My grandmother was religious about her daily tea ritual. Four o’clock meant time for tea, and would signal to my sister and me the opportunity to sit with her and indulge in the most civilised of rites.

All the props associated with the making and taking of tea are redolent of a more languorous time, when speed was not of the essence. My grandmother would take great care over preparing the table – with the milk jug, sugar bowl, teapot and teacups set out “just so”, teaspoons polished to a high gleam, and, without fail, some delicious treat as an accompaniment. My favourite was her homemade rock cakes with strawberry jam made from the plump little jewels plucked directly from the garden.

As for the tea itself? For me, it’s simple: it has to be earl grey. Less simple, however, is finding the perfect blend – there are so many mediocre versions of this most refined and delicate of teas. As a perfumer, using my sense of smell is second nature. With tea, it’s all about the balance: if the scent is off then the whole experience of a fragrant tea is tainted.

I’ve been on a bit of a tea journey recently, creating my own blends to sell in a new cafe at the back of my fragrance shop. Getting the taste right has been remarkably similar to making perfume – combining the elements to get just the right mix. In my view, the tea itself should be the main event; it should never be drowned out by other aromatic additions.

And in creating my blend, I have made my personal perfect cup of tea. It’s my everyday tea, my pick-me-up tea, my special “I need a little treat” cup of tea. It seems to fit every mood, every moment. It’s a teacup-sized oasis in an otherwise hectic working day. It’s complex, subtle, comforting, elegant and – I would like to believe – just what my grandmother would have liked to have drunk when the clock struck four in her Scottish home.

With the perfect spongy mouthful of a rose-scented madeleine, tea is far more than a hot drink for a cold climate. It’s a soothing ritual to ease away tension and while away a peaceful moment. It’s time out from the daily grind, the hurly-burly that consumes our every waking minute. And, perhaps most importantly, it’s my connection to the past, trailing back like ribbons on a kite tail to connect me with what my grandmother so dearly loved.

The song of the kettle, the chink of delicate china, the steam that floods the teapot and the subsequent aroma – all these wonderful things connect me to some of my most precious memories.

Tea remains resistent to fickle fashion and fad. It will never date, nor will it fall foul of trends and the relentless march of the new, new, new. Teatime is timeless, and something for which we can always make time. It is an everyday comfort, a necessary luxury and even, with a little care, the highest extravagance of the day.

The new Miller Harris teashop is open now at 21 Bruton Street, London W; millerharris.com

IN THE MIX

You don’t have to be an expert to blend your own bespoke brew.

Fancy a Japanese green base, with a dash of rose petals and a drop of French vanilla? Unleash your inner tea master at the Whittard website’s easy-to-use Blend Your Own section.

From £4; whittard.co.uk

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