Fancy trying some of our award winning espresso? It's free postage on ALL ORDERS until the end of June so why not raise your coffee game? Click here to pop some in your basket!
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Green tea can be a little bit 'marmite' - some people love it, some people hate it. But we think it also depends on which green tea you drink. To be clear, as with all teas, there are a lot of very low grade, horrible tasting green teas out there! So if you've tried green tea and not liked it, please don't give up just yet. There are lots of very compelling reasons to drink green tea (more of that below) and our Organic Green Tea is an extremely high quality tea from the cool slopes of the Himalayas and it has the soft, fresh taste of a premium tea, not the bitter, fishy taste from a lower quality, mass market green tea.
So, what is green tea?
Green tea is a type of tea that is made from Camellia sinensis leaves and buds, which have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process used to make black tea and oolong tea. Instead, after being picked, the leaves are quickly steamed or pan-fried to halt the oxidation process and preserve their green color and fresh flavour.
Green tea is known for its high content of catechins, a type of antioxidant that is believed to provide numerous health benefits, including improved brain function, lower risk of some types of cancer, and a reduced risk of heart disease. It also contains caffeine, which can help to boost energy and alertness.
Green tea is a popular drink in many parts of the world and is often consumed hot or iced. It can also be used in cooking and baking, as well as in the production of supplements and skincare products.
Have you tried iced green tea? Please do, we're very confident you'll love it with a sprig of mint or lemon and lots of ice. Heaven on a hot day! Here's a great recipe we spotted on Flavours Treat.
Try some of our Organic Green Tea and let us know how you get on. We'll always exchange it for something else if you really don't like it.
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Tea is one of the most popular drinks in the world and has a rich history that spans thousands of years. Here's our brief overview of the history of tea - brief enough to enjoy over a cup of tea!
Legend has it that tea was discovered in China in 2737 BC by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nong. While sitting under a tree, a leaf from the Camellia sinensis plant fell into his boiling water, and he enjoyed the resulting drink. This is believed to be the first cup of tea ever made.
Tea was initially consumed for medicinal purposes and was later used for its stimulating and refreshing properties. It wasn't until the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) that tea became a popular beverage in China.
During the Tang Dynasty, tea was introduced to Japan by Buddhist monks who had visited China. The Japanese developed their own tea ceremony, called Chanoyu, which emphasized the importance of harmony, respect, and tranquility.
Tea was introduced to Europe in the 16th century by Portuguese traders. The Dutch were the first to start importing tea on a large scale in the early 17th century, and it quickly became popular in England. The British East India Company was instrumental in the global spread of tea, establishing plantations in India and Sri Lanka to meet the growing demand.
Today, tea is grown and consumed around the world, with China, India, and Sri Lanka being the largest producers. There are countless varieties of tea, each with its own unique flavour and health benefits. From the traditional Chinese tea ceremonies to the British afternoon tea, tea remains an important part of many cultures and traditions.
Click here to browse our range of premium organic teas and make sure you're enjoying the very best cuppa every day!
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It's not news that the confectionary industry spends billions of pounds researching, creating and selling chocolate that is the 'perfect' balance of sweetness and fat, which in turns makes it highly moreish and addictive. A Dairy Milk bar is made up of 20% sugar, 20% milk, 20% cocoa solids and the rest is fats, oils and emulsifiers. So arguably it's not really a chocolate bar at all, it's a sugar-fat bar with chocolate.
We're not judging what chocolate people do and don't like to eat. All we're saying is remember your taste buds change according to how much sugar you eat. If you start to choose chocolate that has more cocoa than sugar/fat in it, you're actually eating predominantly chocolate, and you'll also find your tastebuds start to change. You'll soon find Dairy Milk too sweet!
Our Truly Magnificent Hot Chocolate contains 70%+ cocoa solids. That's a lot of chocolate, and a lot less sugar. If you make it with dairy milk it will give you any extra natural sweetness you might want, and we recommend making it strong. And high quality, high cocoa chocolate has well-documented health benefits. So why not relax and enjoy a really delicious rich cup of hot chocolate during these chilly winter days?
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It really is our pride and joy and we drink it every day. Remember, when you drink a cup of Cupsmith you're ALWAYS drinking only the very highest quality hot drinks, using the very best coffee beans, chocolate or teas. We never, ever compromise on taste. And if we don't love it and drink it every day, we certainly don't sell it!
