Catering tea bags!

Well, it has been a long time. I have consumed an awful lot of catering tea recently, due to a project I was involved in. Namely, the Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony.
Having auditioned back in March, I was really pleased to be part of the 900 strong cast of Festival goers. We had a massive secret to keep as we knew back in June that Lulu, Deacon Blue, the Prides, and Kylie would be performing!
For the week before the ceremony we had daily rehearsals, and this is where I consumed copious amounts of tea. The catering tea bags had already been put out into paper cups for us, and each cup contained a visible amount of tea dust. Quality tea this was not, but I had an amazing Commonwealth Games experience. Everyone was so friendly, the choreography was great and I had a ball on the night itself- what could be better than dancing around with athletes cheering you on and filming you. Definitely the experience of a lifetime.

UGOT- English breakfast

I haven't posted in a while as I have been away from my flat, and haven't consumed anything more exciting than typhoo. Today I was travelling back by train, and had a connection at Newcastle. Unfortunately my train was 7 minutes late, which meant that my connecting train pulled out as I ran down the platform, giving me a half hour wait for the next one.

The facilities at Newcastle Central have been upgraded, I used to go to Greggs for a cuppa but now Greggs has gone. To be honest, the tea was never that great, it always managed to taste faintly of coffee, but it was only £1:15 which is the lowest priced tea I have found on any rail journey.

Anyway, I was offered a flyer for a £1 hot drink from UGOT which had just opened the previous day. Never one to turn down a bargain, I went for  a cup of tea (normal price £1:75 for 12oz or £1:95 for 16oz) I was pleased to see that instead of a bog standard tea bag, the cup contained a silky pyramid style. The tea is always much nicer with these tea bags. There was no branding on the tag (nice and easy to extract from the cup, no fishing around with a thin wooden stick) so I don't know if this was a branded pyramid or an own blend. The tea was very palatable, more orangey than some and quite robust and malty. There was only a slight flavour of paper cup! I felt reinvigorated and ready to return onto a carriage for the final leg of my journey. This was a decent cuppa and definitely a good alternative to Costa-lotta

UGOTs website is not quite up and running yet but they do have a facebook page

Axxent: Cupcake Tea- Lovely Cherry

This is another tea from the set I purchased in TKMaxx.  Today I am drinking Lovely Cherry, which is black tea with vanilla and cherry. Straight away you can smell the cherry, but it is more of a cherry pie smell than a fresh cherry smell. When drinking, I am reminded of cherry gummy sweets. This is a quite sweet tea, so makes a good pudding substitute. Overall, pleasant but nothing special.

Twinings- Vintage Darjeeling

Today, I'm drinking Twining's Vintage Darjeeling. As you can see, I've been drinking it for a few days and have got a way down the tin already. The Vintage Darjeeling is from the international range, but doesn't appear to be in stock at the moment. As with Darjeeling teas I have had in the past, the leaves are not  all black but a mixture of blacks, browns and greens. Darjeeling teas tend to be delicate and this is no exception. It's a very subtle flavour.

Twinings- Tie Guan Yin Oolong

I was really lucky to win a 6 month tea tasters membership in February, I love getting my monthly tea from Twinings, although sometimes I struggle to review them in good time. Here is a good example- Tie Guan Yin is May's tea.

Tie Guan Yin is an oolong tea. Neither green nor black, the leaves are left out for just long enough to lightly oxidise- you can actually see that the leaves have a brown tint around the edges where oxidation has occurred. The leaves have been rolled, according to my tasting notes, up to 100 times. This is a real artisan tea. Translated literally oolong means "black dragon" and as you look at the tiny pellets of tea you can imagine a dragon curled up with it's tail sticking out. As you add the tea to the infuser, you can hear a chink as they hit the glass.
I used water at about 90', and infused for 2-3 minutes. As the leaves are infused, they begin to unfurl, rising into the water like tiny flying dragons. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the tea infusing- I had nothing to do with the positioning of the leaves here! The leaves unfurl to become surprisingly large. The leaves can be used with several infusions.

I do think it is quite difficult to describe the taste of an oolong. It's similar to both green and black teas, but different. Less grassy than a green, it is almost floral in taste, a bit nutty and buttery too.  I am struggling to get acquainted with green tea, but like with white tea, I have enjoyed sampling this tea. It's another tea for a day when you want something special and different. Of course, being a Twining's tea, the quality is superb.

Tea and Cake Planet

Despite the fact I charged the batteries especially, I forgot to bring my camera, so apologies for lack of photos.

Today I went to Tea and Cake planet at the Boiler House in Newcastle. I paid £15:50, which included entry into the one of event, and a *TeaShed afternoon tea.

