Friday 22 June 2012

A Love......




I Tea




I just love it. I drink copious amounts each day.

I do like a coffee nestled somewhere in the day, but tea is my biggest love.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I grew up in a household where tea was made in a cup. A teabag plonked in each one with a bit of milk. A teapot was rarely used. 

Now, I have always been a fan of the 'teabag plonked in a cup' method. You get your tea exactly to the strength of your liking. Quick, easy, no extra washing up. Simple. I'm no snob.

No one I knew actually liked using a teapot. You could never get it to the right strength. First too weak, then too strong. What a waste of good tea!

Tea needed to be instant and I didn't want to faff about getting it.

So, a cup and a teabag it always was.

Coffee, however, was a different matter. There was pleasure in drinking it, but there was as much a pleasure in making it. I got my beloved Francis Francis coffee machine, and the effort required in making a coffee from it, is quite time consuming (well, perhaps not in the grand scheme of things, but when you like your drinks the moment you decide you want one, it is!). I love to take my time over making a coffee. A sort of ritual of finding the perfect cup for the mood, picking the perfect coffee for the mood, slowly getting the machine fired up and listening to it roar.

Yes...there is most definitely a real pleasure dedicated to making a decent cup of coffee.

But.......

I have found that in the last few years, I have started to enjoy using a teapot more. Maybe it was the fact that I had collected many teapots and felt that they ought to be used. 

I only use a teapot when I am on my own though. Mr H cannot stand tea made from a teapot.

I do enjoy setting 15 minutes aside each day to choose a teapot, milk jug and favourite cup of the day. It seems to relax me. When the day is rushing at an alarming rate, to take 15 minutes to settle back down again is bliss.

So, my teapot teas are here to stay. That is as far as I went though with my tea making.......

....that is.......

.....until I found....this.......


The cutest ever tea strainer.

I do have a lovely silver heart strainer, which I adore.....but I use it for fresh ginger infusions in hot water.

I fell head over heels in love with this little strawberry strainer. Just the cutest thing in the world in my opinion. Little things please little minds and all that!

Found in my local Tiger shop.....gosh how I love that shop!

So, I have entered into a new phase of tea making. Out with the bag, and in with the loose leaf!

I am finding I need to add an extra 5 minutes to my special tea making moments, but they are a joy!



Just once a day though. The rest are 'teabags plonked in a cup' moments. I am far too impatent to do it everytime, but I am loving my quality tea time moments!

Ridiculous really, but it makes me happy................xxx









49 comments:

  1. A lovely post! It's so true, isn't it, we do need pretty little things to make us happy :)

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  2. Such a lovely post to get the weekend started. I think it's now the perfect time for a cup of tea.....

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  3. I adore tea too, rarely drink coffee and thoroughly enjoyed this post. What a cute infuser, I see lovely infusers all the time but never really sure how to use them properly, worried the cup will fill with tea leaves :) but you have inspired me to maybe give them a go!
    Victoria xx

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  4. I love that little tea strainer. I think it's a lovely idea to take the time at least once a day to make a proper cup of tea in a tea pot. I'm normally a big tea drinker but currently pregnant and I can't stand the stuff when I'm in this condition. But if last time is anything to go by I know I will be requesting a good strong cup of tea within minutes of giving birth!

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  5. The little things make me happy too!
    I love the pictures always show us!
    Hugs.

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  6. That's the nicest tea strainer I've ever seen! Tea always has to be made in a pot in my house, but family members and housemates over the years have always had the debate as to whether the milk goes in before or after the tea! In any case, that fifteen minutes mid-afternoon where I make a pot and wait for it to brew are the calmest in my day. :) x

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  7. Yes I agree with you wholeheartedly so I'm intrigued by this little straining device thingy! It looks fiddley to use, is it? Very very sweet though and I'm going to have to look up 'Tiger'! :)
    Jess xx

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  8. helloooo lovely i love your tea strainer isnt it just a beaut ;0)xxxx
    i fancy a cuppa now...heehee x thanks for your sweet messages my lovely- you always cheer my soul up xxxx

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  9. Whata gorgeous little tea strainer! I've been hankering after a Francis Francis or a KitchenAid coffee maker. Must win that Lottery! xxxx

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  10. So not ridiculous. I understand totally. I use a pot every time I make tea. I guess that is the way I learned at home. The little strainer is adorable but that tea-cup is GORGEOUS! I'm showing off a pretty tea-cup later today.

    hugs, Deb

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  11. Completely gorgeous...and I (of course) love every word of this. My favourite thing is making a lovely pot of tea in my enamel tea pot (or my little brown one called Bob), choosing a nice blend (sometimes making my own), selecting my favourite recepticle...and supping a nice brew...I'm off to get the kettle on!

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  12. I love your tea story. I feel the same way about my teapots. I should use them, but really I just like to look at them. You made me thirsty for a cup of tea.