Haven't tried our Bang-On Espresso yet? Give it a go here and we're very confident you won't regret it.
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]]>After 6 years of creating and making our range of coffees, hot chocolates and teas we knew we needed to change the way we do things to keep us fit for the next decade. So, we've edited our previously huge range down to our absolute best-sellers, and the products we're most proud of - and that taste the best too! And we're building on these with exciting new launches.
We used to offer our speciality coffees in many different sizes but this number of size options just wasn't a sustainable way to do things - and talking of sustainable, that's also been a key reason for our changes. Rather than brown bags that actually have layers of stuff (aluminium foils, plastics) in them that's not recyclable but just lurks in landfill for years, we've switched our bags to recyclable ones. Yes these bags are made of plastic but the super important point is that it's recyclable plastic. We'd love to do away with plastic completely but sadly your coffee won't stay fresh, but rest assured we're keeping a close eye on new materials that come to market so we can switch up as soon as we see something better.
We've also put these recyclable coffee bags into recyclable boxes, so that they stand up easily on kitchen shelves, and you can pop a clothes peg on the bag to keep your coffee fresh. (Our coffees are still absolutely speciality grade coffees - in other words the top quality coffees in the world!)
Our range of hot chocolates is still up there in terms of the highest quality taste and eco credentials on the market. We use amazing quality, 70% cocoa (that means much less sugar than the commercial stuff) and we pack your hot chocolate in bags made of plant-based materials which naturally compost. We pop this bag in a recyclable box, made of sustainable card.
Our teas will switch into our stripey new packaging soon too. We just need to have a little lie down and cuppa before we do that. More soon!
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We've really been banging the drum for green tea recently. The ongoing research results into its health benefits that are being published regularly are seriously compelling. It seems adding a few cups of green tea to your daily diet can really make a difference (you can read more here).
So, if you're drinking green tea, what's the best way to drink it?
Don't pour boiling water on your tea pyramid, let the water boil then leave it for a minute or so. This is more gentle on the tea leaves and will give you a better tasting cup of tea. It's even better if you can use filtered water, but it's certainly not essential.
Steeping time is really important for green teas. You don't want to steep green tea for too long or it will naturally become more astringent in taste. We suggest starting with 30 seconds for the first cup, then see if you prefer a longer steep. You can use our tea pyramids about 3 times, just top up with water.
Your cup of green tea should have a fresh, soft, fruity, light taste and be the colour of straw with a hint of pale green. This is definitely a tea to be drunk without milk.
Our Organic Green Tea is grown in a centuries-old Darjeeling tea garden on the cool slopes of the Himalayas. The Darjeeling region produces a relatively small amount of tea compared to India's whole tea output but it is extremely high quality. The plants grow at a high elevation and the leaves grow very slowly as they are constantly shrouded in a cool mist. During the growing season, the plants respond well to warm days and cool evenings and the unique conditions help to create intense flavours in the leaves.
We hope you love our Green Tea as much as we do. Enjoy!
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All types of tea - black, white or green - are made from the camellia sinensis plant. One of our favourites is green tea, a beautiful pale green coloured tea that's made from unprocessed, unfermented leaves and whose health benefits are numerous.
Dating back over 5,000 years, green tea has traditionally been much more popular in East Asia while us Brits have favoured black tea with milk. But with more and more exciting research showing the benefits of tea, our tea tastes have extended to include green tea and it's seeing a welcome boom in popularity, and we think this will only increase.
Why is green tea brilliant?
The benefits lie in the bioactive compounds in green tea, specifically catechins.
Catechins are natural antioxidants that help prevent cell damage and provide other benefits. They can reduce the formation of free radicals in the body, protecting cells and molecules from damage. These free radicals play a role in aging and many types of diseases.
A particular catechin to know about - and very much present in green tea - is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). More than 3,000 published researched studies have evaluated the effect of tea and tea compounds such as EGCG on the risk of a variety of cancer types. A study published in the February 2015 issue of the Journal of Molecular Nutrition and Food Research found that EGCG helps kill cancer cells through the destruction of the cells’ mitochondria.
Research has also identified an association between amount and duration of tea consumption and gastrointestinal cancer risk. One study found that women who consumed the equivalent of 2.5 cups of tea per day had a 60% reduction in rectal cancer risk, compared with women who drank less than 1.2 cups of tea daily.
