FOOD & DRINK
Lunch @ Eteaket
words Carine Seitz ∙ photos Susie Lowe
B
ritain is a nation obsessed with tea. Despite its exotic cups of the herbal variety a day: peppermint, yerba mate, nettle,
origins, we have claimed it as our national drink and dandelion. I even carry bags with me so I don’t ever have to
the solution to almost everything. A nice cup of tea is stomach the sawdust-flavoured variety. And so it is that Eteaket
called for as much in times of relaxation as in times of stress,
is a place after my own heart. On a mission to rekindle Britain’s
we dedicate parties to it and there are electricity surges
passion for good tea, Eteaket is a tea boutique and café with
during TV commercial brakes because we’re all boiling the
over 40 teas on the menu.
kettle for a cuppa.
Cheerfully decorated with a modern twist on a classic parlour,
It’s a sad state of affairs that what passes for tea ceremony in
period chairs are upholstered in bright colours and dotted
the UK is an argument over whether or not to put the milk in
around little tables laid with pretty three-tier cake stands. Alex
first. The teabags used by millions generally contain ‘fannings’
and I are suckers for, well any kind of cake really, so afternoon
(the bits leftover after larger leaf pieces are gathered for loose
tea for two was hastily ordered. Our tea of choice (think: kid in a
sweetie shop) was Organic Silver Needle. It arrived having been
tea) so people are quite literally drinking rubbish.
brewed to the optimum temperature for white tea (80°) with a
I’m a self-proclaimed tea snob: no milky, over-stewed, thick with special sand timer set to exactly four minutes. It was delicate
sugar builder’s special for this Tea Jenny. I average around 12 and clean with subtle notes of melon.
i-on_Edinburgh_42_June09.indd 68 20/5/09 13:53:14
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