Tea Time

It has been brought to my attention recently (via various forms of communications and conversations) that I may have, inadvertently, been poisoning my friends by giving them your common-or-garden English Breakfast Tea when they visit. I have discovered, in fact, that at least two of them prefer Earl Grey and Lady Grey Tea. And Heather,having experienced last week her FIRST EVER CUP OF TEA at the ripe old age of 22, prefers hot fruit drinks if she is going to be co-erced into future hot drink consumption.

I've tried Earl Grey tea. I think it tastes of the ashes one cleans from the bottom of a fire place. I've never tried Lady Grey tea. I will happily drink peppermint tea, and lemon and ginger tea. Most other herb and fruit teas taste like they are capable of taking the enamel off one's teeth; except camomile which tastes like musty old hay.

But in my recent kitchen cupboard cleaning frenzy and because I like to make family and friends welcome in my home, I threw out various packets of beverages that were out of date (which, I suppose, could explain their peculiar taste) and now have a dedicated hot drinks cupboard for the delight of Malarkey Manor guests-of-the-future. The range on offer now consists of: Assam Tea, Earl Grey Tea, Ceylon Tea, Lady Grey Tea, Peppermint Tea, Lemon and Grapefruit Tea ,Orange Tea, Blackcurrant Tea, Lemon and Ginger Tea and Cranberry, Strawberry and Raspberry Tea. Hot chocolate. Coffee (instant), coffee (posh) and, because it really is the best, English Breakfast Tea.

And if all else fails, well, there is always the cake.