This has been doing the rounds on Tumblr and Twitter and I absolutely love it. It sums up all the good things about tea (even though I can think of so many more – perhaps a special blog post is due!) I especially like ‘it is what you need on a cold rainy day when you are sitting on the sofa with a book’. So true.
Enjoy…
Why tea is magical
What do you think makes tea so magical?
Ever since I saw Twinings were releasing a special loose leaf tea blend to celebrate the Queen’s upcoming Diamond Jubilee, I wanted to try it. Tea is synonymous with Britain, and what better representative is there for our country’s finest drink than official royal warrant holders, Twinings?
(Apologies for the bad quality of the pictures, I used my phone!)
Twinings' Queen's Jubilee tea blend
Teapots aplenty at Teapot Island, Kent
It seems that the quintessentially British teapot is heading towards extinction, as our hectic modern lifestyles mean that most of us struggle to find even five extra minutes to dig out the teapot to make a decent brew.
But British department store Debenhams is so concerned about the threat to teapots, they have launched a campaign for “civilised” tea-drinking. According to them, sales of teapots have halved in the last five years, whereas sales of mugs have trebled in the same amount of time.
What better way to show your patriotism in the kitchen this year than these lovely floral Britannia oven gloves from Lakeland? Use these to serve up afternoon tea cakes for Wimbledon, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics… (the list goes on!)
The info
Lakeland
Britannia floral double oven gloves
£11.99
Available here.
How often do you hear that it’s better to make tea in a teapot? Well it’s true, and sometimes it can be a bit of a hassle to use one when you only want a cuppa for yourself. This Laura Ashley tea-for-one bone china teapot, cup and saucer set solves that problem. And the butterflies are so pretty too. What’s not to like?
The info
Laura Ashley
All A Flutter Bone China Tea-For-One
£15.75 (was £25.00!)
Available here.
I was really looking forward to making these before the Easter weekend. Originally I was going to make Nigella’s Easter egg nest cake but didn’t make it to the shops in time to get all the ingredients, so I used what was already in the cupboard.
I made a mix of vanilla cupcakes with buttercream icing and good old chocolate cornflake cakes to be a little bit different, and also because I just couldn’t decide between the two! I think the contrast when arranged together looks pretty good on my new cake stand. Although my buttercream left a lot to be desired, I definitely need a lot more practice at piping!
Click for the recipes…
