Let's talk about tea, baby

Plus a favourite lazy recipe.

Hello! I’m Celine and I write about books, cooking and surviving life in the city, when you have a wild heart. Subscribe for free posts like this one, or join the community for other exclusive writing. Either way, thanks for your support!

New not-smashed glass teapot.

Recently, I smashed my favourite teapot. A glass 1.5L pot that I’d had in my possession for some time. A fun moment, that I will think back on fondly.

Okay, a sad occasion for sure, but a little fire lit up within me. Now I had carte blanche to go look at teaware and maybe even buy some new teaware, which I did end up doing, adding this gorgeous glass teapot to my collection. It will now be my morning teapot – yeah I use different teapots depending on what time of the day I’m imbibing a hot drink, what of it?

I live in a city, actually scrap that, a country that is obsessed with coffee. And by all accounts, we do coffee well. Yet, I’m one of those seemingly rare Australians who can’t stand the stuff. Don’t enjoy the smell at all, and if I ingest anything that tastes vaguely like coffee, it’s not a fun experience.

I also dislike the rush surrounding coffee culture. There are people I know who drink coffee because they genuinely enjoy the taste. Then there are people who forced themselves to like coffee, because they thought it would be a handy aid to get through the day. Order quick, gulp down, toss the dispoable cup. Coffee has seeped into productivity culture in a way that tea hasn’t, which is part of the reason I don’t feel so bad about having an aversion to it.

Yet, the level of fervour surrounding coffee in cities like Melbourne can feel somewhat ostracizing. Cafes will offer about twenty different ways to drink coffee and then charge you $4.50 for a cup of hot water paired with a plastic teabag that’s worth about 10 cents when bought in bulk from the supermarket.

I’d love there to be a dedicated tea bar near where I live – somewhere you could pop in for different, exciting varieties of tea, enjoying a pot with a book, or a friend. I recently came across such a place while I was in Tasmania, and excitedly settled in to sample some of their Jasmine Dragon Pearls tea, walking out with a bag of their Genmai Green and tin of Gardenia White Tea. Bliss.

Stopping for a tea break in T-mania.

With a bit of a lack of tea culture in my own ‘hood, I’ve had to make my own at home. I buy good quality tea and accessories, and get a lot of use and pleasure out of them. Here are a few of my daily tea rituals – if you too are a tea fiend, I’d love to hear some of yours.

I’m addicted to a certain blend of green tea, made by Organic Merchant. It’s a Jasmine green tea with rose petals. I’ve always been a green tea girlie but I got hooked on this when I first moved to Melbourne, several years ago. If I don’t start the day with a cup of this, I basically feel unhinged.

I brew this strong, first thing in the morning, into my glass teapot if I’m working from home, or it’s le weekend. If I’m on the move, I brew it via tea strainer into my red Yeti travel mug. I bought this after getting sick of staying in hotels and motels with tiny cups, while on the road.

When at home I have to have my morning cuppa in a particular mug. Wish I could say it was some lovely, handmade ceramic cup but it happens to be one of the big mugs Starbucks sells in their stores. The ones that have city skylines etched across them. They’re pleasingly large and I got mine the day I moved home from London, so I’m not only drinking tea in it, I’m drinking emotions too. Whatever chemicals are in the make of this cup, they blend perfectly with my favourite jasmine tea. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Beloved mug.

I generally drink around 1-1.5L of this tea everyday. I buy it loose leaf from my local The Source Bulk Foods store. Every 6-8 weeks, I head there with two empty tins, fill them up to the brim and am charged about $60 at the till. It may sound like a lot, but it works out to be less than a dollar a day, extremely economical when you consider how much a cup of takeaway coffee costs in today’s economy.

I try not to drink green tea after 3pm, lest I fancy being up late into the night (not really). I usually get out my afternoon teapot and brew some herbal tea – the aforementioned Gardenia white tea is currently hitting the spot here. Or I might make a pot of chai tea. Maybe wet chai kept in the fridge, or local Indigenous company Mabu Mabu have a really yummy chai which contains wattleseed, cinnamon myrtle, and pepperberry. Non-negotiable is dripping a big spoonful of local honey into the mix.

If I’m feeling particularly saucy, I might have one more cuppa before bed. Chamomile really hits the spot and I recently bought this Peaceful tea, which is particularly gentle and nice.

In the summer, I generally stick to one cup in the morning, unless it’s offensively hot weather. The jasmine green tea does taste quite nice iced and am also a fan of making matcha milkshakes (basically matcha, milk and maple syrup shaken with ice).

I love the ritual of brewing tea. It’s a sensory experience. Hearing the sound of water pouring into the pot, then the tea into the cup. Watching steam rise from the teapot and then the mug. Lighting a candle underneath my teapot to keep it warm. Cold hands around hot mug, stepping outside for the first light of the day. It’s something that not only makes winter tolerable, but a season to almost look forward to.

Well, now I’m thirsty. Time for a cuppa, me thinks. 🍵

Magic in the making.

Chorizo, fennel and white bean casserole

This is one of my go-to recipes when I have no idea of what to cook and the first meal I made in my new kitchen. As promised, now sharing it with you.

It’s relatively low effort (time is the biggest investment here) and tastes so yummy. Plus you can easily make a veggie version by omitting the chorizo and subbing chicken stock for veg stock.

What you need

• 2 chorizo (optional, sub with extra salt for veg version)

• 1 onion, diced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 cups chicken or veg stock

• 3 sticks of celery (chopped)

• half a bulb of fennel (chopped)

• tin of white beans (if using dry, soak around 400g overnight)

• 1 tsp of thyme

• salt to taste

• more water as needed.

What you need to do

1. Get some veg or olive oil sizzling in a casserole dish or deep frying pan on mid-heat.

2. Add onion and garlic. Cook for around 5 minutes.

3. Add fennel and celery, and cook for another 8 minutes.

4. Pour in the stock, then throw in beans and chorizo, if using.

5. Sprinkle the thyme in.

6. Let bubble, then turn down heat and simmer for ideally 2-3 hours, ensuring the ingredients are covered with liquid. Stir every ten minutes or so. Top up with water as needed.

7. Serve with freshly toasted bread and butter, if you wish.

You can get away with around 1.5 hours cooking time, but to ensure everything’s really soft and juicy, I’d let it bubble away for 2-3 hours. Promise your house will smell delicious for long after.

Last few crumbs

• Currently reading Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner. Review to come.

• Recently watched Priscilla. It was… okay? A bit slow paced. Have you seen it? What did you think?

• Can’t get enough of this trout and dukkah dip I’m buying from the local grocery store. Damn, it’s good. Donna Hay has a recipe for the stuff, if you wish to give it a go.

• Currently feeling very glad it’s August. The magnolias are coming out (a little early it feels) and the light of the day slowly extending. Also, there are five Thursdays in August, which means… five newsletters! Eek!

Have a great week. Will see you next Thursday.

‘Til then, stay well and well-fed

-Celine

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Your cosy winter reading list

Mixing the perfect mocktail: a review of 'Nixology'

Book links in this missive will take you to YourBookstore.io. This very handy website allows you to shop and support independent Australian bookstores. Give your local some love, or request a copy from your nearest library.