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Black Tea Green Tea Oolong Tea Reviews Teaphernalia

Shibui Leaf Tea Haul Taste Tested & Reviewed!

23rd May 2016

A little while ago I was lucky enough to be sent a box of joy by Shibui Leaf Tea. Inside the box there was a selection of loose leaf teas, an awesome mug and some empty tea pyramids for making your own teabags (super cool!).

On to the review!

Caramel Oolong

This was one of the teas I requested because I love Oolong and caramel seemed like the perfect accompaniment. This tea smells beyond words, succulent & sweet, with a buttery quality. I could actually just leave bowls of this around my house, the smell is that good!

One thing I love about Oolong is you can get a lot of tea from not much leaf, as it really lends itself to being infused multiple times. During these infusions you can follow the tea on a delectable taste journey as each infusion tastes different to the last and from a practical point of view, this makes this tea very economic.

On to the taste! As you swirl this golden liquor in your mouth you can taste the beautiful delicate quality of the Oolong as well as a devilishly sweet caramel flavour, that’s just strong enough to be enjoyable but without overpowering the Oolong flavour. I think this would be great iced but also fantastic to cuddle up with on a cold night and lets face it, with the British summer coming up the latter is more likely! :p

Ti Kuan Yin

This is another excellent Oolong, with light floral notes. I received these in high quality pyramid teabags, there’s more than enough tea for multiple infusions in each teabag and the teabags allow the leaf to move around enough to infuse well.

This was a really flavoursome Oolong with quite a delicate savoury flavour, you can also taste a subtle underlying floral sweetness which gives it some extra character. It produces a brownish liquid with a really unique scent and it’s malty flavour is so refreshing to drink, definitely a good Oolong! 🙂

White Peony

White Peony (known in China as Pai Mu Tan) is always a tea I look forward to, the delicate sweetness of the white tea is fantastic and super refreshing. It’s produced from the handpicked bud and first two leaves of the tea plant, this creates a clean royal tea.

The leaves are a really good size which is always a nice thing to see and each pyramid teabag is filled with a lot of tea so you can easily make a couple of cups of tea with one teabag. It has a slightly floral quality to it which is subtly sweet but it lets the white tea flavours take centre stage.

Maple Walnut

Another tea I requested a sample of is Maple Walnut and I’m so glad I did! This tea smells sooo good with a sweet maple fragrance and a hint of walnut. The pieces of walnut and the leaf are really nice sized and you can tell this tea is special when you first prepare it, the smell just fills the room with sweet nuttiness.

Once steeped it makes a vibrant green liquid which I could just sit and smell all day! The taste is amazing, it’s really sweet and has a slightly toasted quality to it, reminds me of toasted marshmallows. The walnut flavour is definitely noticeable but not overpowering, I wondered if it would be too nutty but it’s not at all. The tea leaf, walnut and maple are all there with precisely the right amount of each.

English Breakfast

I was lucky enough to receive my English Breakfast in a beautiful polished chrome cannister, it’s really stunning and I’ll be sure to refill it once it’s empty and store it on my desk. These cannisters would make the perfect gift for any tea lover and it definitely adds a certain elegance to the experience, after all, presentation is everything!;)

I feel that English Breakfast is really drab unless it’s really good, without any extra flavours the quality of black tea can really be noticed. Luckily this is a really good English Breakfast, it has a deep malty brown colour to it and it’s epic with a couple of biscuits to dunk in it. It has a very slight sweetness to it which makes it more enjoyable than a lot of other English Breakfast tea I’ve tried. My mum loves English breakfast, even with all the exciting tea I make for her she still insists on English Breakfast with her breakfast and she definitely approves of this English Breakfast!

The Unexpected – Shibui Mug & Tea Filters

An unexpected inclusion from Shibui Leaf Tea is a mug that has a tea themed word search on it, with words such as Roobios and Assam. It’s bone china and dishwasher proof, a really nice touch is one of the words is Shibui and it’s been outlined as the only word found so far, which I really like! Again this would be the perfect gift to give with some of the gorgeous teas above.

I also received some tea filters, which basically act like teabags that you can fill yourself and pull closed with a drawstring at the top. They’re unbleached, chlorine free and biodegradable so great all round! I use something similar when I go away so I don’t have to carry an infuser for loose leaf tea with me but these are more convenient with the drawstring closure. They’re also an absolute bargain at £3.95 for 100!

So that’s my haul reviewed! A huge thanks to Shibui Tea for sending me their products to review and for their generosity, it’s very much appreciated.

