Time For Tea

I never developed a taste for coffee growing up. While friends were sipping cappuccinos and lattes, I was always ordering hot chocolate or Italian sodas at the local Coffee Republic. It wasn't until 1999, when I went to London for a semester, that I discovered tea as an alternate hot caffienated beverage.

They served it to us with milk, and I found that if I added sugar, I rather liked tea. A habit was born.

Over the years, I've lessened the amount of sugar I use to about half a teaspoon (otherwise I might as well be drinking sugared water, and I'm not a hummingbird), and I always add a dollop of milk. This is the proper English way to drink tea, and I find it comforting and refreshing. I still don't drink coffee.

Tea is also an experience. Every time I made a day trip out of Essex in 2004-2005, I would stop at a tea room instead of having a traditional lunch. I've had high tea at the Bath Pump Rooms, a lovely place in York, and the Crooked House Tea Rooms in Windsor, among other places. I've had plenty of paper cups of tea on plenty of BritRail trains. My favorite way to drink tea is in proper china.

Of course, I've collected a nice little stash of cute teacups, teapots, and other accessories. On a daily basis, I have three cups I use: my new one that Mom gave me for Easter, A flowered cup I bought at Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia, and a wonderful cup I bought at the Jane Austen Center in Bath, England.





I have a tea table set up in my living room, with a simple blue pot and a cute blue-and-white striped cup from Ikea. I use these from time to time.


The newest part of my collection is this darling set. Mom and I saw the pattern in Tea Time magazine, promptly swooned, and I got on eBay. Score! I spent way less than I would have ordering from a retailer. Behind it is "Tea With the Bennetts," which I bought during London Semester, and four tins of loose tea which also date from London Semester. This is one shelf from my infamous London Shrine.


In my hutch, I have these two cute displays. One is a blue Wedgewood cup and saucer sitting on a vintage white hankie with blue flowers, and a Blueberry Muffin figurine. The pink and white cup was bought in Utah, and it sits on another vintage hankie with a Strawberry Shortcake figurine. Both figurines are from my childhood, and both hankies belonged to my Grandma Bean.



I have a box of Maple Tea from Canada (I haven't tried it), some of the special blend used at The Empress Hotel in Victoria (I had High Tea there in 2005--marvelous!), and some gorgeous little tea sugars. The tiny jar of jam is also from The Empress--I kept it because it is an Essex jam. I lived in Essex County when I taught in England, and I even used jams from Tiptree from time to time, so this is a little piece of nostalgia.






In addition to having its own blend of tea, The Empress has its special china design, which can be purchased in the tea store there. I visited Victoria first; a few weeks later, Mom and Dad went, and Mom bought me this teacup, knowing I'd like to have it for my collection.


The first time I went to Victoria (a three-day Spring Break trip), I drooled over this marvelous Big Ben teapot (it's only about six inches tall). I didn't buy it. A couple of months later, I went back on a one-day field trip with my sixth grade students, and nothing was stopping me from buying it.


When I moved into my apartment in Antioch (in 2006), Mom gave me the smaller of her two china hutches. Even better, she gave me Grandma Bean's china to put in it. Mom had it lovingly packed away in boxes for years after Grandma passed away in 1994, and knew she'd never have the room to display it. I love having it--I still miss Grandma all these years later, so having something that was so special to her is lovely. The set has cups, saucers, a creamer and a sugar pot, which I once used for serving tea to my friend Miz Minka.


A few years ago, Heather gave me this gorgeous blue and white teapot as a housewarming gift. It is huge, and perfect for serving tea for two. Sometimes, on a lazy Sunday, I pull it out and make enough tea to last for hours. I haven't done this in a while, though. I'll have to fix this as soon as possible.


I've never actually used this, but I do love my tea diffuser from the popular English chain, Whittard's.


I love my Tea Time magazines and books. I haven't done a nice tea for a friend in a long time--another thing I must remedy!



...And, being me, I even have a Snoopy teapot. This one is just a cheapie found at WalMart, but it's still adorable. I keep it with my Snoopy collection.


Tea is so much more than a hot beverage. It's one of life's pleasures.