The venue itself wasn't very large, and I don't know if I would have thought it worth the general admission fee if it wasn't for the fact I was going for afternoon tea. There were some tea vendors and a couple of food stalls as well as live music and some lindy hop dancers.

I attended a talk on "The Science of Tea". As someone with a Biochemistry degree, I found it rather light on the science front, but I was probably a little unusual on that. I did get to taste several teas including teabag black, loose leaf black, green, lapsong suchong, darjeeling and assam, however to my taste all of the teas had been "masted" (what I would call "mashed"- it just means infused) for too long and were not at their best. I did taste teas a little later with Tea Owl and her infusion times were much more to my liking.

My afternoon tea was provided by the *TeaShed, and started with what they described as an "amazing popaball cocktail" which was squash with weird jelly balls. There was unlimited tea available, I had 5 cups in all- one Rosie *Lee (a yummy darjeeling), one Baby it's Cold Outside *Tea (Chai, which I have never had before and didn't really enjoy), one All day breakfast *Tea, and two Mr Grey's *Tea (which I have already reviewed). There was masses of food too, I had a beef burger, a fishcake, crackers and brie, coleslaw, salad, a chocolate macaroon, a mini meringue, a mini profiterole, a piece of lemon cake and a large raisin and cherry scone with jam and cream. Needless to say I was full and won't be needing much dinner tonight. I was given two free twenty packs (Rosie *Lee and Northern *Brew) which market at £3.50 each, so overall very good value there.

From the stalls, I made two purchases, firstly flowering tea from Tea Sutra (they look so pretty) and secondly rhubarb and cream oolong from Quilliam brothers. Eventually I will have space in my cupboard so I can open them and review them. 

I enjoyed my afternoon of tea, and look forward to next year, hopefully they will get more tea merchants on board to give a wider selection of stalls. It was nice to treat myself to an afternoon tea, I'll have to do it again sometime!

Excited for Tea and Cake planet

I have just booked my ticket for Tea and Cake Planet in Newcastle tomorrow. I am going to have the *Teashed afternoon tea- I think I will take a teddy for company as I am going by myself. I am really excited for tomorrow and have set my camera batteries to charge!

Char Wallah tea- Blood Orange Tea

Char Wallah is a company I found whilst doing some google research into tea companies. They had some end of range bargains on their website, at £2:50 for 100g and free postage I really couldn't not order some.

The tea I chose is blood orange black tea. It isn't in the range anymore, so I'm afraid you can't try any.

The tea arrived nice and quickly, the transparent plastic bag was placed inside a large envelope, which doesn't seem to have done the tea any harm- it doesn't appear to have been crushed by the experience. In fact, you can see the chunks of orange are a good size. It's nice not to have to rearrange delivery or traipse to the post office.

On opening, I smelt the orange straight away, think Terry's Chocolate Orange and you are on the right track. One thing to bear in mind with citrus teas is that they don't tend to be sharp or sour, so it is not quite the same as having the fruit! Taste wise, I would describe this as a mellow Lady Grey, as Lady Grey also contains orange,but with the addition of bergamot. This is a good thing, in my opinion, as I had just run out of Lady Grey. The blood orange tea is light, refreshing and summary, and fills the gap left by Lady Grey very nicely.

Axxent: Cupcake Tea- Sweet Honey

On today's shopping trip, I saw an interesting tea selection on sale at TKMaxx. Called Cupcake tea, it had 4 small boxes of flavoured teas, each containing 10 envelopes.

I am trying Sweet Honey first- this is a blend of black tea, banana and honey. On opening the envelope, I could smell all three flavours, which was a good sign. I added boiling water, and left the tea bag in for 2 minutes.

While I was waiting for my drink to cool, I did a bit of research. The brand seems to be owned by a Dutch company called Axxent, but unfortunately their website isn't particularly informative.

As you may have realized, I prefer my tea with milk. It's just a matter of personal taste.

The tea itself has a honey-sweetness to it, the smell of honey is strong  but the taste is not too sweet. The banana is less easy to detect but is there in the aftertaste. I think this blend would have benefited from a little more banana. I like the concept and the taste is nice, it makes me think of childhood puddings!

Of course, with this being a TKMaxx find I am not going to say that I would buy it again, as TKMaxx have an ever changing selection and I doubt that I will see it in stock again.

Twinings- Salted Caramel Indulgence Green Tea

I have just realised that it has now been just over a week since my last tea review, so I think that it is about time I do another. The tea I have decided to review is Twining's Salted Caramel Indulgence Green Tea.

Image from the Twinings website

There are three teas in the Indulgence Green Tea range-  gingerbread, caramelized apple, and salted caramel. Salted caramel is my favourite of the three.
If you are not sure about green tea, this is a good tea to try as it lacks the "grassy" taste normally associated with green tea. As with all green teas, it's best to leave the kettle a few minutes after boiling in order to prevent the water from scalding the leaves.