You can check out their amazing store here.

Thanks so much for reading this review, I hope you enjoyed it. Bye for now! xXx

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Fruit Tea Green Tea Reviews

A review of Sencha Spring Melody tea from the fabulous Gently Stirred

21st March 2016

I LOVE Gently Stirred and their passion for good tea. The first thing I always notice is the care that’s taken to produce a beautiful, personal moment with every purchase. They go above and beyond with hand wrapping in stylish brown and green packaging, that has a wholesome and friendly feel to it.

Onto the tea! Recently I was lucky enough to try the aptly named Sencha Spring Melody, a super sweet smelling strawberry green tea. Before I even opened the package I could smell the smell of fresh strawberries, when I was a kid me and my mum would always go strawberry picking and the smell of this tea takes me right back to those trips 🙂 As always this tea from Gently Stirred is made up of super quality loose leaf tea with succulent dried strawberry in abundance.

When the water hits the tea things step up a gear; the strawberry smell erupts out as the water turns an inviting golden colour. The taste is fantastic, really sweet but with a definite green tea flavour as well, with absolutely no bitterness. This is a great tea to drink after dinner if you’re trying to steer clear of the calories that pudding brings!

Sencha Spring Melody is also awesome iced, I’m really looking forward to drinking it in the Spring and Summer, although I’ve been drinking it iced in the winter too 😛

Anyway I’m guessing you’ve realised by now that I like this tea, A LOT and I’d definitely recommend taking a look at Gently Stirred’s website and trying it for yourself.

Comment with any teas you’d like me to review or that you recommend I try and come say hi on Twitter, Instagram etc.

Thanks for reading! 🙂 xXx

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Black Tea Fruit Tea Tea Reviews

Russtea’s review of Hope & Glory Tea

12th March 2016

Last week I was sent some new tea by Hope & Glory to review for you guys 🙂

They sent me 3 flavours which were Chamomile, Masala Chai and English breakfast. Also included was some of their loose Red Velvet tea.

Chamomile

I started out with Chamomile which smells wonderfully floral and creates a golden yellow tea. I found this blend to be sweeter than other chamomile teas which aren’t usually my favourite flavour, so this is a good improvement. The packet suggests adding a spoon of honey to sweeten it but I didn’t really find this to be necessary. I was able to get two infusions out of one teabag which is pretty good going!

Chamomile is known for it’s relaxing properties, making it a great tea for the end of a busy work day or before bed. I left some of the second mug of tea to try cold and it was really refreshing, making it a good choice for the spring.

Masala Chai

Next up is Masala Chai. As soon as I opened the packet the vibrant spicy punch bursted out. There’s also a noticeable ginger fragrance which kinda reminds me of cola bottles, which I love. I have ginger fragranced shower gel from The Body Shop for the same reason 😉

While the tea is steeping a beautiful almost fruity smell fills the kitchen, perfect on a cold rainy day! I tried this blend with water first and then a second mug with milk, I preferred it with milk. The amount of black tea and spice is just right and it isn’t overly powerful like a lot of masala chai, the Ceylon base is also really flavoursome.

Red Velvet

I was really excited about this blend, I’m a bit of a red velvet addict and was excited to see if it was deserving of it’s name. The strong berry fragrance that floats out of the packet is fantastic, it also has a slightly minty freshness to it, which is strange as it has no mint ingredients.

This blend produced a deep red colour the second the water was added and the fragrance took on more of a blueberry scent. A strong blueberry flavour was also noticeable in the tea, which is fantastic as blueberries are my favourite fruit! This tea goes a long way and I was able to squeeze a good few servings out of the sample pack. I like that this tea has a lot of flavour but without it being too sharp, I find some fruit tisanes are actually over flavoured.

English Breakfast

Last but not least! English Breakfast is a tea that I find hard to distinguish between different brands but this blend has a really deep malty flavour that’s really moreish. I got a few infusions from one teabag which was cool, this allowed me to try the blend more than once. I never add milk to my tea and found that it didn’t really require sugar either which is always a good sign. English Breakfast from Hope & Glory is a good all round tea that won’t scare off your less discerning visitors like something more exotic might 😉

See Ya!

Thanks for taking the time to read my review, I hope you enjoyed it! 🙂 Let me know what you think in the comments below or if there’s any other tea you think I’d like!

I’d like to say a big thanks to Hope & Glory for sending me their tea to try, check their website out.

