“Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age. The child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies.” - Edna St. Vincent Millay

When I was pretty little, we're talking junior school age, I went on a school trip to York. I haven't thought about it for years, but today it came flooding back with a vengeance. And to explain why, I need to go back only to tuesday of this week.

On tuesday, a friend of mine put some money in my paypal account for an action figure I had found in my loft and consequently sold him. Now, I had plenty of sensible things I should have spent this money on, and tea was not one of those things. But I had been eyeing up the Bluebird Tea Company for a while and, in a fit of 'sensible be damned, I want tea', I ordered four of their fantastically named and very tasty sounding teas. It was free shipping on tuesday as well - I think they did that because they knew it would tip me over the edge...

Very efficiently they shipped my order out the same day, and just as efficiently the postman got it to me two days later. Two hours ago. I will write about and review the others as I come to drink them, but the first one I decided to try was Rhubarb and Custard. Oh and what a good decision that was.

Rhubarb and Custard by Bluebird Tea Co

The blurb from the company - Hardy British super fruit, much loved vintage cartoon characters, top boiled sweet and crumble of the Gods... Rhubarb + Custard really is a pairing made in heaven. This naturally caffeine free, antioxidant rich blend will satisfy your sweet tooth with less than 1 calorie p/cup! Sounds like a super sweet deal to us!

The bit by me -

On that trip to York we visited the castle museum, and there was this bit of it that was made up like an old fashioned street - Victorian I think.

In that street was a sweet shop - not a real sweet shop, all the fake sweets were behind glass so day tripping schoolkids couldn't gorge themselves on what were no doubt plaster of paris gobstoppers and modelling clay licorice whips. But it smelled like a real sweet shop. It was amazing to my young mind, and it clearly stuck with me.

30 odd years later, I remembered walking into that place. I remembered the Al Jolson machine outside the gift shop that took 2ps and played for half an hour. I remembered what my junior school teacher looked like.

This tea smells, tastes and feels like nostalgia. And that, today, is a very good thing.

“The usual for me." The usual was a strong infusion of different kinds of Oriental teas, which raised her spirits after her siesta.” ― Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

Many of the most pleasurable little experiences in life start in the same way, with a smell. The loaf of bread proving in the kitchen, the slightly musty scent as you push open a door to a second hand book shop, and now the exotic mix of spices that invade my nostrils every time I crack open my jar of Masala Chai from the Brew Tea Company.

After writing my last blog an absolute age ago, I went on a bit of a hiatus from the realm of the internet. Doing family things - camping, playing, exploring - while the weather was good and my daughter is still young and thinks I'm an excellent person to spend time with (I know this will not last). I kept drinking tea, I kept reading books, I just stopped writing about it. However, I did on one occasion check into my blog and discovered I had a message from the lovely Aideen at the Brew Tea Company, and she seemed to like what I had written about my cuppa from Sweet Little Things. And while making people smile is always reward in itself, the fact that she offered to send me some tea was a rather groovy bonus :)

So, a couple of days later I received a lovely chunky parcel through the post, and in it was some English Breakfast Tea and some of the Masala Chai that I'd already expressed a liking for. And this is my review of that one.

Masala Chai by Brew Tea Co

The blurb from the company - So you've been to India, grown a beard and found yourself. Chances are you'll know this tea. If you're still clean shaven then all you need to know is: Amazing tea + A spice rack = Yummy chai.

The bit by me - Smell... flavour... smell... flavour... mmmmmmmmm. I drink this tea by the big pot full while watching obscure films I've never heard of on Netflix. It's a winning combination. I like to try many different types of tea, but this is being added to my list of teas I'll always try and keep on my shelf, as not having any would upset me.