In the weekend we visited the Gypsy-rose Tea Museum in Taradale. As a tea lover, I was enthralled by the huge range of tea memorabilia, from antique Victorian hot water urns, to models of tea clippers, vintage tea mugs, and knitted tea cosies. There was such a lot to look at and the curator provided interesting snippets of information about many of the items as we looked around. If you live in the area, or are planning a trip to Hawke’s Bay, I definitely recommend a visit to the tea museum.
I hope you enjoy the photos.
Victorian teapots 1880-1900
Miniature teapot
English pewter samovar 1875
English hot water urn 1810
Vintage tea caddies
Later, at home, I got out my vintage copy of Foulsham’s Tea-cup Fortune Telling, made a pot of tea, enjoyed a cuppa, then read my fortune. My tea leaves formed a whimsical little cat in the bottom of the cup. The book states that the cat usually shows treachery or deception, but if the cat is distinguished in a resting position, near the handle and at the top of the cup, it shows domestic comfort. I think I will go for the last one, as my cat looked very joyful and content, and I definitely feel in a state of domestic comfort.
A tea museum. What a great idea! I feel almost feel like I was there!
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It is a unique place to visit!
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Love the teapots. 🙂 I have some of my mother’s teapots & have collected a few more in the last few years. I also have her old brass tea caddy & battered old tin teapot that we used when we were kids. The museum looks like a great place to visit.
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I love teapots. It’s lovely that you have kept your mother’s teapots and tea caddy. I have a tea cosy, which my mother knitted about forty years ago, that I use every day on my pot of tea.
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Looks like somewhere I would love to visit.:-D
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It was a fun place to browse!
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I love tea too! Looks like a wonderful place to get lost for awhile. I never read my tea leaves – seems like a fun thing to do!
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It is amazing the images you can see in the tea leaves with a bit of imagination. The tea-cup fortune telling book I have is really old and amusing to look through.
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I will have to try it!
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