The Story Behind the Cover

January/February 2015

This past September 9 we featured a Royal Albert Old Country Roses teapot on TeaTime’s Facebook page for #TeapotTuesday, and the response we received from our readers astounded us. Seventy-eight fans of Old Country Roses commented on our post, sharing stories and photos of their own teapots and teacups in this iconic pattern. From that moment, it was an easy decision to choose Old Country Roses for our January/February 2015 cover.

 Along the way, we learned quite a lot about this lovely pattern inspired by an English country garden abloom with roses. Harold Holdcroft based his design on an older Royal Albert pattern called Kings Ransom. Since its introduction in 1962, more than 150 million pieces of Old Country Roses have been sold, making it the best-selling fine bone china pattern in the world.

With its signature clusters of burgundy, pink, and yellow roses set against the translucent white background of English bone china, Old Country Roses has been a particular favorite of tea lovers for many years. The fluted curves of the teapot are practically an invitation to tea. As our Facebook fans proved to us, Old Country Roses has been handed down from mothers to daughters for more than 50 years. We know of more than one tearoom that sets its tables with the pattern. (Quite a few of them are in Australia!)

Web exclusive, January/February 2015

2 COMMENTS

  1. How may I purchase a copy of the January/February 2015 Issue of Tea Time magazine? I somehow managed to miss it in my local bookstore earlier this year.

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