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TeaTourist March Subscription Box Review

19th April 2017

I’ve been lucky enough to receive the March tea subscription box from the amazing people over at TeaTourist to try out and I obv had to share the experience with you guys! 😀

If you’d like to try exciting new tea each month then a tea subscription box is a good place to start and a TeaTourist tea subscription box is the BEST place to start! Each month you’ll receive a super exciting and varied selection of 6 teas with generous portions of each.

I especially love the TeaTourist service because I can find out about a new handful of tea companies each month without having to hunt them down myself, super convenient for tea bloggers!

Be sure to read on to find a voucher to get 30% off your first box!

Review Time!

Rose & Strawberry Red Bush – Spice Kitchen

First up is Rose Strawberry Red Bush, an exciting and unique rooibos based blend. The smell of this tea really blew me away, it literally smells like strawberry laces that I had as a kid, I knew straight away that this tea would be special.

It’s always nice to see flavours blended together that are a bit different, the rose and strawberry flavours in this tea are a fine example of this. The sweetness of the strawberry is immensely addictive and I really enjoyed the rose notes too. One of the best of this month’s box 😀

 

Mulled Apple – Nothing But Tea

I was immediately drawn to this tea by it’s candy apple fragrance and the warming spicy element. It’s always nice to see good quality, nicely sized apple pieces and the pretty yellow flowers are mighty inviting.

The apple flavours are most noticeable but the slight spicyness makes this tea perfect to cuddle up with on a cool Spring evening and dream of the warmer weather of the summer ahead. Another fantastic find!

 

Chocolate Orange – Nelson & Norfolk Tea Co.

I was ecstatic to see this blend in this months box, who doesn’t love a chocolate-orange combo!?

I’ve found in the past that chocolate teas can be a bit of a let down, the promise of chocolate heaven often doesn’t carry across well. Thanks to the overload of chocolate goodness added to this blend it doesn’t at all suffer from a lack of chocolate flavour.

The ingredients include cacao beans, cocoa nibs, cocoa shells AND chocolate chips, it couldn’t get any more chocolatey if it tried! The addition of the orange flavour alongside the chocolate is superb, an all round delight 🙂

 

Wilderness Honeybush – Leopard Friendly

I looked forward to trying this blend as it’s pretty unique, as can be expected from nearly all of TeaTourist’s picks. I hadn’t had honeybush tea before so I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was pretty awesome! It didn’t have the standout flavours of some of the other teas in this months box but I still thoroughly enjoyed it, it reminded me of rooibos but a little less nutty and more earthy.

A good choice if you’re looking for something you haven’t tried before and tend to not be a fan of crazily flavoured tea, preferring more wholesome and natural blends instead.

 

Tumeric Chai – Chai Kai Tea Co.

I’m a big chai fan, I adore chai lattes either from Starbucks or made at home with A LOT less sugar! 😉 I’ve been enjoying turmeric matcha the last few months which I love so I was excited to see what this tea had to offer.

I was a bit hesitant when first smelling this tea but the flavour was awesome! It has a really nice chai spiced flavour to it with a sweet turmeric and coconut combo that had me coming back for more time after time 😀

The turmeric twist ensures this is a tea that’s always at the front of your tea cupboard!

Turmeric is also being hailed as a cure-all at the moment (it’s like matcha a year ago :p) so the health benefits are an added bonus!

 

Honey Lemon – Teagime

Honey and lemon is a road well travelled in the tea world but that doesn’t mean it can’t be awesome! This tea smells almost medicinal before it’s steeped but it’s watered down (literally :p) when you brew it, causing a beautiful honey lemon fragrance to waft through the kitchen.

The flavour is smooth with a rich honey taste blended with just the right amount of lemon, without it being too citrusy. I feel like this tea would be perfect to cuddle up with and soothe a cold but that doesn’t mean you can’t cuddle up with it if you don’t have a cold! Overall a really good blend that I’ve definitely found myself drinking a lot of.

Thanks for reading!

Thanks for taking the time to read my review of this months TeaTourist subscription box. A massive thanks to the guys and girls at TeaTourist for sending me this box to review.

If you’d like to read more posts from my blog you can join my mailing list below and be sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook. I’ve got some amazing competitions coming up that you won’t want to miss! 😉

To get 30% off your first TeaTourist subscription box and go on a tea adventure yourself use code Russteas30 on the TeaTourist website.

Bye for now! xXx

 

 

 

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Black Tea Chai Green Tea Rooibos Tea Reviews

Bluebird Tea Co. Spring & Easter Teas Reviewed!

