Top three tea combinations

Hello fellow tea lovers

I have been thinking about this one for a while, because really a cuppa in itself is wonderful, but sometimes having something else with it can turn a normal cuppa into a comforting moment that can brighten up your day.  So here goes my top three tea combinations, please remember it is my own opinion and I would love if you posted or told me some of the things you enjoy with your tea!

In no particular order

1. Tea and Biscuit (aka Tea and Bikkie)

To me, this is the ultimate match, every cuppa should have a bikkie with it.  This has been an unspoken rule in my family since I started drinking tea, though the biscuit has grown into perhaps a chocolate or some cake (this could be why I have never been a size 6…..oh well tastes good :).  This combination works best with an English Breakfast tea, and a shortbread or chocolate digestive biscuit.

However, a tea and bikkie combo has an art to it.  There will always be the moment in which you dip your biscuit into your tea, and it breaks, half of the biscuit sinking to the bottom of your tea whilst you fret over getting a spoon to try and dig it out, but then having to succumb to the fact that either you make a new tea and have no biscuit or you drink the tea knowing that you will most likely get a mushy bit of biscuit in every mouthful that is a reminder of your failure to successfully dip a biscuit in your tea.  Peter Kay, a British comedian who is hilarious gives a brilliant outlook on the tea and bikkie art form which can be seen in the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ5V_vH7PwQ

2. Tea and Scones/ Cream Tea/ Devonshire Tea

Another classic, the scone is like the biscuits posher, upper class cousin.  The combination comes under a few names but all with the same meaning of tea accompanied by scones, jam and cream.  The origin of tea and scones comes from Devon in England, with there being evidence  that as early as the 11th century the combination of bread, jam, cream and tea was around.  Now-a-days the combo has evolved into savoury scones, gluten free scones, lactose free cream and other such changes that has brought the combination into a century of food intolerances.  For such occasions as high teas and garden parties, you really cannot go wrong with the classical tea and scones with jam and cream!

However, though all would seem sweet and lovely in the tea and scones world, there is the international debate amongst tea enthusiasts of all kinds, which comes first the jam or cream? I found a great little article from the The London Evening Standard about the scone debate which can be found here <http://www.standard.co.uk/news/jam-or-cream-first-the-great-scone-debate-6720627.html&gt;.  I personally put the jam on first and then the cream, and I never butter my scone (have to admit whilst I was typing that my thoughts went straight to Mean Girls…..“is your muffin buttered?).  

3. Tea, chair, blanket

Okay, so this is technically a setting in which to have tea but it makes the experience.  Most days I usually have my cuppa tea whilst standing up or doing housework, so having a chair and blanket with my tea means that time has been put aside for relaxation.  A good chair and a comfy blanket can make a rushed tea into an enjoyable experience.  This is a combination that can be enjoyed by oneself or in a social situation.  Just picture this, its a rainy night, you’re at home and the dinner is done, dishes have been cleaned and you have nothing planned for the night other then to watch a movie or read a book.  You flick the kettle on, the sound of the water boiling seems to fill the quiet kitchen and the distinctive ‘pop’ of the kettle resonates throughout the house.  You make your tea, and whilst it is brewing you wonder over to see what accompaniments are in the pantry or fridge.  You finish making your tea, you’ve grabbed the necessary extras and then you head straight to your chair/couch and sit….then you pull the blanket over your knees and settle down into your relaxing time.  This combination is the full experience, it makes a cuppa seem something more then just boiled water and leaves, it becomes a period of time that is just yours.

(I do not own any of the videos or images displayed, for sources please contact me)

You have to Chai this tea!

Hello fellow tea lovers 🙂

I have had this tea for a little while, but man oh man is this tea good! Just a teabag packet kind of tea that you can get down at the ol’ local (Woolworths sell it for about $3.50-$5.00), this chai is exceptionally good, and I actually don’t get chai of any kind from cafes anymore because of it (except for Greens and Co’s (Leederville) chai tea with soy milk, that is amazing and you must try…..I might have to write a post on it actually!)

I actually got this tea as a present from one of my oldest and closest friends, Ria for my 21st.  She had put together a package of all of my favourite things, and in all honestly I only noticed the tea after staring at the loaf of bread that was staring right back at me (I am a bread fanatic as well).  Ria was telling me how amazing this tea is, and as always, the smart cookie was right! This is a great tea for winter and it was perfect as I am an August baby.  I have not been able to drink it as much lately, as we have just had our summer, but as winter is coming (GAME OF THRONES!) I thought it would be good to get the heads up on some perfect winter teas, that way you can be stocked up for those nights when you just need a good movie, a good cuppa and some quality chocolate on the couch.

So to start, this is the packet that it comes in

And then, this is how the tea actually looks

The tea is very fragrant, so if you buy it, store it separately from your other teas in a tupperware container or a tin of some kind because if exposed everything around it will smell like chai.  The packet states ‘Chai is a sweet, spiced milk tea also known as ‘Masala’ tea…Chai is a blend of tea and various spices’.  When making this tea I add quite a bit of milk, because I love my teas milky.  The tea has a subtle sweetness to it that isn’t too over powering but I do not think I would add honey or sugar to it.  I would not have this tea everyday but I have this as a staple tea in my pantry because there is always an occasion and time for a chai 🙂

p.s. if you want to look at some reviews on this tea go here http://www.productreview.com.au/p/nerada-organic-chai.html

Collaboration with Kramburger!

Hello fellow tea lovers 🙂

It has been a while since I have been on here and I am sorry that I have not been updating as regularly as I should have.  I have in my absence from the blog brought some new teas to try, and I have new pictures to put up soon of a cool new tea cup (I pity the fool, who doesn’t drink tea out of this!).