Another study found tea drinkers to have a 42% reduced risk for colon cancer compared to non-tea drinkers. Men who drank more than 1.5 cups of tea per day were found to have a 70% lower colon cancer risk.
We're not pretending to be medical experts by any means (our expertise is definitely tea!) and you should carry out your own research as there is plenty to read on the subject, but with new research emerging all the time, the results are very encouraging. It seems including a few cups of green tea in our diet is a very good thing indeed!
Is there caffeine in green tea?
We often get asked this. Yes there is caffeine in green tea but there's less than in black tea. Green tea has on average 33mg per cup and black tea has 47mg, though you also need to take into account leaf size and brew time. Cheaper, smaller bits of tea will give you more caffeine than larger leaves as they release the caffeine more quickly.
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With the fresh new year comes the desire to look after ourselves a bit better and 'drink more water' features in virtually every bit of health-related press coverage at the moment! If you find drinking litres of water a struggle, one of the great ways to keep up your fluid intake is to drink a couple of herbal teas every day. Two good sized mugfuls of delicious herbal teas each day will easily tick off nearly half the suggested daily water intake (1.6 - 2 litres per day).
The other good news is that with many of our organic herbal teas you can drink one mugful, then top up again with hot water - so you're only using one pyramid each time. Our Organic Garden Mint, Organic Calm Days and Organic Hedgerow Tea work really well for this double dose!
Enjoy the start to the year, drink lots of water and remember to drink sitting down, watching the clouds go by.
Emme & George
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We take tea so seriously that a while ago George went off to China in search of some of the most expensive, highly prized tea called Pu'Erh tea. Visiting Yunnan, a mountainous region in southwestern China, George and a very special Tea Master from Hong Kong explored ancient tea forests on steep hillsides where young trees are around 80 years old, mature trees are 400 years old and a 'very special' tree is over a thousand years old.
The processes of tea growing and production for this high quality tea are very traditional and the picking, drying, withering and rolling is all done expertly by hand. The final product - raw pu'erh - is made into a flat cake shape, wrapped in mulberry bark paper and left to mature like a fine wine.
Pu'erh is highly prized in China for its flavour and health benefits, and these tea forests are incredibly special, protected places, often farmed by the same family for generations.
Whilst we don't currently sell raw pu'erh tea (it's very expensive and performing a gong fu tea ceremony every time you want a cuppa is a perhaps a step too far!), for us it's about making sure that we're exploring the very best teas out there so we can make sure we're always judging our organic teas against them. We're incredibly proud to be using absolutely delicious teas and bringing them to you so you can enjoy them at your kitchen table, every day.
Our organic teas are better for the planet, and better for you. And they taste amazing! Once you've switched to a larger leaf, organic tea like ours, you'll find that after a week or so of drinking it, the cheap, commercial 'dusty' teas really do taste awful! So treat yourself to a really good cup of tea each day - you won't regret it.
Emma & George
PS A photo of one of George's regular suppers during his trip. As you can imagine, he was rather loathed to come home!
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We're trying to get outside as much as possible, walking across the fields with the warmth on our backs, and enjoying cups of tea and coffee in the garden - face firmly tilted to the sun!
This week sees the postponed Chelsea Flower Show taking place, and the highly prized Best in Show award has gone to the Guangzhou Garden. With tall airy spaces, babbling waters and layers of cool green plantings it's a garden that really soothes the most harried soul. The garden was designed in homage to Guangzhou's philosophy which gives equal consideration to the needs of people and wildlife through sustainable city planning strategies, reconnecting people and nature together. What a fitting winner as we negotiate life after covid, return to busy lives but most importantly have to face up to the huge climate issues and solutions that we all need to be a part of. As we head back to life, our reconnection with nature has got to be top of all our to do lists.
So take a moment to drink your tea or coffee outside, watch the clouds go by, and breathe.
Stay well.
Emma & George
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]]>It was the biggest learning curve, and an exhausting one! For the first 2 years we used to drive 6 hours to go to the chocolate factory in Sheffield where we worked alongside a brilliant chocolatier who taught us everything we know. We worked 14 hour days making and packing the chocolate and staying overnight in the cheapest hotel we could find. After 2 years we knew we needed to set up a factory closer to home and where we could grow our range further. So we opened our factory in the centre of Farnham, spent eye-watering amounts of money on shiny new machinery, bought several decorators' heat guns (the secret to every chocolatier's success) and learned to live with 'chocolate aches' which are the aches and pains we have from lifting, shifting and packing - by hand - many tonnes of chocolate each year. It's a REAL labour of love, and if we'd known what hard work it was going to be, we might have thought twice about starting it! But it was our innocent optimism that started us, our enthusiasm for making chocolate that kept us going, and it's our customers which drive us forward to produce uncompromisingly brilliant hot chocolate.
