Wednesday 30 September 2015

Time for tea with Prestige Vintage

When I was a child the choice of drink at family dinner times was tea. A teapot would be brought to the table and everybody would be served from it. All the tea served was made with tea leaves so a separate strainer would also be on the table. We only used to have one brand of tea except at Christmas when a special packet would be purchased. At the time the most popular tea brands were identifiable by their television adverts and characters. We used to have the one made famous by chimpanzees and the collectable cards you got in every packet. I vaguely remember trying to get complete series of cards featuring wildlife and coastal scenes but I think you needed to drink a lot of tea to get a full collection!

The rise of tea consumption hit its peak in the 20th century. It became the drink of the people with virtually every household in the UK relying on a couple of cups of tea a day to restore and revive them. My nan came from the Isle of Dogs in the East End of London and her brother worked in the docks. When he heard that another dockers' strike was imminent my great-grandmother would stock on tea and sugar as these would be some of the first items which would run out as deliveries of these relied on working docks. My mother remembers the cupboards being full of tea and sugar just in case the shops sold out. Tea was never wasted by my great-grandmother. It would either be drunk cold or used to water her aspidistra. I have to say it must have been very good for the aspidistra since I leaves from her original plant in my house although mine has only ever had water!

Tea has always been the hot drink of choice for me. One thing I can't abide by is the use of paper, plastic or polystyrene cups. Quite often I turn down a cup of tea if I know it's going to be served in a disposable cup. With such a love of tea goes with it a large collection of cups, mugs and teapots – there's no excuse for tea not to be served properly. With this in mind Prestige have launched a new Vintage Collection inspired by the past. With their bright red and white stripes combined with the timeless durability of enamel it certainly harks back to days gone by but with a clean modern touch.

This is an entry for Prestige Vintage collection competition. I was sent a mug and teapot set but the words, opinions and photographs are my own.

20 comments:

  1. Tea making is serious business. I much prefer to drink from a tea pot - it feels so quintessentially British!

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  2. I love drinking tea from a teapot! It always seems to taste nicer that way although that's probably in my head ;-)

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  3. I adore a good cup of tea, there is nothing quite like one made in a pot ;) x

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  4. Even though I'm a coffee drinker I do love a good tea pot and my husband drinks it by the bucketful! I love the stripes and style of this! x

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  5. I love that mug and stripy tea pot! I find myself drinking a lot more tea living outside of the UK, I am not sure why! :D

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  6. I know what you mean about a good cup of tea. I used to turn down tea made with UHT milk, but that's improved over the years. Love the tea set.

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  7. Oh this would be perfect for out in the garden. I love tea from a tea pot and we drink a lot of tea.

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  8. I'm with you on the polystyrene cup! Tea tastes better when it's in a proper mug!

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  9. Nobody drank tea in my house growing up, my love comes from my student days, so we were all about the mismatched mugs rather than tea pots

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  10. Really love the set, I very much like vintage style. I am a big tea drinker, a lovely cuppa makes everything better.

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  11. I really like this set, good luck in the competition

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  12. oh this is lovely, It would be the kind of set I'd take down to my beach hut!

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  13. I love tea from a teapot! We did buy one but I must admit we are slack at using it *puts the kettle on*

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  14. ooh I love these tea pots! there is something about enamel thats very appealing! x

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  15. I love tea, though these days I am all for discovering new teas and new flavours x

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  16. I love tea and haven't had it out of a teapot in ages

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  17. A brew definitely does taste better when it is done in a teapot!

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  18. I love my tea so much that i pack boxes of my favourite tea wherever I travel, including days out. I'm afraid my tea is made by putting the milk in the cup first and brewing the tea to my preferred taste, if I'm using a tea pot then i prefer leaves to bags. I inherited my Grans tea making paraphernalia but sadly not her tea pot

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  19. What a lovely set! Always good to have a good teapot, seems to taste better when its brewed a bit. I'm not sure I'd drink tea out of a polystyrene cup either! Coffee on the other hand...!

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  20. Lovely set. You can't beat a cuppa made from a tea pot. ☺

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