’ tea, as though it is herbal or fruity. To me, Early Grey is what tea should be. Not heavy, or smokey or fruity, but as though you are walking through the fields of tea leaves in India. It is beautiful, whether drinking a cup in the harsh winter months snuggled up in a blanket or in the summer months when you look outside and just know that its going to be a wonderfully hot summers day.
The other month we were out dining in a wonderful cafe on the South coast. It sold more types of bread than I though possible; sour dough, olive bread, gluten-free, nutty bread, you name it. I ordered a standard cup of Earl Grey tea. & when it came it was quite possibly the best cup of Earl Grey I’ve ever had! We had to look up the tea there and then and it was a surprisingly well-ish known brand; T2.
Whilst I didn’t buy any of the bags of tea on sale that day (there was only a limited display as it was a small cafe), I did buy a stunning little teapot; its my pride and joy! Just look at it! > > >
I love stoneware crockery and, whilst this teapot has a shine, it fits in perfectly. It has a built-in strainer for leaf tea and makes enough tea for 2 cups.
I was then up in Leeds visiting my brother a few weeks ago when we came across an entire shop of T2 tea! It was actual heaven. It was floor to ceiling of more tea than I’d ever seen in my life. Black, white, green and herbal tea in more varieties that you could name. Different takes on the usual favourites, as well as off-the-wall types that smelt wonderful; Mocha strawberry? But then I came across French Earl Grey tea. I was sold. It is the best version of Earl Grey I could ever wish for. It has extracts of mango in it which give it a whimsical, summer morning-whilst-dew-is-still-on-the-grass kind of smell. Needless to say, it was leaf tea and I bought a box straight away. Whilst it was quite costly (£7 for c.40 cups) it is totally worth it. I even bought a little gift set for my dad as his birthday was coming up.
T2 are definitely up there in the tea stakes, which is strange because I believe it is an Australian company and I wouldn’t usually associate tea with that country. Perhaps there are some ex-pats involved somewhere along the way! Either way, T2 can carry on doing what they do best, because there is nothing on the market as exquisite.
I’m cooking a curry at the moment and enjoying a cup of Earl Grey. Later, instead of relaxing with a glass of wine like many people, I’ll be enjoying my French Earl Grey in my cute little teapot!
Happy National Tea Day!
thoughtsovertea.com 