Hello all,
And welcome new followers, thank you for joining me on these pages, where I write about retreats I host, workshops, recipes, people that inspire me and my new found and rekindled love of pottery.
It’s a bit of a melange from life in France. Although this week I’m in the UK, being aunty, cooking, walking mini hounds and suffering a sore body from a night on ice that my niece is finding endlessly funny.
So we’re off to a good start, I’m entertainment if nothing else. And true to being a growing tween she’s still snoring in bed, whilst I sit in my cosy new spot to write my morning pages and sip tea. Tea from not just any cup, but one of my cups.
Before leaving France I managed to get my first glaze firing complete, with forty or so cups that was met with encouraging appreciation and a few sales to my French yogi’s and a few packed away in my suitcase for their new UK homes.
I don’t know about you, but I’m a fussy tea drinker, and probably it’s fair to say that all Brits are fussy or particular about their tea drinking. The question of ‘how do you like yours'?’ is more than just the tea, it’s also the preferred type of cup which is equally as important as the tea itself.
My father always drank from bone china, he had a favourite white cup and saucer that was shaped like cabbage leaves and insisted that tea must be drunk from a thin china rim. Personally I’ve always preferred handmade mugs, for the triple pleasure of first the perfect brew, which has to be the right strength, the right colour, just enough milk but not too much, and, I like to add fresh ginger to mine.
Then there’s the cup itself, they’ve got to be the right size for a decent cuppa, but not too much of a bowl. I like to hold my tea cup in my hands to warm them rather than burn them, and preferably without a handle in the way and a rim the right thickness, to sip without dribbling. The final pleasure is then the beauty of a handmade object that always lures me back to make a second cup, just to repeat the pleasure all over again. Or maybe I’m just a gourmand when it comes to morning tea….
How do you drink yours? Builders or ladies strength? Bone china or handmade?
Are you a gourmand making more than one cup?….
If you have been on retreat with me you will know my Chai Tea Recipe, easy to make and starts your day with all the herbs to warm and boost your digestion.
Click on the links to discover more….
When I return to France I will continue working towards opening my online shop at the end of February with a selection of slipware tea and espresso cups, in this lovely warm terracotta, decorated in soft earthy tones…. you can follow my progress on instagram or stay reading here.
Until next time,
Tamsin x
It has to be in a the right mug, strong but not orange strong and hot but not lip burning
A simple, heartwarming and earthy tea vessel, Tamsin💕Love the retro design too. Well done. I wish you all success with your new pottery venture. Ps. Love a good green tea with honey but if we’re talking British traditional - has to be a cup of « builders » every time for me💪😂