Saturday, June 11, 2011

Tea Travel Set

I know you are all dying to hear about tea in Paris, but you have to be patient for a while longer! Sorry! There are several utensils that I want to talk about, utensils to take with you when travelling. The first of these is a tea travel set. Ever been on holiday and craved for a really good cup of tea, starred at the two stale teabags in the hotel room and not known what to do. There are of course multiple ways round them and believe me I’ve tried them all. Take your teapot – too large, put leaves directly in the cup – tea will be too bitter, take an infuser basket – doesn’t fit the cup.
Here is the solution. When travelling I take with me a tea travel set consisting of a Gawain and a cup.

You can also buy these with multiple cups if there are more of you. Not everyone is a sado like me that likes their won company! Brewing in a tea travel set works in the following way: You put the tea in the Gawain and fill it with water and brew for the desired time. I use a large amount of tea and brew it for several short infusions.

This particular set comes from East Teas. (See link section for their web page) I also own another of these sets, also from East Teas, slightly smaller but more ornamental. Both these tea sets are individually made by small artisan producers.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Jane Pettigrew - Lady of Tea

During the first year of running her teashop she was asked to write a book of tea-time recipes which was the start of a long career as writer and lecturer on tea events. She also advices hotels and other food establishments on tea.
'TEA CLASSIFIED' (in the US published as 'The New Tea Lover's Companion')
Design For Tea (Publisher: Sutton)
The Tea Lover’s Companion (Publisher: National Trust and Benjamin Press)
Afternoon Tea (Publisher: Jarrold Publishing)
Traditional Teatime Recipes (Publisher: Anova Books)
The Picnic (Publisher: Jarrold Publishing)
The English Pudding (Publisher: Jarrold Publishing)
A Social History of Tea (Publisher: The National Trust 2001)
Jane Pettigrew's Tea Time (Publisher: Dorling Kindersley 1986)
Time For Tea - A Book of Days (Publisher: Littlebrown 1991)
Tea and Infusions (Publisher: Carlton Books 1999)
Tea (Publisher: Grange Books 1999)