The Queen Elizabeth Coronation High Tea at the royally fabulous Tea Cosy Tea Room in Brighton.

Last week I became a Notting Hill Carnival refugee in Brighton. It was not my obvious choice – knowing that with good weather the whole world will flock to the coast – but I got a good deal on the hotel and train (do shop around as I only paid £10 return from London Victoria plus £1 admin fee) so Brighton it is that I escape from the carnival chaos.

I stayed at The Brighton House (52 Regency Square) owned by Christine, Lucho and Mr. Watt (the cat). Service was very prompt, friendly and generous and I have been made to feel very welcomed. Now the breakfast served by them is to die for! It is a perfect example for other B&Bs that it only takes a little loving attention to provide a very good breakfast. Nearly everything on the buffet is organic and sourced locally. I particularly like the soft boil eggs (which tasted so fresh and just like the eggs laid by my 2 hens) and the lashings of smoked salmon. The inclusion of organic goji berries as sprinkle at the cereal bar immediately won me over. I must have spent at least an hour and a half every day slowly devouring the delicious spread.

I may have watched too many episodes of the Hotel Inspector and have acquired the same beady eyes as Alex Polizzi but I have to say there are not many things I can fault with my stay at The Brighton House. The hotel is conveniently located from the shingle beach (2 minutes walk) and Preston Street (2 minutes) which I shall refer to as the “ethnic street” that house restaurants from various continents. At the end of this street near the coast is a very big friendly Chinese restaurant which produces mediocre dishes despite being the local’s favourite. If you are missing the standard high street offerings, there is always the Churchill Shopping Mall (5 minutes) but if you are like me, you will want to spend time browsing quirky shops in the Lanes and the North Laine (15 minutes).

The scrumptious breakfast spread put out by The Brighton House B&B. Not seen in this picture is an equally delicious cereal and yoghurt bar packed full with different kinds of fresh and dried fruits including goji berries.

Now this being a tea blog, I have to mention The Tea Cosy Tearoom owned by Jackie, her daughter (head baker) and son-in-law (techie working on their eshop). With a logo in the form of a crest of (the Unique, the Complex and the Extraordinary) Diana and Dodi and a shop window packed full of things from the good ole days, I simply had to pop my head into the shop and before I know it, I am in the tea room looking at all the crockery that had been attached to every single available spot on the walls and ceiling.

This royalty-obsessed teahouse harps back to the days of sugar tongs, china teacups, and lifting the pinkie when slurping your tea. The whole place is decked out magnificently with Charles and Diana memorabilia (including a sticker of Charles and Camilla on a loo seat), a pianola with a mind of its own, paintings of the royal family and a bizarre cabinet of knitted creatures. You could easily spend an afternoon here on your own, letting your gaze wander form the Cliff Richard plate clock to signed photos of Dot Cotton and semi-nude picture of Barbara Windsor in the style of Carry-On films. For a Singaporean, this tea room is fantasically over the top royal and English!

Expect a room packed full of memorabilia of the Royal family and all things quintessentially English at the Tea Cosy Tearoom on 3 George Street in Brighton.

I just fell in love with the whole experience of being in The Tea Cosy. When I first walked into the room, I was really worried that my clumsiness might lead to some disasters. However, as soon as I sat down, the background Swing and Big band songs (which will make David Jacobs of Radio 2 proud) and the beautiful crockery made me felt at ease with whatever Englishness that is in me! This is exactly how I would (and no doubt many foreigners in the Far East still do) romanticise about the tea drinking culture in UK before I came here.

As with many Afternoon tea offerings, the emphasis is not on the tea but on the food – although Jackie told me that she is looking into expanding her offerings to include teas from the Orient. There are 3 high tea options, I went for the Queen Elizabeth Coronation High Tea which at £11 per head is a bargain. On the three-tiered cake stand are sandwiches of the coronation chicken, egg mayonnaise and cucumber variety – all with their crusts cut off. I also get a generous slice of delicious pate with white Melba toasts and potato biscuits.

The beautiful Sancho Pepper bonsai that I bought from Eric of Bonsai Ko in Brighton.

For the sweets, there is a thick slice of Victoria sponge, chocolate brownie with a crunch, a mini fairy cake, a chocolate éclair and the obligatory scone with jam and whipped cream. According to Jackie, all the cakes are baked by her daughter and they have plans to sell them on their website. Most of the items are yummy except the éclair which is a bit soft for my taste and a very slight disappointment that the scone is not warm. Having said that, the spread and the ambience at that price is really good value for money and unpretentious.

