And relax, with an artisan cuppa

Much has been made this year of “Twixmas” the time between Christmas and New Year, the time of year we all recognise because we’re unsure what day of the week it is, and we’re still nibbling our way through the festive food, that was designated as “for Christmas” in the lead up to the celebrations. We still do that ritual of asking what you want for tea, but know that the answer is more than likely going to be turkey, or ham. That is until the new year when we’ll add beef to the repertoire!

But life is starting to get back to normal. Our Christmas guests have gone, the turkey is off its carcass and in only a small number of containers in the fridge. But the real barometer of returning to normality is the decline of the cheeseboard and that the pigs in blankets, even the second batch, have vanished more quickly than you’d know.

The calm after the whirlwind of family visits and the general hubbub of December is something to enjoy though, and this year it’s been enhanced by a proper cuppa, and artisan ones at that from Adagio teas, who sent a selection of their seasonal teas for me to try. In this post I’ll share a bit more about each of the samples, which are extensive.

Adagio teas are a family company who source their teas direct which means they arrive fresh and the farmers benefit from a better deal. On their site there’s information about the types of tea, the five basic steps of tea processing - plucking, withering, rolling, oxidising and firing, and the five basic styles of tea - white, green, oolong, black and pu erh.

A CHRISTMAS SELECTION OF TEAS INCLUDES: CHRISTMAS, ROOIBOS NUTCRACKER AND YULETIDE TODDY

I’m a big tea drinker, but I hadn’t realised that there was so many options and choices when it comes to flavours. The Yuletide Toddy is a mixture of cranberry and orange, whereas the Rooibos Nutcracker has a different slant of Christmas with nuts, caramel and cocoa, and is a good reminder of our trip to the ballet in Birmingham last month.

CHESTNUT, GINGERBREAD, CANDY APPLE, CRANBERRY, PUMPKIN AND CANDY CANE TEAS IN MINIATURE TINS, FULL OF HOLIDAY CHEER

These small tins are a great way to get started into a different kinds of tea, chestnuts are one of my go to Christmas flavours - chestnut stuffing anyone? No, you don’t like it either, no problem, that’s more for me is the usual gist of the conversations - so to have a tea that brings that roasted chestnut smell in a cup, well that sounds almost perfect.

CHRISTMAS TEAS INCLUDES: CANDY CANE, CANDY APPLE, GINGERBREAD AND CHESTNUT TEAS

SWEET TOOTH TEAS INCLUDES: CARAMEL, CREAM, TIGER EYE AND CHOCOLATE CHIP TEAS

The Sweet Tooth Teas box intrigued me. Sweet tea isn’t normally my thing and I’m not one for sugar in tea. The Tiger Eye blend caught my eye though with its smooth flavours, the website says this has a high caffeine level and the reviews warn of over-steeping this one.

CHAI TEAS INCLUDES: MASALA CHAI, CHOCOLATE CHAI, SPICED APPLE CHAI AND THAI CHAI TEAS

Masala Chai is one of my favourite teas, and I’m regularly found in the queue in the cafe at work asking for one of these. So much so, that if I opt for something else the servers there look most confused, so I was pleased to see a chai selection in this parcel, and while I haven’t tried these yet, I’m looking forward to branching out from my usual “plain” chai.

I also find traditional Earl Grey teas challenging, but the names of these blends may just make me overcome this. I think I’ll be easing myself into these gently, perhaps starting with the green and Rooibos blends, which are described as a classic blend with a twist. I think making sure I’ve some shortbread to hand will help with easing myself in. There’s something about a cup of tea and a biscuit, or two isn’t there?

EARL GREY TEAS INCLUDES: EARL GREY BRAVO, EARL GREY MOONLIGHT, EARL GREY GREEN AND ROOIBOS EARL GREY TEAS

The final two sample boxes have teas with names I can’t pronounce but flavours I know I will enjoy. Oolong tea is one of the five basic types of teas, and one of the most time-consuming teas to create using all of the five steps, but the result is a more complex flavour which are often smooth and rich.

OOLONG TEAS OF CHINA INCLUDES: TI KUAN YIN, WUYI ENSEMBLE, FORMOSA BAI HAO AND DANCONG ARIA TEAS

PREMIUM TEAS OF CHINA INCLUDES: YUNNAN GOLD, GOLDEN SPRING, KEEMUN RHAPSODY AND PU ERH POE TEAS

I’ve only shared some information about tea in this post because it’s impossible to do it justice in a single post, but if you’re interested in learning more about the different types of tea, health benefits, the teabags vs loose tea question, or even food pairings then do take a look at the Adagio teas website, like me, I’m sure you’ll be surprised at how much effort goes into a cuppa.

