Tea Beginnings

How it all came about…

Wishing you always; walls for the wind, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire & the love & laughter of those you hold dear.

Old Celtic Saying

My grandparents emigrated from Northern Ireland in the mid 70’s, coming across the world to New Zealand. No mean feat at any age but when you are in your 50s and late 60s I look back at this as incredibly brave. I, at the age of 4 gave them a heroes welcome and was fascinated with these people I had only heard and seen pictures of. I was soon to become my Grandfathers shadow and spent every holiday in their company, picnicking, baking, gardening and mastering the art of tea making; something I will cherish always. In their beautiful tea chest that arrived by ship a few months later was a treasure that I became enchanted with. It was a ‘TeasMaid’…an alarm clock, radio and tea maker all in one! My Grandparents were early risers so at around 5.30am the alarm would chime and the water would be set to boil…a few minutes later, after a lot of gurgling and spluttering, the tea would be ready to pour – all without leaving their bed! Now as a young child I didn’t need an invitation to wake early and this was the most exciting way to start the day. It became a tradition that I would knock on their door as soon as I woke and join them for our very own tea ceremony.

Sadly Gran and Grandad’s ‘TeasMaid’ didn’t live on forever, but I was gifted a similar, more modern machine just recently after I did a live video about my love for tea. There is something to be said for fabulous childhood memories and how they can embed themselves into a lifetime enjoyment in something as simple as tea.

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