Cuppa

Cuppa Issue One

Issue 1 Cuppa started with a cup of tea. Literally.

Before thinking about the content and before thinking about the whole idea, I started with a cup of tea. It was a cup of English breakfast tea in my favourite mug.

Then there were a few more cups of tea and even a couple of visits to tearooms. I remember having a slice of Victoria sponge cake and tea with a friend and looking round the room to spot no others like usthe younger tea drinkers. Even though a few of my friends around me are tea enthusiasts, there aren’t a lot of young tea drinkers nowadays and I wanted to celebrate this small community. Here’s to those who still enjoy a good brew while frantically writing an essay due in the morning!

I drink a lot of tea myself, especially while making this fanzine; I wouldn’t be surprised if I found a tea stain somewhere! But that’s how it is with Cuppa. It’s all things tea with a bit of everything else. To put it in a nutshell, Cuppa celebrates British tea and fashion. Expect photography, fashion and a little bit more. I think there are more like me who enjoy a good cup of English breakfast tea, while flicking through a copy of their favourite fashion magazine. Now they can add Cuppa to their reading list! I made Cuppa for the tea drinkers, the fashionistas, the photographers and anyone looking for inspiration. It’s a place to pour out my passion for tea and share it.

So welcome to the first issue of Cuppa.

Read it, use it as a coaster, be inspired, pass it on or keep it. Lets celebrate tea and put the kettle on.

Contents

The Alturna-teas.

With such a wide variety of different teas, we should introduce our taste buds to some alturnative teas. Relax to calming Chamomile and discover its other medical properties.

I’ve always enjoyed a good cup of tea and it always has to be English breakfast, no sugar and little milk, if we’re being specific. But this wasn’t how I always took my tea; it used to be a builder’s tea until the dentist told me to cut out the sugar. In a way, I thank him. He saved my teeth and introduced me to a stronger brew. Every morning I start my day with a cup of tea. It’s like my routine, just like how my Granddad finishes his dinner with a cup of Chinese tea. Pu-Erh to be specific.

Pu-Erh is a black tea that is great after a meal because it helps digestion and lowers cholesterol, helping to clean the intestines and stomach.

It also speeds up metabolism and assists the body to break down fat, which means it can help with weight loss if you’re into that kind of thing. I only drink Pu-Erh when it’s served with my dim sum in Chinese restaurants.

Some argue that Pu-Erh is a type of Green tea. They both do have the same properties in helping digestion but they differ in the way that they are processed. Let’s take a look at the scientific bits. Pu-Erh is made from the Yunnan broad leaf where the green tea is then sun dried naturally by rolling and roasting in the sun. This process of natural fermentation differs greatly from the process for Green tea. Green tea leaves are picked and immediately dried to prevent fermentation.

These different processes

“

I don’t think I could wait seven minutes for my tea

have an effect on their taste and aroma. Compared to Pu-Erh, I think Green tea can have more of a bitter taste.

Some add lemon or honey or sugar to balance the taste (personally I quite like the bitter taste). I sometimes brew my green tea just a bit longer for more taste. It is said that the longer you brew the tea, the better the benefits. It releases more anti-oxidants and we all want as much of that as possible. It’s like getting your moneys worth but in tea terms. But different teas and different brands of tea, whether they are bagged or loose will have different brew times.

According to a recent Youtube video, it said that if we want to retrieve maximum potential from an English breakfast brew, let it steep for seven minutes. I gave it a shot, and waited seven long minutes for my cuppa, which ended up tasting really strong and bitter. Although this is what I like, the wait was like trying to eat a jam doughnut without licking your lips. I don’t think I could wait seven minutes for my tea every time. It’s safe

”

to say we can brew for three minutes and still get the anti oxidants we need from our cuppa. As different teas will offer different anti oxidants, I like to drink certain teas because of their benefits, so I had to try Chamomile for its properties in aiding sleep.

