How does your morning begin? For as long as I can remember my morning has always started with a cup of tea, enjoyed from the comfort of my bed. It has been my morning routine from childhood and I truly believed that this was how everyone started their morning, in England at least. I have however recently discovered that it’s not how everyone starts their day. Some get up and have their morning cuppa downstairs, some don’t even reach for that morning cuppa and then there are those who maybe start their day off with a coffee…how can that be?
I have tried the cup of tea downstairs routine but it just doesn’t work for me, and definitely doesn’t taste as good as when drunk from the cosiness of my bed.
I still remember the metal tray rattling as my Mum would bring a full tray of tea up each morning. 6 mugs of tea, one for my Mum, one for my Dad, one for Alan, one for Keith, one for me and one for Colin. And so the tea in bed routine was birthed in my mind as how the day should begin.
I take quite a while over that morning cuppa. My hands wrap themselves comfortingly around the mug, and soothed by its warmth my mind gradually adjusts from the left over remnants of dreams to the thoughts of a new day and what it will bring. I take so long that I routinely leave about a centimetre of tea in the bottom of the mug, annoying as it maybe to some it is just too cold to drink. Although another possible reason for this undrunk bit of tea could go back to the tea leaves my mum would have used in the tea pot and the few escapees from the tea strainer that would settle in that last bit of tea. ‘Old habits die hard’ .
That tea tray from my childhood holds less mugs now. My parents passed away in their 80’s and very sadly and unexpectedly we lost my brother Alan (68) at the end of last year, after a very sudden cancer diagnosis. As my hands cup my tea on these cold january mornings I am still feeling that loss and my thoughts are with Alans’ wife Ellen and their 4 grown up children as they work their way through their grief.
There are so many different types and makes of tea. Yorkshire tea has become my tea of choice and having been told of the health benefits I try and drink a glass of water before my morning cuppa these days. I love the routine of boiling the kettle, choosing a mug then making my way back up the stairs and back into the warmth of my bed.
There have been a few spills over the years as my morning cuppa has been unexpectedly interrupted by an excited child or an exuberant dog but my routine has remained. What is life without a tea stain or two.
A famous tea quote…
If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; If you are excited, it will calm you.”
And a couple more:
That last quote says it all for me and makes me aware of how precious that morning cuppa routine is for me as I prepare to start my day. I like coffee but my first choice has and always will be a cup of tea taken and enjoyed from the comfort of my bed.
As I write this blog the fire is crackling and the coziness of the room can only be enhanced by one thing…..I’m on my way to the kitchen!
Love Alison x
Through rose tinted glasses. 
Alison, I’m so sorry for your family’s loss.
Tea is really a lovely ritual for you, I thought a lot about the calming effect of a routine that is slow and purposeful to start the day. A routine that starts without that kind of intention means the morning has less meaning to me. Lately I’ve started the morning reading something that will shift my perspective but a cup of tea with that would make it so much more meaningful.
When I lived in Florida I always had Yorkshire tea and Typhoo in the kitchen, there were British shops in several areas. That’s where I learned about Bird’s custard, mushy peas, Branston,all of the sausages, and Heinz baked beans. A person I worked with then who was English talked about tea and the proper way to make it.
Thank you for your post, the sounds of a crackling fire and a cup of warmth to begin your day. xx
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Ah Laura thankyoou. It has been a sad time. You sound like you almost have british citizenship with your appreciatikn of birds custard🥰
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I love your tea post.
I love tea too and I am a tea and coffee drinker. But tea is the more dominant part of my life. I drink decaf when it comes to both tea and coffee. And I drink different teas. It’s only out when I drink the odd caffinated.
I start my tea downstairs first thing in a morning with my breakfast and it has been this way since I was a child.
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Thankyou Liz. I guess all our routines start in childhood and theres no changing them.
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I am so sorry for your losses. Sending you a warm, gentle hug. I drink tea almost daily. My body rebels, but I love it so much. Plus, it helps me process…
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Thankyou x
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Tea is a fine morning ritual. Mine is taken in my favorite chair, which catches the morning sun, while I look out into the yard to watch birds visiting the feeder. A peaceful start to the day!
My condolences for the sad and sudden loss of your brother, Alison. I imagine it has left a hole in your heart. 😦 Sending you healing thoughts. ❤️ 🙏🏼
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I really enjoyed reading this.
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Glad you did Gary. My blogging has taken a back seat over the last year. It felt good to sit and write.
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I am drinking hot tea as I type these words. I grew up in a home and in a part of Canada that valued tea thus, I always start my day and end my day with hot tea. There is tea in between, too. It is always hot. It has to be hot. My mother used to make the tea at Church for church functions. They call her the Tea Lady. She is 92 now and has dementia but when I went to see her the first week of January in the nursing home, the first thing she did was ask the staff to make me a cup of tea. Tea equals family for me. I am glad that you like it, too. Nice post.
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This is a lovely tea post, Alison, and I’m sorry to hear about your brother’s passing. I’m not a hot tea drinker, so my morning begins with my husband and I enjoying our coffee in the living room, talking about anything, or simply reading and sitting in silence. I do love lemon iced tea in the summertime though, or even flavored iced teas like peach and raspberry. Love the poem and quotes too. Enjoy! 🫖xo
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Thankyou Lauren. It was a shock loosing Alan . So sudden and totally out of the blue. Even though we lived a lomg way from each other it seems a piece of the puzzle is missing. Thanfully my daughter came with me to Holland and we spent time with him as we watched my sister in law and her son care for him . It was a very humbling experience and a very valuable but tough one. I know your no stranger to loss, its hard isnt it xx
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