Tea and Toast

Awonderfulsheep,
breakfast tea toast orange marmalade

Hello friends! I hope you’re doing well. My friend Su is hosting a virtual tea party and so today I bring you a simple tea with toast.

What do you like to spread on your toast? Since I was young, I’ve always liked orange marmalade on a slice of wheat toast because of Paddington the Bear. (I faintly recall reading that was his favorite.)

Unfortunately nice, hearty wheat bread is a bit hard to come by in Korea. There are bakeries a plenty, both franchises and independent ones, but I feel they lean more towards sweet baked goods and rolls. Which are of course delicious. Sometimes nicer bakeries will have wheatish offerings or ciabattas, but not really big loaves of hearty bread. In recent years I have been seeing more breads with assorted nuts or grains. I got these little slices on sale at my local department store. If you go before closing around 7:30 PM, all the vendors start selling their foods in bundled discounts. Inevitably I end up getting more than I need, but I fool myself into believing it’s still a good deal.

Toast with orange marmalade and kaya jam

Today I’ve also added a generous spread of Kaya jam, another toast topping favorite. I discovered kaya toast for the first time a few years ago and have never looked back. Kaya jam is a coconut spread popular in Southeast Asia made from coconut milk, eggs and sugar. It is divine in kaya toast (toasted sandwich with butter). In the past few years I’ve always tried to bring back a jar of Kaya jam from my trips to Singapore. Alas this jar is just a generic brand from the No Brand shop here, but it was still good.

The tea I’m drinking is called Orange Cookie, composed of Roobois, marigold, pear slices, “tropical fruits” (from Thailand), orange peel, cacao nibs, orange and almond scent. It is from Two Teagers, an independent tea and bakery I discovered at a Flea market last year. And yes, the tea is as yummy as it sounds.

Pouring hot water through my cute tea strainer

However, the star of today’s post is my tea strainer. I love it so. I prefer my tea weak and I never steep my tea for very long (less than a minute). So this little pour-through strainer is perfect for me. I just slowly pour hot water from my electric kettle through the strainer once to make the perfect brew.

My cute, wooden tea strainer

I’m actually not a huge tea person, but I have a pretty decent collection thanks to my travels. (Single bags saved from hotel breakfasts, boxes and tins bought from local stores.) Now that I won’t be travelling for the time being, I guess I’ll finally start making a dent in my supply.

How do you all like your tea? Strong or weak? Black, green or herbal? And what do you like to nibble on with your tea? I’d love to know! Hoping you all are safe and well. ❤

Published by Awonderfulsheep

Navigating the creative seas

39 Comments

  1. Lovely to have a cuppa with you!

    We Asians do love our soft buns! But fortunately, we have had German bakeries around for a while now, and crusty, more substantial breads are available even on the supermarket shelves.

    I used to eat marmalade because of Paddington too (just had some for brekkie yesterday). My favourite topping for toast is crunchy peanut butter with any sort of jam! Kaya I love too (also good with peanut butter) but I don’t stock at home as I fear I will eat straight out of the jar!!!!

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    1. Hehe YES to all the soft buns. I do love Asian bakeries but sometimes I just want a crusty loaf too. It’s probably good they’re not readily available, or I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.

      LOVE that you also like marmalade AND CRUNCHY peanut butter. I’ve not had PB with Kaya yet… will have to try that next time I get some good bread. ❤

      Thanks for the bread chat. So happy to bond over carbs hehe.

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      1. I’m afraid I’m an unfashionable carb eater still so it is always a breathe of fresh air to meet another! (which is one of the reasons I love this Tea Party)

        Bread is, by far, the family favourite. We eat more bread than rice, which is kinda weird for an Asian household – one of the reasons I bake bread, although we still have to supplement with wholegrain storebought loaves.

        To be honest, I am a peanut butter fiend, so I like peanut butter in all forms and in all things (even savouries). So, take any PB preferences I share with a pinch of salt!

        Oh yes! Meant to tell you I LOVE your tea strainer! We have wire ones, metal ones, but never have we seen a wooden one! Yours must be wonderfully seasoned!

        Liked by 3 people

      2. Love it! I’ve unashamedly embraced my love of bread during this time, because it’s just needed. I’ve never actually made bread myself though. One of my things to learn once I have access to an oven again. 🙂 Haha, I will keep that in mind about you and PB. I like PB a lot too so I’ll probably like a good PB and Kaya sandwich. And I never thought about my tea strainer being seasoned–what a lovely thought. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Ah yes, this jar is the first one I’ve had in the house in years. It is quite sweet, but I think I can limit my intake by not having bread around all the time. Hmm though you’ve got me wondering if I could make a less sugary version… ❤

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  3. Yum!!! I love marmalade on toast. It would be my everyday breakfast food if I had an endless supply of my favourite marmalade. But … my favourite is the one I make and I have a rule only to use fruit that I can grow or forage (to stop me drowning in marmalade). At the moment, I’ve run out and I’m waiting for the citrus fruit to ripen again. Fussy, or what?