Chamomile is a herb that comes from a plant of the daisy family. It has an active ingredient in its oil called bisabolol that can treat both internal problems such as insomnia, menstrual cramps and headaches and external problems like eczema, burns and even dark circles around the eyes. We all know about those! So the next time you have chamomile tea, don’t throw away the tea bag.

Leave them aside to cool or pop them in fridge for a few minutes. Once they’re cool, place one tea bag over each eyelid, sit back and relax for twenty minutes. Using Chamomile for medicinal reasons isn’t uncommon; it dates back to the Egyptian times when they’d use it to cure the fever.

Nowadays chamomile is used

in many home remedies from toothaches to face masks.

This is because Chamomile has anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and anti-bacterial properties, which means it’s great for skin, muscles and fighting bacteria. Can you believe all of this is from a herb that resembles a flower we once used for daisy chains?

The white and yellow flower head, of usually the german chamomile, is dried and with boiled water this creates a lovely fragrant tea. I decided to try Chash tea’s Chamomile tea. There wasn’t any thing in particular that drew me to Chash tea except that a friend recommended it. I didn’t really know what to expect from Chamomile tea. The smell was sweet and floral and it brewed so quickly. It was green and darkened over time. For its best flavour, I left it to steep for three minutes.

Of course you can leave it for longer for your own personal acquired taste, but I think this is best when it’s light and refreshing. The smell reminded me of being in a garden; an open field with green grass and birds singing. The taste was bitter but with a sweet after taste at the back of my throat. But the taste wasn’t a normal taste; it was like a woody aroma you breathed in. It reminded me of a creamy texture even though it was just tea. I don’t know why I haven’t tried Chamomile tea before, especially when I always mess up my sleeping pattern by staying up late

writing essays and completing projects. It doesn’t make you drowsy and you don’t end up sleeping like Sleeping Beauty, but it certainly calms and relaxes you.

After giving Chamomile tea a go, I’m intrigued to try out other teas like peppermint tea, fruit flavour blends, oolong tea and white tea. A simple decision of taking the sugar out of my tea introduced me to a bitter taste I now love.

Let’s make a simple decision and try a new teabag.

Maybe ask a friend and do a tea swap! Even as dedicated English breakfast tea drinkers, we shouldn’t be afraid to try new teas to tickle our taste buds. And on that note, I’ll be popping to a tea specialist to try another new blend for our next Alturna-tea.

Photoshoot

A Fair Lady My Fair Lady

Modelled by Georgia Hull. All garments from New Look. Styled and photographed by Si Pui Tuong.

Daily Tea Cup

We drink a cup of tea everyday but have you ever thought about documenting it?

Meet Jessica from The Daily Tea Cup. Jessica is a graphic designer from The Hague, Netherlands, who is currently working on her 365 project. A 365 project is a self directed project where you take a photo everyday for a year and upload them online. What you photograph is completely up to you, and Jessica decided to focus on tea.

Her beautiful photographs are simple and leave you thirsty for the next cup. I caught up with Jessica to find out about her inspirations for the project and

her love for tea.

So Jessica, can you describe one of your typical days?

On a typical working day the first thing I do when I wake up, is brew my tea.

I love having tea in the morning. When I’m ready to go, I take the train to work. Then at work, where I design wall graphics, packaging and catalogues, the first thing I do is brew some tea! I’ll finish work at 5 o’clock and I’ll take the train back home. When I’m at home, I brew some more tea and take a photo of it for my 365 project,

while my husband is making dinner. After dinner I go to yoga class twice a week.

Wow, you drink just as much tea as I do! Do you drink different teas at different times?

At work I have different teas but at home, I only drink Oolong, green tea and morning dew tea.

When I have a sore throat I drink chamomile with honey and sometimes before I go to bed I have sleepy time tea from Celestial Seasonings or another tea with fennel, as fennel is calming.