The first time I brewed salted caramel, I had a real wow moment as the smell is divine! It reminds me of butterscotch angel delight- a childhood favourite. The taste is just the same- yummy!

I have had salted caramel green tea at work a number of times now, and every time I have had it my colleagues have commented on the smell- my boss reckons it smells like buttered toast!

*TeaShed- Mr. Grey's *Tea

As I have said in a previous post, the *TeaShed is a young, Newcastle based brand, with some cool packaging.

Earl Grey is one of my favourite blends, so I have been looking forward to trying the *TeaShed version- Mr Grey's *Tea. The Earl Gry was a local chap, and one of the best known Newcastle landmarks is a monument to Earl Grey, so it is a very apt blend. As well as their 20 packs of pyramids, they also sell teabag and biscuit combo packs. For £1, you get two biscuits and two teabags. They do a couple of different teas in these packs. I think they would make great stocking fillers or maybe even as wedding favours. Anyway, back to the tea tasting.

This is a classic Earl Grey blend with a black tea base and bergamot orange flavouring.  The base tea is very smooth  and this makes for an easy drinking blend.  There is no bitterness or astringency. The bergamot flavour is not to overpowering. The taste isn't as strong as the Twining's equivalent, but Earl Grey is sometimes a bit of a niche tea and I think it would be a good introductory blend. It's got a nice flavour of it's own, mildly citrusy and very calming!

The biscuit, by the way, was also very yummy, a oaty coconut biscuit that just hit the spot.

Clearspring- Organic Japanese Genmaicha

Last Christmas I got my Dad a teapig's selection pack, and one of the teas he raved about was the popcorn tea. So when I was in Waitrose and saw this brand, I decided to try it.

I had not heard of Clearspring tea before, but the back of the pack tells me that the tea was grown and packaged in Japan at the Nagata Tea Gardens, Kyoto.

Genmaicha is japanese green tea with toasted rice. The tea was about £1 cheaper than teapigs, and when I opened up the packet, I discovered standard teabags, rather than the pyramid style tea pigs do. I could smell the popcorn aroma, but also the grassy smell of green tea

I boiled the kettle and waited the requisite minute in order to prevent scalding the tea. Upon addition of water to the mug, a green colour developed straight away. After a minute and a half, the green colour was quite vivid, and their was a strong popcorn smell.

On first tasting I detected the nutty popcorn flavour, but the grassy green tea flavour was a little overpowering for me. However I let it cool and as it cooled the grass flavour faded and  the popcorn flavour began to come through stronger.

I don't think this is going to become a favourite, I think I'd rather have a cup of earl grey and a bag of popcorn! But, variety is the spice of life so I will keep hold of the rest of the box. I also need to continue to develop my green tea taste buds a little more as I did enjoy the popcorn flavour to the tea.

The *TeaShed- Guana Bana *Tea

Having read Laura from LoveteaLoveblogging's post on *TeaShed Mr Grey's Tea a few months ago, I had a browse of their website and decided to put an order in. They are a young, Newcastle based company and as I am living in Northumbria I thought that this would be a good way to support a local company- plus they have a great range of reasonably priced tea pyramids in cute packaging. Each set comes in a disposable hot drink cup, I haven't seen any other company doing this and I think it's an original idea.

I ordered 4 teas- Mr Grey's tea, Out of milk tea (white tea- I am going to give this to my Dad for fathers day), caramel loose leaf black, and Guana Bana. The parcel arrived very quickly, and also contained some free envelopes of "emergency tea"- these are definitely going to be used to cheer people up.

Guana Bana is the first tea I have tried. The intriguing name is the reason I decided to order it, it is very unusual! Guana Bana is a blended tea- black and green teas with jasmine, marigold, saf flower and soursop. Cue wikipedia search. Soursop is also known as Guana Bana and custard apple. It is a weird looking green spiky  fruit with a white pulpy inside.

This is an interesting drink, it is definitely tea, it's creamy (no milk in this- I can't even imagine putting it in), fruity, floral and citrusy. It's a bit of a sweet and sour experience. It's not an everyday sort of drink, buit it does make a refreshing change.

I can't find Guana Bana on The *TeaShed website anymore, which I suspect means that no-one else will be able to try it. It's a shame, because this is a really unique and original flavour.

Better Beverage

I'm currently visiting a friend in Edinburgh, so I have taken the opportunity to visit Better Beverage. It's a tiny shop near Haymarket and sells tea and coffee.

The outside isn't much to look out and the inside isn't very glamorous either. Still, the selection is large, the prices reasonable and the man behind the counter is lovely.

This is a place without a proper website, where tea is sold in 4oz bags. A very old fashioned experience!