We're totally thrilled with the rave reviews we get for our hot chocolates and as we stretch our tired and aching muscles at the end of a day in the Cupsmith chocolate factory, it's that amazing feedback that make it all so worthwhile!
This is our eldest son and George taste testing hot chocolate toppings. When the children were younger they thought that having a family hot chocolate business was the best thing ever. A few years on, they're as fussy about their tea as we are!
Have you tried our hot chocolate? If not, why not pop a packet in your kitchen cupboard ready for a delicious Autumn treat when the weather cools?
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]]>We use speciality-grade Guatemalan coffee in our Mr Crawford's Coffee, to help achieve a lighter, brighter coffee with delicious sweet and fruity notes. But what of the history of this South American coffee? Why not sit down with a cuppa and read our (coffee) potted history!
It's believed that coffee first came to Guatemala in the mid 1700s when some Jesuit missionaries brought coffee trees into the country to use as decoration. And it remained under the radar for over 100 years.
During this time the country had an extremely successful dyeing industry using natural indigo and cochineal. At the peak of this industry, over 2 million pesos worth of indigo was exported each year. However in 1856 this natural dying industry began to decline irreversibly with the invention of synthetic dyes. This had a huge impact on the Guatemalan economy but was also the push needed for the country to grow and produce coffee on a commercial scale.
By the 1880's 90% of the country's export was coffee. Coffee has remained Guatemala's largest export ever since and is the 10th biggest coffee producer in the world. Not bad considering it started life in Guatemala as a decoration?!
Our Mr Crawford's coffee is a lighter, brighter coffee that is delicious made in a cafetiere, filter or aeropress. Make a flask of coffee, pack your picnic basket and enjoy this in an enamel cup in the Autumn sunshine!
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]]>We're huge believers in the importance of organic farming both for the planet, and for our customers.
Why is organic farming better?
Across the world, wildlife is becoming extinct up to 10,000 times faster than the natural rate - but organic practises help prevent this.
Healthy, organic soils can store up to five times more carbon than forests, stopping more CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
Organic farmers are able to use just 20 pesticides made from natural ingredients including citronella and clove oil, and even these can only be used under very restricted circumstances. Vitally, this helps protect the insect population and also reduces the pesticides entering the water system. Conventional pesticides pollute water, kill fish and marine animals and disrupt the food chain...and of course we all use this polluted water.
We understand that choosing to consume organic products is a privileged one as it is a more expensive option. As a family, we certainly don't eat only organic food, though we do try to eat organic vegetables when we can. But if you are looking to make one small change, then switching your cup of tea from a commercial, non-organic one to our high quality, organic tea, really will ensure you get a MUCH better cup of tea all around!
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delicious.
The children wanted to go blackberry picking so, armed with pots and gloves we set off to gather the first small harvest. One bowlful was all we needed to make a blackberry and almond cake. I won’t win any prizes for the look of my cake, but it was totally delicious. We ate it still warm from the oven with a cup of our Organic Afternoon Tea (dollops of clotted cream would have made it even better!).
Here's our recipe:
Blackberry Cake
125g unsalted butter, softened
150g caster sugar
2 eggs
150g self raising flour
60g ground almonds
1tsp almond essence
150g blackberries
Method
Preheat oven to 170C/150C fan
Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper (11cm x 26cm tin)
Place the butter and sugar in a bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and beat well (don't worry if it curdles, the addition of flour will sort this out!)
Stir in the ground almonds and almond essence, mix.
Spoon about half the mixture into the tin then dot over the blackberries. Add the remaining mixture over the top.
Pop in the oven for about 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
After an hour, remove from the oven and leave to cool.
Serve big, warm slices with a cup of our Organic Afternoon Tea - heaven!!
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]]>The origins of chocolate can be traced back to the ancient Olmecs of southern Mexico. Chocolate was nothing like the beautifully wrapped sweets or chocolate bars of today, in fact it wasn't a sweet treat at all - it was highly revered and used as a bitter beverage by the Olmecs. Sadly the Olmecs didn't record the details of their ancient chocolate habit and so a lot of historical studies to do with the Olmecs are purely speculation. However there are pieces of archeology that can help us to understand these people a little better.
