Dear Bloggens.
Salutations!
I hope this finds you in good health.
Here at QBHQ a whole host of activities have been on the go.
Let us first tell you of our new chef chap. He is a fabulous bloke of a similar mindset that is working with us to create a menu. This menu promises to be dead exciting and like nothing you probably would have experienced elsewhere. But not so scary that you wouldn't want to eat anything. Beautiful presentation meets filling, rustic choices, probably with a slight twist. Not a jus in sight. Or if there is, we will not call it a jus. We have been meeting now for a few months, having many chats and cook offs. And we are getting to the point of positive decision making. If you have any particular requests, now is the time to speak up.
Not only are our menu choices going to be delish, we are also striving to run a kitchen with minimal waste. We will only be using suppliers that give the bare minimum of packaging. We will be using suppliers that are as local as possible, to cut down on fuel usage. We will be recycling everything we possibly can. We will be pushing seasonal crops in our tri annual menu and our specials choices. And also using the best in foraged goods.
On top of this, we have put thought into other sides of our supplies. We have begun a herb/veg and salad farm that will be operating in Wylam, at an old farm. This will hopefully begin by supplementing our veg/salads/herbs, but will gently start becoming the supply for a lot of our needs.
We have begun bee keeping. Having attended meetings with the beekeepers associations of Northumberland and Newcastle, we took the plunge and purchased 2 hives. After much deciphering of instructions, we managed to erect them, with only minor defects. Defects that we hope the bees wont mind about. A spot on the aforementioned farm in Wylam was found, and we will be getting bees in a month or so. So that's honey enough for all the teahousey needs. Here one is freshly oiled and ready to go -
Also, we have had chats with local farms with the view to keeping 3 special pigs on their land. These pigs are a rare extra delicious breed and will provide you with amazing meaty what nots in just over a year, and you can be safe in the knowledge that it was a happy pig.
This all enables us to close more loops with our refuse. Most of our vegetable waste can go to the pigs (if we show H & S that we are not contaminating it with meat), and other green waste (and all our tea/coffee remnants) can go to our big compost unit on the Wylam Farm that will then compost our herbs/veg/flowers which will then provide pollen for our bees. How glorious. There are other routes to take, for example including the pig manure in our compost. But that is a more complicated procedure, and will require some ironing out. Bear with us.
So this is all nice. I hope the good nature of it all doesn't offend you. We will not ram it down the customers throat. Just if asked, we will tell.
We have also been working on the tea house fit out. This requires special engineering skills, and as none of us have a clue, it is slow progress. Albeit interesting. There will be moving parts. That's all imagunnasay. Oh, and brass. That is DEFINITELY all imagunnasay.
We are on for a September opening time. When invites are sent out, you will be the first to know.
Recently we started working with a Sri Lankan tea company. Our first batch of their ace teas will be arriving in a month or so, so we look forward to that. Expect many annoying tweets/status updates about it all.
We also are restocking our glorious Darjeeling first flush teas, and are expecting their arrival in the next coupla weeks.
To keep our tea knowledge expanding, one Brother has managed to squeeze in a trip!-
Here is the rough route that will be taken-
View Larger Map
Salutations!
I hope this finds you in good health.
Here at QBHQ a whole host of activities have been on the go.
Let us first tell you of our new chef chap. He is a fabulous bloke of a similar mindset that is working with us to create a menu. This menu promises to be dead exciting and like nothing you probably would have experienced elsewhere. But not so scary that you wouldn't want to eat anything. Beautiful presentation meets filling, rustic choices, probably with a slight twist. Not a jus in sight. Or if there is, we will not call it a jus. We have been meeting now for a few months, having many chats and cook offs. And we are getting to the point of positive decision making. If you have any particular requests, now is the time to speak up.
Not only are our menu choices going to be delish, we are also striving to run a kitchen with minimal waste. We will only be using suppliers that give the bare minimum of packaging. We will be using suppliers that are as local as possible, to cut down on fuel usage. We will be recycling everything we possibly can. We will be pushing seasonal crops in our tri annual menu and our specials choices. And also using the best in foraged goods.
On top of this, we have put thought into other sides of our supplies. We have begun a herb/veg and salad farm that will be operating in Wylam, at an old farm. This will hopefully begin by supplementing our veg/salads/herbs, but will gently start becoming the supply for a lot of our needs.
We have begun bee keeping. Having attended meetings with the beekeepers associations of Northumberland and Newcastle, we took the plunge and purchased 2 hives. After much deciphering of instructions, we managed to erect them, with only minor defects. Defects that we hope the bees wont mind about. A spot on the aforementioned farm in Wylam was found, and we will be getting bees in a month or so. So that's honey enough for all the teahousey needs. Here one is freshly oiled and ready to go -
This all enables us to close more loops with our refuse. Most of our vegetable waste can go to the pigs (if we show H & S that we are not contaminating it with meat), and other green waste (and all our tea/coffee remnants) can go to our big compost unit on the Wylam Farm that will then compost our herbs/veg/flowers which will then provide pollen for our bees. How glorious. There are other routes to take, for example including the pig manure in our compost. But that is a more complicated procedure, and will require some ironing out. Bear with us.
So this is all nice. I hope the good nature of it all doesn't offend you. We will not ram it down the customers throat. Just if asked, we will tell.
We have also been working on the tea house fit out. This requires special engineering skills, and as none of us have a clue, it is slow progress. Albeit interesting. There will be moving parts. That's all imagunnasay. Oh, and brass. That is DEFINITELY all imagunnasay.
We are on for a September opening time. When invites are sent out, you will be the first to know.
Recently we started working with a Sri Lankan tea company. Our first batch of their ace teas will be arriving in a month or so, so we look forward to that. Expect many annoying tweets/status updates about it all.
We also are restocking our glorious Darjeeling first flush teas, and are expecting their arrival in the next coupla weeks.
To keep our tea knowledge expanding, one Brother has managed to squeeze in a trip!-
Here is the rough route that will be taken-
View Larger Map
There are numerous goals for the trip.
1. Meet with crockery makers and get 1500 custom tea cups and saucers made, and 300 tea pots.
2. Meet with tea companies in Hunnan and Fujian provinces and taste their offerings.
3. Get to know the Chinese tea drinking culture first hand.
4. Spend some time on tea estates, discovering the differences in production from others we have seen.
5. Buy some fake Nikes.
6. Eat a weird something.
7. See some beautiful things (of which there are many).
8. Travel on many trains.
We are dead excited about the crockery. When does anyone get an opportunity to design a tea cup???!?!?!!?!!!1 We hope you like them when they are unveiled at the opening.
We don't take these opportunities for granted, and cannot wait to share everything we learn with anyone who cares to listen. Expect a heavy influx of incredible chinese teas in mid June.
So, we think that is most of the news. There is more, but it's quite, quite dull.
Wishing you all well,
Sincerely.
THE QUILLIAM BROTHERS.
