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Your e-Mails

Paul Ware	Well, I've not been on your site for a while, but must write about the great spoon debate. It's not that I have a favourtie, it's the state of the spoons in the office cutlery drawer that narks me the most. I'm not sure why people seem to think a quick rinse under the tap is enough to clean it before it's used again. If you look at the underside of spoons cleaned like that you notice dark stains round them, which can only be shifted by hot water, pan scrubber and washing up liquid. It's no use complaining your tea tastes funny, it's not me making horrible tea, it's your fault for not cleaning your spoons. Great cups of tea deserve decent spoons, and besides, if you're in the kitchen cleaning spoons and keeping everything all hygenic for the tea making, then you are getting a break from answering the 'phone which is no bad thing.
	Nicey replies: Good speech Paul. I can't be doing with a filthy spoon, and your quite right that cleaning teaspoons isn't too tricky. As with dirty mugs, dishwashers are often to blame for this horrible state of affairs. Many deluded employers seem to think that a dishwasher will make their companies more productive as people will spend less time washing up and more time working. Of course the precise opposite is true. Much time is wasted by people scratching around for clean mugs and spoons as they are now willfully incapable of washing their own. Very few people ever load or even switch on the dishwasher, which although it should go on at the very end or the very start of the day tends to quickly get out of sync with daily office tea drinking rhythms. A green nylon scrubber some hot water and a spot of washing liquid and 30 seconds later everything is spick and span. Personal responsibility versus some energy burning, chemical gobbling machine that incarcerates all the tea making kit for 45 minutes. Plus what is the story with those people that half fill a mug with water and put all the teaspoons in there? It's a bit like those tall jars of disinfectant that hairdressers chuck combs in, except it's stagnating tap water laced with tea and coffee, milk and sugar. Having studied Microbiology and been given lectures at one point by a very senior public health Microbiologist on bacterial food poisoning, to say nothing of epidemiology, when ever I see one of these I have to empty it out wash up everything concerned in really hot soapy water then find the person concerned and strongly suggest that they desist.
Katie McConnachie	Dear Nicey, All this spoon chat has let me to throw my tuppence'orth in - I have long wondered - why do we still use tea spoons now that we have teabags and not loose tea? Presumably tea spoons were designed for a more delicate population to measure the necessary amount of loose leaves to make the perfect cuppa? However, now that we have the meaty heft of a roasting hot, stainy-liquid spatterbag to contend with, are they not obsolete? It is somewhat like attempting to balance an unconscious Bernard Manning on a bar stool ( I shall leave the resultant damge to the linoleum around the bin to the reader's imagination). Although, it should be admitted that a hot teaspoon is a formidable weapon in any pitched sibling kitchen battle (a rolled up teatowel and a spider in a cup being other favourites in our house). Okay, they may not be fit for their intended purpose but they have a place as household armoury. Regards, KM.
	Nicey replies: Its my understanding that tea spoons were conceived for the stirring of tea to disperse the milk. Also should you wish the addition of sugar and its stirring in especially in the case of sugar lumps. The sugar bowl should ideally have its own spoon to prevent issues with damp lumps. The tea caddy would typically have some form of dedicated measuring spoon or scoop with its own story to tell.
Mattew Sutcliffe	Dear Nicey You are quite right to highlight the important role played by spoons in the enjoyment of a good cuppa. Too often they are regarded as mere implements, instead of being acknowledged for the highly refined tools that they are. What else could do the job better? It's a simple fact that a really good spoon makes your tea taste better. And better tea means happier people. I recently bought some shiny new ones for use in the office and productivity is up by several percentage points. For return on investment, a good set of tea spoons can't be beaten. I estimate that if every business in Britian were to buy new tea spoons the nation's GDP would increase by £1.4 billion. Best regards Matthew
	Nicey replies: You don't happen to make spoons do you?
Amber Grace	Hello Nicey, Just thought I'd tell you about the tea and sit down facilities at the Glastonbury festival (which I was lucky enough to attend this year). There are many more opportunities at Glastonbury to find a decent cup of tea than at any other festival that I've been to. The best one is the 'Tiny Tea Tent'. For £1.10 & 50p mug deposit you get the choice of 'normal' tea, Earl Grey, Lapsang Souchong etc, with a tea bag each and real milk out of a jug. This is a very busy place, probably due to the high caliber of tea making, but somehow a seat is always available, thus completing the tea break experience. Also, they have a varied collection of mugs - I was lucky enough to get one with a picture of a Volkswagen Beetle on it (my favourite car - spooky). There's nothing quite like a cup of tea and a sit down in the Green Fields of Glastonbury whilst watching a vampire with dreadlocks on stilts chasing a child dressed as a fairy. Wishing you good tea and festival health Amber
	Nicey replies: On Saturday we met the former Tory Defense Minister John Nott, whilst we were guests on Radio 4's Loose Ends. He had just got back from Glastonbury the day before where he had managed to blag his way in. The Portacabin which held his press ticket had been washed away in the flooding, and given that he is 71 the chap on the gate believed his story. It also turns out he had a hand in the introduction of VAT and remembers the classification of the Jaffa Cake as one of the thorny issues they grappled with over thirty years ago.
Trevor Pogue	Dear nicey Spoons. Where would we be without them? Many, many moons ago when I was a mere slip of a lad I started work at a local paper mill. Good tea facilities and is probably the place where i became a serious tea drinker! We brought our own mugs to work and i brought a spoon as well. As I was still living at home at the time this spoon was taken from the family cutlery drawer and was part of a cutlery set referred to as the 'Danish' stuff due, no doubt, to the fact that my parents had bought it when my father worked in Denmark in 1963. Anyway, the spoon itself was of extremely rugged construction with a decent sized bowl and, most importantly, a rib around the handle which offered the sort of rigidity required to give the tea-bag a really good squeeze! And it was comfortable to handle. This spoon sort of followed me when I joined the RAF and journeyed the world with me as the Government invited me to participate in their latest war (the full range, mind you, from the Falklands to Iraq, with most of the others in between). As you can imagine I grew quite fond of said spoon and when it came to moving house in early 2003 I duly put aside the requisites for tea for us and the removal men. Imagine my horror when, at the end of the day, spoon could not be found! What to do when you can't trust someone with your spoon? I may have to resort to raiding my parents cutlery drawer (again!) when I next go and visit. By the way, the best fruit shortbread biccies were made by NAAFI. Trev the biscuit boy (Trevor Pogue)
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