All the items on the menu are named after members of the Royal family which still make me chuckle. There is the William & Harry’s Tea consisting of a selection of homemade biscuits and a pot of tea (£3.50) and the Charles & Camilla Elevenses of toasted teacake served with homemade jam and tea (£4.95). There is also the Queen Mother’s Cream Tea with 2 fruit scones, cream and homemade jam served with a pot of tea (£5.95) and Queen Victoria Tea with smoked salmon and cucumber, ham and mustard and cheese and chutney sandwiches, a slice of Victoria Sponge with a pot of tea for one (£6.95).

In addition to the Queen Elizabeth High Tea which I had, the Tea Cosy also serves Princess Diana’s Memorial High Tea with a selection of cakes and sandwiches comprising of smoked salmon, cheese and chutney and cucumber, served with biscuits and cream tea with unlimited refills of the tea (£10) and with at least 48 hours notice, Jackie can also serve you their Fergie’s alternative High Tea that is Gluten/wheat/dairy free selection of cakes and sandwiches comprising of cucumber, smoked salmon and tomato with basil sandwiches, bite-sized meringues, fruit scones with jam and tea (£12).

The very interesting Bert’s Homestore – Brighton’s very own Cath Kidston of sweet little old ladies styled items.

At the Brighton House B&B, I found a tourist guide to Brighton which detailed the tea etiquette (also found on their website) expected at The Tea Cosy tea room. Although meant to be tongue in cheek, I would very much like to believe that etiquette such as the one involving the volume of conversations not being louder than two tones above the clink of a teacup is still being “enforced”.

During the heavy downpour on the bank holiday Sunday afternoon, a friendly local at the café where I was seeking shelter said as a matter of fact that “it is to be expected so mustn’t grumble!” Despite the rain, Brighton is no doubt a happy place for me. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the quirky shops in the lanes and friendly banter with the shop owners.

Not all the shops are my cup of tea but I did fell in love with the ethnic grocer Taj – a mecca for cooks like me (95 Western Road and 13 Old Steine), Bert’s Homestore – packed full of country style little old ladies houseware, Real Pâtisserie for their delicious pain aux raisin and cinnamon swirls and their attractive smiles and Aloka Aura-Soma for their delicious raw foods and swanky shop front.

The one shop most worthy of mention is the humble bonsai expert Eric Danot who was introduced to me by Mike (twitter: @Di9it8). Eric owns the beautiful bonsai shop Bonsai Ko for 20 years. I was bowed over by all the beautifully cultivated bonsais in his shop and I am now a proud owner of an edible Sancho Pepper bonsai.

So the next time you are feeling a sense of ennui with the same old shops and streets in London, remember that Brighton is only a short train ride away.

Warmly, Pei ~~ Serene and fragrant TEA entices with promise of rapture in STORE ~~ tea open house . medTEAtation . @teanamu . FB page

“Cha Dao: The Way of Tea, Tea as a Way of Life” by Solala Towler.

I have been recently asked to review Solala Towler’s “Cha Dao” by publisher Singing Dragon and couldn’t put it down once I have started. Cha Dao is an inspiring read, and, like a Zen master, it offers little teasers which urge one to find out more about the ideas behind the humble cup of tea.

The Chinese Art of Tea is an amalgam of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. Towler aims to lay out Daoism’s influence on this art. This book brings this ancient Chinese philosophy closer to non-Chinese readers.

Daoism in tea is about “being intensely engaged with life yet not being attached to the outcome of any endeavour.” Through the Dao principles of “Going Slowly” (or at the right speed), “Naturalness” (an internal state of simplicity and oneness with nature), “Way of Water” (being flexible), “Art of Doing Nothing” (letting things develop in their own time and allowing oneself to just be), “Uncarved Wood” (the pure attributes of a baby) and “Value of Worthlessness” (when we are willing to be worthless, we become worthy and we acknowledge that we are precious and perfect in our imperfections), Towler shows us that it is possible to stay living a life that is more at ease with the world by starting with the quiet and modest cup of tea. By focusing on the ordinary and everyday, we are constantly reminded that impermanence is at the core of everything.

It does not take much to instil some Zen wisdom in your daily life. The way of tea is very simple: “It is only to boil water along with tea leaves and drink it. Anything else is superfluous“. So live the Zen concept of ichi-go ichi-e, engage with your cup of tea, be in the moment with the tea, listen to it, allow it to help you be at one with everything around you, and appreciate the moment for it can never be recreated.

Towler observes that the Samurai class were attracted to the tea ceremony because it was “a place of quiet serenity in the midst of their battle-filled lives. It was a place where they could let down their guard and enter into a timeless realm… It was where they could listen to the quiet bubbling of the tea water … it was an opportunity to observe the slow, simple and austere movements of the tea master.”

