Last week, Lady Devotea and I found ourselves at an afternoon tea. Not a big surprise, it’s somewhat of an occupational hazard for us. We were surrounded by members of The Bonnet Squad. Now, it is traditional to describe people who are so incredibly lost in the world of Jane Austen as “Janeites”, but quite frankly, […]
Having a delightful afternoon tea with friends is of course, the ultimate way of enjoying a Sunday. Of course, some people might say “But Lord Devotea, my idea of enjoying a Sunday is on a motorbike driving like an idiot on dirt roads / attending some sports / visiting a leper colony / being chained […]
I have a passport that says I have never been to India. However, standing in a confusion of sounds and sights that suggested otherwise, we soaked up music, dialects, scents, the sound of blaring car horns and parping motorbike horns, rows of saree shops and grocers with spices piled high. Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam all combine to […]
It is obligatory, when travelling, to enjoy an afternoon tea. Admittedly, it’s not always easy. If you’re in London, it’s easy to find. The Australian Antarctic Territory, not so. Most places are somewhere in between, and Penang certainly is. The afternoon tea to be had in Georgetown is that at the ‘1885’ tea room at […]
Well, here we are in Penang, Malaysia, and I spent yesterday drinking plenty of tea. My Lady and I had decided to get a good night’s sleep (you can translate that as ‘arrived near comatose’ if you like) and so my first tea -a Finbarr’s Revenge from our own supply- got things cracking for me […]
I’ve pinched the title of today’s blog from a favourite David Bowie track. But only the title – the festival we attended yesterday wasn’t free. Not in money terms, although it was free from many of the things in Mr Bowie’s song, such as flocks of hippies and rampant LSD use, but then it’s not the […]
A weekend in Sydney is often fun, particularly if you mix business with pleasure. And in the tea business, business IS pleasure. We flew to Sydney last week to catch up with our friend Julia. At World Tea Expo 2013, we met Julia, and it’s fair to say that Lady Devotea and Julia hit it […]
Some random person on Facebook said the other day in my direction: “I guess Christmas Day gives you a break from drinking all that tea”. What? That’s the most inaccurate thing since Keanu Reeves had “actor” put on his passport! Christmas Day is about having those people you are closest to around you. It’s not […]
I get asked a fair few questions on Quora along the lines of: What are the side effects of Green Tea? To save wasting my valuable time, I’ve decided to offer one comprehensive answer to the question, and hopefully this means that all those people who apparently can ask questions on Quora but can’t actually […]
Something has got up my nose. Not exactly a new thing, really: Over the years, I’ve endlessly ranted about various things, and this is just the latest. Not the least, not the greatest, just one more way the world has failed to meet my expectations. I’m talking about “High Coffee”. Yes, in case you hadn’t […]