Have you noticed a new ‘tea culture’ emerging? More people than ever are enjoying new tea experiences at ‘tea bars’ - sipping tea cocktails, mixing matcha and trying bubble teas. Even coffee shops have embraced the tea trend, serving up iced tea infusions and tea lattes.
For most of us, our understanding of tea doesn’t go beyond the mug and teabag. Yet, inside each humble blend are layers of unique flavours, rich histories, cultures, travel, mysteries and an amazing range of health benefits waiting to be discovered.
There are over 3,000 tea varieties available to us too - along with a whole range of gadgets and brewing techniques – so selecting the right tea blend and teaware can be confusing. For tea drinkers seeking new tea adventures - away from the usual Earl Grey or Oolong – the Wonderlust Express is an exciting new venture just for you. It’s a journey of tea discovery – giving tea enthusiasts everywhere the opportunity to learn about tea blending, tasting, inspirations and cultures behind the travel-inspired collection, recipes and more.
If you want to discover a new combination of flavours - from Camellia to Hibiscus - and develop a thirst for tea, join us on an adventure aboard the Wonderlust express and uncover the true meaning behind every sip. First, meet Wedgwood’s tea curator and award-winning tea designer behind Wonderlust: Bernadine Tay.
In collaboration with talented tea designer Bernadine Tay, our Wonderlust tea blends have been carefully curated to evoke stories, places and experiences from around the world.
Watch the video and discover more about how Bernadine developed the Wonderlust collection.
“Tea leaves, like perfume,
are a great vehicle of storytelling”
– Bernadine Tay
THE WONDERLUST COLLECTION
The Wonderlust Collection is an eclectic mix of treasured teaware, gifts and innovative tea blends inspired by stories, history, unique patterns and travels around the world. Each pattern aims to capture a place and moment from Europe to Asia - taking cues from culture and art in spirit of the 18th Century ‘Grand Tour’ and wonders of travel.
WHAT WAS THE GRAND TOUR?
Before early mass tourism - made possible by ‘Cook’s Tours’ (Thomas Cook) - it was young wealthy Europeans who embarked on traditional trips around Europe and further afield to Asia. Known as, the ‘Grand Tour’, the fashionable upper classes travelled widely in search of culture, art and connections: serving as an educational rite of passage. Even today our travel itineraries and ideas of culture – from romantic Venice to the snow-tipped Alps - are influenced by this historic trip.
Bernadine’s inspiration for Wonderlust Oriental Jewel.
“The Wonderlust Collection speaks to me because I love travel, culture, food and I imagine each pattern tells a story” – Bernadine Tay
EACH PATTERN AND TEA BLEND TELLS A STORY
The design motifs behind Wonderlust are reworked patterns from Wedgwood’s archives and inspired by this 18th Century travel. Florals are at the heart of each design and form an important part of Wedgwood’s heritage captured in beautiful archive pattern books. Featuring English garden flowers, Far Eastern peonies to influential European Rococo flowers the whole collection brings the tea elements together in exotic floral patterns and colours.
From these patterns, Bernadine created six Wonderlust tea blends. Designed to tell a story and capture the place and moment in every sip, Camellia (London), Rococo Flowers (Charlottenburg, Germany), Blue Pagoda (Kyoto, Japan), Oriental Jewel (Hanoi, Vietnam), Yellow Tonquin (Xiaolan, China), and Crimson Jewel (Nepal), transport you on an imagery voyage of discovery to that place.
We urge you to pick a blend or design that speaks to you and reminds you of your own travels, to take you on a journey of tea discovery.
If more than one pattern or tea blend speaks to you, why not mix and match pieces from the entire collection to create a truly travel-inspired look.
For the finest tea tasting experience, or simply as a unique gift, Wonderlust offers innovative and inspiring teaware which includes teacups & saucers, mugs, picture frames, gift bowls, gift trays and more.
Wonderlust loose leaf tea blends come in ‘Pyramid Tea Bags’ that allows the leaves to fully unfurl, giving greater brewing efficiency for optimum taste and a beautiful visual experience as the blend infuses. Made from cornstarch, the tea bags are fully bio-degradable too.