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    1. That is an amazing rule and I admire both your garden AND cooking abilities. I actually did wonder if you were going to turn some of your fresh figs into jam. So glad to meet other fellow marmalade lovers in the blogosphere. ❤

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      1. Thank you; it is kind of self-preservation. I would eat marmalade out of the jar if I had an endless supply of it. Also, I like it quite tart — lots of fruit and not much sugar. It is difficult to find commercially made marmalade that isn’t too sweet for me.
        Fun fact: marmalade as we know it was first made commercially in Dundee in Scotland. Some of my ancestors worked in the factory that manufactured it.

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  5. Pingback: Tea time in the blogosphere | Zimmerbitch

  6. Yes, a very elegant tea strainer! I don’t drink tea, though when I stayed with Polish family I did like it black with a slice of lemon. Never sugar! Kaya jam sounds interesting, but I have a feeling the goodies on offer at mine will be too sweet for you. I blame the other half (always! 🙂 ) But you’re very welcome to pop by.

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  8. That meal looks so wonderfully pleasant. Orange marmalade has long been my favorite jam. Never heard of kaya jam, sadly, but there’s zero chance I would pass up an opportunity (should I ever get one) of trying a tea called Orange Cookie!

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    1. It was very comforting to have a warm piece of crunchy toast with sweet marmalade. A miracle I didn’t have more! Wish I could actually share some of the Orange Cookie tea with yoi, but for now the virtual tea party will have to do! Thanks for stopping by♡

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    1. Hoorah another marmalade lover! I’ve heard Kaya jam is a bit divisive, but I love it. And I’m happy you like strainer–I got mine at a little tea shop in the countryside years ago, but unfortunately I haven’t seen anything similar since. Thanks for stopping by!

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  11. I love tea and I love orange marmalade, so this sounds perfect. I prefer whole grain bread if it’s good, so that works, too. I like all types of tea except any that are too sweet but I do like mine a bit stronger than just pouring the hot water through a strainer would produce. However, I do like your strainer. Cheers!

    janet

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    1. Hello fellow tea and marmalade lover! Thank you for stopping by! I am still learning the ways of tea, so I think over time I’ll experiment with stronger teas and let my tea steep for longer. Have a good day!

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      1. I worked at a tea shop for several years and here’s the general rule of thumb we used:

        Black tea: boiling water for 3 min. Many people do 4-5 min.

        Oolong: Boiling water, 3 min. and you can re-steep it 3 or 4 times. Most if not all of the caffeine will come out in the first steep.

        Green: 2-3 min. with water cooler than boiling. If it gets to boiling, let it sit for a minute or two before steeping. Delicate green tea might only need a minute or 1 1/2 min. steep. Can be re-steeped.

        White: The most delicate and with the most antioxidants. 3 min. and can be re-steeped.

        Herbal “teas” (not really any tea in them) often need to be steeped for 5 min. or even more.

        Hope this helps a bit. Enjoy!

        Liked by 2 people

  12. Here’s a confession: when I was a kid, I was obsessed with marmalade! I wouldn’t have anything else on my bread, not even Nutella or honey. It was marmalade and nothing else for me. 😉 I started to get a little more experimental with things in my teens, but still only preferred sweet stuff – you could have chased me off with cheese! 😂 Finally, all grown up, I made tiny attempts to eat cheese on bread – and what can I say? I clearly missed out when I was younger. 😂 But that’s okay. 😊 I absolutely love orange marmalade and yours with the slices looks yummy. Another favourite would be my mum’s strawberry marmalade – it’s just perfect on anything: normal toast, whole grain bread, sourdough, even yogurt! Your tea strainer looks awesome! I’ve never seen a wooden one before and think it’s brilliant! I prefer my tea and coffee quite weak too, and can re-steep my loose leaf green tea up to 2 times. 😄 And a bag of strong builder’s tea is being fished out almost the second after it was dunked in! 😂 Thanks so much for having me – your tea time was perfect! ❤

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    1. I love how many marmalade lovers I’ve met through this tea party!! It was so cute to imagine little Sarah sticking to only marmalade. Myself, I also quite liked peanut butter and jelly too. I only discovered Nutella in college, during a backpacking trip to Europe. And cheese, well of course cheese and a hunk of bread is also one of my comfort foods.

      Your mother’s strawberry marmalade sounds so wonderful. Anything homemade with love is bound to be delicious ❤ Glad I'm not the only weak tea drinker–though I'd like to experiment with drinking stronger teas too. I've not tried a strong "builder's tea" yet, but any black tea bags are fished out pretty quickly for me too 😀 Thanks for stopping by and sharing your love of marmalade and tea–I enjoyed learning more about you ❤

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      1. I also like peanut butter and jelly now too. 😉 And that Kaya sounds delicious, I’ve never heard of it before but will look out for it at my next stop to the Asia supermarket. 😉
        Did you ever eat Nutella on pancakes? It’s heaven! The Nutella melts and tastes even better that way. 😀

        And now I’m letting you into a secret – I hope to bake my very own croissants for the next virtual tea party!! Watched a video on youtube and read a dozen cookbooks and feel ready now to risk it! 😀 ❤

        Liked by 1 person

      2. I have not tried nutella on warm pancakes but I am already salivating at the thought!!!♡

        Also excited for your homemade croissants! I’m so impressed at all your skills–can’t wait for the next party!!♡

        Liked by 1 person

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