Tea is so much a part of the British psyche. We all know that a cup of tea will fix almost anything, help solve a problem or just provide some thinking time, and it’s something that is part of who we are, but so often we reach for the household name tea bags rather than anything more. So this Twixmas, my tea exploration journey has resumed, and I’ve a feeling it’s going to continue through to the 91st of January or whatever, at least and hopefully much further into the year as I’ve rediscovered that there’s really something rather nice about using loose leaf tea, which feels like a treat, when really it shouldn’t.

Are you joining me?

* This is a collaborative post, but all opinions are my own.

Some festive tableware from Homesense

I've some more Homesense loveliness today, and I make no apology for that. Since their store opened in Greenwich earlier in the year, I'm a confirmed fan. So when they asked me to put together some of their festive tableware, well, who was I to refuse?

The thing is about tableware is that at Christmas there never seems to be enough, does there?  

With a houseful of guests arriving Christmas Eve I'm as keen as ever to avoid multiple bouts of washing up in between meals, just so there's enough plates. While plates are pretty important, so is spending time with friends and family without donning your marigolds!

And it’s usually supper that we run out of plates for - but not this year!  

For us supper - a meal we probably only ever eat at Christmas - is one of those meals that is made up of food leftover from lunch, think pigs in blankets, cold stuffing and a turkey sandwich. Or from the cheeseboard, with some salad added for balance - sometimes we even eat it too!

But it always ends with a mince pie, or maybe a first slice of Christmas cake, along with a small glass of something sweet - this year after our trip to Porto, it could be port, or maybe the Marsala that’s already open.   

And this year we’ll be using these festive plates for that. I’m hoping that they’ll have their second outing of the day, having first been used for smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels at breakfast. No washing up needed either as they’ll be in the dishwasher with everything we use at lunch. 

They’re stylish aren’t they? As usual and spoilt for choice, I opted for two designs - a snowflake patterned plate hailing from Portugal and a boldly decorated Noel plate, in a 4:2 split.  

The tray, which is just gorgeous, had a ‘Vietnam’ label on and I spent more time than was probably necessary deciding on which size. There’s three and I opted for the middle size, but would have happily taken all of them! 

the coasters were the final addition to my basket, and while they look pretty and sparkly- what I’m really looking forward to is a lack of marks on our glass table. Not that I’m planning on spilling any drinks... 

I’ve snuck the new plates into the cupboard, do you think MOH will spot them?!

What do you think? Do you have festive tableware? I’m not alone am I.,,

This is a collaborative post, but all views and opinions are my own.  

A Christmas hamper, my way.

A couple of weeks ago I headed over to the Homesense at Merton for a bit of a challenge, which was to put together a hamper of my own. And it's not as easy as you'd think. But before that I haven't been over to Merton for quite a while - I used to go that way most weeks to play netball, so it was great to see how much had changed over that way. And like in Greenwich, a brand new Homesense store is a good addition.

On arrival the team gave me a wicker hamper, which comes complete with a cellophane wrapper, a golden bow and filling to make it look oh so professional. My job was to find items to go inside it, and I wanted to give it a Christmassy theme.

As you'll know Homesense is packed with many, many fabulous items, so what did I choose?

I was pleased to spot these glasses, they're a cross between a champagne glass and cocktail glass and will come in handy this Christmas as we realised, after a quick glass count-up, we realised that we didn't have six of any of our everyday glasses (don't laugh about the everyday glasses - that really is a thing).  We're planning a Christmas cocktail for Christmas eve and so these will be just the thing for that.

The sparkly beaded coasters will also come in handy, and I'm sure we'll be using these throughout the year - at just a fiver, I thought these were a bargain.  I wanted to include some Christmassy items, so the next items were:

• a small panettone, in a gorgeous tin
• some Willie's cacao chocolate, a favourite of mine
• a pack of four Christmas spreaders 
• a Christmas scented candle
• some tea towels to take care of those glasses
• and finally, some LED star lights for some added sparkle.

The star lights are great, and I think they can be used year-round. I'll admit though, even though they're not golden stars, I couldn't help but feel like I was looking for stars on I'm a Celebrity... but thankfully without the critters!

The spreaders look fun and I'm sure will be useful, both on our breakfast table and later for the soft cheeses on the cheeseboard.  I've a feeling that they'll be so useful that I'll want to use them year round too. I know MOH isn't seeing the value of them yet, but give it time and I'm sure he'll be convinced, and in which case I'll need to head back there during the year and find some less Christmassy ones!

The candle is understated but hints at Christmas smells and no doubt will help set a soothing atmosphere when things get a bit fraught, as the preparations in the final weekend get underway. For me that's usually when I realise just how many vegetables need prepping, I forget each time that I cook for more than the two of us, how many more are required. It usually works out fine...

And there's usually panettone too. This year just a mini one and I may well have been swayed by the pretty tin too, I've a feeling it will make its way into my craft room at some point in January.  About January 2nd I predict...

So if you're still looking for Christmas presents and are stuck then maybe putting together your own personalised hamper could be just the thing, what do you think?

This is a collaborative post but all views and opinions are my own.