Ancient Olmec pods and vessels were discovered with traces of chocolate dating back to 1500 BC. This is the earliest source available so we do know that they had worked out the secrets of cacao beans by then. It is widely believed that the Olmecs only used chocolate as a ceremonial drink but yet again the lack of written history makes it difficult to be certain. It is safe to assume that the Olmecs passed on their chocolate knowledge to the later Mayan civilisation of Central America, when chocolate was not only consumed but loved and celebrated. Luckily for us the Mayans made records and so we know they used chocolate drinks for celebrations and to finalise important trade deals. Chocolate was held in very high regard by the Mayans but this did not mean it was strictly reserved for the rich and powerful. Chocolate was available to all Mayans, many households in this civilisation would enjoy chocolate with every single meal! The chocolate drank by the Mayans was a thick drink often mixed with chilli peppers, honey or water to disguise the bitter flavour.
If the Mayans loved chocolate, the Aztecs worshipped it! The Aztec civilisation believed that cacao was a gift from the Gods themselves and much like the Mayans, enjoyed it hot or cold, spiced and often in ornate containers. But they didn’t just use chocolate for enjoyment, they used it as currency. In Aztec culture these beans were considered to be more valuable than gold and they could be used to trade for food, farm animals, land or any other consumer good of the time. This high value also meant that for the average Aztec person, chocolate was out of reach. An upper class luxury, the only chance less wealthy people has to enjoy it was at weddings or other similar celebrations.
This brings us to the most famous chocolate lover in early South American history, the mighty Aztec King Montezuma II. The King famously drank litre upon litre of chocolate per day in order to keep his energy levels up as well believing it worked as an aphrodisiac. Montezuma was so protective of his cacao stash that he only ever shared it with his military in order for them to keep protecting him.
Born in the great South American civilisations, the early years of chocolate saw it consumed very differently to how it is today. But this all changed when the plant and its precious fruit reached Europe. Join us next time for Part II as we find out how chocolate became the industry it is today!
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]]>Here's our list of alternative beach reads which are perfect for your favourite armchair, a deckchair in the garden, a sunny spot at the kitchen table - and even better with with a cup of Cupsmith tea or coffee of course!
The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman
Shortlisted for British Book Awards 2021 and for a reason! This absolutely brilliant novel packed with snappy one liners takes on the murder mystery genre but with a unique approach. Follow Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron who meet up once a week to discuss unsolved crimes - a rather unusual activity for folks pushing eighty. But when a cold blooded murder happens right under their noses they find themselves in their first live case. Brilliantly written and full of twists and turns, Richard Osman’s debut novel is a must read.
The Great British Bucket List: Utterly Unmissable Britain - Richard Madden
Whether your holidays have been cancelled and you’re struggling to figure out how to make the most of the UK, or you're curious about some of the lesser known nooks and crannies of the UK, this book is really lovely. Containing 60 challenges with difficulties ranging from easy to mildly challenging, it even includes the most spectacular place to have a cup of tea in Britain - perfect for a Cupsmith moment!
The Beach - Alex Garland
An oldie but a goldie. The Beach follows Richard, a backpacker through South East Asia who is given a map to an unknown island, a secret beach and a supposedly new way of life. What Richard finds upon arrival is more breathtaking than he could have ever imagined. This fast-paced, exciting book will make you glad to be reading it while safe and sound in the UK.
Pandora’s Jar - Natalie Haynes
Escape our shores and head to ancient Greece for a while. Greek myths have been told and retold for thousands of years, yet most of the tellers and subjects have been men. Until now. Acclaimed classicist Natalie Haynes has taken this history of misogynist perspectives on Greek myths and placed the women of Greek mythology on equal footing with the men. After countless years of hearing men tell stories of Zeus and Poseidon, Haynes shines the spotlight onto the endeavours of Hera and Athena amongst others. A fascinating read.
The Killings at Kingfisher Hill - Sophie Hannah
The legend of Hercule Poirot is back! Reimagined by Sophie Hannah, Poirot has been brought back to life with yet another murder mystery to solve. Hercule Poirot is summoned to Kingfisher Hill by Richard Davenport to prove the innocence of his fiance, Helen in the murder of his brother, Frank. On his journey over on a luxury passenger coach another body is discovered with a note attached… Could this be the clue to discovering the murderer of Frank Davenport? We love a detective story and this is a goody for the summer.
