Tea For Two
Betjeman and Barton
Teas
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| The delights of English tea |
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| English tea cup |
While in France I discovered a wonderful new tea shop (I love tea!). It was called Betjeman and Barton and specialized in all things to do with the English tradition of afternoon tea.
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| Yummy cakes |
This impressive Parisian tea maker has been around since 1919 but only now the British tea drinking tradition, with a touch of French style, has arrived in other areas of France. Every day Betjeman and Barton customers taste tea from around 200 varieties, all of which are packed in lovely red or green containers and carefully described in a small catalogue. In fact, with a little bit of luck you will stumble into the Boulevard Malesherbes boutique in Paris on the day that Saint James Fanning or Castleton Second Flush is being offered. These are two very valuable teas you won’t find everywhere.
( Prince Charles apparently has a weakness for the bergamot and citrus perfume of the Pouchine mixture!)
Also worth a look is the collection of decorative Chinese tea caddies, alongside practical utensils to suit every tea ceremony - including luxurious tealeaf sieves, artistic teapots, fancy lacquered tins or tea canisters made from rare woods. Best of all is the beautiful china. The culinary specialties of the house: scones, crumpets, muffins and mince pies as well as tea jellies and macaroons are served in their cafes.
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| Macaroon |
Be sure to take your reference books with you – the “Petit Livre du Thé” will make you look like an expert as you are browsing the shelves.
The company originated in Paris in 1919, when John Betjeman's brother first bought tea to France, and in Paris opened the first Betjeman and Barton shop. They now have one in Nice in Rue Marechal Joffre and also many others all over France.
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| Shame about the rain |
They specialized not only in tea but also anything pertaining to tea - cups, plates, teapots, cakestands, and the most beautiful tea towels. We bought a few of these and also a lovely cake stand made from pretty porcelain (Christmas gifts for ssshhhsss!)
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| English tea cup |
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| Traditional tea pots |
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| Pretty cake stands |
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| The pretiest tea towels |
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| Sugar wands |
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| More yummy cakes |
Ten years ago we found it impossible to even buy an electric kettle to make tea in France as it was still uncommon to drink tea on the Riviera. It was only this year Betjeman and Barton opened their first store there. There are now many electric kettles in all the big stores - meanwhile we have been using a hob kettle!
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| English tea cup |
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| Even more yummy cakes |
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| Weird teapots |
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| Tea leaves |
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| Teapots galore! |
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| Old willow teapot |
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| John Betjeman |
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| Teas in pretty canisters |
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| Colourful canisters |
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| Adorable cupcakes |
It really was a lovely visit.
I am not a tea connoisseur, but this is enough to become an obsession! What a gorgeous collection, sugar wands and tea towels, beautiful!
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