A Bicycle Made For Tea

We went along to Hatch & Sons for some Teaology lessons with Barrys…

We decided to skip the usual Thursday evening ritual of cheeky post-work drinks for something a bit more traditional, and if we’re being honest a lot more fun. To be specific we got a grip on the art of teaology, the study of tea. Hatch & Sons, the Dublin home of Waterford’s famous blaa, hosted a tea tasting with Barry’s Tea. Before getting down and thirsty with our tutor, Denis Daly, we had a gander around the building which had been transformed into a brief Barry’s Tea Museum. Barry’s has been based in Cork since it’s founding in 1901 and we got to see the original pushbike that delivered the orders from the old Prince Street shop as well as order books from the 1960s and the stamps that provided the finishing touch on the packaging. It was very Lark Rise to Candleford.

Denis Daly is the Master Blender at Barry’s Tea and has been blending for the company for over forty years. That’s a lot of brewing. Denis took us through the various blends that go into an iconic cup of Barry’s, evoking the tea gardens of Rwanda, Kenya and India’s Assam Valley as we all thoughtfully gulped. We learned how to detect the ?golden curl? in some blends and finished up the endeavour with a cuppa and some dessert crumble. Actually a lot of crumble. Canap’s included salmon topped with some cool cucumber resting on the crumbliest soda bread. Cocktails were on brand and tea infused. Guests counted food bloggers such as Ellen Lunney, Caitriona Redmond of Wholesome Ireland and Forkful‘s Aoife McElwain.

For some more of Denis? story, and Barry’s, have a watch of the video below. Just make sure to put the kettle on before setting in.

Jeanne Sutton @jeannedesutun