Happy summer reading, and do let us know what's on your reading pile!
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Just as we all have favourite mugs, here at Cupsmith we also have our favourite teapots. Even though we pack our tea in biodegradable tea pyramids, we quite often put the pyramids in a teapot because there's something so lovely and enticing about the sound of pouring a cup of tea into a cup! A perfect moment to stop, sit down and quietly pour a cuppa from the teapot. So we've been looking at teapots of the world and the huge array of shapes and designs.
Here in the UK our teapots for the most part seem to follow a similar standard that was moulded in the Victorian times, but what of the rest of the world? Emma's painted and collaged some of her favourites below!
China - Gaiwan
The Gaiwan, meaning ‘covered bowl’, originated during the Ming Dynasty and is still used to this day. Tea is brewed directly in the bowl and the can be strained through opening the lid ever so slightly while pouring the tea into your drinking vessel of choice, or you can sip tea directly from the Gaiwan using the lid to keep the leaves away.
China - Yixing
These pots are made from the purple clay of Yixing and date back to the 15th century. Yixing teapots are known for absorbing the flavours of tea and creating stronger brews with each use. This unique characteristic means that you should only use one variety of tea in a pot. Nowadays tea enthusiasts are often seen with Yixing teapots as some of their most beloved possessions.
Japan - Kyusu
This beautiful Japanese pot is held in high regard among today's tea enthusiasts and is found in many collections. Commonly made of ceramic and sometimes glass, perhaps the most distinguishing feature of this teapot is the large handle that can either be seen protruding from the side or back of the pot.
Japan - Tetsubin
This is another example of beautiful Japanese craftsmanship. While this may look like a normal teapot and most definitely has the facilities to be used as such, the Tetsubin is an early example of a cast iron kettle and is still commonly used to this day. The Japanese swear by this pot's ability to smooth out the taste of boiled water which in turn brings out all varieties of wonderful sweet flavours that Japanese teas are known for.
UK - Brown Betty
Ah yes, the Brown Betty! A staple in British households since the Victorian times, the origins of this iconic teapot stem from 17th century Stoke-on-Trent where it was made with the red clay of Staffordshire. Originally a product targeted towards the working class, Betty’s round shape made her brilliant at retaining heat and releasing full flavours, which in turn tickled the fancy of the aristocracy and the Brown Betty became a member of British households throughout the classes.
Argentina - Gourd and Bombilla
Argentinian Mate tea is traditionally prepared and served in a Gourd and Bombilla which can be made from metal, plastic or wood but most authentically from the shell of a calabash gourd. The tea can be sipped and shared through a straw-like Bombilla, to prevent the tea leaves from leaving the gourd, Bombillas come with a strainer at the bottom of the straw.
India and Pakistan - Kulhar
While most modern chai wallahs on the streets of India and Pakistan will serve their tea in plastic or paper cups, the more traditionally inclined will serve tea in clay Kulhar. Fans of these small clay pots swear by their ability to give the tea an earthy flavour. These pots are designed to be used once and only once, so how does one dispose of it after use? Chuck it on the ground and smash it! Modern desires for waste reduction and cost effectiveness have lowered the use of the Kulhar in modern times but chai wallahs who want to offer a traditional experience to their customers can be found throughout India and Pakistan.
Tea is something that we all share across the world but in such different ways, making the world of tea an endlessly fascinating one to explore. Now, time to go and put the kettle on...
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]]>Here are my favourite creative online courses that I've done. Do share yours with us, we want to share the creative love and all the amazing teaching out there!
Only last night I sat down with a cup of tea (Cupsmith's Organic Calm Days, and a couple of squares of dark chocolate - heaven) and spent a really happy couple of hours - the time FLEW by - in the virtual, live company of illustrators Ella Morella and Ruby Wright who showed us how to print your supper! Here's my first attempt that I finished sticking down this morning with a cup of coffee.
The other week I found artist and letterer Lucia of The Wild Ink Workshop and promptly signed up to do her lettering class. And this weekend I'm doing her Mini Map Making course. Just look at the little maps she creates - beautiful! Lucia is a great teacher and at just £15 her courses are brilliant value for money - I plan to work my way through them all.
