Is your tea worth a repeat purchase? After steeping and sipping, Antonia Campbell-Nelson is the girl to go to for that answer. She is the tea connoisseur and sommelier in-training behind the tea blog Steep, Sip & Repeat. I briefly met Antonia at the Toronto Tea Festival one year while she was helping a vendor serve samples. I have been following her fun tea adventures through her blog and social media ever since. When she’s not creating the most gorgeous pages in her bullet journals, she shares her thoughts on various pure teas, blends and tea ware. I love that she is also an afternoon tea and scone lover so she occasionally reviews tea rooms, too. At the tea table Antonia and I talked about how her tea obsession began, her dream spot overseas for afternoon tea, and she shares her stunning tea related tattoos (yes, plural!) with us.
The kettle is on and I can hear it about to sing. What tea are you going to steep for us today?
I’ve been such a huge fan of Dancong Oolongs as of late. So, I’ll be brewing up some Duck Shit Oolong from The Tea Practitioner (one of my favourite tea brands that I’ve discovered this past year)!
I just discovered that tea brand this year, too! How did your relationship with tea begin and eventually lead to studying tea and starting Steep, Sip & Repeat?
My true tea obsession is only about five years ago… when I discovered loose leaf tea for the first time via DAVIDsTEA. But my introduction to tea happened while it was much younger and tea was still predominantly sold/served in the form of a tea bag. Growing up, I drank a lot of peppermint and Red Rose!
As a tea blogger and sommelier in-training, what are some of your daily tea rituals?
Honestly speaking, I don’t have very many consistent tea rituals per say. It has been nearly two years since my sommelier training has been put on hold, so I try to make an effort to learn and teach myself things wherever I can. Running my blog and constantly consuming tea has also been a great part of my recent education and further developing my palette. As long as my Brita water pitcher is full and ready to go, I’m a happy camper. Everything else I play by ear.
I love that you’re not ashamed of your “crazy tea lady” status and even have two tea related tattoos! Can you share them and the story behind each?
Yes, of course! Just like with tea, I have a “slight” obsession with getting tattoos (I have 15!). It was only a matter of time before the two worlds collided!
Both pieces were done in the summer of 2018. The first one is a tea cup surrounded by a spoon, tea bag, and a couple sugar cubes. It is made to look like a constellation, and I found the image on Pinterest while looking for inspiration. In all honesty, there’s not a whole lot of backstory behind this one. I originally got it done, because my appointment [for the next tattoo I’m going to talk about] felt so far away, and I needed something to hold me over until then.
Nearly two months later, I got Camellia Sinensis, the plant that makes this whole tea universe go ‘round, branded on me for life. Again, no profound backstory here. To me, it just made sense. It’s on my right forearm, just below my tea constellation, where I can always look down at it. It’s easily one of my top three pieces that I’ve had done.
You’re regularly steeping and sipping teas for your blog and letting your readers know if they are worth a repeat. Tell me about one of the most interesting teas you have ever tasted.
It’s really hard to boil it down to just one tea. In the past year and a half, I have reviewed over 100 teas and tisanes!
I think it would have to be a tie between Wild Lapsang Souchong from Tea Practitioner & Alishan Black from Tea Rebellion! In the case of Wild Lapsang Souchong, I found it interesting to know that not only does an unsmoked version of Lapsang exist, but it’s more common in China compared to the smoky version that I’m accustomed to.
Tea Rebellion’s Alishan Black is a black tea from Taiwan that has been grown from the same varietal that produces Forever Spring oolong. I love the idea of taking one tea, expanding on it, and transforming it into something new and different.
Speed Round:
Black, Green, Yellow, White, Oolong or Puerh?
Black!
Hot, Iced or Cold?
I’m definitely a hot tea all year round kind of girl!
Teapot, Infuser or Gaiwan?
Infuser!
Straight, Sweetened or Latte?
Straight! …With the occasional splash of milk!
Cheese or Chocolate pairing?
Neither?
Cream or Jam first?
Cream!
If you can visit any afternoon tea room in the world which one would that be and why?
My mind immediately spins at the thought of all the afternoon tea rooms out there that exist. But, one of the first ones that come to mind is Brigit’s Bakery in London! They offer a particularly unique 2-in-1 experience where you can sit down for a full afternoon tea service, take in some of London’s most famous landmarks, all whilst being on a Double Decker bus! I’ve yet to travel to Europe, but I’ve been planning a dream trip there for awhile now, and because tea is a definite part of the itinerary, this bus tour would be a great way to kill two birds with one stone!
Find Antonia Campbell-Nelson of Steep, Sip & Repeat:
Website | Facebook | 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.