A while ago I stumbled into Whittard, maker of cups and teapots and "merchants of [many] teas and flavoured coffees", a shop I am not generally massively fond of. They tempted me with tiny polystyrene cups, siplettes really, of flavoured drink, and caught me at my most vulnerable; thirsty and shopping with a final blow of a three-for-two style offer.
For non-tea drinkers, I've realised these are a god-send. In the recent downpour of quite vile rain it's imperative to have a hot mug - not only to join in kettle huddling, tea room banter, and hiding behind steaming mugs avoiding work.
Until Whittards, there were limited ways of imitating the sophistication that I've always felt tea drinkers and especially coffee drinkers carry about with them. It's the barrier that stands between my Mac and me posing in Starbucks.
My three new pots with varying girly names are filled up with E Number and Citric Acid. Whilst I naively thought that these suspiciously sweet drinks would be made from natural products only, I've worked out I am a big fan of E Numbers.
Whilst 'Dreamtime' (as I said, girlish names) is more likely to keep you up all night, traipsing up and down to the kettle to guzzle more sugary drink - and 'Turkish Apple' is perhaps designed for anyone that likes hot apple concentrate that tastes mildly of kid's sweets - they are all incredibly fantasatic.
It's very yummy, and lets me join the world of the grown-up hot drink drinkers. Now I too can stand strong at Mother's meetings, gossip times, and bother everyone with strange sweet smells at my desk. For the UK, with weather reports claiming rain for the next three weeks, I advise a heavy duty bag and a visit to Whittards for a good stocking-up.