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  13. If I had such pretty dishes I can't even imagine how much tea I would enjoy through the day! I love them both too! Although lately I am drinking decaf & it takes half the fun out of it :)

    LOVE that little tea strainer! I think I need to go make a cup of coffee!!! :)

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  14. That is a serious cute tea strainer!!
    Here we use the bags as Hubby only drinks during the weekend when he is at home and I am more of a coffee girl.
    xx

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  15. I love tea also...Coffee once a day..I just cannot seem to get the tea the way I like anymore..What is your favorite tea?

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  16. Tea in the morning, tea in the afternoon... I just love it too. It's such a lovely tea strainer : I ♥ it !

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  17. Fab idea...I need to plan a trip somewhere to visit a Tiger store...none up here:(
    loving your happy tea pics
    Jane xxxx

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  18. I think that is the cutest tea strainer I've ever seen! My Granny used to use loose leaf tea and I always thought tea tasted better at her house. In my student days my flatmate and I would always make a pot (she had the most lovely yellow teapot)usually earl grey, as we both felt it destressed us the most at the end of a long day.

    I agree it's fun making "proper" coffee though (I used to work in a cafe), especially cappuccinos, but I'm a tea girl through and through :)

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  19. It's all about the moment & thats what counts..
    Enjoy you really rather fabulous strainer.

    Lx

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  20. I am loving the cup and saucer, where are they from. I'm into green tea with mint at the moment, it's so refreshing. Love the tea strainer, so cute. Amanda.....x

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  21. I saw that when I "discovered" Tiger - but seeing as I don't even drink tea and my hubby has tea-bags, didn't think I could sneak one in my basket! lol!
    -x-

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  22. What beauties Vanessa and I completely agree with the whole process of making good coffee though with tea I'm still a bag dunker, but it has to be green. It still tastes like tea to me, but is super healthy too. Though no good for dunking biscuits - old good old builders tea will only do that job for me.

    Have a super weekend,

    Nina xxx

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  23. I love tea.I love teabag in a mug and I love loose tea in atea pot.I also love tea in a bone china cup and saucer....I love a cappucino but I had forgotten how much I love real coffee...black and strong...until I read your post.You might want to read my post on cake....lol Anne x

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  24. I love tea and teapot tea especially! I have happy memories of my great auntie making tea with tea leaves and it is always something that I've said I'd like to do but haven't got around to. You have inspired me again to make some proper tea with loose leaves! I think I need to get a pretty cup as well! Rachel x

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  25. What a cute tea strainer! There I was, reading along, and when I came to that picture I stopped dead and stared.

    I love tea, and yes I am primarily a bag-plonker, but I have a small collection of single serving teapots. Those are such fun to use! It feels like something special when I use one of my little teapots.

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  26. I really enjoyed reading this post on tea, and your love for it! So true...sometimes taking the time to enjoy tea in a pot can create a beautiful moment in the day! ♥♥♥

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  27. What a beautiful tea set and strainer! Is the tea set vintage or new? I love tea, and my favorite right now is strawberry tea with cream! Wishing you a beautiful weekend! xo Heather

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  28. It is a little after 1am here..and I have a cuppa right beside me.. I am a fan of the loose leaf tea method, but stick to the bag in cup method most of the time. But bag in the cup has lead to some interesting debates about it's technique... when to pour, how soon after the boil? The boiling temp? Begin with cold? Length of boil.... playing around with different methods has lead to some great cups with the bag...

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  29. I´m curious: which brand of tea do you buy and which type of tea you prefer and how do you drink it, with milk or lemon? Is loose leaf tea stronger than the tea bags? When I was studying in Wales I learned to drink tea, I´m from Mexico. Now I love it but I only find Twinings where I live. I told you I was curious..
    Have a lovely weekend.

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  30. I just found you! Your style is so beautiful and amazing, will come back soon.
    Lovely hugs
    Molly

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  31. I'm so glad I stumbled upon your blog, thanks to Pinterest!! I'll be visiting regularly from now on. Love your "sleeve" tops (envy more like it), they are absolutely gorgeous!! Happy day... from South Africa.

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  32. hey lovely. I love making my coffee as much as drinking it. But I'm trying to wear out my old machine so I can HAVE to buy a spanking new red one I've had my eye on for about 2 years!
    I went off tea after #1 was born and 13 years later am just about getting a taste for it again. And Teawaggon Jane has got me and Cleggy into a chai tea (or a thai chi as my boys call it!)
    I have a tea/coffee post ready to be written - as I'm SEEING things in my coffee sprinkles and need to share in case I'm actually going crazy!
    fee
    giveaway over at mine...

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  33. Lovely post - all enjoyed whilst drinking a cup of Earl Gray in my favourite Cath Kidston mug! I feel I need to purchase a teapot now though.

