Talented and self-taught British designer Tom Dixon has updated one the most traditional of English traditions, afternoon tea, with his new contemporary tea service in warm luminous brass.

While we think of taking tea as the quintessential English past time, the beverage or course has a much longer association with China and Japan where it has been grown and enjoyed for centuries.  Middle Eastern tea drinkers more typically enjoy their brew from copper and brass teapots, rather than ye good ol’ porcelain or silver pot used in Europe and the Far East.  As Tom Dixon is known to borrow from a vast array of cultures to create his contemporary designs, I can just imagine him in a Turkish bazaar observing the locals taking an afternoon break with their fiery brass pots and then racing back to his studio to design this entrancing tea service.

Made of spun brass that is given a gold wash, Dixon’s tea service is fresh and modern.  The subtle matt finish is luxurious and I love the play of light off the gleaming surface.  And best of all, the service is sold in individual pieces which means you can mix and match your pieces:  the tea caddy is the perfect gift for the serious tea lover – the form is so sleek and could easily be used to store articles other than tea.   There is also a jug which compliments the tea service, and this would be fab for serving iced beverages in the summer along with that killer square tray whose stepped sides again add another dimension to the play of light.

Once upon a time afternoon tea was thought of as boring and old-fashioned.  But Tom Dixon’s hip new contemporary tea service has injected a bit of life into an old tradition.

Richard Rabel, the|modern|sybarite

image credit: Tom Dixon, London