FORGET wine, it was all about tea at a tasting masterclass in Durham City yesterday (Monday, March 24).

Master tea blender Alex Probyn, who has created more than 19,000 varieties of the nation’s favourite hot beverage, gave two workshops at Tealicious Tearoom on Elvet Bridge.

As well as giving guests a brief history of tea - from its origins in China 5,000 years ago to the present day – Mr Probyn revealed the labour intensive process behind our daily cuppas.

Guests were also given the chance to taste some of the blends he has created for Tealicious and received top tips on how to make the perfect brew.

Alison Harnett, who owns Tealicious, said: “You don’t hear of many tea tasting events around here and we wanted to offer something a bit different.

“I think we have all learned a lot and everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves.”

Mr Probyn was a tea taster for Tetleys for eight years, before setting up his own business, Blends for Friends, in Kent seven years ago.

His work has taken him all over the world and he has tasted 1.4m cups of tea.

Tealicious donated all of the proceeds from the event to Heel and Toe, a County Durham charity that provides free conductive education therapy to children with cerebral palsy and other physical disabilities.