I chose 4 teas, got 4oz of each and only paid £8.15 total. That's good value. I have chosen:
- Arctic Fire. Not sure what's in it, but I've had it before and it's lovely
- Black tea with ginger
- Black tea with melon
- English Breakfast. I wanted my friend to have some proper tea so I got them a classic.

I have a "one out, one in" policy in my tea cupboard at the moment , so it may be a while before they all get sampled. Too little time, too much tea!

Whittards competition

Here's a competition worth entering if you have a creative streak. The task is to design a tea caddy for Whittards. They have a top prize of £200 worth of vouchers up for grabs, plus your design gets turned into a caddy.

I made my entry the other evening, I have to say that I really don't think I am in with a chance as there are so many professional looking entries. Still, it was fun to do.

Brew Tea Co.- Earl Grey

Another day, another Brew Tea Co. tea.

Today felt like an Earl Grey sort of day. Earl Grey is a tricky one to get right, as the tea and bergamot need to balance each other out. Too often, this fails and either the resultant drink is tanin central, or an accident with lemon washing up liquid.

My two Brew Tea Co. trials so far have been positive, so I was hopeful about the Earl Grey.  I am quite attached to Twinings blend, so it had a lot to live up to.

The first thing I noticed was that among the tea leaves was orange peel and little yellow flowers.A bit of research tells me that these are Calendula petals. My trusty friend wikipedia informs me that Calendula is good for the digestive tract and liver, and is an anti-inflammatory. I assume that these effects would only be seen with the consumption of a large amount.

As with the English Breakfast, the tea is malty and smooth. Again, there is no bitter tanin flavour which for me is the mark of a good tea. A sip test picks up a slight citrus bergamot, but also flavour a bit like gently toasted marshmallows. Warm, golden and slightly caramel like I can only guess that it comes from the Calendula (I am not entirely sure how something can taste golden, but it does!).

This wasn't a mimic of the Twining's blend. It's Brew Teas own creation and is different in taste. I am not sure that I would have identified it as Earl Grey in a blind taste test, but I did think it was a very enjoyable tea and I will definitely be looking at getting some more in stock. I will have to check my local Waitrose, as they seem to have the best tea range of the supermarkets.

Brew Tea Co.- English Breakfast Whole Leaf Tea Bags

I decided that it was the right time to have another of my Brew Tea Co. samples. So I perused the selection, and despite the fact that it was nearly quarter to seven in the evening, I went for the English Breakfast Whole Leaf Tea Bags.

I'd had a long day at work, and felt in need of a re-awakening. I usually use loose leaf tea and an infuser, but the tea bag made this a very quick and easy drink, without compromising on quality.

This is a very nice, malty blend. I feel rejuvenated and ready to take on the world again!

This cup of tea was, well, nice. It as a regular tea, nothing different or usual, just good quality tea with a nice flavour. It's simple and effective. Thanks Brew Tea Co.!

Pumphrey's- Apricot flavoured leaf tea

I was sad this morning to use my final scoop of Lady Grey. However, every cloud has a silver lining, and this particular silver lining is that I get to open up a new tea. I have been trying to follow a "one in, one out policy" in order to prevent my tea cupboard overflowing, but that means that I sometimes have to wait a while to try a new tea.

I decided to open up Pumphrey's Apricot flavoured leaf tea. Pumphrey's is my local, Newcastle based tea dealer. I wish I could purchase some of every tea, but I can't. This sounded like an interesting tea, so I thought I would give it a try.

First appearances are very promising, in among the black tea leaves are  golden yellow pieces of what looks like apricot flesh. The apricot smell is quite strong, and very appetizing.

The flavour is lovely too. Sometimes apricot flavoured things can taste artificial, but this is just right, and very fruity. I think I have found myself a new favourite. Apricot is such a perfect flavour summer, and I think that if you were an iced tea fan this would be perfect.

So, despite the fact that I no longer have lady grey in my cupboard, this is a very different, but equally nice substitute. I like this one!

Canton Tea Co- Sugarcane black

I have already reviewed one of my purchases from Canton Tea Co- the Yunnan Gold Pearls. When I made my order, I picked out several of their sample size teas. The tea sold by Canton is very good quality, so the sample size is small, enough for a couple of cups. Of course, it's still cheaper than the equivalent number of drinks at high street chain cafes.

Today I chose the Sugarcane black tea. The black tea has been fired with red sugar cane, to give it a sweet flavour. The leaves were very thin and long, so I put two pinches into the teapot (twice the amount pictured). When brewing, the tea had a sweet, malty aroma.

As with my last Canton tea, I did not add milk. The taste was sweet, as I expected, but without some of the robustness of the Yunnan Gold pearls. However, because it was sweeter, I found it very easy drinking. The sweetness also meant that I didn't feel in need of a biscuit to go with it.

