Tea and Me

Mermaid Mist is a limited edition fruit tea from Bird & Blend and was provided as part of the June tea club offering. Ingredients: Hibiscus, apple pieces, aniseed, rosehip, blue pea flowers, liquorice, blackcurrant leaves, natural flavouring They describe it thus: Mermaid Mist is a magical concoction of apple, blackcurrant & blue pea flower with notes of aniseed and liquorice! Add a squeeze of lemon & be hypnotised by the magical colour change!  ✨ The first thing to say about this tea is that it is a beautiful colour, or maybe that should be colours . Depending on the number of blue pea flowers in the teaspoon it can range from a lovely deep plum right through to an almost scary dark blue, more reminiscent of Ursula the Sea Witch than Ariel the Mermaid. Whatever the colour, it looks particularly impressive in my clear glass teapot.  The aroma is interesting, with fruit being the most prevalent when you open the packet. Once brewed it smells quit...

Today’s tea is White Fuzzy Navel by Adagio . It is one of their currently available seasonal teas (along with Key Lime Herbal tea) and I was sent a sample pack of it with my last order from them.   Ingredients: White Tea, Rooibos Tea, Apple Pieces, Orange Peels, Hibiscus, Natural Peach Flavour, Mango Pieces, Natural Orange Flavour And Marigold Flowers They describe it thus: The Fuzzy Navel, a sweet and lightweight highball of peach schnapps and orange juice, was an iconic beverage of the 1980s club scene. We've decided to throw it back this summer with a beverage for the 80s kids who grew up, and for those of us who only wish we'd experienced what was arguably the most ostentatious decade of the 20th century. Fear not - we aren't here to police the height of your hair or question the elasticity of your spandex. Enjoy an iced glass of White Fuzzy Navel and party on! So, I know you all thought the cold brew bottle I got last week would sit th...

Butter Brew is a limited edition black tea from Bird & Blend , which is released today and was provided previously as part of the June tea club offering. Ingredients: Indian Assam black tea, Sri Lankan black tea, calendula petals, natural flavouring They describe it thus:  You're going to go PotTEA for our caramel butter brew! We've combined our favourite British book/film series with every British persons favourite drink...A good ol' cuppa!  ⚡ So, I’ll be honest, I have never really taken much notice of the Bird&Blend tea club before but the addition of a tea based on my favourite book series was always going to catch my eye, and inevitably was going to be the first tea I tried. There is already a perfectly good Butterbeer blend produced by Adagio Teas, which I reviewed last year, so I was interested to see how this version would compare to that one. The answer is that I think I actually prefer this one just slightly. ...

So, I was still trying to recover from the disappointment of discovering that the Rice Pudding + Jam tea from Bluebird Tea Co.’s Spring Collection that I was so looking forward to trying (and was expecting to be my favourite by a country mile as I absolutely adore rice pudding) inexplicably contains coconut (I have no idea why — no self-respecting person would ever put coconut in a rice pudding — and believe me I’ve done extensive polling on this subject) so I can’t even try it. That left me with three others to try — Peach Cobbler , Raspberry Liquorice Laces and Mint Pistachio . Today I want to talk about the Peach Cobbler, which is a black flavoured tea. Ingredients:  Sri Lankan black tea, freeze-dried peach, pink cornflowers, natural flavouring. They describe it thus: Our first black tea + peach pairing and a heavenly one indeed! This blend tastes like a classic cobbler straight from the oven... warm, gooey, sweet with that delightful gold brown crust....