28th March 2017

This week I’ve been lucky enough to have a delivery of some of the Spring teas from Bluebird! 😀

I’m really excited by the inventive packaging Bluebird have used for their spring line up, it’s always nice to see tea packaged in unique and different ways. There’s a carrot filled with teabags and an egg box with plastic eggs filled with tea that you’re gonna love!

The range includes Carrot Cake, Hot Cross Buns and Easter Eggs Nests, along with favourites MojiTEA and Earl Grey Creme.

The weather has been unusually nice the last couple of weeks so I decided to take my camera and Bluebird’s products outside and take some sunny Spring photos 😀

Review Time!

Easter Egg Nests

First up is Easter Egg Nests, which I aboslutely adore! These teabags smell insanely chocolate, I could literally smell them all day!

I love that this tea really captures the flavours of Easter egg nests, it really took me back to being a child and making them with my mum! I’m usually a bit disappointed with chocolate teas but this is one amazing tea! I love the sweet chocolatey goodness, so much that I’ve nearly run out :O

The green and black tea combo works perfectly and the toasted rice is fantastic. All round one of my favourite Bluebird teas of all time!

 

Hot Cross Bun

This is another tea I was really excited to try, I’m a big fan of hot cross buns so I was looking forward to seeing if Bluebird managed to recreate the flavour in their tea. These teabags also came in a super cute carrot package which I loved finding when I opened the delivery 🙂

This tea has a really nice sweet spicyness to it that really embodies the essence of Easter and Spring time. It has a beautiful cinnamon flavour, which is paired perfectly with the sweet Rooibos base to create that sweet glazed fruity flavour of a good hot crossed bun.

It’s quite similar to Bluebird’s gingerbread chai but less spicy so if that’s one of your favourites you’ll love hot cross bun too.

 

Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is another Rooibos base that’s quite similar to Hot Cross Bun but has a sweeter flavouring that reminds me of Carrot Cake frosting. I love baking carrot cake at home and actually made a carrot cake a while back using Bluebird’s matcha honey, you can find the recipe here if you fancied baking it yourself 🙂

This tea produces a beautiful amber coloured tea with a slight spiced flavour and hints of cinnamon. I particularly like the subtle vanilla aftertaste which is immensely addictive!

 

Earl Grey Creme

Earl Grey Creme was one of the teabags in the egg box, each teabag even came in a little plastic egg!:D

I’m not a huge fan of Earl Grey, it’s one of those teas I’ve just never found that exciting and some earl grey I’ve had has been real bad! I knew if I was going to enjoy anyone’s Earl Grey it would probably be Bluebird’s, I don’t think I’ve ever had one of their teas I didn’t like!

I began steeping this tea and was hesitant as I usually find the bergamot too overpowering in most Earl Grey and can usually tell from the smell. The fragrance of this Earl Grey definitely had a sweeter note to it and I was excited to see if this carried over in to the flavour. It definitely did! The bergamot flavouring was just the right strength and didn’t overpower the black tea flavour like a lot of Earl Grey I’ve had in the past.

All round I’d say this is a really good Earl Grey, although Earl Grey isn’t my favourite tea, I did enjoy this a lot more than others. If you’re an Earl Grey fan I’m sure you’ll absolutely love it! 🙂

MojiTEA
MojiTEA was another one of the teabags included in the purple egg box! The egg box with the tea filled eggs inside was probably the highlight of this collection, it’s definitely the most inventive tea packaging I’ve seen.

I loved the refreshing mint flavour and I was pleasantly surprised by a sweeter aftertaste than a lot of mint tea. MojiTEA isthe perfect tea for anyone who struggles to get going in the morning, it instantly wakes you up with it’s cool mintyness. You’ll get several infusions from one teabag and it’s even more refreshing cold. If you’re a mint tea lover you’ll love this exciting blend Bluebird blend!

Finishing Up

That pretty much rounds up my review of these Bluebird Tea Co. Spring/Easter teas. A huge thanks to Bluebird for sending me these teas to review, I really enjoyed them!

The egg box and carrot are two of my firm favourites in Bluebird’s Spring/Easter teas. If you’re looking for an alternative to chocolate as an Easter gift for someone these would be absolutely perfect (and much healthier!).

