It’s a Thursday night and the sun has set. A narrow doorway beckons those who pass by to enter the sky blue venue, warming those who enter with its dim lighting and intimate feel. The micro tea-shop-come-bar has a warm paint job and is lined with soft leather-topped stools, with a foot stands in the shape of a cloud. A petite lady with cherub cheeks welcomes you warmly with a genuine smile, offering you a drink of J, G&T (Jasmine Gin & Tonic). This is the home of Hannah Dupree. Okay, well maybe not home, but her pride and joy business, which has recently added cocktails to its menu for cheeky tipple.
Melbourne is notoriously known for its passion for coffee, but with the help of venues like Storm in a Teacup, the appreciation for tea is starting to come to rise. To celebrate their one year anniversary Storm in a Teacup hosted a bloggers night, showcasing the beautiful teas and extraordinary cocktails on offer in this quiet little venue.
The story of Storm in a Teacup spawned from the age old question- what next? Dupree was an artist full-time, who gave up her profession to look after her newborn baby. She knew that she loved food but had no idea about tea . So she set off to Sri Lanka to learn how to appreciate the intricacies of a good brew, eventually leading to the creation of Storm in a Teacup. She compares the delicacy of the flavours to ‘a fine wine’, and it is obvious that she has come a long way since her journey began.
It was then we started to really appreciate the flavours of tea, through a tasting session. First off, a lesson: all tea come from the same type of tree, the Camelia Sinensis. Variations of tea that don’t utilise this particular leaves aren’t in fact, tea at all. When the term ‘ancient’ is used to describe tea, it is referring to the age of the tree that bears the leaves. In the case of our J,G&T’s, the leaves came from 200-400 year old trees from Northern Vietnam!
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