Tea and Me

It’s the second to last day of the calendar and we’ve returned to the matcha  —  Gingernut Matcha to be precise. Ingredients: Japanese matcha green tea, ginger, cinnamon, natural flavour granules, chilli They describe it thus: Our limited edition Gingernut biscuit matcha blend is so moreish with milk! Get your matcha kicks with a ginger tingle this Autumn - Winter season!  I have to admit that I was extremely pleased to discover that today’s tea was matcha as it meant I didn’t have to drink and review it straight away. Now, that might sound a bit harsh, but there is a good reason for it. Unfortunately, Father Christmas has visited my house a few days early and left a not-so-nice present for me, one for which the following are required, and as I opened the calendar door I have to admit I was praying for matcha, while all the while wishing I could go back to bed (I couldn't as I have a hairdresser's appointment, and my hair takes many ho...

It’s another ghost of Christmas Future  —  Spiced Clementine . Ingredients: Hibiscus, cloves, apple pieces, ginger, star anise, orange flowers, rosehip, orange peel, natural flavour. They describe it thus: Remember when you were young and you got to decorate clementines with cloves? Remember how amazing and Christmassy it smelt? We're bringing you back with this delicious tangy but sweet Christmas blend! The perfect stocking filler or the best accompaniment for your Christmas pud! This is actually a far more subtle blend than I was expecting although it is a very nice tea. It smells lovely and orangey and spicy and tastes just like Christmas with the cinnamon offsetting the orange flavour perfectly. I left it to brew for about 7 minutes to bring out the flavour a bit more. Next time I’ll probably leave it for 10. Whilst this is a tea I could have drunk it without sugar as ever, for me, the addition of a teaspoon of demerara enhanced the ...

It’s an oldie — it’s Honey Bee Beautiful . This tea is extremely popular with Bluebird customers but it contains chamomile, which is not one of my favourite flavours, and as I have already reviewed it previously, I’m directing you to that review instead of trying it again. Instead, I spent the day drinking Christmas tea by Adagio, which I was using to try to put me in the mood for festivities — i.e. putting up the Christmas tree (I also tried overdosing on Christmas movies), in the face of the snow that was coming down outside (my dislike of snow is as legendary as my dislike of coconut and is always guaranteed to put me in a bad mood). I failed miserably on all counts and the Christmas tree will have to wait until another day, but I did enjoy the tea and may or may not have shed a tear or two over the films. Ingredients: Black Tea, Cinnamon Bark, Orange Peels, Natural Spice Flavour, Cardamom, Cloves, Ginger Root, Natural Ginger Flavour And ...

Today we’re back to a traditional tea bag and it’s the always festive Mulled Cider . Ingredients: Apple pieces, ginger, rosehip, hibiscus, cinnamon, cloves, lemon peel, flavour They describe it thus: Aromatic winter spices, cinnamon, cloves + ginger, steeped with apple chunks to create this mellow + comforting hot tea toddy. Brew up a fruit infusion or use to create Mulled Cider, serve steaming with a splash of dark rum and snuggle up on a chilly winter's eve! The first thing is that the bag smells fantastic, all spicy loveliness that makes me think of cold winter nights and crackling fires and settling down to listen to carols by candlelight. It says to brew it for 4+ minutes but I left it for about 10 as I wanted a decent strong flavour. Unfortunately, because this was a bag rather than loose in a teapot the tea had cooled quite considerably by the time I drank it. This wasn’t that much of a problem as it tastes just as good cold – but obviously,...

Hurrah for a strong opener — welcome to  Gingerbread Chai ! Ingredients: rooibos, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, mallow flowers, flavour They describe it thus: We have our Nordic neighbours to thank for the tradition of gingerbread. Every year the town of Bergen, Norway still build a lifesize gingerbread city to celebrate Christmas. What a nightmare for poor old Hansel and Gretel! Let's hope they are keeping a low profile and enjoying a steaming cup of our Gingerbread Chai instead! If you’ve read my other posts you will recall that it was the same friend (she really is amazing —  thanks Quincy) buying me a Gingerbread Chai Christmas bauble last year that got me back into serious tea drinking when I fell so in love with this amazing rooibos blend that 10 teabags just wasn’t enough. Once I had visited the site to buy more I was lost and have spent all year buying their astonishing collection of blends, most of which I have still to review. ...