I have a special announcement to make, a cuppafulloftea will be the collaboration with the wonderful Mark from Kramburger in a special blog post! Kramburger http://kramburger.blogspot.com is all about the wonderful and sometimes wacky burgers of Perth (the Cheeseburger sushi post is a good example).  Mark’s blog is a great read and makes you want to try out all the burgers he mentions.  We will be venturing to Heavenly Plate Cafe in Applecross http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/338/1563061/restaurant/Perth/Melville/Heavenly-Plate-Cafe-Applecross (if you want to check it out on urbanspoon) as this is one of the places we found that do burgers and have a good selection of tea.

Lots to come, but before all the excitement I think I will go and make myself a cuppa

Till next time 🙂

All You Need is Beatles tea cups

 

The song didn’t quite go like that, but I’m sure that if The Beatles wrote a tea inspired song, they would probably change the lyrics of ‘All You Need Is Love’.  I mean, they were British, so they probably loved a cuppa.

The two tea cups I have are for ‘All You Need Is Love’ and ‘She Loves You’, but they come in a kind of set that includes ‘Help’, ‘Yellow Submarine’, “Hard Days Night’ and a few others.  If you want to look at some of the others this site has quite a few of them: http://greatgearstore.com/search/?q=The%20Beatles%20Mugs.

The cups themselves have a snippet of the lyrics

 

with the saucers designed to look like records.

I absolutely adore these tea sets! I am a huge Beatles fan, and an obvious tea enthusiast so they caught my eye straight away.  The record-look of the saucers is a really nice touch and I would love to collect them all one day (Pokemon-esque, but instead of throwing them at people in the hope of defending myself, I will just serve tea in them).

If you’re in the Perth area, you can come across them in a little shop in Leederville called Black Plastic (http://www.truelocal.com.au/business/black-plastic/leederville – just to get an idea of the place) but there are heaps available on the internet, especially sites within the UK.

If you have any cool tea sets or tea pots, please post pictures or let me know of some cool places to purchase them, would love to see them.

French Earl Grey, I dare say!

I’ve decided to start my blog with this black tea number called ‘French Earl Grey’ from T2.  Its listed as a ‘Flavoured and Scented’ black tea and is a bit of a twist on the original Earl Grey.  Earl Grey tea is known for the addition of bergamot orange which adds a citrusy flavour hit.  The history of Earl Grey tea stems back to the 1800s, and it is said to have been named after a British Prime Minister, Earl Grey, after he received a gift of tea flavoured with bergamot oil.  Mr. Grey was a very lucky person and not only because the addition of bergamot orange is delicious, but he henceforth changed the way of black tea.

So, now we all know the history of the tea, let us move on to this revised version of a classic, T2’s own ‘French Earl Grey’.  This tea is delicious, and I’m usually on the English Breakfast Tea team, but this tea has made me unsure about which black-tea side I want to be on.  The ingredients in the tea are black tea, hibiscus, sunflowers, rose petals, mallow flowers and flavour.  As you’ll see from the picture below, the flowers look extra bright amongst the black tea.

When I first opened the box the smell reminded me of an ice-tea.  I think I got this because the mixture of the flowers and fruit reminded me of spring and summer and all I thought was how refreshing the tea would be.  The first time I tasted the tea, it was actually made into an ice-teav(mixed with Turkish Cherry) and the combination was so good, my beautiful boyfriend decided that we had to have both of them.  When we got home (and I think it was about 37 degrees the day we brought this tea) instead of doing the sensible thing and going for a cold drink, I put the kettle on and had a cup of ‘French Earl Grey’ because I was so excited to taste it by itself.  T2 recommend having it by itself, but I love milk in my brew, so I couldn’t resist.  The initial gulp tastes just like black tea, but then BAM! Fruit and flowery goodness hit you at the very last second, and it tastes so good! It tastes so refreshing as well, and when its all gone you are left looking at your empty cup and wondering where all the tea went.

Not being the usual fan of Earl Grey, this tea definitely gets the thumbs up.  It is good whether its hot or cold, its refreshing and the added floral ingredients make it a perfect spring/summer tea.  I can imagine this tea would go down well in some sort of cocktail concoction, though as it is early on in the afternoon, I may have to leave that kind of tea for a later hour.

Enjoy 🙂

Tea Pot Lady, Tea pot and cup all in one

I love interesting teapots, makes tea time that much better.  This is one I got for Christmas, and other then being visually cool, it is also very handy! The bottom (aka body) of the girl is where you brew the tea and the head is the cup! So cup and teapot all-in-one.  High five practicality!

I love a cup of tea!

Hello 🙂

Welcome to a cuppa-full-of-tea! I am a tea enthusiast (caffeine enthusiast may also suit) and thought that I would create a blog dedicated to tea and the millions of flavours that are out in the world now a days.  

Every time I walk into tea shops such as T2, I am amazed at all the variants of tea they have, but often don’t know what to buy and end up buying another packet of Melbourne Breakfast (a really good black tea with a hint of vanilla), or making silly little plans to try every tea in the shop…..which is how this blog came about.

I will try and drink a variety of teas and comment on them, especially combinations and some new ice-teas for the summer months (a good mixture is Turkish Cherry, French Earl Grey and a hint of Turkish Apple plus cinnamon sugar, good one for those who like it sweet).  Pretty much anything tea related, and I’ll try and snap a picture of write up on it.

If there is a tea that you want to try, but are unsure about, let me know or come and see if I’ve tried it, so that next time you go into a tea shop, you won’t buy the good old reliable tea, but you’ll stretch your hands up that little further and go for the White Ginger tea instead!