As everyone steps up their game for the ultimate tea and cakes for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, it’s worth remembering our beloved ‘British beverage’, isn’t…!
A potted history, it was the marriage of Charles II to the Portuguese princess and total tea addict Catherine of Braganza which marked a significant turning point in our history with the brew. Her love of tea established a new fashionable drink at court and among the wealthy. As a result, we imported 100lbs of China tea from Java in 1664 – today, it’s more than 2.5 million lbs – or 129,000 tons.
Do you have a favourite blend or maybe there’s a local tea haunt you’d love to raise a cup to – a social space you can share informally with family and friends, or go to meet with like-minded folk within the community?
One we adore is Blandford Fashion Museum Tea Room & Shop. This vintage-style tearoom set in the delightful surroundings of a Grade II listed Georgian house, serves up a stylish pot of Earl Grey in the pretty tranquil courtyard garden – dogs invited on a lead – after a pop into the museum where they’re often looking for volunteers. Visit www.blandfordfashionmuseum.co.uk for more information.
Or support your local bookshop cafe? In an attempt to encourage reading, rather than texting, you can enjoy a peaceful tea in The Stripy Duck bookshop in Bruton, which also features the delicious home-made, often vegan, Liam’s Cakes from Frome. With a ‘no tapping on a keyboard or phone’ policy, you are invited to chat, read or enter the local chess and backgammon contests.
Equally, if you, or someone you know, lives with memory loss or dementia, check out Mindful Café groups which get together in Gillingham and Stalbridge, where you can socialise and benefit from the support of a friendly like-minded group. Check Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mindfulmemorycafes/ for more details or phone 01747 852153.
Why not nominate your own favourite tea destination, arrange a community tea afternoon, support your local and help get the high street buzzing again – newsdesk@blackmorevale.net
We would love to know what you get up to over the Jubilee, so send us photos of your celebration.