Bye for now! xXx

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Black Tea Fruit Tea Green Tea Reviews Rooibos Tea Reviews White Tea

Review of a Truly Exquisite Range of Loose Leaf Tea from Jadu Tea

13th February 2016

Recently I was sent a selection of tea from Jadu Tea for me to review. The first thing I noticed upon opening the box is just how incredibly Jadu Tea is presented, the gloss black packaging with the metallic gold labels feel luxurious and modern. I especially love the packaging for the China Green tea I received, which is in a blue velour box with metallic gold writing and wrapped in black paper, I felt like royalty as I opened it!

The teas I received are:

Mademoiselle Grey

Woodland Fruit

Rooibos Creme Brulee

Calming Chamomile

Mint Melange

White Mango Lime

Also included was a selection of individually wrapped pyramid teabags

Mademoiselle Grey

The tea I got most of is Mademoiselle Grey which is high-quality Sri Lanka tea with a citrus scent and a hint of lemongrass, finished off with red cornflowers for a luxury feeling. You can smell the floral bouquet with every sip, with a perfectly refreshing black tea that’s balanced with notes of bergamot and a slightly lemony zing. This tea is also very economical as it can be made quite weak while still tasting fantastic, I was also able to infuse this tea more than once. Overall it’s without a doubt one of the best Earl Greys I’ve ever had.

Woodland Fruit

Next up is Woodland Fruit, the first thing I noticed with this tea is it has whole dry berries, something you don’t often see. The dry smell smells like Ribena with berries filling the room when the water is added, tempting me as I work on my desk. The quality is unbelievable and the liquid is a beautiful deep purply colour. Overall this is a well rounded berry tasting tea with none of the dreaded sharpness often found with other teas.

Rooibos Crème Brûlée

Next to take centre stage is Rooibos Crème Brûlée, this is a really sweet tea with a dessert-like flavour. The dry smell has a cakey pudding feeling that would satisfy the sweetest sweet tooth. I love the flavour of Rooibos and that I can drink it at night without being kept awake by the caffeine. The colour once brewed is a magical deep red colour. This is one of those teas that you just want to fill a big mug with and sit for an evening with a good book.

Calming Chamomile

The quality of The chamomile is amazing, you can literally see the flower buds. It has a soothing summery fragrance with a nice yellow liquid. Chamomile is known for its calming effects so you really do achieve benefits when drinking this tea, it’s perfect to drink at the end of the work day. It’s also subtly sweet and fantastic before bed, you can really feel content as this tea as it eases you to sleep. Camomile tea has never been one of my favourites but this tea is of such high-quality that it’s made me change my mind completely and I’ve drunk a ton of it! 😀

Mint Melange

I usually steer clear of mint tea, I’m not really sure why but it does kinda remind me of toothpaste I guess but I’m always up for trying new things! Mint Melange from Jadu Tea is a blend of peppermint and spearmint and that’s it! The amount of each mint is perfect as you get the cooling of the peppermint while the tea remains sweet because of the spearmint. It’s also not overly minty and is really refreshing, it’s amazing if you have an upset stomach, one mug fixes almost anything! The tea also retains it’s flavour when it’s cooled down and can be drunk hot or cold. As mint tea goes this is one of the best I’ve tried, it’s my least favourite tea out of the Jadu Tea range but that’s probably largely because mint tea just isn’t my thing, I’m sure with this level of quality that if you like mint tea you’ll love this one!

White Mango Lime

I absolutely adore white tea so I’m always excited to get new and exciting flavours. The first thing I noticed with this tea is the incredible fragrance that bursts out of the packet when you open it, it’s a combination of the delicate scent of white tea with the sweet kick of Mango. This tea is packed full of good quality pieces of fruit and nicely sized tea leaves, no dust-like tea here! Every sip is heavenly and really conveys the magic of tea, something Jadu Tea are pationate about promoting. I love that alongside the sweetness of the mango there’s a lime kick to add an element of indivuality and excitemend to the blend, this kick also adds to the refreshment this tea offers. The silvery, almost metallic colour of the tea once it’s steeped is beautiful, along with the smell it really is a luxurious experience that I won’t forget.

