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Fortnum & Mason’s Wooden Tea Advent Calendar

Friends! Do you need some pretty distractions from the endless onslaught of unbearable news? I do. I feel like I am drowning in anxiety and doom. In order to give us all a break and to do my very, very small part in focusing on what is good and nice in the world, let's talk about pretty things. Okay? Like this epic wooden Advent calendar from Fortnum & Mason. It is handcrafted and beautiful and filled with all sorts of rare teas and costs a whopping £125. Tea calender

It is decadent and absurd. But looking at it, for some reason, makes me feel better. Then I go back to reading the news, even though I know I shouldn't, and my heart breaks all over again. But maybe for a few minutes looking at this will make you feel better too. 

(Also: One of the teas is called Ding Dong Oolong.)

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20 responses to “Fortnum & Mason’s Wooden Tea Advent Calendar”

  1. merle Avatar
    merle

    Spirits lifted!
    Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are!
    xo

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  2. Charlotte Avatar
    Charlotte

    Dear Luisa,
    Thanks for posting this – it DOES make me feel better looking at it!! (Even though, purchasing it is, unfortunately, not an option indeed 😉 )
    All beautiful, little distractions are very welcome when the city you live in is like a ghost town.
    Love from Brussels,
    Charlotte

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  3. Maartje Avatar
    Maartje

    I feel the same. Thank you for this.

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  4. Susannah I. Sherwood Avatar
    Susannah I. Sherwood

    For all of us in almost medicinal need of color and cheer, how about the 2015-2016 Paper Source “Paint Chip” Calendar? Each page is a mesmerizingly graduated hue continuum. I can’t stop gazing at it in wonder.

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  5. Mary Avatar
    Mary

    The bright colors in your Tea Advent Calendar reminded me of this blessing from John O’Donohue:
    On the day when
    The weight deadens
    On your shoulders
    And you stumble,
    May the clay dance to balance you.
    And when your eyes
    Freeze behind
    The gray window
    And the ghost of loss
    Gets into you,
    May a flock of colors Indigo, red, green
    And azure blue
    Come to awaken in you
    A meadow of delight.
    When the canvas frays
    In the curragh of thought
    And a stain of ocean
    Blackens beneath you
    May there come across the waters
    A path of yellow moonlight
    To bring you safely home.

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  6. Eleanor Avatar
    Eleanor

    My goodness this is fabulous!

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  7. Daphne Avatar
    Daphne

    Luisa, I’m a long-time reader and lurker, and this is my first comment! I appreciate all your posts when you speak frankly about anxiety, such as your posts on Blueberry Bran Muffins and Poppyseed Cake. Your description a while back of the “ticker tape” of thoughts in your brain really resonated with me… identifying with that struggle with the conflict between being calm in the moment and your brain insistently re-compiling the to-do list and parsing out what I SHOULD be doing, which is inevitably at odds with what I AM doing.
    And yes, I definitely appreciate this distraction from the cascade of terrible news.
    I’ve heard much about “Dong Ding” Taiwanese oolong before, but never “Ding Dong” oolong, and nothing comes up immediately in Google. I’d be interested in asking Fortnum & Mason where they source “Ding Dong” oolong!
    Best to you and yours!

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  8. Declairelegenou Avatar
    Declairelegenou

    What makes me hopeful and thankful that the world is and will be a better place for my son is knowing that there are so many families and good people in this world, like you and I, who each day, despite their fear, discouragement, and worries, make the best of their days, each and every day. The parents who rush home from work to be at the dinner table with their children, the children who are looking forward to their parents everyday, the good people who makes our world simply WORK. I am thankful for all of them, and when the world seems to crumble down around me, I think of them and give thanks, and know that they are here to stay.

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  9. Luisa Avatar
    Luisa

    And to you, dearest Merle!

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  10. Luisa Avatar
    Luisa

    I so hope you are all hanging in there. I have close family in and around Brussels. It’s all so close to home.

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  11. Luisa Avatar
    Luisa

    It’s gorgeous! Thank you!

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  12. Luisa Avatar
    Luisa

    Thank you for this. Have read it through three times already and I feel calmer each time.

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  13. Luisa Avatar
    Luisa

    A lovely, comforting thought. Thank you.

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  14. Gerlinde Avatar
    Gerlinde

    Luisa , I am in Berlin leaving tomorrow and I think how much I love and identify with your book and blog and this city. I remember how terrified I was when Berlin was divided many years ago. There are always many terrible things happening in our world and at the same time there is something beautiful we can cling to, something that can lift our spirits like a gorgeous calendar or poem. May we all find beauty and peace somewhere , happy Thanksgiving.

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  15. Luisa Avatar
    Luisa

    Happy Thanksgiving to you!!

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  16. Helen Avatar
    Helen

    I think “ding dong” is a typo, no such tea exists however Dong Ding(Frozen Peak) oolong is a well known green oolong from Taiwan…

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  17. Beejereeno Avatar
    Beejereeno

    How very cool. Thank you for sharing!

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  18. Luisa Avatar
    Luisa

    Good to know. Still made me smile. 🙂

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  19. OsuldBergland Avatar
    OsuldBergland

    Fortnum & Mason’s Wooden Tea Advent Calendar I need this calendar. Thanks for sharing.

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  20. John Avatar
    John

    Very cool calendar.

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