At the Tea Table with YouTuber Tea with Jann

Everyone could use more joy in their day! This is why I must introduce you all to my favourite YouTuber with tea themed content, Tea with Jann. Jann has the most fun personality when reviewing teas and products. Her positive energy is quite contagious! Take a moment to watch one of her YouTube videos and you’ll see exactly what I mean. When she’s not in front of the camera filming or chilling with her two adorable cats, you can find Jann hunting for vintage teaware. At the tea table she shared advice to teacup collectors, one of her fondest memories that involve tea, and she gave us a virtual tour of her studio space.

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

I would steep us a nice pot of Lavender Earl Grey. I know, not something fancy or ultra rare. Something that pretty much sums me up in a cup. Earl Grey is like a sturdy friend to me, and lavender is the softness that comes with age. Those taste buds changing– I’m completely loving that. Flowers in my teas are like a whole new world to me lately. They no longer taste soapy or perfume soaked, but are like a fresh spring day. Or maybe I’m just getting better floral teas. I would definitely treat you to the tea blend that a local lavender farm creates.

Floral teas were once a no-go for me, too. Better quality (not artificial) definitely makes a difference! Tell me a bit about your journey with tea. Do you recall your first sip?

I don’t recall my first sip of tea, however I remember falling in love from the need for a break at work. Everyone else had coffee or cigarette breaks. Neither of which interested me in the least so I decided to test out tea. I remember loving the warmth it brought me, and the ritualistic feeling of waiting for the kettle to boil, and bobbing a teabag up and down. I was only 17 and soon after this I was introduced to the world of loose leaf tea, and vintage teaware.

However, I do remember the most special tea session I shared. It was with my mum and my grandmother (who is no longer with us). My mum was afraid that my grandmother would break my antique Aynsley teacups, so she insisted I give Gram a sturdier teacup. I remember cranking the turn handle on my antique Victrola and the music filling the living room. Gram then told me how she met this musician that I randomly played and memories from her youth. All over a cup of tea! I still have that sturdy teacup, and I don’t let anyone use it. It holds my memories of my Gram and the visit our three generations had that afternoon.

What a lovely memory involving tea! Speaking of vintage tea ware, can you share a few of your favourites from your collection?

Oh gracious, I could go on for days about vintage teaware! I started collecting antique Aynsley teacups, in turquoise, when I was around 19 years old. I remember the antique dealer noticing me eyeing up the teacups. He gave me excellent advice that day:

If you’re going to collect teacups, pick a maker and a colour, or a year, curate your collection, otherwise they can get out of hand.

Oh, this would have been great advice to have before I started my teacup collection, haha!

Exactly! He was so right. I should have listened to him on teapots, tea strainers, and silverware. My Aynsley collection is beautiful. I love them all for different reasons and moods.

I have an easier time crowning a top place for an antique teapot though. That would be the Manning & Bowman graniteware with a patent stamp from 1899. My wife, Jeanette, and I were antiquing our way through Maine, USA one spring. I fell head over heels for the teapot, but for some reason walked away from it. Later that night in the hotel room, while discussing it with Jeanette and how much I adored it, she persuaded me to call the shop to see if they still had it. We were unable to go back for it, but after many calls back and forth the shop clerk was able to locate the teapot and I had it shipped to my home.

I love this teapot for so many reasons, the colour and mixture of materials, the shape and its ability to be sturdy yet elegant, the dent in it to remind me it had a past, the fact that the cloth strainer is still inside. I’m also a sucker for a patent on antique teaware. I loved researching and finding out the reason for the patent was the removable handle, to allow for replacement if the handle broke. It also contains so many memories of a wonderful vacation with my wife. Hands down, best antique teapot in my collection.

Since beginning your YouTube channel, Tea with Jann, over a year ago, what’s one of the biggest things you learned about tea?

I think in the land of tea knowledge, I still have so much to learn. That will continue forever for me. But over the last year what I’ve learned so much was the unbelievable amount of kindness and support the tea community has for each other. We are all there to help each other grow and cheer one another up. I am astonished on a daily basis from the sweet comments and kind messages my viewers on YouTube send me. They genuinely care for me, and I can feel that, over the internet. I learned the tea community has my back, even when I’m not well. And I thank them (and you) for that.

If someone were new to your channel, which video would you recommend they watch first?

I think I would recommend someone to check out my “Drinking ALL my Aynsley’s” video. It’s not the most polished video, it doesn’t have wonderful effects, or even great sound quality, but it does show my personality, my silliness, my inability to take myself too serious, my desire to create, and most importantly, ALL my antique Aynsley teacups!

Take us on a tour of your YouTube creating space. What will we find there?

My studio space has moved a few times throughout our home, but I’ve finally created a cozy spot in our basement with bookcases behind me that hold some of my precious things. It’s a work in progress, and I still have another section to build out, but for now it works great. I also often film in our sun-room, because it’s the place I love to enjoy tea, and it feels more relaxed when I want to connect with my tea friends a bit more.

You’re stranded on a desert island and you could only bring 3 tea related items. What are they?

I’m going to imagine this desert island has electricity, ok? Haha. I would bring my Fellow Corvo EKG kettle. I love everything about this kettle. The ability to control the temperature, the fact that it holds my temperature for up to an hour, and the sleek and modern design of it. I would also bring an antique Aynsley teacup, because I swear tea tastes better from them and a vat of the best earl grey tea.

Find Tea with Jann:

YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

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.