China Green

The China Green that I was sent was in the most beautiful box I’ve ever received tea in. It’s a luxuriously soft blue suede embossed with the Jadu Tea logo and China Green in gold, it’s so nice I actually don’t keep it in my kitchen, it lives on my desk by my computer (making it really hard to resist!). The dry tea is a deep green colour with a clean a healthy scent, as well as the grassy fragrance there’s also a sweetness to it. When brewed it makes a lovely golden tea that always wows my guests and even wins over my less cultured guests that usually reject green tea. Watching the leaves unfurl is a magical event and this tea is fantastic made in large quantities as it tastes great at every temperature and any strength, varying the tea between sweet and more vegetal. Tea presented in the Jadu Tea gift boxes makes the perfect gift for any tea fan and is sure to blow them away, you get a little slice of royalty with every infusion 🙂

Pyramid Teabags

The last item sent for a review was a lovely little box with the same sleek black packaging that contained a selection of pyramid teabags. The pyramid bags are great, nice and roomy for the tea leaves to unfurl and swirl around, so maximum flavour is achievable even if you’re in a rush (or lazy 😛).

That’s the end of my Jadu Tea review, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it and drinking the fantastic tea from Jadu Tea. If you’re still undecided where to by your tea I strongly recommend Jadu Tea, you can find their website here.

The last thing I’d like to say is a massive thanks to the Jadu team for sending me your magical products to try, I really appreciate it! 🙂

As always you can find me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Come say hi or leave a comment below!

Catch ya later! xXx

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Reviews Teaphernalia Top 10's

Top 10 Tea Books Every Tea Lover Should Read!

12th February 2016

Recently I’ve been buying books about my favourite subject! I was amazed at how many there were so I thought I’d put a list together of the best ones. I own some of the books and plan to own them all but some of the top 10 are based on the books with the most favourable reviews.

In no particular order the top 10 tea books I could find are as follows:

1. The Tea Book (DK) – This is one I do own and my favourite I’ve been able to find, it has loads of material and history of tea as well as tables to better determine the flavours of the tea you’re drinking, really helpful for blogging!

2. Teapigs The Book of Tea – Another one I love! although Teapigs isn’t my favourite brand of tea this book is still fantastic. It features loads of interesting history, how tea is made, growing tea and a breakdown of the culture of tea in different countries all around the world.

3. Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties – An escorted tour of the worlds tea growing countries, written by the owners of the Camellia Sinensis Tea House in Montreal. It covers black, green, white, yellow, oolong, pu’er, perfumed, aromatic and smoked teas.

4. 20, 000 Secrets of Tea: The Most Effective Ways to Benefit from Nature’s Healing Herbs – This is one for the health conscious, it details how to benefit from the many magical healing effects of tea.

5. The Ritz London Book Of Afternoon Tea: The Art and Pleasures of Taking Tea – A more traditional take on this great british pastime, including an in-depth view of Afternoon tea at The Ritz. A nice extra is it even includes recipes so you can enjoy a posh afternoon tea in the comfort of your home (and without missing that mortgage payment).

6. Tea: A History of the Drink That Changed the World – This book gives an entire history of tea and its impacts on the world, including it’s social implications and it’s effect on the ethics of business.

7. The Art and Craft of Tea: An Enthusiast’s Guide to Selecting, Brewing, and Serving Exquisite Tea – This book makes the history and traditions of tea accessible to everyone. If you want to take your reading one step further the book also has recipes for blending tea using natural ingredients.

8. The Tea Enthusiast’s Handbook: A Guide to the World’s Best Teas – The perfect guide to the world’s finest teas and how to get the most out of them, with an approach that behind every tea is a story of the land it came from and the skills used to craft it.

9. Little Black Book of Tea (Little Black Books) – What could be better than a pocket sized guide of tea?! This book is beautifully finished and would be an awesome gift for the tea lover in your life. It has 160 pages of the different grades of tea from around the world, including the best ways to enjoy them and recipes.

10. The China Tea Book – This is the most expensive book on the list but after doing my research I found that the reviews are always positive and it’s bound in a lush hardcover. The focus of the book is China and its 5000 year history of tea drinking and the culture and tradition that surrounds it. It covers the sophistication of tea drinking and the love that goes with it.

That brings us to the end of my top 10 tea books, I plan to eventually buy them all but I hope this helps you to decide which one(s) to buy. Remember to share and thanks for reading! 😀

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Black Tea Green Tea

Tea Time Tea Subscription Reviewed!

16th November 2015

Recently Tea Time sent one of their monthly subscription boxes for me to review. Tea Time is a tea subscription service that delivers you amazing health-focused tea each month. The tea was received in a slim white box which fit through my letterbox perfectly. A nice touch is the inclusion of some empty teabags you can fill if required, which offers the best of both worlds.

Inside there were three pots of tea – Lemune Superboost, Jasmin Pearl Zen and Tummy Tonic, for only £4.95!

