We are excited to follow up our blog post series “How Do You Tea?” (Instagram hashtag #howdoyoutea @tomtelife) with a submission by Giselle from faithandtrust.net

Thank you for sharing how you do tea, Giselle. We will be sending you a gift pack of seasonal Tomte teas to enjoy!

In a world full of distractions, we relish the time it takes to pause and sip tea. To pause and truly connect with yourself and also to pause and connect with another human being. We find our best ideas and creativity come when pausing our everyday lives to reflect, to appreciate the natural world, to let our mind’s wander.

We want to know how you pause and sip tea!

How Giselle Does Tea (#howdoyoutea)

I first came across Tomte’s founder Paul Bennetts over on instagram, as it was clear we both shared a deep love and passion for brewing. For those that know me and know me well, you will know that most of the time I drink tea more than I do plain water and even when I’m out and about, I will often substitute a cold bottle of $1 water for a $5.50 bottle of Arizona iced tea instead, with no hesitation. So when Tomte released a series of How do you tea? I knew I just had to put in my share.

I personally prefer to have a wide selection of tea to myself, that way I can mix and match new concoctions according to my mood. So, I thought I’d share one of my own special brews with you, inspired by my favourite flavoured cupcakes – Lavender & Honey.

You will need:

1/2 tsp dried lavender buds, 3 tsp honey (to balance the strong floral taste), 1 tsp of white or green tea leaves, any teapot with a strainer or filter (this is one that came with the blooming tea I purchased in Hong Kong earlier this year)

Brewing instructions:

1. Mix green tea and lavender in a teapot with boiling water
2. Allow to brew for 3 minutes
3. Serve in individual glasses – careful not to spill any leaves or lavender buds into your cup
4. Add honey – a generous serving usually works best. A teaspoon in each glass as a guide, as this recipe is good for 3x servings as per the size of my teapot

I’m not usually one that is keen on the sweeter varieties of tea, however you will find that the strong floral notes of lavender balance well with the extra honey in this recipe.

Thanks again for the inspiration, I really love how Tomte seems to bring the online tea loving community together.

Visit Giselle at www.faithandtrust.net

We would love to hear from the Tomte community of tea lovers! Get creative and share a photo of your favourite tea cup and your favourite place to drink tea. Be inspired- when you are next enjoying a cup of tea, look around the room and pick out the things that make you happy. Get creative- is there a story behind your favourite mug? Tell a story with a photograph using tea as your inspiration! Just be sure to email us a description of the items that you have photographed and tell us why you love tea.

Send a hi-res image from your mobile phone or camera to info@tomtelife.com with the subect line ‘How do you tea’ and we’ll publish our favourites on our blog. And for our friends on Instagram- don’t forget to hashtag your tea photos #howdoyoutea and include the tag @tomtelife.

Happy snapping!