Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co. - Winter Tea

Happy New Year!

Gosh, it’s been a long time since I last posted, hasn’t it? Although, actually, it’s been a long time since I last had a cup of tea.

You might recall that just before Christmas I went down with the lurgy and was unable to enjoy the last of my Bluebird advent calendar teas as I couldn’t taste a thing and I promised I would review as soon as I recovered. I also promised to try all those Matcha’s once I got my milk frother, which the pesky Post Office were trying their hardest not to deliver.

Sadly, the virus was a bad one, as everyone knows, as it seems most people I know were struck with it at some point over the holidays and for several weeks now I’ve drunk nothing but plain tap water as it’s been the only thing I could face drinking (apart from the odd medicinal tot of Glayva).

I did try a pot of my beloved Milk Oolong just after Christmas, but as it has a subtle flavour I couldn’t taste anything and so it seemed a bit pointless, and a waste of money, to continue drinking it. Even the more heavily spiced chai’s etc. didn’t appeal, and so today is the first day (with the exception of a cup of chai latte from Costa last week while I was meeting my friend for lunch, which doesn’t really count as it’s not proper tea in my book) that I’ve had a cup of tea.

I’ll admit I did consider trying my outstanding advent calendar teabag (Christmas Cake), but I wasn’t in the mood this morning. It seems to me more like an early afternoon tea (it’s a black tea so I can’t drink it after 4 pm because of my raging insomnia), but I might give it a go later today.

Instead, I chose to try one of the teas from the Winter Tea Selection from Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee. Co. that I had originally bought with the intention of trying over Christmas. The Selection contains 50g of 5 different teas — Winter Tea; Christmas Tea; Mulled Wine Fruit Tisane; Rooibos Cinnamon Angel and the interesting sounding English Drawing Room Scented Tea.

I chose the Winter Tea, which is a China black tea.

Ingredients: China black tea, almond, cloves, cornflower, hibiscus, orange, spice, sunflower blossom

They describe it thus:

“This wonderful Winter Tea will warm you up when the cold weather arrives! We have taken a China Black Tea which we have delicately scented with natural oils of Cinnamon, Almond and Walnut. To this, we blend Orange peel, Clove pieces, Almond pieces, Hibiscus flowers, Cornflowers and Sunflowers to create a very colourful Tea full of rich wintry flavours - Delicious!”

I really like this tea although it does have an unusual flavour.

When you first open the packet you’re instantly assailed by the smell of the orange peel which is a marvellously uplifting scent, especially on a gloomy winter’s day. Putting the tea in the pot and adding the boiling water, the almond fragrance begins to shine through, and by the time it is brewed (I left it the full 5 minutes as I felt I needed a strong brew) it is quite difficult to discern any individual aroma but it’s definitely an inviting one as you can actually smell the tea which is sometimes overwhelmed in flavoured blends.

Tastewise, the tea is obvious too although it has a strangely antiseptic taint to it, presumably because of the cloves which always make me think of medicine for some reason, but somehow it works and makes for an unusual but highly satisfying mug of tea, which has instantly worked its way onto my favourites list (which I’m aware I desperately need to update).

As you all know I have a sweet tooth, so I added my usual 2 teaspoons of demerara sugar (although as it’s the new year and the fitness bug has gripped us all, I am trying to cut down so I’m using a smaller teaspoon and making it level not heaped), which made, for me, the perfect cup of tea, especially with a little milk added too.

Although this tea might not be for everyone (definitely steer clear if you don’t like cloves) it was the perfect choice for my return to tea drinking and I will definitely be stocking up with this blend for future winter drinking. Judging from the good amount of five star reviews on the website it is a firm favourite with others too.

What’s Brewing this week?

Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee. Co. are offering 10% off all their stock until midnight tonight. They are also giving away a free sample of their Detox lemon and ginger tea. Use the code DETOX to take advantage of the offer.   

Bluebird Tea Co. have released a whole range of teas to help one drift off into sleep. As far as I can see they all contain the dreaded chamomile so they won’t be on my list anytime soon, but check them out as they seem popular. They have also broken my heart by releasing a coconut milk Oolong, which sounds like a complete abomination to me but I’m sure is delicious for all those coconut lovers out there. Finally, they’ve released a whole new selection of Matcha powders with rainbow colours and yet more unusual flavours. I’m obviously particularly drawn to the Mermaid one because of the colour. I’m still not down with the whole Matcha thing yet, but I promise I will be trying the ones from the advent calendar soon.

T2 have released a couple of new teas with the new year in mind. Wakey Wakey, a peppermint and yerba mate concoction designed to get you up and about and Dandy Lightful for detoxing (I assume) which I have to admit sounds absolutely disgusting and not just because of the coconut. If dandelion root, cacao, coconut and chicory sounds like your sort of thing, go and check it out.