My last Photo An Hour post was for March 21st before lockdown was introduced. I only went out one more time after this, to the post office, and I haven't left the farm since.



10am
I’ve been up a while but only just remembered it’s photo an hour today.
I’m not dressed, I haven’t had breakfast, this is only my second cup of tea (Whittards Chelsea Garden - delicious). The sun isn’t shining, and I’m feeling pretty meh.



11am
Still not dressed, still not eaten, still meh. Third cuppa (Twinings Jasmine Green Tea - lovely), and a Times Crime Book of the Year, although I don’t know what year.



12pm
I’m dressed at least albeit in an outfit that looks like I grabbed what was closest to me, which is exactly what I did. My hair could do with a wash. I have another cuppa (Twinings Salted Caramel Green Tea - love this, haven’t had it for ages so treated myself to a box). Now I’m about to put some make up on, because everyone knows a face of make up is required to do the ironing and to go for a walk when you’ll see not another soul, and it’s complements my really not very clean hair perfectly. Today I’m going for a ‘whatever works’ works approach.



1pm
Lunch eaten - spaghetti hoops on toast, yep we’re going all out today. Jasmine green tea made by my husband, which is why there is SO MUCH SPACE at the top of my mug (my Mum would ask if the vicar was coming to tea). We’ve just had a chat about feeling fed up, it doesn’t change it but it’s nice to know he feels it too. From this point I have no inkling of what to do next...



2pm
Have taken myself back to bed to read for a while. More tea (made by me, the vicar was not invited this time). I’m under the duvet as it’s chilly today, but we’ve had some rain which has pleased my farmer husband. This book, The Stranger by Elly Griffiths, is actually rather good. If I achieve nothing else today it will be to get a number of chapters read.



3pm
Mug is empty! Off to make more tea. Up to chapter 23.



4pm
A productive hour. Tea made, tea consumed. Dishwasher loaded. Cat litter tray sorted. A basket of ironing done. Kitchen surfaces wiped down. Kettle is on. And now I’m about to bake a cherry cake with the help of Grandma’s ancient Kenwood Chefette.



5pm
Currently stuck under my girl cat. Not that I’m complaining. The cherry cake is in the oven and smells delicious. And I’ve vacuumed the house, not thoroughly, I didn’t move furniture or anything, it’s not Christmas.



6pm
Cherry cake out, pasta bake in.

The rest of my evening involved reading and watching a bit of TV, which couldn't have been every interesting as I have no recollection of what we watched.

Looking back on the day I started out feeling pretty low but it was nice that taking some time to just be allowed me to come out of it and be productive, I felt rather chipper by the end of the day. And the full face of make up did make me feel a little better, I felt crap but looked alright, it was a fake it til you make it kinda deal.



I finished The Stranger Diaries the next day, and have since read another, and started a third.

I hope you had a lovely weekend. Thanks to Jane and Louisa for hosting #PhotoAnHour.

I had a rather concerning thought the other day. I was drinking a mug of ordinary tea, with milk, which is how I'd taken my tea for as long as I can remember (I gave up taking sugar when I was 8 and saw ants in the sugar bowl at Brownie camp). Anyway, my thought was 'I don't really like tea anymore'.

I know, right?!

To clarify, I mean I don't like tea like that anymore. Bog standard tea with a splash of cow's milk simply doesn't float my boat these days.

It occurred to me that my tea tastes have broadened somewhat over the past few years. I used to have just one box of teabags in my cupboard - PG Tips pyramid bags - and I'd drink several cups a day.

I gave up dairy for a while a last year and couldn't face black tea without milk so I started to experiment with different types of tea, and as a consequence I developed a taste for a bit of variety in my daily drinking.


My first drink of the day is usually a glass of water, but after that, it's tea until bedtime.

I have no routine, I simply open the cupboard and see what takes my fancy. For ages Twinings Bakewell Green Tea has been a favourite, along with a strangely moreish turmeric tea, I can't put my finger on why I like it, but I do.

Often after supper I'll have mint tea, and in the run up to Christmas I was feeling festive and sipping chai tea lattes.

I was introduced to Teapigs via a Twitter competition and found I really enjoyed their Yerba Mate, and Tung Ting Oolong tea temples. I'm not the biggest fan of fruit teas as the aroma promises so much but the taste always fails to deliver.

Earl Grey makes a regular appearance in my mug, as does jasmine tea.

If I do have a 'normal' tea these days it's without milk and very weak - I mean dip the bag, just once, and remove it, no lingering. I usually only drink this when there's no alternative. I've taken to carrying my own teabags around in my bag, which people are starting to get used to, they barely raise an eyebrow these days. My Dad has taken to keeping a box of the bakewell green tea in his cupboard just for me.

