Just the tipple for a dark cold night

Tea package from Golden Tips Tea

I hardly dare open it, this package wrapped in cloth and sewn shut with deft stitches, edges sealed with molten wax. Rarely do such exotic packages reach my door so I want to savour it. Quickly though, I realise that I can either stare at this beautiful packaging, anticipating but never actually seeing what the box contains, or destroy it to reach its contents – hastily, I choose the latter. Such a life lesson already for 2015!

Inside, there is tea sent from India. A bewildering choice is before me but I know what the first brew will be. I breath in the heady aroma – I can almost taste it! The Chai is warming, flavoursome, a quite lovely blend of Assam with just the right amount of cardamom and cinnamon to give sweetness and depth and warmth and comfort. I close my eyes to savour each sip. Well, my dears, it is a dark and cold winters night – what else can a tea girl do?

My huge thanks to Golden Tips Tea who have been very generous in sending tea with their compliments. More reviews to follow.

Read Full Post »

If you find yourself Homesick for Tea in the US

Full of the sense of possibility, of positive “can do”, and wide eyed perfect smiles, the American dream is captivating, nevertheless, it was proving rather tricky to find a decent cup of tea in the good old USA.

Quite by accident, just when I had given up if truth be told, we found it – Tea and Sympathy, it’s name betraying its purpose – a perfect tea sanctuary. The essence of a British tea room found right in the heart of TriBeCa NY city. If you are a Brit in the US who like me felt the need for a feeling of home, this is the place for you. And if the leaf tea alone does not suffice, proper puddings are included too.

Read Full Post »

Tuscan Tea

The heady aroma of Jasmine, fig and olive scent the warm tuscan air. Tall cypress cast their long shadows as I gaze across the landscape. Time is slow in this ancient vista. Why then, dear readers, is not all perfect in Mary Kates’ world? The answer is simple, my dears, and it won’t come as a great shock to those dedicated tea aficionados – it is rather a challenge to find a decent cuppa here. Quite understandably, I will go to extraordinary lengths to have a nice proper cup of tea.

Fear not for my sanity though dear readers, for my tea has travelled with me. I boil bottled water to brew my leaves, after all, the water makes a huge difference to taste, and through ingenious use of a jug – there is a desperate lack of a tea pot – I have managed to create rather a splendid cup of tea. After all, what is a holiday without being able to sip a splendid cuppa.

Tuscany is beautiful – their tea is truly terrible – so I cannot help thinking there is an opportunity here. At this point in time however, when traveling to a country that prides itself on the quality of its’ coffee, Tea with Mary Kates’ advice is to be prepared!

Read Full Post »