The search for Britains best cuppa tea
Ooodles and oodles of tea, that’s what I drink.
I am addicted to, passionate about and eagerly look forward to oodles of tea everyday. But rarely do I drink the same kind of tea twice in one day.
And why is this important? You might ask. Well, as a parent my time-out is the only independent time I get to regain some sense of self, some part of me that just sits and goes “ahhhhhh”. Since becoming a Mummy I have doubled my love of tea and now appreciate each and every last little drop I manage to get. Some get beautifully made and end up sitting on the sidelines and go cold due to unforeseen toddler interruption but when I manage to drink a cup, it is my short ‘chill out’ in a cup. Drinking tea has become my vice. It is my one grace that I allow myself and sometimes force myself, in the quiet of the day (occasionally around 11.30pm) to have. As a Mummy, it calms, it soothes, it pauses, it warms, it nourishes and it can take me on a ten minute adventure with my eyes closed or with them open, flicking through the latest Marie Claire and dreaming about all the fashion.
Tea can represent the comforts of solitude as well as the pleasure of company.
And this, is why I chose to begin my voyage of discovery and find Britains Best Cuppa Tea!
I have shoped around the world for tea and currently tucked away in my tea chest, tea boxes and tea drawer (I know, I know…its a lot, but trust me, I get through it all), I have tea from France, Germany, Australia and the UK. But my Great British Twinings cup is the least favourite of the lot. I HAVE to find a wonderful tea, here, at home in the Great British Isles. I can not go on paying ridiculous amounts of postage and quite frankly my Dad’s generosity in sending me my gorgeous Aussie Nerada Chai tea is starting to wear thin.
I got curious. Where is the new Great British Tea Brand. Now I don’t mean Twinings, or Whitards. I am talking about more bespoke teas, better quality teas, ones that come in the daintiest tea bags, like little pillows that puff up in your cup. So I went on a search.
I want to find a tea that delivers flavour, comfort. One that nourishes my every second of drinking time. I want a tea that turns the small moments of peace that Mothering gives me into pleasures, not just sighs of relief! I want time to stop as I suckle the edge of the cup, sniffing in the aromas of pure ingredients. I want a tea that won’t be forgotten by toddler interruption because of its powerful taste that draws me back to it. I want Great Britain to give me this tea!!! I am fed up with infusions, flavourings and wanna-be leaves thrown in a bleached bag.
…and I think I have found it.
Ladies and gentleman I am about to review what could potentially be the new Great British Tea brand. The one to rival Twinings and Whitards. The one that cares about what goes in our mouths. A tea that says “I’ll pick you up”. I found it by accident through a gift from my Cousin and approached the company. Their black tea is superlative to any I have ever drunk. I can not drink ‘Builders Tea’. It is bitter and just does not lift me in any way. But theirs…oh boy! I was desperate for tea one day and was expecting it to simply put it in the ‘hydrate me please’ category of rubbish teas. Instead, I was blown away by it’s subtle flavour, its demure touch on my soul as I drank it. And as they so aptly put it on the box: Far from ordinary, it’s a skillful balancing act between three glorious teas. Mmmmm, I so desperately wanted more so here I am.
Join me next time as I reveal the company and start sipping away their tea and writing my flavourful reviews. Have I found it? We will see.
If you love tea, grab a cup, settle in and enjoy the ride.
Read Moreblogging can be hard somedays
The days have drawn so close together and now I have a fuzzy blur roaming around in my head all day. I have not blogged in so long as I have been so disheartened by everything in life. To say that life as a Mum can be lonely is an understatement..especially when your family are over 8000 miles away and especially as a motherless daughter. I just prolong the days sometimes, waiting for the bedtime hour to begin so I can rest my weary head, my aching body. This is the side to being a mum that I never expected. This is the side I battle with each day, trying to push through it to ensure I give everything I can to Pickles.
Wanting to share this has been hard too. Some days are painfully distracted with aching back and neck but most days are extravagant in the gifts that Pickles gives me. Take our recent milestone…Potty training.
Why was I dreading it? Why did I prolong it for so long and what on earth possessed me to spontaneously do it?
The answers don’t really matter as she aced it, and within a week was on the potty without accidents…fast forward 5 weeks and we are completely dry and visiting the toilet. All potty’s out the window!! Yeyyyyyyyy. This is where exhaustion finally gets a rest! With a disability it makes the physical side of being a parent hard some days and emptying a potty every hour was becoming the slash in my tyres. But my ghostly coloured legs kept on going and even managed a chase or two most days, albeit it a short one.
Universe, please give me the strength to keep on marching through the challenges of parenting for it is the results it gives, the creation of this little person that would have me do it again, and again, and again!
Read MoreThank You Timmy – A Parenting Tip
Dear Timmy and Friends of Timmy Time
Thank you for your generous display of enthusiasm and for your delicious sense of humour. If not for your encouragement, your cheekiness, your elevated outlook on what is wrong and of course your endless use of the word “baaa” in many guises I would not have at least 20 minutes a day of tranquil Mummy time.
Thank you Timmy and Friends, you are simply wonderful for both Pickles and Me.
P.S. Let me know what TV shows help create your time out and we’ll do a poll!
Read More