Newbie Tea (Pot) Lover

I've discovered tea. 

I can hear my Nespresso machine crying out as I type this.

Regular readers will know that I do not drink tea. I have only enjoyed tea in Japan, London and now.

Recently I blogged about a High Tea at Budmarsh Lodge.

I ordered the Raspberry tea, but was given Strawberry & Mango instead - best mistake ever!

Infusions

I decided to investigate the rest of the Twinings Infusions range and discovered that each flavour was a delight - although I must be honest - the Strawberry & Mango is still my favourite.

Now to enjoy tea the correct way - I needed a teapot.

I opened the Google window, searched Teapot and fell in love with the second image I saw:

Maxwell & Williams - William Kilburn Collection (Summer Blossoms)

Expensive taste - but how pretty is that pot?

William Kilburn was an 18th century textile designer.

"...famous for his superb floral designs, which he illustrated himself and then transferred onto high quality fabrics. Highly regarded already in his time, his designs and fabrics are regarded as masterpieces today and the original drawings are part of the Victoria and Albert Museum collections in London."

I left it for a few days, but this pot was calling out to me, so I squeezed my eyes tightly shut & and bought it.

I now need to add to my collection. I am in 2 minds as to whether I should complete the entire set in matching accessories, or to mismatch my cups, saucers and plates.

There is no sugar and milk jug in this particular set & the teacups are not as dainty as I would like, but look at how pretty the plates are:

Summer Blossom Plates

I may end up collecting these plates and buy other teacups and saucers.

Look at the the other absolutely beautiful ranges available in Maxwell & Williams from the Enchante collection:

Antoinette

Jacqueline

Gabrielle

If you are in the market for some pretty teapots and accessories, have a look at the following websites:

Yuppie Chef

Interglass (slightly less expensive than Yuppie Chef)

Binuns (almost R100 cheaper on the same teapot)

I have also been lucky enough to receive a tea set from my mom. It belonged to my gran - it is really old as you can see from the design - so this is very sentimental to me.

The teacups and plates were damaged, but these 3 items are in perfect condition.

Authentic inherited tea set

What I do need are silver sugar tongs. 

Any idea where I could find some? It seems to be a very difficult commodity to acquire.

What are your favourite tea traditions?