I happened to pass by Fortnum & Mason this morningâ??the kind of passing by that requires two subway changesâ??and decided to buy a couple of teas.

I must admit I was slightly disappointed. Oh, the shop is as dazzling as ever. It glitters more than a jewellerâ??s. And the list of rare teas still reads like the very best of Darjeeling and Assam, with a sprinkling of excellent China and Formosa. But this perhaps is the problem. It failed to offer anything new, challenging or unusual.

Now, I hardly expect as established a temple as F&M to go wild on tea fashions. Still, Iâ??d have wanted at least a tea I hadnâ??t heard of before, something that would pique my curiosity. The list didnâ??t even mention “Tregothnanâ??the first tea ever produced in Britainâ??which I know F&M buyers got into the shop. Maybe they ran out of it. Be as it may, I was a little underwhelmed. I did learn, though, that Darjeeling’s Margaretâ??s Hope wasnâ??t at all related to little Margaret of Norway, but to another Margaretâ??the daughter of an English tea planter. Letâ??s hope she had a better fate than the other Margaret.

PS: In case youâ??re wondering: yes I did end up buying something. A Grand Keemun and a Yunnan Pu-erh.