This sifter spoon has been in the family for many years and has been passed through the family but not been used for some time now because I cant lift a kettle of boiling water to pour into a tea pot to make a lovely cup of tea.
The ruddy stuff they sell nowadays does not have that special oomph for me now with it being in blasted bags.
I have to use one of the hot water dispensers now with a ruddy teabag but I cant face any more that a couple of cups made like this if that each day made like this. The dispenser is ideal for coffee or Ovaltine or any other hot water drinks but DEFINITELY not for tea as it is today.

Lovely Maisie. You are so right about tea bags. Nothing like tea when its made. I keep looking out for loose tea. any idea if its still about? cheers Penny

It should be in most shops Penny and you can get it online.

It has an entirely different taste to the ruddy tea bags. I only wish I was capable of using the sifter to shake the tea leaves free from what we called dust before adding it to the teapot.
The spoon shown is well over 100 years old. It belonged to my grandmother.

You are right Maisie! Tea bags are a failure but they appeal to the modern world because they are quick and easy. I remember my days of tramping in the mountains, first with my friends then later with my kids. "Black billie tea" was the thing. Couldn't carry milk for a week so we had it black. The standard measure was a handful of tea in the billie. Never been anything quite like it. :-)

It is 62 years since I drank tea. The dishwater slop at convent boarding school put me off for life. A well-meaning nurse, when I had tonsillectomy at age 21, forced some tea past my gritted teeth when I was still woozy, saying 'This will ease your throat'. That hardened my resolve, so it has been instant coffee ever since. L'or and Gold Blend while at home, and Flat White in Costa and other coffee shops.
David and our son and daughter were always tea drinkers though. Daughter now alternates between tea and ground 'real' coffee.

I drink instant and 'real' coffee but to me they are different beverages. I always have milk in instant but never in real (usually plunger) coffee.