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Friday 6 May 2011

All Things Tea








Selection of my table cloths.
I have been collecting teapots for about ten years or so. Orla and I went to London for a weekend and I bought my first Whittard & co teapot in Covent Garden Market. I have acquired a few more since then, and I have let two out of my possession unwittingly. The ones I love most are the ones I have found in odd places or have been given by friends or family. Actually, that's most of them. Here they are.

Copper, probably North African. Used for Mint Tea. Bought for me by  Terrie at a car booth sale in Santry. 
A lovely pillowcase that will never be slept on. Great for serving  tea and cakes.  Bought in the Refugee Trust shop in Kilkenny.

Hand stitched table runner, bought in market in Budapest.
English Pewter pot from around 1890. Basse and Fischer. Given to me as birthday gift by another collector . 
Good tea needs a good cup. Bought for 50p each in Cotswolds. Dating from late 1800's. 
A gem. Very small. Needs very good tea which I buy in a specialist tea shop in Kilkenny.  This is made of pressed clay in traditional Chinese fashion. Comes from a small village in China and brought back by my friend Barry. 
Make in Kilkenny. Bought as a christmas gift for me by Phil and Gareth when they were in  Kilkenny  School Project. A lot of moons ago. 
Bought in Paris. Mass produced in Hunain. Liked the shape of it. 
Had to have this. No, did not pinch it. I bought it for myself for a birthday. It came with a cup. I loved Bewleys on Westmoreland Street.  Sad day when that went! I use this very frequently. It serves Early Grey very well. 
My newest piece. Bought in Enable Ireland shop in Kilkenny. This is a real find. An  Ever hot insulated teapot from 1940's. It has the chrome insulating cover, but has no inner lid. It still has tea leaf strainer inside. I paid 1.50 for it.
Another image of my new baby, with sticker still on it. 
China cups without handles. Bought in the Netherlands last year. 
Another view of the Dutch mugs. Designs are chinese.   The Netherlands traded heavily with China from 1400's onwards and delph wear was heavily influenced by the beautiful stuff being brought back from China. 

Such and elegant little teapot. Holds only one dainty  china cup of tea.
Tea strainers and stirring spoon

Another brown teapot! This is a rare L & B English teapot. Real vintage. Sorry Orla, you can't have it back.
This, I think, is an 1940's coffee pot. Not successful. Ugly in a beautiful way. the filter at the top is amazingly constructed, all made of pottery including the 'mesh' to filter down the coffee. Grand if you like cold coffee and the handle at the side which seems to say ' I am not a teapot' is very awkward indeed. Bought on holiday in the Cotswolds, a little town called Burford. 

8 comments:

  1. I'm like, totally charmed that I could put up my 'all things tea' post. And put the picture and captions in.

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  2. The pictures look great buttonbeano, now I am dying for a cup of tea! Have you ever been to the lovely tea shop on Berkley St?
    http://www.organicflowerpower.ie/

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  3. Not yet! That can be my new obsession.

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  4. Great pictures and great post. Orla says that the teapot was in her house when she bought it 15 years ago and is very glad that it has such a nice place to live. Collecting vintage, rare of not, is great - regardless of cost - whatever you find beautiful. I bought a tray covered in kiwis years ago for 50p in a pound shop and its one of my favourite things. See Dewey blog for picture.

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  5. Wow great post - you truly understand the ritualistic art of tea! I'm torn between the North African tp and the 1940's insulated tp. I'm afraid I'm going to have to copy you and start my own teapot collection!

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  6. I like your black teacaddy with the Asian design on it. My parents have one of these, I think it's the ONLY thing in our kitchen they still have from my childhood that hasn't been replaced over the years.

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  7. I also have some interesting tea. Earl Grey is my favorite, and I have also developed a taste for Assam. I buy it in a Tea Shop in Kilkenny. The most unusual tea I have is from the Middle East, brought back by my nephew Billy. He gave some to my parents and their stomachs suffered! I looked it up on google and discovered that the Bedouins boil their tea. They have special teapots that percolate the tea.
    The Teacaddy I got from my friend Julia. She has developed the great habit of putting things she does not want anymore just inside her hall door. When anyone visits she encourages them to take something away. Works well. I got the black one and the red and cream one from her. The middle sized red and black one was pinched from the mother in law.(she uses tea bags)I bought the Orla Kiley and the spotted one. The tea chest is also from Julia's corner.

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  8. I was in Covent Garden on Sunday and visited Whittard of Chelsea. Sigh! They did not have any teapots that appealed to me, but i bought a selection of world tea's in a nice gift box. I also visited The Tea Palace. They had wonderful display, everything packed in purple and white. Both shops had tea tasting. Nice.

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