Your ViewsKeep your e-mails pouring in, it's good to know that there are lots of you out there with views and opinions. To help you work out what is what, are now little icons to help you see biscuit related themes. And now you can see at a glance which are the most contested subjects via this graph (requires Flash 6.0 plugin). Please keep your mails coming in to nicey@nicecupofteaandasitdown.com | If you like, you can use this search thingy to find stuff that matches with any of the icons you pick, or use the fantastic free text search, Yay! | Your e-Mails |
Mark Pennington |
Dear Nicey,
I have recently moved jobs and am in somewhat of a dilemma. My new office has most inadequate tea making facilities. They provide PG Tips, whilst not my favourite, makes a decent brew. Instead of a kettle there is a boiler and worst of all there are no mugs or cups. Everybody uses little plastic cup that are fine for water, but don’t work for tea. I like a fine bone china mug with a white inside by preference, but any old mug will do in a storm. I tried hard to get used to it, but after a week of drinking very average tea I have given up and now use the Café Nero across the road who do an excellent black coffee.
I am only here for a short time so I don’t want to ruffle any feathers by supplying a kettle and bringing my own mug. There is a danger that my new colleagues will think I am looking down my nose at them.
Perhaps you could point me in the right direction before I become a hardened coffee drinker.
Many thanks in advance.
Mark Pennington |
Nicey replies: Mark,
Not only are little plastic cups bad for the environment but they can also lead to tea spillage, and bring that unwelcome fragrance of injection moulded Polyethylene Terephthalate to your tea. I would make a stand, point out that their tea is not up to scratch and if you upset anyone it's OK because you'll be out of there soon. I would be surprised if a few people didn't rally to your cause. |
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Stuart Harrison
 Morning Coffee Review |
Nicey,
Thoroughly enjoy the site. I have spent many an hour at work secretly reading through the pages and feel that my knowledge of the biscuit world has greatly increased.
What I can find very little discussion on, however, is the therapeutic qualities of the humble biscuit. Indeed in these days when hard drugs are available on almost every street corner (except for the one outside our local village post office), the far less dangerous and illegal qualities of small baked treats are often ignored. I myself find the sugary qualities of a custard cream (strangely the cheaper the brand the better) to be most uplifting in times of depression. When feeling unwell but struggling into work anyway (as only us men can do) I find the power of a penguin alongside my PG tips 'One Cup' helps the day speed along nicely. When tucked up in bed, snuffling with man-flu, nothing can beat the healing powers of a 'Nice' (except maybe a slice of marmite on toast brought up to you on a little plate and cut up into triangles). On the flip side when feeling 'over-happy' a single Rich Tea can bring you straight back down to earth.
What I would like to know is does anyone else have any 'little favourites' that they rely on in times of need ?
None of these little 'treatments' will lead to a stay in The Priory, nor will they give you a nose like Daniella Westbrook. Eastern cultures have their own mystical remedies and potions. What I say is do us Brits have to look any further than the snacks aisle of Asda to find our own home-grown equivalents.
Keep on munching !
Stuart.
P.S. My own version of wifey would like to know whats going on with 'Morning Coffees' these days. They are the closest thing to a treat that her latest fad diet will allow and none of our local supermarkets seem to stock them anymore ? Have they gone AWOL or is the a shortage hitting the Lancashire area ?
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Nicey replies: There are some people who imagine that Arrowroot biscuits are some kind of aid to wobbly tum, but I think you are probably referring to the ability of a biscuit or two and a cuppa to set you right. In which case we tend to go about that all the time.
Yes there does seem to be a nation wide Morning Coffee crisis, which I have been assuming is related to on going problems at the United Biscuits plant in Carlisle since the flooding at new year. |
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Fern Oxley |
Good day Nicey,
There may be a tea recession in the UK but infact there's a *BOOOOOM* going on in Bangladesh! Check this out on the BBC Online
May you live long and prosper |
Nicey replies: There are lots of nice pictures of tea in that report. |
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Ellen |
Hello Nicey and Wifey,
I would like to get a message to Adrian Leaman, who wrote in recently to tell of the shocking practice of making tea in the microwave oven - I just want to assure him that not all Americans make tea this way! I have never seen any of my friends make microwave tea, most follow the tradition of using a kettle, a proper mug or cup, or teapot. Maybe it's just Bostonians.... I live in North Carolina. Tearooms have actually become rather popular in our area over the past several years, and they do make tea in the conventional way. So Adrian, I hope you are reassured that if you visit America again, it is possible to find people who know how to do tea without a microwave. At our house, we have a nice Bodum electric kettle that we have enjoyed for some time now.
Nicey and Wifey, I love your website, it is great fun as well as educational to read. My children gave me your book for Christmas and it was an enjoyable read. Thanks for such a great site, keep up the good work!
Best wishes,
Ellen |
Nicey replies: Ellen,
Thanks for setting us all straight on the tea situation in North Carolina, it all sounds very sensible there. |
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Keith O'Kane |
Dear Nicey and the Wife,
I was a bit dismayed to read that there has been a slump in tea sales in recent years and am sure that is in some way linked to the apparent rise in anti-social behaviour. I am not convinced however that this is due to people drinking fruit-flavoured infusions as an alternative.
I heard on the radio this morning that there has been an increase in milk sales recently which has been attributed to the rise in the “cappuccino culture”. This seems also to be a more likely explanation for the fall in tea sales.
Be warned, the Americans went down this very same path many years ago and look how that ended up!
Keith O’Kane |
Nicey replies: When I was chatting on the radio about it the chairman of the Tea Council flatly refuted any claims that coffee was involved. He also thought the figures were a bit misleading, and not as much as painted by Mintel. He put the blame on fizzy drinks and herbal teas, but made the point that their findings are that people switch to tea as soon as they go to collage or get a job.
Good point about the Americans, we don't want to end up with the sort of society that gives rise to Barney rather than Balamory. |
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