Melissa Hartfiel is one of the masterminds behind Food Bloggers of Canada, a resource community for Canadian food bloggers. She is also the writer behind Eyes Bigger Than My Stomach, a blog that focuses on her creative life, food and even some tea! After becoming a member of Food Bloggers of Canada (FBC), I started to connect with Melissa and noticed how tea was part of her daily routine. Whether she is writing, reading or designing, tea seems to always be by her side for creativity or relaxation. At the tea table, Melissa talked about her tea lover status beginning when she lived in the UK, her favourite chocolate and tea pairing, and she also gives us a virtual tour of her incredible studio space.
The kettle is on and I can hear it about to sing. What tea are you going to steep for us today?
It’s first thing in the morning for me right now and it’s not very exciting but, I always start my day with Tetley English Breakfast Tea in a teabag and have for years. My mom is from the UK and I relate it to her and to “having a cuppa” from my time living in London. It’s my equivalent of a cup of coffee in the morning. I just need it to get me going and the routine comfort of it is as much a part of why I drink it as anything else! I get more adventurous with tea choices after that first cup is in me. Oddly, I didn’t like tea until I lived in the UK for a while after university and then realized I would be a big pain in the butt if I was always that one person who requested something else when everybody was having tea. So I started drinking it and it grew on me very quickly. I am currently digging Sweet Nothings from TeaLC, which has a hit of coffee in it. Didn’t think I’d like it but I was so wrong! It’s a great mid-afternoon tea with milk and a hint of sugar or honey.
I read about that Sweet Nothings tea blend on your blog before. You made it sound incredibly delicious! As an artist and food writer, define what tea means to you.
Tea is my way to slow down or to think. I love that you can’t rush tea. The kettle has to boil, the tea has to steep. Whenever I’m stuck with a problem or need to clear my head or simply calm myself down when I’m frustrated or having a block, my first reaction is to get up and go make a cup of tea. (I think that’s also very British – the first solution in any crisis is to put the kettle on!) Those few minutes in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil (I always stand by the counter or pace the kitchen and think while it boils) and the sound of pouring hot water, waiting for tea to steep, the motion of stirring a teaspoon… for whatever reason I find it very calming, soothing and it usually helps me come up with a solution or gives me the impetus to switch gears and move on to something different.
You just described so many of my favourite little moments with tea! How would you describe the connection between your creative life and your love for tea?
Tea has as many moods as creativity! There is always a tea to match my mood – which varies depending on what I’m working on. And I ALWAYS have a cup of tea with me when I’m working on anything or when I’m reading (but oddly, not when I’m watching TV… I rarely drink tea when watching Netflix or stuff like that). Things don’t feel right if I don’t have a cup of tea next to me when I’m working!
On your own food blog, Eyes Bigger Than My Stomach, your Chocolate & Tea series was always a fun read. What would you say is your absolute favourite chocolate and tea pairing?
Well, I will eat chocolate under pretty much any circumstances so if you give me a piece of chocolate and a cup of tea, I will not turn you away! But I prefer it with black tea – a 67-70% dark chocolate paired with a black tea with a spot of milk is my favourite. My local indie café where I go to work a few times a week has started making me a chocolate chai latte when I come in and I’m really enjoying that. I love when your local baristas “get” you!
Take us on a virtual tour of your studio space. What will we find there?
I have two “studio” spaces depending on the time of day and the time of year. My office doubles as the FBC office and my studio space and it’s very bright and white and airy and my favourite room in the house but… it’s disgustingly warm in summer and I don’t have AC and the layout is a bit wonky so I can’t put my drawing and illustration space near the window in the way that I’d like. I have two desks – an analog desk and a digital desk. I got the idea from Austin Kleon who wrote Steal Like an Artist. The digital desk houses my big iMac, my laptop and anything “digital”. The analog desk has all my art supplies and writing stuff and the only non analog thing on it is a lamp. I don’t even allow my cell phone to sit on that desk. It’s my “I’m disconnected from the world” space. It’s a brilliant system for me and a big thanks to Austin for the idea (I stole like an artist from him hehe!). But my space is, as you might guess if you know my work, filled with bright, bold colour – especially lime green – my doodles and the art of friends, my most colourful food photography props and a great big “M” that I rescued from my old corporate job when they were doing renovations and tearing down some signage. It reminded me of the “M” that Mary Richards had in her apartments on the old Mary Tyler Moore Show. As a little girl whose name started with M, I loved that she had one on her wall and I love my M too!
I’ve also stolen a spot in the old basement rec room which looks like it hopped right out of the 70s but, it has this amazingly huge window that lets in loads of light and I have a really long table right up against it to work on and it’s gloriously cool in summer (and it’s the most peaceful spot in the house!). There’s also a big rhododendron plant right outside the window and two blue jays and a host of chickadees play in it and I like to watch them. And when it rains (which it does all the time in Vancouver in fall, winter and spring) I like watching the raindrops hit the rhodo’s leaves.
And yes, there is tea. I don’t have enough room in the kitchen for all my teas so a lot of them sit on my bookcase and some shelves in my office. And I keep an extra teapot in my office so that when I’m working on a big project I just make a big pot of tea, cover it with a tea cozy and keep working without having to get up and make a new cup!
Speed Round:
Black, Green, Yellow, White, Oolong or Puerh?
Depends on mood but if I had to pick one, black.
Hot, Iced or Cold?
Hot in winter, iced in summer, cold when I’ve forgotten I made myself a cup of tea!
Teapot, Infuser or Gaiwan?
Infuser mostly, sometimes a teapot. I’ve never done the Gaiwan method at home!
Straight, Sweetened or Latte?
All three depending on time of day – mostly straight though.
Cheese or Chocolate pairing?
Chocolate! Not a fan of cheese with tea. Maybe I haven’t found the right tea for it yet!
You’re stranded on a desert island and you could only bring 3 tea related items. What did you bring?
My super tacky Disneyland mug because it is the BEST tea mug. Right weight, fits my hand perfectly, keeps tea hot longer than any mug I’ve ever owned and except for being super tacky, it’s perfect! 😀
A giant bag of Genmaicha because that’s my favourite “drink with anything” tea.
An infuser – because I hate floaty bits in my tea! But… if I could figure out a way to fashion tea bags out of some kind of tropical plant leaves, my third thing would be my Kindle because what’s a cup of tea without a good book!?
Your site is amazing I’m hoping there is a lot more to come! good luck!
https://realcoffeeandtea.com.au
Chocolate chai latte!😮 Will keep this in mind the next time I’m at a coffee shop 💚
I know!! Sounds so good. Hopefully you get to have one soon.