I was interested to see what this tea tasted like with milk, so I added a tiny drop to the dregs. It made the taste even sweeter, and I actually preferred the taste without milk! Such is the power of good quality tea.

This is an ideal tea for a sweet toothed individual, particularly if you usually use a sweetener but want to cut down on the amount you are using.

Brew Tea Co- Fruit punch

I was very excited today to find a small package from Brew Tea Co on my door mat. I had signed up to their mailing list, noting the promise of free tea but not really expecting anything more than a single envelope. What I got instead was 5 different whole leaf tea bags (2 of each flavour), and a sample of loose leaf. Amazing!

For some reason I was drawn to the Fruit Punch first. I don't really understand why as I am not a fruit tea fan! It looked different, sizeable pieces of fruit, not coloured dust. And as I opened up the packet, it smelt really, really fruity.

I poured on boiling water, and a red colour emerged straight away. My previous fruit tea experiences have involved a disappointing pale liquid, but this was a ruby red. Left to stand for five minutes, the result resembled (to my mind) a nice strong cup of ribena.

A quick exploration of the Brew Tea Co website reveals that I am sampling a blend of hibiscus, rosehip, lemongrass, orange peel, apple peel and strawberry juice.

My tasting reveals- fruity! I am struggling to describe it, but for the Brits, the closest I can get is like a FAB ice lolly, without the artificial-ness. It's quite tart, but not unpleasant, and the strawberry and rosehip shine through. I then added honey, as per their suggestion, and it's much sweeter, less tart, and personally I prefer the taste. Less healthy though!

I am discovering on my tea voyage not to set my expectations in stone. This looked like ribena, but doesn't taste like ribena. It is a fruit tea, but I have enjoyed drinking it. One I will be having again!

I am really impressed with the number of samples from Brew Tea Co, and excited for my future taste adventures. It's started well.

Dragonfly Tea-Organic Midnight Jasmine Green Tea

Although I am a huge Twinings fan, I am not adverse to the idea of other brands. I keep an eye on the shelves for special offers and spotted this one last week.

I have been enjoying Twining's Jasmine green teas, and when I saw this box I thought it might be nice to take to work. I love loose leaf, but there is simply not enough time in the working day. The sachets are individually wrapped too, which is handy.

Compared to the loose leaf jasmine greens I have had, the floral smell of jasmine was a lot milder. There was also a "grassy" sort of smell which is the green tea smell. When I have tried green teas in the past it has been this that has put me off.

I boiled the kettle and left the water to cool for a few minutes so as not to scald the delicate tea leaves. I infused for two minutes, the instructions said up to three but my mug is quite small.

The taste of jasmine wasn't really that strong at all, this is the closest I have come to having pure green tea yet. The tea was slightly bitter, and the taste was almost like freshly mown grass.

I am not sure how I feel about this tea. It's not a complete thumbs down, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I have the Twinings loose leaf. Mind you, it didn't cost as much and in the world of tea, the more you pay, the nicer it is. I think it will take me a couple more cups to get used to the flavour, but I am going to stick with it.

Twinings- Chakra Silver Tips White Tea

I realised that it is now May and I hadn't yet reviewed April's Tea Taster's tea. As I have said in a previous post, I was lucky enough to win a Tea Taster's membership from Twinings. I am yet to review March's blending masterclass, as I want to set aside enough time to do it properly.

Anyway, the tea for April is a white tea from Indonesia. On opening up the packet, it looks amazing. I just had to pick up the leaves, they are soft and silky. These are the very tips of the plant, the youngest buds. I put a pinch into my kyusu, which is a Japanese tea pot. The handle is a right angles to the spout, which makes for nice pouring. This is the pot I tend to use for green and white teas.

Following the kettle boiling, I let it stand for 5 minutes, as per the instructions, before pouring the water onto my tea. This is a tea more sensitive than green. Three minutes infusion followed, and hen I decided to pour it into my glass mug so I could get a better idea of the colour.




The liquid is very pale, indeed almost silvery. And the taste? Well, I was in for a treat. It is a very light and delicate tea, my tasting notes describe it as "peachy"- I can se why. It's difficult to describe the taste but it it really rather nice.It's a light and drinkable tea, a very different experience from black tea. Definitely worth trying if you can get your hands on it!

Twinings- Double Mint

I have already confessed to not be a fan of peppermint. However, from my last post you will know that having tried and enjoyed the Everyday with peppermint blend, I was ready to give mint tea another go.

I got this teabag from my dad, it's a blend he enjoys. Twinings have several different mint teas, and double mint is from their "Intensely" range- it used to be called "Sensations" but Twinings decided that the new name fitted better.

