Day trip to Oostende

My mum came to visit this week, and so we took a day off work and headed to Oostende for some fresh air.
I took the opportunity to snap a few new cuppas en route, as we are ladies who enjoy rests with hot drinks.

Starting at the hotel - Holiday Inn in Hasselt, with an aptly named tea - Awake English breakfast by Tazo. Was v pleasant, and the cups and water temperature were just right.


On the motorway - for a refuel for us, and the car

plenty to choose from. Thankfully, one black tea!

Then, by the coast, after a light lunch at a restau called De Amandine, another tea!
And unlike other pot-teacup combos I've been served, this one's pot actually went down into the cup, meaning that 1) the cup was pre-warmed and kept the tea warm for longer, and 2) that there was more than just one cup's worth of tea!

And just because of the sea - 

Buon'Eatalia, Hasselt

We treated ourselves to one of the newer restaurants in Hasselt the other day - Buon'Eatalia, of the same restaurant family as Goei Goesting and Aperi Vino (they have good catchy names, and delicious food, and a great atmosphere)

And so after a delicious supper (tuna for him, shrimp pasta for me), I chose an infusion, rather than a proper tea, to help with digestion.

The presentation was lovely - Japanese style teapot, with a solitary chopstick on the cup (to help extract the tea bag?), and a little pot to put the teabag in after. 

As well as a little box of goodies, in this case - a chocolate, a choccy truffle, and an amaretti biscuit-cake thing, as well as the usual sugars.

Another new brand of tea, this time one called Mighty Leaf, and I chose the Chamomile Citrus one. I think they might be american imports, as there was a US number on the back. 

The tea bag is clear and shows the herbs inside beautifully, and allows for a rapid infusion. 

One slight hiccup with the proceedings though - the water is so hot (good thing!) that having a handle-less cup makes it quite hard to drink it straight away. Even my fingers that are used to handling hot things found it hard to hold on to straight away.
Maybe they're encouraging you to take your time...
Also, you have to pay attention from which side you drink, so as not to end up with the little hole...

The flavour was lovely though.

EDIT: we went again the other night, and I tried the Marrakesh Mint Green Tea. Lovely flavour, although the smell is very toothpaste-y. Nearly put the others off their desserts...

Coffee Cafe, Hasselt

Don't you love it when your tea pot matches your book!



Don't let the size of the tea pot deceive you - there isn't all that much hot water in there. 
About one cup's worth, but tis quite a large cup.
And it came with cake!


This is one of those cafés I keep wanting to go into, but I only feel welcome when the door's actually open. Probably just me, because the interior is lovely.
 
and have you seen the lights?!

TBT - Business Trip to Malaysia

So I went on a business trip to Malaysia again a few weeks ago (and I'll be doing it a couple more times this year), and naturally, had a few cuppas along the way.

Here's how it went -

Due to some early stresses, my first cuppa was at the airport - Paris CDG. Disappointingly small terminal, but hooray for an EXKI. I really like that healthy takeaway brand.

Really, really decent sized cuppa for 3€. Enjoyable black tea, more reminiscent of Earl and Lady Grey than the stronger black teas, quite floral. Good and hot and just what you need after a stressful morning. (the moelleux cake was good too)

Posh linen teabag, a bit slow to infuse, but worth it. 

Oh, and the terminal has a Kusmi Tea shop! So much tea in one small shop! 

 KLM flight #1 - short mini hop from Paris to Schiphol - impressed they had time to go down the plane and hand out snack packs and drinks.

Small tea, quite strong, poured from a thermos. Good temperature. Wondered if it would be the same for the long haul flight as well. 

Pit-stop in Schiphol - managed to get into the KLM lounge thanks to a colleague - nice place, free tea!

No point showing pics of the long haul flight tea - it was exactly the same as the short haul. Shame. At least they had tea, and it wasn't crazy strong!

Then, in Malaysia, in the Sama Sama hotel - the rooms come with kettle facilities

I actually didn't get around to trying the tea bags this time (think they're still in my bag), as I went with some herbal tea I bought with me to help with the jet lag.

Down at breakfast, you get served hot drinks. If like me, you like a slightly weaker tea, make sure to ask them to put the bag on the side, or else it'll be very strong.