Today’s tea is the rather wonderful but sadly, at the moment anyway, limited-edition Ginger Beer tea by Bluebird Tea Co. It has moved up my reviewing schedule as it was mentioned in an email I received from them today, which reminded me that I had it and really needed to try it. Ingredients: Rooibos, ginger, lime leaves, lemon peel, calendula petals, natural flavouring. They describe it thus: “This Caribbean classic is here to set your taste buds on fire! Packed with flavour, punch + fruity freshness but with a cooling creamy lime finish. Perfect hot or iced, with a splash of spiced rum and a lime wedge!”   As I’m sure you’re all aware by now I am a huge fan of ginger flavoured teas and this one is no exception. The first thing to say about this tea is that it has a truly wonderful aroma. I made a pot of it and left it to brew while I did something else and when I came back to the room I could smell the ginger and lime before I even got anywhere nea...

Unfortunately, for me at least, the weather has turned hot again  😥  and tea drinking hasn't really been at the top of my list of things to do (nope, I still haven't yet tried making iced tea either, but I might have a go this weekend).  W hen I have been drinking tea I've generally been sticking to Oolongs as they're nice and light - Milk and Milk Caramel are still the best.   However, I have managed to sup a few mugs of a rather unusual Oolong made by T2 , who are a nice modern tea company with lots of bright square packaging, called Oolong Chocolate Chai . Ingredients: Oolong tea, cocoa husk, ginger, cinnamon, cardamon seed, cardamon husk, clove, chocolate chips (sugar, cocoa, lecithin: E322  soy* ), black pepper, flavouring *contains soy products They describe it thus: “A chocolaty, cinnamony, gingery, oolong combination laced with pepper. An intriguing sweet, bright and spicy flavour.” I think I was still reeling from th...

Enrol in a School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, think magical thoughts and drink this. Ingredients: black tea, cinnamon bark, natural pumpkin spice flavour, cloves, ginger root, natural vanilla flavour, natural caramel flavour, marigold flowers, cardamom The teas used to create this blend are: pumpkin spice , vanilla and caramel , accented with apple pieces. Pumpkin Potion is one of the blends in the Magic Potions sampler box by Adagio Teas . I absolutely adore the spiciness of pumpkin pie and was delighted when the wizarding world was revealed to drink pumpkin juice in the same way the Muggle world drinks orange juice.  It was the drink I was most excited to try at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and the one I loved the most (sorry frozen Butterbeer, although you were amazing). Sadly, it isn’t available outside the US as it’s not transportable, so I have to make do with tea instead. I have tried both this and Adagio’s Pumpkin Spice tea which is...

Why Brew for 21 days when you have instant polyjuice? Polyjuice Potion is a very complicated potion that allows the drinker to assume the form of someone else. WARNING cannot change into an Animal. Ingredients: black tea, cinnamon bark, ginger root, rooibos tea, cardamom, dried coconut, lemon grass, cloves, orange peels, cocoa nibs, natural coconut flavour, natural chocolate flavour, natural vanilla flavour, natural cinnamon flavour The teas used to create this blend are: thai chai , chocolate chai and rooibos vanilla chai . Polyjuice is one of the blends in the Magic Potions sampler box by Adagio Teas . It smells absolutely amazing, just as you’d expect from something that blends three different types of chai — and you can definitely smell the chocolate (always a favourite with me). It also tastes pretty good, even considering the coconut (which I absolutely detest). I suspect this is because it’s fairly subtle and I can’t taste it and the spiciness mask...

In the dim and distant 1980s and 90s, anything that wasn’t ‘normal’ Indian tea was considered ‘herbal’ and was, therefore, generally only available from health food shops (or in Chinese restaurants in the case of Jasmine tea) – unlike today, when every style and flavour of tea fills up both the supermarket shelves and specialist online tea sites – oh, how far we’ve come. I used to regularly frequent Holland and Barrett as one of the only health food stores I had access to, to buy such exciting fare as those provided by the brands Heath and Heather and Yogi. One of my favourite blends was lemon and ginger (which I seem to recall was also one of Twinings first attempts at branching out into more interesting flavours) which was perfect for keeping me going in that post-lunch slump and was good for when I was bunged up with a cold or hayfever, had a sore throat or just generally felt a bit rough. Obviously, this was the start of my love of ginger-flavoured teas although I never realis...