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  34. Hi, I've recently found your lovely blog and have become your latest follower.

    I'm afraid I'm a coffee girl, do not like tea.. but hubby and son make up for that with the quantities they drink!

    Bye for now
    Julie xx

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  35. Oh cripes! That is well cute. I can't wait for Tiger to hit Bristol.

    It's nice to take a few minutes to get the world to stop spinning occasionally isn't it. I have a thing I do that involves sneaking off for five minutes alone time. I have to have some stillness. When the baby (toddler really) sleeps and the boys are at school I do have a special drink moment but mostly it's just having a cuppa with no distractions rather than a tea ceremony of sorts.

    Missing you on IG. Didn't know you'd posted this one. Saw it on someones side bar. What is going on with blogger?!

    xxx

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  36. Hello Vanessa!
    Thank you for your lovely post on the simple pleasure of making tea - it is something I also like to do, from dunking the quick fix of a teabag to making my own herbal brews. I find it the very act of brewing and then sipping tea very grounding and therapeutic, it is a small window of calm in an often busy world.

    I also love your strawberry tea leaf holder and now have the wanties *smiles*

    Sending you love,
    Julia xxxxxxxxxxxx

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  37. And it makes us happy too :-)

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  38. As a fellow tea-aholic I am with you on both tea bags and also strainers, I have a very similar one to your strawberry but it is a sunflower and makes me smile every day when I use it... so happy to have found your blog and looking forward to seeing many more tea posts in the future...xx

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  39. Such a cute strainer! Gorgeous

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  40. Lovely post, Vanessa! I too love tea, and like it best in a china mug or cup. Love the little strawberry tea strainer very much!!
    Helen x

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  41. I am afraid I don't like tea, or any other hot drinks to be honest, but I love your little strawberry strainer. My husband is totally different he loves tea and can't live without it. Again, love your photos x x

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  42. A kindred spirit! My Love hates how every trip to the grocery store ends up with me bringing home a new box of tea. The last trip he told me to just get 2 boxes so next time we wouldn't have to go down that aisle. The smell of the loose coffee beans makes him feel sick. I usually just put a tea bag in a cup and go from there... Unless I have my 'tea buddy' over. Then we use the teapot. Usually after we've put the kids to bed or in the mornings with our breakfast. We don't get the chance to get together for a pot of tea as often as we used to so when we do I go all out. My current favorite flavor of tea is Lipton's Green Tea Black Currant and Vanilla. Add a splash (or two) of CoffeeMate French Vanilla creamer to your cup and it's positively delicious. If I didn't have my tea the world would be short 2 small minions.. I mean souls ;) (I love my kids to death but some days, I just want to bury my self under all my craft supplies and hide out.)

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  43. Oh lovely blog, I finally got round to looking up blogs from instagram and have found some right crackers today.

    I love tea too but every since getting pregnant I just don't enjoy it very much (this is tres distressing), I still have my morning cup but that's it for the whole day...from five or six cups a day to one...WEIRD!

    xx

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  44. Your post makes me smile today...I am a tea lover...love tea..I too drink ooooooodles a day. But I love love a teapot...have way too many. It is funny the things that make us Happy....our sweet daily joys...off to fill up my tea mug with my steeped tea right NOW! Hugs to you. xoxoxoxo

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  45. Lovely post Vanessa. I am a great tea drinker and it isn't easy to find a decent cuppa tea in a cafe here. However I'm from the old school and prefer a teapot except in the mornings when I fill a thermal mug with tea and keep it beside me while I work on the computer. I like strong tea...I'm a PG tips drinker but for those special occasions... the quiet moments.... a china cup & saucer of Darjeeling and listening to Peer Gynt. I get all sorts of advice thrown at me, such as tea isn't good for you,you should drink less tea,tea is a laxative,tea keeps you awake bla,bla, bla,but I take no notice of any of that and continue to drink tea. I think I am perhaps a tea addict better that than cigarettes,alcohol or cocaine.
    ok cutting this short ...and do you know why....LOL...I need my cuppa tea.

    Amanda :-)
    PS:Love the strainer...very original

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  46. I just wanted to say how much I love your blog with its beautiful and inspiring photos, and that I have nominated you for an award here: http://craftgirl78.wordpress.com/2012/07/05/a-little-drop-of-sunshine/

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  47. Hi,
    I just found your blog. I love it! Your tea cups are sooo cute.
    Your newest follower, Kimberly

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  48. I love cups of tea, your blog is very cute! Look at my blog maybe you like www.asantafelicidade.com

    xo xo

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  49. Oh, how I love tea too! Mostly the teabag in a cup variety .... but I do love to dust off a pretty teapot for a more refined experience now and again :-) ! Love that little strawberry tea strainer - too cute! Just added your lovely blog to my reading list, Bee x

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