My friends and family would probably say I have a strange obsession with tea; I’d call it healthy enthusiasm. I’m always on the lookout for new teas and paraphernalia: teacups, pots, tea cosies –anything to do with tea really – I am utterly besotted! Last summer I found many a gorgeous teacup in various bric-a-brac shops, markets and car boot sales.
Travelling always presents the best tea shopping opportunities. In Istanbul’s fragrant markets, vendors sell all types of teas, from sweet and sour hibiscus to aromatic rose hip, piled high in their stalls.
I was in Paris earlier this year and while wandering the beautiful Parisians streets one afternoon, I was absolutely delighted to stumble across the most gorgeous little teashop; ‘Kusmi Tea’.
The Aladdin’s cave of tea was stocked with everything from Earl Grey and green tea with orange and cinnamon, to tangy fruit tisanes and spicy chocolate tea.
Tealeaves were kept in huge labelled tins, scooped out and weighed for purchase. Stacked on shelves in an array of bright colours, were beautifully packaged smaller tins containing delicious flavours making an ideal little present for any mum or auntie.
After wandering around the shop and sipping several sample cups, I finally decided on a gift set called 'The Moments’ which included five different flavoured teas in adorable coloured tins complete with an infuser and a box of delicate hand-made Chinese green tea flavoured with orange, cinnamon, liquorice and sea-buckthorn muslin tea-bags, all packaged up in a colourful paper bag, adorned with prints of the tea labels within it: all in all, positively frame-worthy.
Since returning I have found the kusmi tea website and enjoy getting my tea fix with an online order. I now savour a delicious cup of tea daily, alternating between my vast collection of vintage teacups.
· Also available: ‘Ten poems about Tea’, at www.candlestickpress.co.uk.
Georgina Davies
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