Hey, world! How’s it going? What have I missed? I am back again, slowly waking up from the slumber I have been in over the last few months. Honestly, I was in no mood for writing (I will tell you some other time why), I had no energy for the social media, and I did not even upload many photos to my Instagram account over the last couple of months! Not that I have not taken any: I can assure you, there is plenty of stuff I can share, so I have a helluva blogging catching up to do! For now, let me start with this post about the visit to a colourful little store in Shoreditch I discovered during one of my lunchtime walks: T2 – it’s time for tea!

T2 is growing fast by the looks of things! This dynamic, creative Melbourne-born tea company has opened quite a few stores all around the UK to date, but when I discovered the Shoreditch store it was a whole new experience for me and I absolutely loved it!

I usually drink black coffee in the morning just to give myself a kick of caffeine which sees me through the first part of the day, but, oh boy, I do love a cup of tea in the afternoon. Granted, when I am busy I am perfectly happy to toss a teabag in the cup and make a decent cup of brew to enjoy. But there is nothing like the experience of pouring boiling water over the loose dried tea leaves, watching them uncurl in the cup, inhaling the enticing aroma. I can see why in certain Asian cultures there are tea ceremonies! It’s therapeutic, and I must make more time in my life for this experience.

So, back to the story! I was walking around the cobbled streets of Shoreditch and was blissfully unaware of T2’s existence. And then, the first thing that caught my eye was the colourful array of teapots in the centre of the large glass window. As I entered the shop, I was immediately impressed by its size: the shelf on the left seemed to go on, and on, and on…

That’s a lot of tea there! The store is massive

I love how the beautifully colourful selection of those cute tea squares and paraphernalia line the shelves inside the store. The patterns on those china cups and teapots are exquisite: I could look at them forever!

I am not sure if other T2 stores have a similar interior style – that typical warehouse feel with dark wood, metal kind of mix – but the Shoreditch store is certainly in keeping with the Shoreditch vibe.

This is where you can see what the tea blends look like: you can see, smell, touch and just explore! Loving the metal cage of a display table!

Such a beautiful teapot! And I like the look of Singapore Breakfast blend!

As I walked further into the store, I discovered a few varieties of matcha tea as well! Who would have thought that you can get matcha with turmeric, cinnamon or vanilla flavours!

T2 would not be a tea store if it did not have a Matcha tea selection!

I am a bit of a fan of matcha tea as well so I instantly recognised the traditional Japanese matcha bowls on the shelf. I have a pretty white one with the matching stand for the bamboo whisk at home.

Clay chawans and bamboo whisks for matcha tea ceremonies!

Who needs the boring usual kind of wallpaper when you can use Chinese newspapers as a wallpaper! It just works – what a quirky way of decorating the store.

Tea making station

Guess what – you can ask one of the friendly shop assistants to taste some tea! It looks like they are happy to make a brew! I love the Aussie sense of humour: have you spotted the emp-tea cups sign yet?

You can sign up to become a member of the Tea Society at the store.

I have signed up to become a member of the Tea Society run by T2 – it is free and offers a few quirks like discounts, bespoke tea samples, tea society even invites, gift wrapping and free tea during the birthday week – what’s not to like?

I could not stop taking pictures inside the store – everything from the cute cubes with tea to teapots was colourful and attractive.

I ended up buying a set of 5 green tea varieties in a cute green box – it makes an ideal gift for a tea lover.I brought it back to the office for the team to enjoy.

Glass teapot and cups

More pretty patterns! I am in love with these bowls!

What can I say: I am so glad I have made this discovery! It was like a wake-up call to me: T2 – it’s time for tea! It totally deserves to have as much love and attention from people as the coffee does these days! Tea has been around for thousands of years, it is healthy and tasty, and I think T2 is doing a great job of making the tea drinking experience as satisfying and fun as it can ever be! While the humble tea bag is still convenient and speedy (by the way, T2 does teabags too!), why not try the beautiful loose leaf tea blends?

Check the T2 website out, there may be a store somewhere nearby – the company is growing fast!