Mono-printing seems to be a 'thing' for me at the moment as it's something quite substantial but you really can do it at the kitchen table with a cuppa. So I'm spending many evenings working on the techniques I've been learning with lovely Ellie at Surrey Art School as part of her Summer Print Club. We're in the first month of three and have been printing things we've found in nature, starting with leaves and feathers. Ellie is a fabulous teacher, and sitting down for her zoom lessons is a moment of complete 'switch off' and relaxation for me.
I also really enjoyed a Collage Club London evening making a pop-up landscape - I chose the Devon beach and red sandstone cliffs where my father lives and came up with this:
Steph is a great teacher and the time whizzed by. I also have complete colour envy - if you love vibrant colour, Collage Club London is probably right up your street.
My first foray into online creative courses 18 months ago was the BRILLIANT 'Fly Your Freak Flag' with the 3 talented artists and illustrators at The Good Ship Illustration. I can't recommend it highly enough - you have to sign up to join the waiting list for the virtual doors to open on the next course - and over a year on I'm still popping in for their live calls and re-doing their classes because you have lifetime membership. It's more expensive than the others, but you get hours and hours of amazing tutorials, videos and interviews with experts and live calls with Katie, Helen and Tania, so actually I think it's incredible value for money. I really feel I've found 'my virtual tribe' at the Good Ship Illustration and that makes me very happy!
Have you got any great courses you've done or would like to share? Do let us know. Cupsmith is all about creativity - sitting down with a cup of tea, coffee of hot chocolate at your kitchen table and spending some time doing the things you love. So do tell us and we'll help spread the word about all these amazing creatives sharing their talents with us! Pop me an email to emma@cupsmith.com
Happy creating at your kitchen table!
Emma x
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First up, iced tea.
We use our favourite organic, caffeine-free teas from our range - either Hedgerow Tea, Garden Mint or Calm Days. Make this first thing in the morning for a day filled with cooling loveliness!
- Using quite a big jug and 2 of our organic tea pyramids, pour over just-off-the-boil water.
- Leave the filled jug to cool to room temperature. When cooled, remove the tea pyramids (remember they're home compostable so throw them on a compost heap if you can)
- Pop the jug in the fridge and leave for a few hours
- serve chilled, poured over ice, with slices of cucumber (DELICIOUS in our Garden Mint Tea), fresh mint leaves in the Hedgerow Tea, and a slice of lemon in Calm Days.
Sip and feel refreshed!
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]]>There are a few things that make those tea and coffee moments extra special for us.
For Emma, each afternoon it’s a teacup and saucer that makes the perfect cup of tea moment. She loves blue and white Willow pattern.
And for her cappuccino each morning, it’s always a stripey cup and saucer from favourite brand Cornishware. Their 12oz cups are the perfect size and we always use them in our roastery.
George drinks filter coffee every morning, generally Mr Crawford’s Coffee. He loves any of the handmade pottery mugs we’ve bought from local potters and ceramicists. For tea in the afternoon, George loves our Organic Afternoon Tea or Organic Green Tea.
Things we love with coffee:
Things we love with tea:
What makes your cup of coffee or tea extra special?
]]>The key here is plunging patience!
Buttered toast, marmalade and birdsong make a very good accompaniment in our view.
If you have an espresso machine you'll love the steaming, extracting sounds it makes as much as the coffee!
Our tip: If the shot is flowing too fast and is tending to 'gush', your coffee is ground too coarsely. If the shot is flowing reeaaaaaalllly slowly, then the coffee is probably ground too fine. Order our ground-to-order espresso and it'll be spot on, or if you have your own grinder, adjust the settings. Grinders need pretty frequent adjusting anyway and spending time on getting the grind just right is SO worth it.
A croissant seems the right accompaniment to an espresso, don't you agree?
Lots of people love a stovetop, we do too. It's that happy hissing, steaming sound that comes before a delicious coffee that makes this way of making coffee a lovely daily ritual.
Put the radio back on and enjoy your coffee knowing you're keeping the loveliest tradition alive that started in Italy in the 1930s when Alfonso Bialetti invented the first stovetop.
Using a V60 or filter will give you a lovely clean cup of coffee with no residue in your cup.
Enjoy your coffee however you make it. And ping us an email if you have any questions at all. We love talking coffee!
]]>We roast coffee several times a week so booking a regular order is a great way to make sure you're always enjoying a freshly roasted cup of coffee at your kitchen table.
