When I was a child, the teapot took pride of place on the dining table.  My father is a confirmed tea addict and he still likes his tea loose-leafed, served at the right temperature in a pot and strained into a decent china cup.  Using a tea-bag is ‘slumming it’ so these loose leaf teas from Adagio Teas are right up his street.

He inherited his love of a good brew from my grandmother, Jessie, who used to joke that it was actually tea, not blood, running through her veins and who, when she was a girl in late 1920’s worked for Typhoo.

Now you may have tried other types of tea – Earl Grey, Assam, Darjeeling and a good old fashioned English breakfast tea but there are a wealth of other teas to try from all over the world.  It is truly possible to be as great a connoisseur of tea as it is of wine or coffee.

Many of us, of course, rely on the good old teabag dunked in a mug usually due to a lack of time or, for us parents, energy.  But I think this is a shame.

I’m not suggesting our tea preparation should be anywhere near as complex at the Japanese tea ceremony but there is an argument for taking time for ourselves and creating a little oasis of calm in our busy lives whilst we sup a tea which can transport us to Japan or China, an aristocratic stately home or an orchard filled with fruit.

Gourmet tea from Adagio Teas

Adagio Teas sent a positive cornucopia of loose teas to try, together with pots and cups in which to test them and their website is a great source of information about all things tea and you can read about the types of tea and how it is made.

Adagio makes it easy for you to try different teas with their sampler packs which have incredibly romantic names such as Orchard Herbals and Honeybush Teas.  There are Christmas teas and Berries teas as well as the names you will recognise, Red and Green Rooibos, Jasmine and Chai teas.

Tea is always a welcome gift, particularly for Mother’s Day.

No tea strainer required

They also offer ingenious ways to drink your loose tea without the faff of hunting around for a strainer or having to drain the pot afterwards.

For example, the glass mug and infuser is a ‘have tea anywhere’ set that combines a glass tea mug with a removable stainless steel infuser. When done, remove the infuser and have a perfect cup of tea wherever, whether at home or in the office. The cover doubles as a coaster!

Adagio also offer special paper filters which replace the need for a tea ball. You simply place the filter in your cup or teapot and fold over the edge.  They are made of taste-neutral wood and hemp fibres.

You’ll find plenty of clever filters in their teapots such as the gorgeous Nagoya teapot from Japan. It’s a cast iron teapots which are traditionally favoured for their elegant design, heartiness and ability to retain heat for long periods of time.

Each tetsubin teapot is moulded, painted and glazed by hand and comes with a stainless steel infuser to make steeping and removing leaves easy.

If only teabags will do…

You can find a selection of lovely teabag gift sets such as the Comfort Collection which includes six different varieties of gourmet tea bags in a pyramid shape which gives leaves plenty of room to unfurl and fully infuse. In this gourmet tea collection, you’ll find Golden Yunnan tea, Dragonwell tea, Wuyi Oolong tea, Oolong Goddess tea, Silver Needle tea and Jasmine Pearls tea.  Don’t they sound absolutely beautiful?

To find out more about Adagio Teas visit their website at www.adagiotea.co.uk. There’s 20% off your first order and deliveries over £30 are free.