If you’d like to try any of Bluebird’s products you can find their website here.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Please share it with the tea lovers in your life and come find me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Bye for now! xXx


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Black Tea Chai Fruit Tea Green Tea Oolong Rooibos Tea Reviews White Tea

Teatourist Tea Subscription Boxes Reviewed

3rd January 2017

I’ve been interested in signing up for a tea subscription box for a while and have tried one or two in the past. I’m always on the look out for new tea so it really makes sense for me to have a selection delivered each month, plus it’s incredibly exciting!

Teatourist were lovely enough to send me a couple of their boxes for November & December so I thought I’d do a review of my experience and a run down of the 6 teas in each box. Read on to find out how I got on! I also have a discount code to get 30% off your first box which you can find further down the review 🙂 

 Review Time!

When the box arrived I was so excited, it fit straight through my door and was waiting for me when I woke up! The packaging is really classy with a box inside a slipcover and the inside of the lid has a stunning hot air balloon photo, it’s a lovely image to see when I dive in for my next tea to try!

I was pleasantly surprised to find 6 teas inside, in the past I’ve only found 3 or 4 teas in subscription boxes so 6 is definitely appreciated. Each tea comes sealed with a card attached with a little bit about the company the blend is from and instructions for steeping, the instructions are really clear so this would be a great introduction to the world of tea for any newcomer.

The selection each month is extremely varied, with herbal blends, black tea, oolong, white tea and rooibos all making an appearance.

 

November Box

Orange Blossom Oolong – Easy Teasy

The first tea I knew I had to try from the November box was Orange Blossom Oolong. I’m a huge Oolong fan, it’s always refreshing and pairs well with a lot of flavours, there’s not much Oolong I don’t like and there’s also not much Oolong I like as much as Orange Blossom Oolong!

The orangey smell was inviting the second I opened the packet, I knew this was gonna be good! The orange flavour is a sweet orange rather than a citrusy orange which lends itself perfectly to an Oolong blend. It almost has a chocolatey hint to it as well, I couldn’t help thinking of Terry’s Chocolate Orange when I was drinking it, there’s also an enjoyable earl grey vibe to it.

 

Malawi Peony – Baraka Teas

This was another blend I was really excited about, I adore white peony and was particularly intrigued by the large leaves! Other white peony I’ve tried has had smaller leaves so it was nice to see it in a more natural form, you could imagine this tea being freshly picked for this blend.

Malawi Peony has a nice fresh aroma to it, while steeping it I was entranced by the large leaves swirling around. I enjoyed the crisp delicate flavour of this tea immensely, it was one of the first from the November box to run out!

 

Tummy Rub – Tea Box

This tea is a herbal blend containing fennel, chamomile, liquorice and mint. These are ingredients known to calm you down and ease an upset stomach.

I found that the flavour of this tea wasn’t amazing for me personally, I have a bit of a dislike of liquorice flavoured tea but I really enjoyed the chamomile element. Despite not being a huge fan of the flavour I did find it calming and especially good before bedtime and I had fun trying something different so overall a positive experience 🙂

 

Yoga Tea – T-Tox

The stand out flavours of this tea are the white tea and a candy sweet rose flavouring. The delicate flavour of the white tea has been blended with the rose petals perfectly, I was glad the rose didn’t overpower the white tea at all.

There’s also a hint of ginger and lemongrass that add a subtle but enjoyable flavour and nettle, known for it’s antiseptic properties. I found this tea was really economical and as it’s quite fine there really was a lot of cups of tea in the sachet.

 

Peppermint – Cheshire Tea

This tea blend comes all the way from the USA! I’m not the biggest fan of mint tea usually, I always feel that they’re overly minty and a bit harsh tasting. This mint tea is different! The sweeter peppermint flavours really come through, creating an enjoyably fresh experience.

Mint tea is known to be beneficial for digestion, it’s great for easing tummy cramps, giving this tea a medicinal purpose too. I really appreciate that this tea is so pure, it’s literally one ingredient: peppermint!

 

Japanese Kukicha – Shibui Tea

This tea comes from Shibui, a tea company I’ve previously reviewed not too long ago. I loved their tea the first time round, their caramel oolong and maple walnut are two of the most memorable teas I’ve ever had! You can find my shibui tea haul review here.

I must admit that I’m quite new to kukicha, having only had it one other time from Adagio. A huge difference I noticed straight away with this kukicha is its black, despite being a green tea. Kukicha is made up of the left over stems and twiggy parts of the tea plant that aren’t used, the last kukicha I had was a hay like pale green. This kukicha from Shibui has a slightly roasted flavour which is enjoyably unique and warming, making it perfect for cold winter nights!

