Welcome to 'My cup of tea'

This blog is all about the things in which I take pleasure. This ranges from the gentle arts of needlepoint and knitting, the pleasures of a good cuppa, through to the gritty forum of politics and social debate, to telling a good yarn about nothing much in particular - just everyday stuff.

Basically if it is My cup of tea, then I will write about it and share it with you.

I thought a fitting way to commence this blog was with a photo taken in my kitchen of my tea shelf. I love a good brew and this is just a small selection of some of my teas. Probably because of my British heritage I have always enjoyed a robust breakfast brew. And until a couple of years ago I would have the standard splosh of milk in it. Then I went on a diet to lose a great deal of weight (another story for another day) and started to have it black.

My diet was exceptionally strict so I was limited with the black and green teas I was allowed to imbibe (surprisingly if you look closely at the labels of some of the herbal teas in the supermarkets you will find they have all sorts of additives including sugars), but I soon got into a routine of Rooibos for brekkie, usually with a slice of lemon; then I discovered T2’s aromatic Earl Grey, perfect for a mid morning pick me up. Once you have had a decent loose leaf Earl Grey like this one you will never go back to the bags again. And then there was the fragrance of a flowery Chamomile in the early evening (no, no! Not the bags PLEASE!). Truly delish!

When I reached my goal weight I branched out and discovered some other teas which I really enjoy. Among these my favourites are Black Rose, French Earl Grey, both from T2, and one called Stockholm blend which I bought from Queenies, the most divine tea rooms in Brisbane. Stockholm has slight vanilla overtones. All three are black tea varieties, and of course, they need to be drunk black to fully appreciate the nuances of the respective brews.

As an aside here I must give Queenies a plug for the best afternoon teas, morning teas: whatever you fancy. The sarnies are always fresh, fresh, fresh. And the passionfruit sponge? To die for.

I get great pleasure out of making my tea, allowing it to sit and then pouring it into a favourite cup or porcelain mug. I can quite easily see how the Japanese and Chinese tea ceremonies assumed so much importance in their respective cultures. Even the British cottoned on to the pleasure of making and savouring tea with their own afternoon tea rituals.

To me, drinking tea is a simple, gentle, contemplative pleasure in life. There is almost a meditative quality to sipping a really delicious tea, and even in a thoroughly busy day a small ritual like this can give us just the five minutes we need to restore some sanity!

Put the kettle on!