Tea and Me

WTF? — today’s tea is Chilli Kale Matcha . Ingredients: Japanese matcha green tea, kale, cayenne They describe it thus: A double whammy of green power in this blend of Japanese matcha green tea, curly leaf kale + a fiery kick of cayenne chilli to boot!  I honestly don’t even know where to start with this one. I don’t like chilli much anyway (I am a real wuss when it comes to spicy food) and the idea of kale tea truly turns my stomach and then there is the matcha, which I’ve discussed my problems with previously. This is another tea that is going to have to wait until another time (and maybe quite some time — although if I’m doing a matcha tasting I might as well get them all done together). Instead, tonight I am back on the Milk Oolong from Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co. which is perfect for unwinding after another long and tiring day. This tea is not quite as perfect in taste as Camellia’s Tea House’s version which is more creamy and i...

Today’s tea is Chocolate Tea sold by Camellia’s Tea House . This tea was one of the black tea options on offer when I went for afternoon tea at the Corinthia Hotel a couple of months ago. Although I didn’t try it at the time, I did get the opportunity to smell the tea when we went through the sample box and I thought it had an absolutely divine aroma — just like rich, dark chocolate. Sadly, Camellia’s don’t regularly do sample sizes which make it a bit difficult to buy a tea just to try it, but as I’m sure you’re all aware by now I really love chocolate and was so convinced I was going to love it that I had no qualms about buying a full-size packet of the tea and didn’t even bother to stop and read the ingredients list first (which, as it turned out was a big mistake). Ingredients: Chinese and Ceylon black teas, chocolate chips, coconut. Unfortunately, I’ve discovered this tea really isn’t to my taste despite the wonderful chocolate aroma, which is every bit ...

Today I’m trying another tea that was in the free goody bag from Camellia’s Tea House , the Vietnam Oolong . This was one of the loose teas, lovingly packaged in a small clear bag with a nice bright yellow ribbon and a handwritten label, which contained enough tea for three mugs. Initially, I had trouble tracking it down on their website until I realised that it is one of their special edition teas, which come in pretty, small, clear jars with cork stoppers (60g), which are really quite cute. They describe it thus: 'A gentle oolong tea, with a fragrant and flavourful cup. This particular oolong is plucked a few times during the year  from 25 year old tea bushes, originally brought back from Taiwan.' I will start by saying that I now realise I am rather fond of Oolong tea. I only discovered it a short while ago when I tried the  China Milky Oolong at the Corinthia Hotel. This, therefore, is the second Oolong I’ve tried and it’s very pleasant and has, what I...

One of the sets of tea bags I received in the free goody bag from Camellia’s Tea House last month was called Sleep Well . As someone who suffers from chronic insomnia, I am open to anything that might aid in helping me sleep so I was interested in trying it. It’s actually an infusion as it doesn’t contain any type of tea leaves but I will still be treating it as if it is tea.  I did have some slight concern as one of the ingredients is my old nemesis chamomile but as it contained plenty of other (potentially) good stuff too, I decided to give it a go. Ingredients: Valerian, hops, chamomile, lemon verbena, hawthorn, red clover, violet and spearmint. They describe it thus: ‘Sleep Well is a lovely infusion which combines lemon verbena with chamomile to produce a gentle and soothing infusion with delightful undertones of mint. The ingredients of the tea are believed to ease insomnia and promote restful sleep.’ Wrapped in a sealed foil packet, the infusion...

Camellia’s Tea House , you win a prize both for the prettiest packaging of tea and the marvellous goodie bag you sent me with my recent order. Thank you! Regular readers will remember that I found Camellia's after having afternoon tea at the Corinthia Hotel last week and I fell in love with their China Milky Oolong . Having checked out their website, I discovered that 21 April was National Tea Day, and to celebrate they are giving away a small mystery bag with all orders placed between 21-28 April. Thus inspired, I ordered the Oolong (and it tastes and smells every bit as good now as it did during afternoon tea – yes, I am drinking it as I type) and their  Chocolate tea – which smells divine, but I haven’t yet tasted it as it’s a black tea and I try not to drink black tea in the evening. So, onto the contents of my ‘mystery’ bag. If you don’t want to know what was in it, I suggest you look away now – although the bag itself is lovely, especially with the bright yellow...

According to Camellia's Tea House , yesterday - 21 April - was National Tea Day. To celebrate, they are giving away a small mystery gift bag with any order placed between 21-28 April. Obviously, I felt this was a sign and took the opportunity to order some of the China Milky Oolong I enjoyed so much at the Corinthia Hotel and also some of the Chocolate tea , which I didn't try but smelt so delicious.

Well . . . sort of. Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be taken for afternoon tea at the Corinthia Hotel’s Crystal Moon Lounge in London as a late birthday present from my friend Beryl. As it’s tea-related, I thought it would be good to share my afternoon and the lovely sandwiches and cakes they served us. As both a tea lover and a cake lover, I am a big fan of afternoon teas (I am actually considered the Queen of Afternoon Tea in my office because I’ve had so many – my 50 th birthday seemed to consist of nothing but afternoon tea for several months) and to my mind the Corinthia is one of the best venues in London and I have been there several times now. Unlike better-known establishments, the Corinthia is extremely easy-going and they don’t impose a 90-minute time limit that the more touristy places such as the Ritz, the Savoy and the Dorchester do and they always, unfailing, provide excellent service and a good level of knowledge about the products they serve. We spe...

I thought it might be useful if I keep a league table of my top 10 favourite teas, going forward. This list reflects the favourites of those I've drunk recently rather than all-time favourites as I've discovered its very difficult to have an all time list when I'm trying so many different teas and what I like is affected by the weather or the time of year.  For instance, over Christmas and through the winter I drank enough Gingerbread Chai to sink a battleship (is that a thing?) and I would definitely have said it was my all time favourite tea. But at the moment I have no interest in drinking it at all because it seems to me that its the wrong time of year for it and so it's dropped from the top of the charts completely off the list. It will definitely be back by Christmas, though, that I can guarantee. The only thing I can say with any certainty is that my all time favourite tea is definitely China Milk Oolong from Camellia's Tea House. I could, quite...