I let the teabag infuse for 3 minutes as per the instructions, and the mint aroma was much stronger than the Everyday and peppermint blend. The tea was browner than I expected (you can see the colour from the picture), but there is a green hue to the brown. 

I then took the teabag out, and let it cool down enough for me to drink. I think part of the reason why I haven't really enjoyed mint tea in the past is that it has been too hot when I have tried it.

The teas has both normal mint and peppermint in it. On first taste, you get a flavour that is a bit like buttermint sweets, is smooth and rounded, but then this is followed by a zing that you know belongs to peppermint. It makes your mouth feel minty fresh, a bit like toothpaste but nicer! It's supposed to be good for your digestive system, and I do feel quite calm and relaxed after my mugful.

I was surprised to enjoy this, but I think that if you aren't a mint tea fan but do like mint sweets, I think you should give it a go. You might be surprised too.

Twinings- Everyday Tea with peppermint

One of the things Twinings is very good at is creating new blends and flavours, and at challenging consumers tastes. Their Everyday blends does this very well- it takes Twining's popular Everyday tea and adds something else- in this case peppermint. Peppermint tea is one that I have found to be an acquired taste!

Image from Twinings website

I am not a peppermint tea fan but my granny is. As soon as I poured water on the teabag, I could smell that distinctive peppermint aroma and it was as if my granny was in the kitchen with me. The tea itself is the "correct" colour. Now one of the ways the blenders at Twinings have made this tea accessible is by devising it so that milk can be added. I usually take my tea with milk so this was reassuring.

The first thought that I had on drinking this was that I had had a cup of tea too soon after brushing my teeth. My mouth was filled with the flavour of both tea and mint. It was nicer than expected and the black tea took away that "edge" that peppermint tea  has that has put me off previously. It's actually quite refreshing and by cup number three I was really enjoying it. Although it's "everyday" tea it's not one I would have everyday, but now and then it makes something different.

In the end, Twinings has done what it set out to do- it reeled me in with a mix of the familiar and unfamilliar. I liked it, and I then felt inspired to try peppermint tea by itself. And you know what, it wasn't as bad as I expected!

Better Beverages- Mini Tuo Cha

I was rearranging my tea cupboard today when I found two of these right at the back. "These" are Tuo Cha, or compressed tea.

The company I got them from is Better Beverage in Edinburgh. This is an unusual shop for this day and age as their website does not sell anything. I have not purchased from them in a while as they shut around noon on a Saturday. The shop is small, just a man behind a counter, but the man who runs the shop is very knowledgeable and friendly and makes excellent  recommendations for tea. I haven't been for about a year so I have finished my favourite blend from them is Arctic Fire.

The tuo cha is a little bullet of compressed tea. One of the nice things about this form of tea is that you don't need to think about how much to put in the pot.

For the first infusion I go for 2 minutes. The leaves need time to unfurl and release their flavour. On the second infusion however, you only need to infuse for the time it takes to put milk in your mug. The too cha  are good for 3 or 4 infusions.
The golden coloured liquid produced has a strong smell and taste, earthy and ever so slightly smokey. This isn't a subtle tea, and shouldn't be paired with delicate foods. But that's ok, because biscuits are not delicate foods.

Canton Tea Co- Yunnan Gold Pearls

I first came across Canton Tea Co. when reading Laura's blog. She has a wide range of tea companies that she has reviewed teas from, and I like clicking through the links to their website (and spending an imaginary million pounds)

What drew me to Canton Tea was actually the fact that they had some very reasonably priced flowering tea in their end of season sale. I decided that I may as well make the most out of the postage, and started browsing through the rest of their sale lines. They are a little more expensive than what I normally buy, but as you delve into the tea world what you discover is that the more you pay the better the tea.

This is one of the "taster packs" that I chose. It contained 7 pearls of tea, they are about a centimeter in size and you have to ignore the fact that they look like large rabbit droppings. The brewing instructions provided are easy to follow- 1 or 2 pearls, water at ninety five degrees, 250ml of water and 2-3 minutes.

I left 2 pearls for 2 minutes. When poured out, the tea was a lovely gold colour, without any little bits of tea dust. I checked the infuser to find that the unfurled leaves are surprisingly large, and nicely coloured in coppers and caramels as well as browns. I would have taken a picture, only it would have looked like wet leaves. Sometimes the camera takes away part of the magic. So here is a picture of the liquid instead.

My tasting notes told me to expect plum and caramel. I hadn't really thought to try and find plum in tea before, but now I understand as there is definitely something a little plumy about this taste. It's certainly fruity. And as for the caramel? It's there, in the aroma as soon as you pick up the mug, and in the sweet taste. It's a smooth tea, and I really enjoyed it- which is praise coming from someone who normally only slurps milky tea.

