International Tea Day. Sort of.

This week, International Tea Day occurs. It’s December 15th every year. It’s not a day devoted to drinking copious quantities of  tea – that’s every day. It’s  a day dedicated to thinking about tea workers. So, I was thinking about it yesterday, because here in Australia, Dec 15th is indeed yesterday. I wasn’t thinking about it as well as I […]

Dear Father Christmas

DECEMBER 8th, 1970 Dear Father Christmas I am five and my brother is three and if there were any naughty stuffs done it was johns fault and i want some tea and a bike. Robby Aged 5 DECEMBER 12, 1971 Dear Father Christmas Last year you forgot my bike. Can you remember this time? Also thank you […]

Adventus Camellia Sinensis

THE PREQUEL: I was all a-tinker, In my super secret lab, Whilst Lady D was tasting tea, And rating it as “fab”. Whilst blending nice new teas Are the purpose of the site Often times we try our hand At putting other things to rights The transference of people From comfy point-to-point Cold nuclear fission Or teaching […]

I Sent Scented Sencha to Santa

A post about Sencha? Well, no. Not really. Though a man dressed as Father Christmas once bought some Wild Cherry Sencha from our tea shop long ago and inspired the title, this is a post about words. Two words: One of them is utilitarian, one quite delightful. Seen as interchangeable, but I’d argue against it being so. The first […]

Alright, Listen Up! Tea Sets the Standard…

So, you drink loose leaf tea? Excellent. Not for you that rubbish that comes in bags. You prefer quality, and taste. I fully support you in this. And one thing more we might agree on, is that the ‘convenience’ argument is pretty limp, isn’t it? “Oh, a teabag is soooo much easier than using an infuser […]

Steeping Beauty

If you look at 18th and 19th English tea caddies, you’ll see they have a lock. Often, the key was kept around a trusted neck – the head servant, or even the lady of the house. Tea was (and I think is) a precious commodity. And it wasn’t used only once. I remember seeing a […]

My Kettle Just Heard From My Pot’s Lawyers

In the past, on some occasions, I’ve been portrayed as a person of strong opinions, in various fora. Yes, fora, not ‘forums’ . This is something else I feel strongly about. But I digress. ‘Tea people’ often have strong opinions. After all, if you are the kind of person that stands up against the sort of […]

Tea and The Dawn of History

Here’s yet another blog where I combine tea and history and travel, albeit with quite a misleading title. From this photo, taken from our hotel window this morning, you might assume we are somewhere tropical. Not so. We are in Kingscote, because both Lady Devotea and I have been commissioned to write articles for upcoming editions of […]

Elections and Tea

With all the fuss about the US election of late, I wondered about tea. All that footage of people lining up to vote for hours brings us the obvious questions: Why the big lines? Surely they knew that people would be wanting to vote? And why so few flasks of tea? I guess if you have a two-hour wait, […]

Tea Quotes

Yes, I love Tea Quotes, here’s some.    “While her lips talked culture, her heart was planning to invite him to tea”  ― E.M. Forster, Howards End     “I am so fond of tea that I could write a whole dissertation on its virtues. It comforts and enlivens without the risks attendant on spirituous liquors. Gentle […]

Skip to toolbar