Also included was a flowering tea, which is a small ball that you drop in to a teapot, the ball then opens up and grows in to a flower and infuses the water at the same time!

Lemune Superboost

This smelt divine! As soon as the water hit the dry tea you could smell the lemongrass. It brings back fond memories of a local Thai restaurant, that I visit a lot with my partner. The leaf was nice and fresh with no powder or small bits and it goes a really long way using an infuser so it’s very economical. I really liked the inclusion of whole goji berries which added a really refreshing zing but without sharpness, as well as notable superfood health benefits. The smell the entire time you drink is incredible and you become immersed in a magical lemony mist with every sip.

Jasmin Pearl Zen

This tea was definitely my favourite out of the three teas I received. This also had nice sized leaf which opened up impressively once infused and it’s really nice to see such good quality jasmin. It has a strong healthy Jasmine scent with a flavour to match, this tea is perfect for leisurely sipping, as the jasmin flavour dances around on your tongue. The flavour overall is refined but clearly has the Jasmine tones, without being overpowering and I loved to watch the dragon pearls unfurl in the mug at the end of a busy day 🙂

Tummy Tonic

I think out of the three teas I received tummy tonic was probably my least favourite, it wasn’t really bad but just not my ‘my cup of tea’. I’ve never really been a fan of mint tea I find it is not sweet enough and it always reminds me of toothpaste. When you open the poy there’s still good quality leaf, with a definite mintyness which is the dominant flavour when you drink it. If you like mint tea this would definitely be a wise choice for you.

One thing I did notice about this tea is one day I had indigestion and a slightly upset stomach so I decided to drink this and test out it’s health benefits. I did find it really helped and quickly settled my stomach. I think despite the flavour not being totally perfect for me, I ‘ll keep a stash of this and ration it to use when I next have an upset stomach, which thankfully is very rare 😛

The packaging was really good and clearly labelled, I love the addition of the symbology guide inside the lid of the box, it shows you what the symbols on the lid of each pot of tea mean. Such as whether the blend is decaffeinated, how many servings per pot and also if it can be reinfused. The only info I felt was missing from the packaging is the temperature at which each tea has to be a infused, this is especially important with any teas that contain green or white tea.

Overall I really enjoyed the service and the variation of tea in the subscription box. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants new and unique tea without having to hunt it down yourself. You really can’t go wrong for the price as well, £4.50 per box, which is far less than rival tea subscriptions!

The flowering tea is a really nice addition to the box. I love flowering tea as it’s a really good centre piece for any occasion and always impresses guests!

Be sure to check out Tea Time’s website! 🙂

If you have any questions please contact me either via the comments below, email or Twitter. I’d like to say a big thank you to Tea Time for sending me their subscription box and I hope that my feedback is helpful.

Bye for now! xXx

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Green Tea Matcha Reviews Tea Reviews

Yunomi Matcha, Matcha Latte Mix & Hojicha Review

25th September 2015

Recently I was lucky enough to be sent some fantastic Japanese tea from Yunomi to taste test and review. I received 30 grams of Yunomi Factory Direct G3 Matcha, 50 grams of Azuma Tea Matcha latte mix (which I adore!!) and some Hojicha.

Keep reading to find out what I thought of Yunomi’s tea!

Matcha Factory Direct G3

This is what I was most excited about trying and it didn’t disappoint at all! I’m totally addicted to matcha, I love to cook with it, make lattes, drink it hot or iced.

The first thing I noticed with this matcha is the colour, it is BRIGHT green, like the colour of grass! It also has a slightly more moist look to it, unlike nearly all of the matcha I’ve purchased in the UK, which is always dusty and powdery. This matcha is just so fresh smelling and the freshness is even more pronounced once it’s prepared. There’s no bitterness at all which often accompanies UK matcha, instead all you taste is a healthy flavour with a silky consistency.

The packet I received has proven to be incredibly economical, because it’s such good quality I’ve been able to use less than I would with UK sourced matcha.

Overall I’m so thrilled with this matcha, I definitely won’t be buying my matcha from anywhere else. This is the best matcha you will find, sourced straight from Japan and it’s simply fantastic!

AZUMA: Matcha Latte Mix

I was so excited to find this on Yunomi’s store, I absolutely love a good matcha latte but very rarely have them due to the time it takes to make one and them being basically unavailable in UK coffee chains.

