At the Tea Table with Photographer Olena Hassell

Tea is a medium I favour when I’m feeling shutter happy and Olena Hassell continues to inspire my captures with her own beautiful photos. She was trained as a scientist, but developed a passion for photography thanks to Instagram where she shares some of my most-liked tea themed photos. She currently steeps in the city that never sleeps, but describes herself as Ukraine born and a naturalized Canadian who finds that only a few things make her smile more than a freshly poured cup of tea. At the tea table, Olena raves about her first proper afternoon tea, offers a couple of tea photography tips and lets us in on her personal tea time.

The kettle is on and I can hear it about to sing. What tea are you going to steep for us today?

Actually, two different teas. First, an Earl Grey with its delicate flavor, and then, later, after we’ve eaten, a calming and relaxing chamomile.

Sounds like a delightful steeping schedule to me! Tell me a bit about your first moment with tea.

Sure! My first tea moment was when I first met my, what amazingly turned out to be my future, husband. He treated me to a proper afternoon tea served in traditional Scottish way with enough delicious treats until you are ready to burst! Others, like Plaza Hotel in NYC, have imitated, but never matched the unforgettable purity of that initial experience.

Your personal Instagram and Naughty Teas are such well-loved accounts because of the gorgeous photos. Can you share a couple of your biggest tea photography tips?

Yes, with pleasure! Two things:

1. You are striving to make the spread as delicious and tempting as possible.

2. Encourage the eyes to travel around and linger on the scene. To achieve this, I always use natural light and create a story around a cup of tea as my hero, with irresistible sweet treats and flowers as willing accomplices.

Find a series of tea photography tips here.

What are the top 3 teas we would find in your collection today?

1. English Breakfast
2. Chamomile
3. Wild Berry

You’re about to sit down for tea time with either of those 3 teas you just mentioned…describe how that would look for you.

First, I would give the signal to the conductor (in this case Alexa) to start the orchestra playing the weekend classics by Tchaikovsky, then pull out my darling teapot in Minton Victoria Strawberry blue and white bone china. I warm it up with a splash of boiling water and then let the tea brew for a couple of minutes before I pull out the tea bags and cover it with a tea cozy to keep it perfectly hot. Milk first, not sugar for me… jaffa cake and a raspberry macaron will go together nicely.

Speed Round:

Black, Green, Yellow, White, Oolong or Puerh?
Black

Hot, Iced or Cold?
Hot

Teapot, Infuser or Gaiwan?
Teapot

Straight, Sweetened or Latte?
Latte (cold milk)

Cheese or Chocolate pairing?
Both!

Choose one person, living or passed, celebrity or family, that you would like to have tea with.

My English Mother-in-Law! She had an amazing talent for making people feel great about themselves…

Find Olena Hassell:

Website | Personal Instagram | Naughty Teas Instagram

ABOUT THIS SERIES: Tea tells stories and when connected with humans, more are created. That’s where the idea for this blog series, At the Tea Table, originated. With this series, The Cup of Life asks tea lovers around the world to take us inside their tea lives to share their favourite steeps, spaces, routines and more. Meet some of your fellow tea drinkers here.