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?!