This latte mix just needs water and quick stir, then it’s ready to go, it has sugar and powdered milk already added. The result is a perfect matcha latte in seconds, and it really is as good as the ones I’ve made myself and even the lattes I’ve bought in London! I found I did have to use quite a lot for the latte to have that thick, milky consistency but it still costs a fraction of the price of lattes on the highstreet. The back of the packaging suggests using milk instead of water, which would provide the milky consistency while using less of the matcha latte mix.

I developed the beginnings of a cold randomly for a day or so during the time I was testing these products. I dived straight in to my matcha vitamin C boosting routine (the perfect excuse for constant matcha lattes) and the cold never progressed, which I largely thank this latte mix for!

One other thing I did really like is the packaging, it’s stylishly presented, feels super traditional and the resealing strip is really functional.

Roasted Hojicha Instant Tea

This was something new for me so I was eager to try it and I wasn’t disappointed! It has a similar fragrance to matcha but with a roasted, slightly smoked hint. I added it to 80° water and waited in anticipation, a deep almost coffee-like smell began to drift up to my nose.

Once prepared, it’s taste is also similar to matcha but with a more intense nutty flavour, which is really comforting now the weather is plummeting in the UK! It feels sort of chalky in consistency which is surprisingly enjoyable and the vegetal taste gives an overall healthy feel. I love the roasted aftertaste, it’s so warm and really addictive!

Final Words

I’ve love these Yunomi products sooo much! The matcha is hands down the best matcha I’ve ever had, the flavour is deep, not bitter at all and just blows UK bought matcha out of the water. If you’ve never tried Japanese matcha I urge you to make an order with Yunomi and try REAL matcha, you won’t regret it! Take a look at Yunomi’s website!

Finally I’d like to say a huge thank you to Yunomi for sending me these products to review, I’ve had a ton of fun tasting them and taking the photos!

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Black Tea Fruit Tea Iced Tea Rooibos

My First Tea Sparrow Tea Subscription Reviewed and Taste Tested!

29th August 2015

Tea Sparrow were kind enough to send me a monthly subscription box this month which I’m thrilled to be able to review for you all today. You can find out more about Tea Sparrow on their website.

I’m happy to share my pictures with you as I cover these four fantastic teas, read on to find out why a tea subscription service could be perfect for you!

All of the teas included by Tea Sparrow over the summer months are teas that are also great iced, this is a really nice idea to keep the subscription service exciting over the summer months.

The parcel arrived and it fitted straight through my letter box in a nice smart brown box. Inside were 4 very different teas, this months selection is Earl Grey Vanilla Rooibos, Pineapple Coconut Oolong, Citrus Sunburst and Mandarin Rose Tea. I also received a nice note explaining how to get the best out of the Oolong tea included in this months subscription, which is a really nice touch 🙂 All four teas are from different sources so the variety is great and they aren’t in any way similar, I’ll cover them in more detail below!

Earl Grey Vanilla Rooibos

This tea is from Aromatica Fine Teas and is really special! When I first began relentless tea drinking I wasn’t really a fan of Rooibos, I found it a bit sickly but I’ve had some truly great rooibos since then and this is one of them!

It smells fantastic, like sweets or dessert and the smell fills the room as soon as the water hits the fiery red leaf. The Earl Grey flavour is very definitely there and works amazingly as the vanilla sweetness swirls around with the bergamot. This tea is a beautiful colour and would be perfect to share with friends in glass teaware.

Earl Grey Vanilla Rooibos is also very economical and the amount provided by Tea Sparrow will be enough to enjoy this tea many times, I’m on about mug 10 and still have a lot left!

Mandarin Rose

Mandarin Rose is sourced from Mighty Leaf Tea. I was a little skeptical about this tea as I’m really not a fan of floral tasting tea but it actually is pretty amazing. Upon opening the packet I was greeted with a burst of a sweet rose smell just like Turkish Delight which I love! The rose petals are a nice size and a beautiful pink colour, paired with high quality black tea leaf. This tea kinda tastes just like a liquid Turkish Delight, and I think because it has a black tea base the rose element isn’t too overpowering.

I also tried this tea iced on one of the few sunny hours this summer and it was AMAZING, the smell becomes sugary sweet when it’s iced and provides the perfect refreshment on a hot day. I took the opportunity to get my Kilner mug set out and drink through a stripy straw, I’ve gotta say it tastes even better through a straw! :p

Citrus Sunburst

This fruit blend is from Tiesta Tea and is another great choice by Tea Sparrow. The smell is mainly citrus but with beautiful berry notes in the background, it smells amazing loose.

