ON THE TEA TRAIL

Tea is a bit of a theme in our travels.

From the tea growing country of India to roadside chai stalls to afternoon tea time in London hotels, there is rarely a wrong time for a good cup of tea.

We have a sister blog where our family and friends offer write-ups of their visits to various far-flung and closer-to-home afternoon tea offerings. Visit the ​High Tea Inspectors blog for a peek.

Our top tea experiences…

1.       Darjeeling

If you want the source, the mother of all tea destinations has to be Darjeeling, India. When it is standing in the middle of a tea garden or taking a deep breath amid freshly plucked leaves in the Makaibari Estate’s tea processing centre – you know you’ve come to the right place for tea.

2.       Afternoon tea

Nowhere does afternoon tea quite the same way as London – whether its old school posh at the Ritz or Claridges or with an edgier twist at places like the Modern Pantry – we wouldn’t travel to Blighty without a good sit down and a scone.

Of course there is no need to head to the mother country for clotted cream – the best dainty sandwiches of my life were less daintily gobbled down at the Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur, and likewise I remember some pretty spectacular scones at the Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong.

3.       Chinese tea houses

When the heat or shopping or just plain exhaustion has become too much when in Singapore, it is the best thing to sit down with a pot of Osmanthus tea at Tea Chapter in Chinatown. There are a number of other traditional Chinese tea houses in the vicinity and we have done a similar thing in Hong Kong, but for sheer nostalgia value (we first went to this shop many years ago) Tea Chapter is a favourite for me.

4.       Green tea and sweets in Japan

Although foamy green tea might not be everyone’s idea of the perfect snack – it is the loveliest way to take stock and regroup after a visit to a garden, temple, geisha museum, hot spring – whatever. While a more elaborate tea ceremony may be an experience for another visit, it can’t better some of the memorable places we have enjoyed a bowl of brew.

On our wish list…

1.       A stay at Ceylon Tea Trails in Hatton, Sri Lanka

2.       Traveling tea country in China

3.       Working our way through every place on this list


What about you, dear reader? Do you have a theme or something special that you search out on your travels?

Tea Garden in Kerala

Darjeeling Tea

Mandarin high Tea

Tea processing @ Goomtee estate

Different variety of Tea

Tea leaf pickers