Do you feel that tea is quite a big part of your life? My granddad always enjoys chinese tea after dinner to help digestion and he’s done this for years, so in a way it’s become a routine for him.

Do you have some sort of tea routine?

Yeah I think so, I drink almost nothing else besides tea! My tea stash is also growing and growing, I love exploring all those tastes. The first reason I wanted to drink tea more was because green tea is healthy (although I’ve recently read white tea is even more healthier for preventing diseases).

I recognize what your grandfather does. Drinking tea in the morning, which is what I do, also helps for digestion; it awakens your intestines.

What is your favourite tea?

My favourite tea for now would be ‘mourning dew’.

Unfortunately I’m not sure what kind of tea it is, I think it’s some kind of oolong tea. I bought it when I was on a business/vacation trip in Thailand.

Do you like trying different teas from different countries? What about specialist tea shops at home?

Yes I think they’re very interesting, because all those loose leaves are prepared differently. Recently a very nice teahouse opened just outside my city, the owner is pretty much a tea specialist and goes to China for his tea.

He serves a lot of different loose teas and has a lot to tell. He even serves tea leaves from 1981!

So what are you ideas of tea and England, as tea is usually linked to Englishness. Is this different to the Netherlands?

Haha let me think... The first thing that pops up is tea with milk; I think lots of people drink that there!

Right? People don’t drink that much tea in the Netherlands, I think they drink more coffee. When a man asks for tea you often hear ‘tea is for sissies’ haha but my husband loves tea too!

Let’s talk about your work, what camera and lens do you use for your 365 project?

The camera is a Canon 550D. I have two lenses; but I always end up using the f/1.4 50mm lens.

Did you ever study photography at school or university?

No, I studied graphic design. Photography is

something I do on my own but I do want to follow some photography course or something like that.

What inspired you to start the Daily Tea Cup? I saw many 365 projects on the Internet, mostly a random ‘photo a day’. It was too random for me; I wanted a theme. I combined two goals I wanted to achieve which was to drink more tea because it’s healthy and to improve my photographic skills. I was already collecting vintage teacups from second hand stores so I thought it would be really fun to use them for my project.

When did it all start?

I’ve been interested in photography for a few years now and started with a simple compact camera because I thought a SLR was too big! Eventually I bought my SLR in spring 2011 and fell in love. The first photo for the 365 project was made on the first of August.

How do you go about taking your photos? Are they planned or do you shoot them once you see them?

Sometimes I have an idea about how I want the setting to be but most of the time I start blank. Once I’ve

started photographing, I change everything, I move my furniture or objects and place my teacup in different places. I get inspired by what I see at that moment and somehow, it gives me different photos every time.

Which photo is your favourite photo and why?

Number 144, I really like this one because it looks soft and cosy. I love the knit texture, the different white tones and the flower in the tea.

Si Pui Tuong interviewing Jessica Zagers. Photos by Jessica Zagers.

How would you describe your photography style?

I’d say that it’s simple and soft.

Do you think this style also reflect you as a person and the clothes you wear? Maybe even the kind of music you listen to?

That’s funny, I haven’t really thought about it but yes it does! Recently someone I’ve just met also said that my clothing style/ personality matches my photos! I love light colors and floral prints, my house is all white with light brown tones. I think it also reflects my music taste, I listen to Ben Howard, Feist, The Cure, Fink etc.

Let’s say you’re going

to go out to run a few errands and you have 10 minutes to get ready.

What would you throw on to wear?

I guess I’d go for a dress, ballerinas and a nice long necklace. It’s very easy and it always looks good.

What are you planning on doing when you finish your 365 project?

I’m not sure yet. It’s a strange thought that my project will be finished but on the other hand I don’t think I’ll start another 365 photo project. It is really fun to do and it has brought me so much but it also holds me back from taking other pictures, the only thing I focus on at the moment is teacups!

And finally, what advice would you give to people who are going to start their 365?