When I first added the water it turned a luxurious deep red colour. It smells literally intoxicating when it’s steeping, I found my self hovering over the mug breathing it in as it brewed. It has a multi-layered flavour that’s expertly created using a combination of the sweet berry element with the citrus tone.

Next I decided to take this tea for a spin iced and I’m so glad I did! I used two teaspoons which was enough to fill my bottle and I was also able to refill it from half full to get even more use out of it. It’s so refreshing as the pomegranate and apple flavours bubble to the surface while the citrus seems to take a slightly more refined approach than when hot.

Pineapple Coconut Oolong

I’ve saved the best until last! This tea has been created by Samovar Tea and I can honestly say it is one of the best teas I’ve ever tasted, Tea Sparrow really flexed their curating muscles with this one! 😀

I opened the packet and there was an outburst of a birthday cake like smell, I’m not really sure why as pineapple and coconut aren’t traditionally birthday cakey, either way this is a smell you need in your life! I decided to go all out and invite my favourite ‘special occasion’ teapot to the party. The prepared tea is a nice pale liquid that I still feel smells of vanillary cake, it’s also massively economical as you can brew the leaves 3 to 4 times and experience the full range of flavours this oolong offers.

I LOVE this tea, often tropical flavoured teas have way too much pineapple in them and the other flavours don’t get a look-in but this is different, the pineapple and coconut waltz across your tongue in perfect harmony. I urge you to try this fantastic creation, you won’t be disappointed!

Final Thoughts

I’ve been looking at tea subscription boxes for a while now and always felt that I’d need to find somewhere that I could trust to only send me good, enjoyable teas. Tea Sparrow are that company, all four of these teas are beautiful and the presentation and variation of this subscription box really shows that this service will provide you with expertly curated teas, from sources you probably wouldn’t ever find on your own. The amount of each tea provided is very generous and really will go a long way, Tea Sparrow’s service is actually really great value based on the quantity and quality of the tea you will receive.

Ask yourself, what could be better than a box bursting with character-filled teas arriving once a month, without you having to hunt for them yourself?

I hope you’ve enjoyed this review, I had so much fun with these teas and loved writing this review. I also had so much fun taking the pictures, these teas were deserving of my favourite teaphernalia 🙂

Thanks for reading! xXx

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Reviews Teaphernalia

Bosch TWK8633GB Multi Temperature Styline Kettle Review

10th August 2015

I’ve been sampling and writing notes for a ton of reviews I’ve got coming up and one thing I always found tiresome to get right was the correct temperature for each kind of tea. I felt that if I’m going to write reviews I should get something that reliably controls the temperature of the water, after all I’d hate to give a company a bad review because I burnt their tea without realising. I’d been using an olden days thermometer to check the temperature but I decided it was time for modern technology to lend a helping hand!

Enter the Bosch Styline Collection Kettle TWK8631GB. It can reliably heat water to 70°, 80°, 90° 0r 100° celsius, so you get perfectly steeped tea every time and switches between different temperatures for green, white, fruit or black tea with ease.

The other features that are worth noting are:

Removable Anti limescale filter
Easy opening
Acoustic signal (beeps when ready)
Stainless steel interior
Rubberised soft grip handle
Double walled to remain cool when touched
360° cordless base
economical 1 cup boiling mode
Keep warm function retains the water at the required temperature for up to 30 minutes
Litres and cup measurements, one on each side
3KW heating element for rapid boil

The removable limescale filter is super convenient and a large button on the lid smoothly pops the lid open, the acoustic signal is also quite helpful, especially if you’re in another room. The quality is phenomenal as you would expect from Bosch, the kettle features solid robust construction throughout. Everything just feels so sturdy and bulletproof, the hinge on the lid is solid and whisper quiet and the handle offers a reassuring grip thanks to it’s seductively soft rubberised handle. Surprisingly the Bosch Styline Collection Kettle TWK8631GB, is still light enough to be easy to use, impressive with build quality of this standard.

1 cup boiling is fantastic, I often used to return to my kettle the following day to find wasted water in the kettle, this is now a thing of the past and this kettle heats the water FAST!

The kettle is simply stunning to look at, I love the gloss black finish of the kettle and base combined with the brushed steel and sturdy handle. The kettle is also available in gloss white with brushed steel but I’ve gotta say the black wins, especially as the white will get diiirty in the kitchen. The base is also beautiful and features the controls to choose the required temperature, which is as easy as pressing 1 button. The base matches well with the kettle and together with the red illuminated display it’s perfect throughout.