It is Towler’s intention to share the idea that the “Way of Tea encompasses much more than simply drinking tea“. Tea is the union of all heaven, earth and humanity. “In our world of constant rushing activity“, he writes, “it is good to be able to take some time out of the race and bask in the glory of just ‘being’.“ I cannot agree more when he says that by “maintaining our still centre, even in the midst of activity, we will be better able to flow with the changes that happen in our lives.” In our era of overdoing and overachieving, where we are all Samurai in a sense, true refinement is more and more difficult all the world over. But if we follow the way of tea, we will be able “to reconnect and realign ourselves with the great Way of Dao. In that connection, we can begin to heal, to find the path to wholeness. And in this Way, we can open ourselves to new experiences, new ways of seeing and being, new attitudes and ways of looking at the world and our place in it.”

With the understanding of Dao, the way of tea is a way of accepting “the mundane of life and [trying] to find beauty in our world“. It is about living a life that is full but not overwhelming, slow but still productive. It is about existing in the moment and not worrying about the future or past.

Hold a cup of tea as still as possible in your hand. Inevitably the surface will ripple. If you put the tea down, the surface will shake more, but then finally the storm will pass and stillness reign. It’s about letting go of the effort to control. This too will pass.

Warmly, Pei ~~ Serene and fragrant TEA entices with promise of rapture in STORE ~~ tea open house . medTEAtation . @teanamu . FB page

A true tea classics: – “The Book of Tea” by Kakuzo Okakura first published in 1906.

It has taken me a while to reconnect with one of the tea classics: – “The Book of Tea” by Kakuzo Okakura first published in 1906. The impulse to do so comes from a new tea friend Jason (@jasoncale) whom I have met through our tea open house events. He has done a lot of research into Zen and meditation and has found that tea is a common element. He is basically as mad about tea as I am (sorry Jason!)

My personal observation is that tea drinking in China is just about enjoying a delicious and health giving beverage. There are, however, definitely massive efforts put in by scholars in the last 10-20 years to re-formulate a Chinese tea culture or Cha Dao. One of them is Professor Tsai Rong Tsang. He has researched various tea cultures for many years, stripping them bare and re-constituting them to form a model or a way of living which places tea right in the centre. His study realises the practical aspects of teaism.

Teaism, according to Okakura, is an amalgamation of the Chinese way of tea, Taoism and Zennism.

Through the eras of “Boiled Cake-tea“, “Whipped Powdered-Tea” and “Steeped Leaf-Tea“, we witness the change in the tea ideals that represent Chinese culture over time. During the Song dynasty (960 – 1279) otherwise known as the “Whipped Tea” era, it is the Taoist emphasis on the importance of “process” and not “deed” that brought tea from just a poetical pastime to one of the methods of self-realisation. It is in this era that southern Zen Buddhist sects incorporated much of Taoist doctrine and formulated an elaborate ritual of drinking whipped tea. This ritual drinking forms the basis of the Japanese tea ceremony we know today. Sadly, the invasion of the barbarian Mongols ended the Song dynasty and forcefully destroyed most of the Song’s tea ideals in China. Luckily, some of these ideals have been preserved overseas.

The fundamental aim of Taoism is to achieve an understanding of nature and the tao: ‘Born before heaven and earth – silent and void – it stands alone and does not change. Pervading all things it does not grow weary‘. The term tao is central to Taoism, which seeks the essence of life in a rejection of all things superficial, including political order. The goals of Taoism can only be attained amid the spontaneity of landscape, and preferably among mountains. This is the Taoism I grew up with; it is about the achievement of immortality through the practice of the tao and of gods, demigods and fairies.

According to Okakura, Zennism makes practical Taoism’s basis of aesthetic ideals. Zennism is about your own personal intimate experience. You heighten your ability to experience through meditation. Through meditation, you can sharpen your mind to allow you to savour the flavour of something with no apparent flavour or appreciate the symmetry in asymmetrical objects. This is quite a powerful concept especially when it comes to tasting and finding beauty in everything, even a small single beautiful flower growing out from cracks in the ground. A weed is after all still a living plant but not where you want it.

The whole ideal of Teaism arises from the Zen conception of greatness in the smallest incidents of life. Through the careful and mindful preparation of tea, one learns to appreciate not just the beauty of tea but also the natural beauty of all things around us and the transient nature of beauty. That is the essence of ichigo ichie – one moment one opportunity.

In 1906, Okakura thinks that industrialism is making true refinement more and more difficult all the world over. So a hundred years on, do you not think that we need the tea ritual more than ever?

Warmly, Pei ~~ Serene and fragrant TEA entices with promise of rapture in STORE ~~ tea open house . medTEAtation . @teanamu . FB page