If you find you've got too much coffee or not enough at any point, you can easily cancel pause or change your regular order. There are no contracts, no small print and you are completely free to change anything at any time! Why can't all subscriptions be like that?!
To set up your regular order, just click on the produce you like and it'll take you through the super easy steps to ensure you never run out of coffee, tea or hot chocolate again!
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This month the lovely Ellie at Surrey Art School brings us her Spring tutorial where we learn to paint some pretty easter-inspired eggs in inks and natural dyes - she even paints with coffee!
So make yourself a cuppa, grab a paintbrush and paper and spend 20 minutes losing yourself in the world of birds' eggs and nature. Click on the photo below to start your free tutorial! Or follow this link https://youtu.be/HOxIj_5YMy8 .
We'd love to see what you do, so do share your results using the hashtag #cupsmithcreates. We'll feature them on our social media channels and send you some of our organic tea to say thankyou!
Enjoy.
x
PS Do have a look at Ellie's brilliant online Sketchbook Club. Inspired by nature and infused with mindfulness, it's a brilliant way to learn about the seasons and to find a little moment of calm in our often all too chaotic world. We're big fans.
]]>With the cold, wet days and lockdown continuing, we're finding some solace in curling up with a good book and a warming mug of hot chocolate. This is the time to forget the elements outside and lose yourself to another world, a world of beautifully drawn characters and immersive stories. Booker Prize winner Shuggie Bain has already become a modern day classic in our eyes, a wonderful piece of storytelling. This is a novel of impact which will stay long in the memory and is to be recommended to all your friends.
The Midnight Library by David Haig is next up on our list of winter must-reads. A dazzling creation, Haig’s library explores the different lives Nora Seed may have lived if she had made different choices. It is what great books do, enthral, entertain and make you wonder about the what ifs. Here are some further tips for essential fireside reading to help get you through these long winter nights.
Luckenbooth by Jenni Fagan
This unique, compelling novel centers on a nine floor tenement building in Edinburgh. It narrates the mingling misfortunes of the residents across the decades after the devil’s daughter is sent to live among them in this chilling, gothic tale. The world outside the building is changing, but for the tenement’s residents the building’s troubled history never goes away. This is ambitious and compelling writing at its finest.
Who Is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews
Wannabe writer Florence Darrow becomes assistant to the famed novelist “Maud Dixon”, a pseudonym. Following a car crash, Florence awakes in hospital with no memory of the accident and Maud is nowhere to be seen. What if Florence steps in to Maud’s shoes, taking the name as her pseudonym to write? A stylish and sharply written novel about stolen identity and opportunities grasped.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Classics are classics for a reason and dusting off your copy of Wuthering Heights never disappoints. Head back to the moors with Heathcliff and Catherine in this timeless novel. A powerful tale of love and revenge, this atmospheric classic is hard to beat on those stormy winter nights. Romanticism and gothic fiction combine to produce enduring characters which are still much loved after all these years.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
There is a Bronte-esque feel to this debut novel as the reclusive, ageing author Vida Winter invites bookshop owner Margaret Lea to record her real life story. The tale which ensues is mesmerising and gothic, ideal for winter reading. It focuses on Winter’s strange upbringing at Angelfield House, where fact and fiction have become blurred over time, and an aura of fairytale pervades.
The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory
Very few can bring history to life like Philippa Gregory. Kateryn Parr, the last of Henry VIII’s wives, suppresses her love for courtier Thomas Seymour while looking to avoid the fate of her predecessors. This is a tale of courtly intrigue which reads like a thriller, as reformist Kateryn Parr tries to keep the increasingly unpredictable king’s favour while the religious traditionalists, headed by Stephen Gardiner, look to replace her.
Hitman Anders and the Meaning of it All by Jonas Jonasson
For a left of field read, this off-beat, funny book fits the bill. A receptionist, a vicar and a slightly dim-witted hitman join forces to supply services to local criminals and gangsters. However, as the hitman starts to find religion the business begins to hit rocky roads in this quirky, yet thoughtful book, where you can not help but like the main protagonists.
So that's our lovely pile of books for these chilly days, but are there some great reads we're missing? Share your recommendations by dropping us an email to emma@cupsmith.com. And if a mug of our handmade, luxury hot chocolate seems like the perfect partner to a great book, pop some in your virtual wicker shopping basket here.
Happy reading, and stay cosy!
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