The second infusion of the leaves was just as nice- while using a standard teabag a second time is not something I would do out of choice, when a tea is of a good quality it is a perfectly acceptable thing to do.

I have enjoyed this tea a lot and look forward to choosing my next sample to try- there is 10 left...

More information on Yunnan Gold Pearls here

Twinings: The Queen's Daimond Jubilee Blend

I keep forgetting to review this tea- it is my "go to" blend at the moment, I've been drinking it every mornings as my breakfast cuppa, but I'm always in a rush to go to work so my mind is always elsewhere.

This blend is based on the Golden Jubilee blend, and I hope the Queen makes it to another jubilee so this tea can be reissued. A bit of research on wikipedia suggests that could be her Blue Sapphire (65th), or Platinum (70th). Blue Sapphire Tea- now there's a nice sounding name.

The tea itself is a blend of assam and yunnan, rich and malty with smooth and mellow. The leaves themselves are fairly large, with some lovely golden colours in among the dark brown- apparently that means there is a high tip content (i.e. its good quality tea). Twinings describes it as perfect and they are justified in doing so. It's robust and a real wake-me-up. Saying that, it's good at any time of day. It's quite malty, there is a tiny bit of astringency but nothing offensive to your taste buds. It's also quite a sweet blend, which I quite like in a tea.It's one you can use at all times, particularly in those occasions when you really need a cuppa to get you back on track.

I enjoy this blend a lot, and will be sad when I reach the end of it.

Fortnum and Mason- Cranberry Fruit Flavour Tea

Today I am going all posh with some Fortnum and Mason tea. I picked this one up in their post Christmas sale, and yes part of my motivation was owning a Fortnum and Mason Caddy. And it's pink!

Small confession- my camera is pretty ancient and the tin is really shiny so I can't get a decent picture. I have therefore stolen one from the Fortnum and Mason website. Mine is the same shade of pink, but plainer. I presume the version I have was at a reduced price because they were changing their packaging design.

The blurb on the back describes this as "Tangy tartness tempered by tea". I know for many people, cranberry tea would bring to mind a fruit infusion, but this is actually "real tea" (i.e. black tea) and cranberry.
The tea leaves are (for loose leaf) relatively small. In terms of cranberry, the pieces are not whole dried fruit but little cubes made from cranberry and juice. If you have ever had fruit flakes, the texture of the pieces is like those (I picked out a piece to try).
Brewed up, the tea has a sweet  and fruity aroma. There was no recommendation on the caddy as to whether or not milk is the done thing, so I put some in anyway as that is how I prefer black tea anyway. The flavour is nice and rounded, fruity but not too sweet. Compared to the wild cherry sencha I own (which has cranberry pieces in it) is a lot sweeter. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this tea, whenever I have had cranberry juice I have found it a little too tart but this is just right.

Black tea with Cranberry on the Fortnum and Mason website

Musings on tea

Today I read an interesting article on the BBC website about French tea culture- read the article here. One of the points it made was that British companies tend to go for cost, whereas the French are more interested in quality. However, I am coming across lots of quality British tea dealers and some superb blends. The public seems to be developing a taste for a better variety and quality of tea- most supermarket shelves now seem to have a very wide range stocked, yes there is "cheap" teabags, but silk pyramids and loose leaf feature. Many people seem to be more interested in a good cup of tea, and while it might not yet be something they have at home, some of my friends do talk about going for afternoon tea and having loose leaf blends. Maybe tea will get a more French style reverential treatment here too (although I am not too sure about the glass and hot milk).

Twinings- Rose Garden

I am at my parents for the Easter holidays, and as a consequence my tea diet has consisted of entirely too much supermarket own brand tea bags. I don't want to sound like too much of a tea snob, but I do like a little more variety of taste. So this morning, I was very pleased when I discovered where I had stashed a few Twinings envelopes. I selected for my breakfast tea Rose Garden.

Rose Garden is from the same range as Blossom Earl Grey and Jasmine Earl Grey. It was also originally a limited edition, but customer feedback has led to it becoming a permanent addition to the range.

As soon as you pour on the water, you know that this is a rose tea. It's a strong smell, like a proper old English rose garden, or (dare I say it) pot pourri. I know the strong smell can put some people off as they think the tea will taste like perfume, but I would liken it more to turkish delight (rose of course, not lemon or mint) in taste than to toiletries!

The tea is smooth and well rounded, there is no tanin or astringency to it. You know that you are drinking something rose flavoured, but it manages not to be overpowering. It left me feeling all warm and summery, despite the fact that it's a bit grey and miserable out.

I am a big Twinings fan, and the florals range is a really good illustration of why I like the brand so much- lovely flavours, affordable and available in supermarkets, and they have listened to the customer feedback and acted on it.

