Would You Like An Adventure Now Or Would You Like Tea First-Alice in Wonderland

‘Would you like an adventure now…or would you like tea first’ Lewis Carol in Alice in Wonderland.

Tea can be a mini adventure these days as the choice is growing.

We like to think of tea as a British tradition, but it was our Portuguese queen, Catherine of Braganza (who married Charles II) who initially made tea drinking fashionable, in the 1600s. Whilst it was once a pleasure reserved for the highest ranking people in the land, it has become accessible to all. Another difference between tea when Catherine was queen and tea now, are the options involved. Not only is there a lovely array of blends and brands, but also a choice in how you receive your tea. There are some wonderful brands keeping tea fashionable and interesting. We have spoken to the owners of three such brands.

InfiniTeas is a wonderful new tea company that launched in 2016 and that we discovered in November last year. Starting out as a loose tea brand they have expanded to include teabags and taster sets. Infinitea has a beautiful range of tea; with the fruit, leaves and herbs in each bag clear evidence of the quality of the brand. Having now tried numerous of their teas we can attest to them being beautiful taste and quality. One lucky winner will be finding out as we have a sample of their gorgeous loose Red Berry tea in our March giveaway.

We spoke to owner, Karen, about her lovely, new brand:

How did InfiniTeas tea start?
I have always thought of maybe running my own business …….one day.
Ideas for a tea business were taking shape in my head. Christmas 2015 was a real turning point and with encouragement from family and friends I made the decision to launch a tea business, the time just felt right.

Our lovely sterling silver tea set earrings and hare necklace

Why Tea?
I have always loved to experiment with different teas, there are so many types and flavours. I started blending teas for myself and taking more interest in the health benefits of drinking tea and the amazing flavour variations.
With so many coffee shops popping up I would love to increase the popularity of tea, raising its profile and encouraging people to widen their options by trying something new. Ultimately, I would love to open a tea bar selling an ever changing range of teas on the high street. Watch this space…

Which is your favourite tea?
I tend to have a wide variety of teas on the go, strong tea in the morning, something milder to enjoy in the afternoon and perhaps herbal or fruit infusions later in the day.
My favourites are Darjeeling and Oolong. This week I am drinking a fabulous Oolong that can be infused multiple times so although a little more expensive per gram it is great value as you can use the same leaves to brew 3 times.

Infiniteas Lemon and Ginger tea bag

What is your favourite tea fact?
More tea is drunk in Turkey per person than any other country. Morocco, Ireland, Mauritania and the UK come next.
The British consume 60 billion cups per year (according to the Tea and Infusions Organisation). That’s more than 900 cups a year for every man, woman and child in Great Britain – although we probably all know someone who drinks more than that!

The second lovely tea brand that we talked to was Hoogly Tea, this lovely tea company is based in Brighton. We are lucky enough to start selling their teabags this month. This brand has a Danish background, an English setting and sells a wonderful mix of high quality teabags. Our current favourite is Sparkling White, with its refreshing taste and decadent name, making it a lovely gift or a treat for yourself.

We spoke to Tina about her tea:

When and how did Hoogly Tea start?

Hoogly Tea- Around the Fire

I launched Hygge tea April 2016, then changed the name to Hoogly Tea a few months ago as it’s easier and more fun to pronounce (in Denmark we actually use the adjective of hyggelig, (Hoogly) more in conversation than hygge.  

 Why Tea?

I have always been passionate about tea, Green tea especially, so thought why not create my own blends with flavours I really love, like Marzipan, Rhubarb and Vanilla etc.  Creating a delicious and indulgent experience that has many health benefits. There’s a blend for every moment, kick start your morning with a black tea, one of the green teas is a lovely afternoon drink and a nice calming herbal tea just before bed.

Why Hygge?

Hygge because it’s a big part of my culture and wanted to spread the word outside of Denmark and make people more aware of this concept.  Just by taking a simple thing as tea, creating a comforting ambience and cherishing that moment with others or by yourself.

Talking to these two lovely tea brands made us realise how many teas there are that need tasting. This range of teas is why tea subscription brands like Varietea are such a great addition to the world of tea. Varietea arriving on the tea scene in 2016, means the choice is not only there, but easily accessible. Varietea sends its subscribers a range of tea blends and brands each month. This means they can sample different brands and types of tea; black, white, herbal, fruit, ‘standard’ or a little bit different…

The British tea trend doesn’t seem to be stopping but rather expanding into new realms…so we say embrace it…have an adventure with your tea…and then head of to a new adventure as well.

All of these lovely brands have lovely websites where you can find more about their tea. Personally we start the day on caffeinated and as strong as possible and finish the day with a delicate chamomile or lavender based tea (which we have to hide from the cat…he loves tearing up lavender teabag, only lavender ones though.) Home of Juniper has got a Tea Gift Page; to celebrate tea and to make it easy for you to find a tea gift for someone who you love, who loves tea.