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 the final of Bluebird’s ghosts and another Christmas Future  —  Mrs Claus' Raspberry Prosecco . Ingredients: First Flush Darjeeling black tea, apple pieces, rosehip, hibiscus, Siberian ginseng, freeze-dried raspberry, orange peel, natural flavouring. They describe it thus: First Flush Darjeeling, the champagne of black teas, and real raspberry chunks; this light + classy fruity flute is perfect for toasting special occasions (or just after a long day out on the sleigh!). It is a not-so-secret that all would grind to a halt at Christmas time without the help of the fabulous Mrs Claus so she sure deserves this tea treat! I was expecting to really like this as I have tried and enjoyed several raspberry-flavoured teas ( Adagio’s Veritaserum from the Magic Potions sampler is one of my favourites, as is the Blue Raspberry from Bluebird) and raspberries are one of my favourite fruits so I’m willing to try just about anything they appear in. Unfor...

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 ...

The third ghost is apparently of Christmas Future  —  Mince Pie. Ingredients: Sri Lankan black tea, cinnamon, almond pieces, orange peel, pomegranate flowers, natural flavouring. They describe it thus: Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without homemade mince pies- surely the staple of the festive season? (and everyone knows puff pastry is the best!). Guilt-free, gently spiced + deliciously sweet, great with or without milk! So curl up in a warm duvet and sip on this inspired blend, before Santa gets his hands on it!  I have to admit that I don’t like mince pies but as this tea bag contains no ingredients I dislike I will be trying it as it sounds far nicer than its namesake. However, as it’s black tea, I can’t drink it in the evening otherwise I won’t get any sleep. I was intending to try it today at work, but unfortunately, I was extremely busy so didn’t get the chance. Therefore, I shall have to return with a review for this tomorrow. ...

In a flashback to Summer – today it’s Ice Cream Matcha. Ingredients: Japanese matcha green tea, carob powder, natural flavouring. They describe it thus: Everybody's favourite summer treat - Enjoy a creamy, moreish ice cream matcha cone in the afternoon sun! Try me iced or hot and I'm awesome with milk! Oh look, another matcha, and this time it’s the Summer-inspired Ice Cream flavour. The packets really are building up now, aren’t they? I’ve been seeing other people’s pictures of their advent drinks on Bluebird’s Instagram page and I have to say none of the matcha’s look particularly appealing to me whether they’re made with water or milk. However, I took advantage of the free posting offer that they’re doing at the moment (finishes at midnight tonight) and bought a latte shaker, so I at least when I do finally get round to trying them (sometime over Christmas, I promise) I will be able to make the latte bit properly. Review to follow.  ...

Oh look, it’s another matcha — this time it’s Salted Caramel Ingredients: Japanese matcha green tea, cocoa powder, natural flavouring granules. They describe it thus: Nothing beats a dollop of homemade salted caramel that melts away in your mouth! Insider scoop - founder Krisi said this is her favourite matcha creation yet because it is the perfect balance of sweet and oh so smooth!  So, the Bible says something along the lines of ‘ask and you shall receive’ and it appears that in this case it is right. Having mentioned the other day how I would have included Salted Caramel in the advent calendar, it is today’s tea. I have to admit that part of me would prefer it to be a tea bag rather than yet more matcha, but at least this one has a flavour that I’m actually interested in so I’m sort of looking forward to trying it — probably at the weekend once I find my latte frother. The review will follow once I’ve tried it. 

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’s tea — G + Tea — is another from the limited edition cocktail trio and is the third of the teas on the Bluebird Tea Co. ’ s keep poll that I have access to. Ingredients: Chinese sencha green tea, juniper berries, spearmint, angelica root, coriander seeds, lemon peel, almond pieces, liquorice, cardamom, natural flavouring. They describe it thus: “Close your eyes, imagine the first sip of an ice-cold gin & tonic – this is it. Super light + energising, the different flavours hit your taste buds separately. From citrus to spearmint, coriander to cardamom. It’s a brew asking to be cold brewed, tea cocktail if you wish!”  So, I’ll be honest and say straight up that I wasn’t expecting to like this tea. I’ve never really been a fan of gin and I detest tonic and would never choose to drink a G&T of my own accord (unless there really was nothing else to drink — I did once go to a party where it was the only drink on offer, I didn’t stay long) so...

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...