Pukka- elegant english breakfast

This is another tea that I picked up from the Tesco clearance shelf. Now, it doesn't go out of date until September 2016, so either the packaging has changed or it isn't selling well.

The blurb on the box made this tea sound very promising- organic, ethically sourced tea. Hand picked whole leaves from Vietnam, in  individual sachets. And it's fair trade.

On opening the box, I did not really get a smell of tea. The tea bags are individually wrapped, so that might explain why. The kettle was boiled and a mug of tea made.

This isn't a strong tea, and doesn't need too much milk. Because the tea wasn't very strong, I decided to dissect a teabag.

Well, for a whole leaf tea the leaves are rather small. Or perhaps I have been spoiled by the good quality teas I have already had.

For my second mug, I infused for 5 minutes not 3, in the hope that it would give me a stronger brew. It was a little stronger, a little more flavoursome this time. It's an adequate tea, no unpleasant astringent tanin flavours, but for me this lacked depth and body.It does describe itself as elegant, and I think on balance that is a good description. Pukka haven't delivered depth and body, but it is a light, drinkable, inoffensive brew.

Twinings- Jasmine Earl Grey

Floral tea number 2 today- Jasmine Earl Grey.

I have already reviewed a jasmine green tea, but jasmine in black tea is a very different thing so if you don't like one, don't assume that you won't like the other. The floral range is great because it allows you to have something a bit different without taking you to far away from what you already know.

The floral scent of jasmine is still there, however it is not a heady scent like with a jasmine green tea, more subtle and delicate.  The ingredients tell me that the jasmine flavour comes from the addition of jasmine green tea to the black tea and bergamot base. This makes it a little unusual as it is therefore a blend of green and black tea.

Once again I am guilty of not reading the instructions first, making the tea on autopilot and adding milk. Twinings suggests that it is best served without milk, but you can add a touch of milk if you like. I like.

The jasmine provides a top note to the Earl Grey. Like the blossom Earl Grey, it is a subtle flavour. But it is definitely there. Another elegant tea for afternoons in the garden.

Twinings- Blossom Earl Grey

The Twinings florals range is one of my favourites. There are five in total- Blossom Earl Grey, Lavender Earl Grey, Jasmine Earl Grey, and Mulled Spice.

The packaging for these teas is gorgeous- elegant women on a dark background, wearing outfits that co-ordinate with the tea (by which I mean with the flower flavouring, not a tea brown colour!). I own all five caddys, and they are constantly in use.

Today, I had the Blossom Earl Grey. As an Earl Grey, it has bergamot added. On top of that it has orange blossom.

This isn't a strong flavoured tea, it is subtle, gentle and delicate. It's sweet, but not too sweet. The flavours balance well, nothing overpowers and the overall effect is lovely. Perfect for a warm spring afternoon in the garden, with the sun shining down on the blossom on the trees.

The first time I bought this tea, it was a limited edition. However, I've just visited the Twinings website and  it tells me that due to popular demand this tea is now permanently available. Huzzah! If you haven't tried it yet, it's well worth it.

Pumphrey's- Sencha Wild Cherry

An experience nicer than going to the supermarket is visiting a loose leaf tea dealer, who weighs out your selection for you. My local dealer is currently Pumphrey's, in the Grainger Market in Newcastle.

Picture from the Pumphrey's website

Wanting to expand my horizons, I brought Sencha Wild cherry. I wanted to try a green tea, but went with a flavoured blend as I had tried pure green in the past and found it a bit bitter.
Despite the name of "Wild Cherry", the main flavourings are cranberries and rose petals. The marketing picture is true to life, there is a number of juicy dried cranberries in the blend, although they do tend to rise to the top of the tin so you have to mix it up first.

I put one tea spoon in my new Bitossi tea glass that I brought from the Twinings website. I have been admiring them for a while, so decided to splash out. In the future I hope to find some flowering teas as they would look fabulous in this.

 Water was added, between 80 and 90 degrees. If you use boiling water, it scalds the leaves. Not good. Infusion time is about 2 minutes, you really shouldn't overbrew a green tea.

You can see the leaves are a good size, and a lovely fresh shade of green. The tea brews to a pale greeny gold. The scent is not strong but there is a hint of sweetness to it. 

The tea still has the slightly bitter edge that comes with green teas, but the cranberry and rose makes it more palatable. It's not a strong fruity flavour, but enough to know that it's there, and so that neither flavour is overpowering. They balance out nicely.

I felt rather virtuous drinking this, as green tea is known for it's health properties. It was quite refreshing, and I would drink it again. I don't think it will replace black tea in my affections, but it is good to have alternatives.

Pumphrey's Sencha Wild Cherry info here