Tea for You


A few weeks back,
I hosted a group traveling through London

(... does that sound really random...)

After weeks in India, Morocco, and Boston,
they were on the final leg of their trip...
and what better place to end a pilgrimage for tea than London?

And, boy, did we do it right.

We had fancy high tea at St. James
in the historic department store, Fortnum & Mason.




Not for the everyday treat
at £45 per person...

but with lunch offering like Lobster Salad
or the Crab & Saffron Tart,
you definitely are paying for quality.


look at that delicious hunk of lobster. mama mia.

The main course is served between 
savoury amuse bouches
and the delightfully obtrusive tea cakes & scones.




Heaven help me.





The next day, we went to Twinings 
(the original storefront along the Strand)
for a tea tasting.




Holy cow.

I mean, I drink tea.

I drink a lot of tea.

To be honest, 
I kinda consider myself a bit of a tea expert.





After our tea tasting, 
I realized I am actually just ignorant.

The making of tea is a bit complex.

It was like a visit to a vineyard
hearing them describe the method & process 
behind each variation.

I had no idea so much thought & work went into my daily drinks.

Who needs champagne when you can have 
20 cups of Darjeeling for half the price?

Ok... I guess it's not exactly the same.




Maybe you are smarter than me 
(this is very possible),
but just in case you're as clueless as I was,
here are some things I learned during my morning at Twinings:

1. Most tea comes from the same type of plant.
Green tea, black tea, white tea... you name it.
The variation of color comes from different parts of the tea leaves 
and the differed time of fermentation.

Yes! Not all, but black teas are.
However, unlike wine-
it's only fermented in hot air for a matter of hours.

3. Tea is marked up about 3000x from the fields to the store.
Isn't that crazy?

4. When tasting tea, 
you make a very loud slurping sound
to allow half tea/ half oxygen in your mouth.

It's not very proper sounding, but proper form it is!




Twinings did an amazing tasting for us,
and I would highly recommend them for groups traveling through London.

I mean, if they have been the official purveyor to the monarchy for centuries...
I'm sure you might like them, too.


*All Twinings photos are taken by Noah Darnell, The Fledging Photographer.

16 comments:

  1. Fortnums is my favourite store in London, it's do exquisite inside, I love the sweeping staircase and all of the different details on the landings.

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  2. that is so fun,I am in love with there breakfast tea paired with a digestives/ mcvities tea biscut!!
    xox emily

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  3. i adore tea and would love a sort of tea pilgrimage! (i wonder what the group did in boston...as it is my city?) very very cool. and your teeth look really white, btw. haha!

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  4. I'm a huge tea lover! This class sounds out of this world especially with all of that travel-sign me up!

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  5. Whoa! That's a lot of tea!

    Okay, I don't drink tea except for herbal tea. Would it be weird if I went to high tea but didn't drink it? It would, wouldn't it? Darn. I just really want those treats.

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  6. very interesting! i wish i liked tea more. i try, i really do. i like mixing fruit teas with black teas because i'm the kind of person who can't enjoy black coffee or plain tea. i need honey and flavor. like i make my coffee into a latte. it's a post like this that makes me want to try again...

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  7. I love tea but know nothing about it. I want to go on a tea tour around the world now!!!!! What a great idea!

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  8. Oh I am so jealous! I would love to visit Twinings! I'm a fan of their English Afternoon and Lady Earl Grey teas.

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  9. tea is one of my greatest loves in life! thanks for posting this- i feel like it's a subject that most people don't talk about or aren't interested in and i usually it's because the majority of people haven't experienced really GOOD tea. is there a job titled 'tea ambassador' because if there is let's apply immediately :)

    my favorite tea ever- i make it and then put it in the fridge to drink cold (or at least this week- especially during these hot summer months in texas) is youthberry white tea- check it out here- you can order online
    http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/white-teas/p/youthberry-white-tea

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  10. Thanks for the info! I never knew that much about tea!

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  11. what an awesome sounding trip! and you sound like you had an awesome time on the london leg! i love the twining shop, i used to sneak in there after delivering files to the high court when i was an intern and take tea back to my office for everyone!

    x.

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  12. I love tea and drink it every day. I guess I never thought about the work that went into making it. Learned something new today, thank you!

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  13. interesting post!!! ok...now i want some iced green tea!!! :P
    xxx
    christina

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  14. A truly beautiful post that has me longing to chat about it with you over a hot cup of tea! One day!!!

    xo Elizabeth

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  15. fabulous!

    xo
    Erin

    pinkandpolos.blogspot.com

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  16. Sounds fabulous...I would love to learn more about tea....xv

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