I did a lot of research before ordering this kettle and priced at £59.99 (at the time of writing) I was debating whether it would be worth it, after all how much can a higher priced kettle offer? But I was wrong, this kettle has changed the way I drink tea, making it easier to prepare, now the white and green teas I have which are my favourite are being drunk more often (some would say relentlessly!).

This kettle has won a Which? best buy award as well as having nearly 1000 Amazon reviews across both colours (at the time of writing), with a rating of slightly below 5 stars.

That just about rounds it up, please take a look at the pictures, I hope they convey the overall quality and beauty of the Bosch TWK8633 kettle. If you have a similar kettle I’d love to hear about it and how it compares to my new baby! Also if you’d like to ask any questions I can answer from an owners point of view, you can reach me on Twitter or by Email, I’d love to help.

Thanks for reading and I hope this has helped you to make an informed decision! 🙂 xXx

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Fruit Tea Iced Tea Tea Reviews

Virtue Ice Tea Flavoured Iced Tea Review!

14th July 2015

Recently I was sent a couple of cans of Virtue Ice Tea to sample, keep reading to find out what I thought!

I received one can of each flavour, which is Lemon and Strawberry & Peach.

The Facts

A Source of vitamins and minerals (Vitamin C, B-Vitamins, Magnesium and Zinc)
Only 63 calories per can
Naturally sweetened
No refined sugar
Nothing artificial
Natural antioxidants

The Look

The cans are really nicely presented with a slightly matte finish and nice modern fruit imagery, finished off with a coloured band at the top of each can. The cans are skinnier and taller than a coke can which makes them a really nice size in the hand, they’re a similar size to a Red Bull can.

The Taste

Lemon

The lemon flavour is really sweet and vibrant, it’s quite strong but without being sharp. What’s impressive is that this moreish sweetness has been achieved without using any refined sugar, the sweetness in Virtue Iced Tea comes from steviol and the sugars that naturally occur in the fruit used to create the lemon flavour.

The tea flavour isn’t as noticeable as it is in some other iced teas I’ve tried, which actually isn’t a bad thing, especially if you just want a sweet and fun drink but without the calories.

One thing I must say is that you must drink these chilled, have them ice cold on a hot day and it’s bliss!

Ingredients:

Water, fruit extract, citric acid, natural flavouring, tea extract, vitamins, minerals and natural sweetener.

Strawberry & Peach

The tea flavour in the strawberry & peach is much more evident, it has a slightly dry quality which is really refreshing. This iced tea has a really gorgeous sweet smell that entices you in as you take a sip. The first flavour you get is a sweet strawberry taste, which is followed up with a slightly tangy but massively fruity, peach flavour. It’s really nice to taste the tea primarily but have that sweet strawberry flavour balanced alongside it.

Again I’d say this iced tea has to be chilled, it would be a waste to drink it at room temperature when it’s this legendary chilled!

Ingredients:

Water, fruit extract, citric acid, tea extract, natural flavouring, vitamins, minerals and natural sweetener.

Where to Buy

Virture Ice Tea can be found at a good assortment of stockists, the largest high street stockist is probably WHSmith. You can also get Virtue Ice Tea online from Amazon, a pack of 24 is £24 (£1 a can!). You’ll find the Lemon here and the Strawberry & Peach here.

Overall

These iced teas really are great, it’s so difficult to find iced tea that isn’t loaded with sugar and that doesn’t leave your mouth and teeth sticky afterwards (yuck!). I was sent these teas by Rahi the creator of Virtue Iced Teas, after reading the story behind Virtue Iced Teas and trying them myself, it’s easy to appreciate the care that’s gone in to developing them. I’d definitely say give them a try, they taste great, are good for you and are extremely reasonably priced!

I’d like to say a big thank you to Rahi Daneshmand at Virtue Ice Tea for sending me the sample. I hope you’ve enjoyed this review, if you have then you’ll like my newsletter, you can sign up below!

My competition to win a beautiful luxury tea hamper full of my favourite tea is up and running, you can enter here.

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Hi there, welcome to my blog about my biggest passion, tea!

My name’s Russell, my lifetime nickname has always been Rusty or Russtea as my friends now call me (my surname even begins with T!).

Not much beats the feeling of taking a moment at the end of a busy day and relaxing with your favourite mug, filled with sweet fruit tea, or waking up with black tea infused with vanilla shortbread.

Why not take a moment now, make your favourite tea and join me as I share my tea related experiences?