One morning, one of the waiters misunderstood me, and by 'on the side', they made sure the bag was sticking to the inside of the cup. :) 

 Have a token image of one part of the (very copious) breakfast buffet. I never went for these, enjoying their bircher muesli instead.

One small cup from work. Typical Lipton Yellow label. (that's an espresso cup's worth...)

The most disappointing tea of the trip was one I was in need of the most. After my 12 hours of flying, I had a couple of hours until my train home. I needed tea. So went to the Cass'Croute in the T2 Train Station. 3€ for a tiny tea. The picture doesn't really show it, but it was far from the large I'd hoped for (I even asked for a large). 

After the long KLM flights with mini cups of tea, I really wanted a decent one, and I remember how disappointed I was when I got this one (also, very hot! no cardboard holders here, just a lot of hand swapping until it cooled)

At least it was a delicious tea, and a Ceylan, one of my favourite varieties. 

De Bink - Sint Truiden

Today we were in Sint Truiden for a couple of hours, and, with the good weather, ended up on a terrasse on the Grote Markt to have a drink. It was busy out, being Saturday, and we just sat down at the first free table we spotted.

I was fancying something cold and refreshing, but when I saw the way the tea was being served, I thought it might be better to try their tea.

Also enjoyed when I asked for black tea, the waitress asked - just black tea? regular black tea? - indicating that they had more than just that. Should have looked in the menu before ordering, and would have seen the following -

The tea they served is from Limburg itself, called Pip's tea. (http://www.pips-tea.com/ for info) 

And they had plenty to choose from. Some I wouldn't touch, but some that could have been interesting. But too late, the waitress had been and gone and placed the order. 

The waitress brought green tea instead of black tea by mistake, but I realised I fancied some refreshing green tea anyway, so didn't bother to complain. I didn't have a particular craving this time. I was glad it wasn't Earl Grey. 

Pip's tea comes in sweet little boxes and the tea bags are the lovely clear kind that let you see all the leaves inside. 

You can see here how De Bink serves their tea (and other hot drinks) - on a wooden platter, with a saucer for the extras and a little cup for the tea bag. Lovely. 

The water was a good temperature, and the cup kept it warm for a long time, letting me slowly sip and enjoy the tea while hubby had a sandwich. 

Conecterra - Maasmechelen

Went for a walk yesterday with B, and stopped for a drink at the end of it, to enjoy the good weather. 

 This was in Conecterra, one of the entrances to the national park here in Limburg.

 I went for a green tea for a change, and was very glad I did - it was lovely and light and flavoursome. Perfect for the hot, sunny day.

Pain Quotidien, Hasselt

I've always been intrigued by the Pain Quotidien brand. The bread and menu always look good, but they also always seem quite expensive, but I'd always put that down to London prices. I was pleasantly surprised then to find one in Hasselt recently. The prices are still a little high I find (3€10 for tea), but maybe there's a reason to it, like it's all bio friendly or something of the sort.

So today, before going for a bit of a Saturday morning shop, I stopped by for a cup of tea and a snack.

If you go in for a drink, instead of a takeaway, I think you're meant to order from the table. Both times I've been, they always seem in a rush to serve me at the till, then when I say for in here, it relaxes considerably.  

I like the setting, open and relaxing; a good place to come and read a book, it's very roomy and rustic. 

It's one of the few places I've found so far that actually bring you a little tea pot instead of just a cup. 

Also note, the bowl without a handle to drink from. Very french! Like how you're meant to drink hot chocolate over there. They also give you a little spare bowl to put the teabag in

They have their own brand of tea, and it was very pleasant indeed. 

Although the water in the pot wasn't the hottest, it was enough to infuse the tea quickly, and there's enough in the pot for two bowls of tea (you can't call it a cuppa, really...)
It also came with a small square of chocolate that I've pocketed away for later.

The strange thing about LPQ that I find it that so far, I've not enjoyed their bread...ok, I've only had pastries there (a croissant that was much too rubbery, no flake, and today had a raisin roll), so I can't properly comment on the bread itself, but the other stuff you'd find in a bakery...eh...not been overly impressed yet. 

Still, the butter was delicious, and I do want to go back for a proper brunch sometime. (it's one of the few places in Hasselt open on a Sunday morning! and they have a Yoga studio upstairs)