Choose a theme that really fits you! Something you’d learn from, or maybe even something you want to change about your life.

When you add a goal into your project, it will be easier to hold on.

Thank you Jessica for your time and introducing us to The Daily Tea Cup. You can see more photos at www.daily-teacup.blogspot. com

Numbr 144.

Vintage Gold

Lemon Slices 200g soft butter 60g icing sugar 225g plain flour For the topping: 6 eggs 345g caster sugar Grated zest of 1 lemon 125ml lemon juice 75g plain flour Sifted icing sugar for dusting Makes 24 Preparation: 15 minutes.

Cooking time: 40 minutes.

Recipe from Teashop Treats by Reader’s Digest (2011).

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (gas mark 4). Line a 20 x 30cm baking tin with baking parchment.

2. Combine the butter, icing sugar and flour in a food processor and process until it comes together in a ball- it may be necessary to add a teaspoon of cold water to bring the mixture together.

3. Press the dough evenly into the baking tin and prick several times with a fork. Bake for 25 minutes or until it’s lightly golden.

4. Meanwhile, make the topping. Put the eggs into a bowl and whisk. Mix in the sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Sift the flour over the mixture and whisk.

5. Pour the mixture over the biscuit base and bake for 15 minutes or until the topping has set.

The first lesson I learnt from baking these lemon slices is - don’t judge a recipe by its cover and underestimate the simplicity of it. I looked at this recipe from Teashop Treats and thought it was simple, with five easy steps and only a few ingredients - what could go wrong?

I always enjoy biscuits with my cuppa and sometimes a slice of cake so I thought this recipe would be perfect. Lemon slices are half way between a biscuit and a cake so it seemed like a great companion to my tea. In a way I was right, I definitely needed a tea with these, especially the way they crumble in your mouth. But it wasn’t falling to pieces like the way a slow cooked piece of tender lamb falls off the bone.

The biscuit fell to pieces and it was like eating a mouthful of moist lemony sand.

This was my baking gone wrong. But it wasn’t that much of a disaster, on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being horrific disaster, I’d say this was a 7.

The preparation was simple and everything went as smoothly as it could. By using a food processor, rather than stir-

ring by hand, it saved a lot of time but you don’t get to lick the spoon at the end of it. Even with the use of technology, I still got impatient and added the water in a little too early. I should have given the machine the benefit of the doubt and waited as it did all the work for me to form the dough. The water made the mixture a little sticky so I had to add a little more flour to get the dough back on track. This probably explains the crumbly taste. If you change the proportions of the ingredients, you change the taste and texture- a lesson well learnt!

you know when to stop?

When you grate it so much that you reach the inside of the lemon and some juice sprays you in the eye.

I’m glad I got to go back to basics when I made the topping, it felt like I was really baking again! Adding the zest was a bit of a pickle though. I started grating the lemon with my cheese grater but how do

But don’t be put off by my failed attempt! I’ve got a lot of baking to learn. Have a go at this recipe and send in your photos- email us or even tweet us. We’ll look forward to seeing them over a cuppa.

Something missing from the recipe was a photo of the lemon slices. Without the photo, there was nothing to work with. As I looked at my lemon slices, how do I know if they’re right? I know they didn’t taste right that’s for sure.

My lemon slices were crumbly like a biscuit but doughy like a cake. I was expecting a soft crumbly cake and was extremely disappointed.

Contact us Email message@cuppafanzine. co.uk Tweet @Cuppafanzine Facebook Cuppa_Fanzine Post 25 Plumstead Road London SE18 7BZ

A few thank yous Georgia Hull for modelling in our shoot.

The Arts Theatre London, for being patient and letting me use their lovely tea room.

Jessica at The Daily Tea Cup for her co-operation and her photos for the interview.

And friends that I’ve pestered for opinions and advice.

All words and images are by Si Pui Tuong unless stated otherwise.

Your next Cuppa will be served in Autumn 2012.