Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Teawares from the Diana exhibition



Getting to see the "Diana: A Celebration" exhibition was a wonderful treat, and tea lovers who visit can expect to find several lovely keepsakes available in the gift shop. My favorite, by far, was this pink and platinum teacup and saucer.

The lovely lady running the gift shop said I was her first customer and happily brought down a pretty pink box bearing the Althorp logo. She pulled out a beautiful teacup and saucer with a pearlized pink finish accented by bands and flourishes of platinum and with pretty pink roses on the center of both cup and saucer. The minute I held it, I was a goner.

Happily, the teacup is actually made in England, unlike so many of the teawares I come across these days!

To go in the teacup, of course, nothing would do but the Althorp English Breakfast Tea. I liked the tin with the old engraving of Diana's ancestral home Althorp, a design which was also reproduced on this tea towel. Most tea towels seem to feature a vertical design, but this one is horizontal. (I'm probably not going to use this tea towel to wipe up spaghetti sauce. At least not for a long while!)


The stringless teabags were packed into the tin, reminding me of the PG Tips tea I have enjoyed on occasion.

And how was it? Well, I don't know what I was thinking when I steeped that first cup of tea for five whole minutes. Have you ever heard that phrase about tea being so strong you could stand a spoon in it? Well, this tea was *that* strong. A little milk soon set things to right. Later, I resteeped the teabag for just two minutes and that was just about as strong as I like it! But stout tea or no stout tea, I certainly enjoyed my visit to the Diana exhibition and am glad I have fitting reminders of my visit. (For those who can't come to Atlanta, the exhibition shop is also available here.)

9 comments:

  1. Hi, yes, that's the cup I purchased too...isn't it beautiful...I smile when I gaze upon it; it sits carefully on my china cupboard. Thanks for the revisit memories of Diana.
    Donna (IA)

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  2. How beautiful! I love the teacup and saucer. What a treasure. I once bought a teacup and saucer at Kensington Palace and it is a treasure that reminds me of the Princess.

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  3. What a beautiful cup and saucer!

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  4. That really is a beautiful cup and saucer. Thanks for the link to the shop.

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  5. Love the cup as well as the story about the tea! Funny.

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  6. Swoon... Sigh... I lurve your tea cup! That is just beautiful and the packaging is like a gift!

    Was the tea malty?

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  7. Janine, I didn't find the tea malty but I guess I'd just call it very "high octane"! I'd forgotten, too, that the Brits are said to prefer their tea much stronger than we do here.

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  8. I have heard the saying of strong tea
    being strong enough for a mouse to trot across it ! Ugh !

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  9. Dear Angela, another great posting - good information and lovely photos! I hope to see the exhibit, but if I don't, I have had a fabulous preview! I heard that WSB-TV's Monica Kauffman is having a special show on this, including an interview with Diana's brother (maybe this weekend?) Thanks again, Joanie

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