Recently I've discovered to another tea company. Adagio Teas got in touch and asked if I'd like to try some of their loose leaf teas, no one will be surprised to discover that I said a very enthusiastic 'yes please!', with my love of tea, and the first half of this post sitting in my drafts folder, it was a no-brainer.


I wasn't expecting the motherload of teas to turn up on my doorstep a few days later. Honestly, it made my day. There are so many! Luckily they all have a long shelf life, because it's going to take me a while to get through them all.

My biggest problem was which one to try first? They had all my favourites covered - oolong teas, jasmine teas, earl grey - and many more besides. I've been sent sample packs containing different varieties of each. Honestly, I had no idea there were so many different varieties and blends.

In the end I settled on trying one of the chai varieties (chocolate) and made myself a chai latte with rice milk. It was perfect for a snowy day, with a storm raging outside. It was spicy and warming, with a smooth chocolately after taste. It really perked me up.


The following morning I opted for the intriguing Lemon Meringue Green Tea, this time using one of their convenient paper filters, which make using loose leaf tea a cinch (not that using a tea strainer is all that difficult). It has a lovely subtle flavour, with a nice zing to the after taste. I had two cups in quick succession.

Then, despite my usual dislike of fruity teas, I tried the Berry Creme Compote. Just look at the pretty blend of rose hips, hibiscus flowers, apple pieces, blue cornflowers, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

This was actually quite nice, it wasn't over the top fruity and had a nice smooth flavour. It's probably not one I'd buy for myself but one that I would happily drink on occasion. I'm obviously more of an actual tea drinker, herbals teas just aren't my thing. But tastes change and you have to try things again every once in a while, don't you think?

I have some fruity oolongs, and green rooiboos to try, among others, which I think will be more to my tea taste. I feel rather spoilt for choice.

I've been sharing a few I've tried on Instagram, with more to come, giving mini reviews of each if you fancy finding out a little more. With the amount of blends to try my Insta feed will soon be full of tea!

How do you take yours?



Thanks to Adagio Teas for sending me these teas to try, all opinions are my own.

I recently entered a Twitter competition with Howkapow and Teapigs, I was lucky enough to win and received a set of four Janson Co mugs in gorgeous pink hues, and a selection of delicious teas.

The combination of the postman being really early and Andy leaving for work slightly later than usual meant that Andy hand delivered these to me in bed, which made it all the more exciting. Nothing feels more like Christmas than opening presents sat up in bed.


My first brew of the day was an obvious choice. It was the energy brew Yerba Mate, the packaging tells me that it's origins are in South America where it's been drunk for general health and wellbeing for centuries. I liked the mild taste, it's described as a smokey green tea. In fact I liked this so much I had three more cups before lunch. The whole packet lasted only four days.


The second tea I tried was the sweet treat Liquorice and Peppermint. I love peppermint tea anyway and liquorice is a frequent indulgence, so this intrigued me. At first I noticed the liquorice and the peppermint came as quite a sweet aftertaste, which I rather liked. I also inadvertently matched my nails, mug and teabags. How's that for accessorising?


A serving suggestion was to add lemon and lime which was really nice, the citrus tang took away a little of the sweetness - great if you don't want such a sweet aftertaste and really nice after a meal.


After lunch I tried the Chocolate Flake Tea which was lovely, it felt a little creamy in texture, even when made with just water. It wasn't overly chocolatey but was comforting in a way I can't quite put my finger on. It's very nice for a pre-bedtime drink.


The Popcorn Tea was also a hit! It's a green tea with popcorn pieces, the taste and smell was very much like popcorn. I gulped this down without taking much notice, but having realised that I really enjoyed it, I made another myself cup. This time it was accompanied by a pack of my favourite Propercorn popcorn - afternoon tea-break perfection.


The Janson Co mugs are a little smaller than normal sized mugs but I have to say I quite like them - they're enough to be refreshing but not too filling. I drink a lot of tea so I'm no stranger to that stomach-full-of-liquid 'sloshing' feeling but these help me to avoid that. They also feel delicate to drink from, like a cup and saucer (only without the saucer).

Next up was the Rooibos Creme Caramel tea. This is the only one I made with milk (not being a fan of red bush tea normally I thought that this would soften the flavour - it did) which made it perfect for my last cuppa of the day. These teabags (or temples as they're affectionately known) can contain chunks of caramel but they can't guarantee a chunk in each teabag, so I was chuffed to find two in one of mine. Caramel jackpot!

The only one I didn't try was the Chilli Chai, on the back it said that it wasn't for the person who orders korma and plain naan in their local curry house, which is, erm, me. Maybe I'll try it another day, but for now I have plenty of tempting teas to keep me occupied. And I might have just spied a few more varieties on the website that tickle my fancy...

Have you discovered Teapigs yet? I'm well and truly converted, I haven't had a normal tea in six days.

Love