 

December Box

Gingerbread Chai – Tugboat Brew

First up in this box is Gingerbread Chai! I’ve had another Rooibos based Gingerbread Chai from one of my favourite ever tea companies, my regular readers will know who! 😉

This tea is fairly similar but has a sweeter, less spicy flavour which makes it more of a naughty dessert-like tea. As soon as you steep this tea the smell erupts in to the room, filling it with a cakey gingerbread flavour. It’s a really economical tea, with a little tea turning your water to a beautiful amber.

 


Winter Spice – Chash The Fine Tea Company

This blend was one I wasn’t crazy about, it had quite a medicinal smell to it with strong aniseed and fennel aromas. Upon steeping I found that it was a very unique blend with a sweet aftertaste from the liquorice, I was also happy to find that the mint wasn’t overpowering.

I’m not really a fan of herbal teas but I’d recommend this tea if you like more herbal flavours or are looking for something new to broaden your horizons!

 


Shiraore Green – Momo Cha Fine Teas

I loved this blend! It smells so fresh and natural while instantly turning the water a vibrant green colour. The flavour is so pure and really refreshing, it has a really delicate vibe to it with an exciting zing.

Shiaore Green is one of those blends that I’d really describe as being creamy, before being obsessed with tea I would never of understood someone referring to tea with no milk as creamy but it really is! I’d highly recommend this tea and am excited to explore the range of tea this brand has to offer!

 


Marzipan Rooibos – Hoogly Tea

I just don’t know where to begin with this beautiful blend! As soon as I opened the December box and saw marzipan I couldn’t wait to try it. I’m a big drinker of rooibos, I love drinking it at night instead of fruit tea all the time. I’ve found some really exciting flavours out there, this is definitely a contender for the best rooibos I’ve tried!

It smells just like battenburg cake, with a sweet cakey almond aroma, as the water hits the tea you can smell this tea throughout the house! I love the marzipan taste with the nutty rooibos, this is an epic find by Tea Tourist 😃

 


Citrus Ginger

I’m not a big fan of ginger tea when it’s more herbal, spicy ginger and not a sweet dessert blend. I was quite sceptical about this tea as I have a soft spot for sweet tea blends so this isn’t a tea I would usually go for.

I decided to go for it and see if this tea would surprise me! It’s definitely a blend that will wake you up in the morning, with a real zing from the citrus and instant alertness from the ginger. It was one of my least favourite teas but it was made up of good quality ingredients and definitely something different to add some extra excitement to the December box! 😊

 

Scotch Acorns – Nothing But Tea

The smell of this tea is heavenly, with sweet chocolate notes and high quality black tea combined beautifully. The flavour is another awesome combo, the black tea flavour is perfect with a small chocolate hint, making this tea fantastic as a guilt free treat.

It’s also a tea that is very economical when used in a tea bottle, it doesn’t over infuse too much if you leave it in and doesn’t take much tea at all to make a bottle full. I’ve recently been enjoying a new tea bottle, it’s really good quality and the neoprene handle is convenient for hot drinks 🙂

 

Final Thoughts

I’ve loved my experience with the TeaTourist subscription! It’s super convenient, straight through your door and with a large selection of very different teas.

You also get 6 teas each month which is really good value at this price and the amount of tea in each sachet is very generous. To make these TeaTourist teas go even further you could consider a tea bottle of some kind, I’ve written a Top 10 Tea Bottles post that’s a great place to start if you’re looking for a tea bottle.

The subscription service is perfect for tea bloggers as you’ll be served with 6 new teas to review each month and 6 new tea companies to check out 😀

Teatourist have given me an extremely generous discount code for my readers to get 30% off their first subscription box! simply use the code RUSSTEAS30 and you’ll receive the discount off your first box!

A huge thanks to TeaTourist for sending me these month’s subscriptions!

Bye for now! xXx

 

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Black Tea Chai Green Tea Rooibos Tea Reviews

Bluebird Tea Co. Autumn Tea Haul Reviewed!

2nd October 2016

I LOVE Bluebird Tea! If you read my blog on a regular basis you’ll have seen that I review their tea more than any other brand. Why? Because it’s simply awesome!

Bluebird were lovely enough to send me their new Autumn products! With three new matchas and Autumn teas all dropping at once it’s an exciting time for any Bluebird fan! I’ll be reviewing the tea now and follow up shortly with the matcha review, just because it’s a big bundle worthy of two posts 🙂

The four blends Bluebird sent me are Rooibos Earl Grey, Choco Pops, Lapsang Chai and Spiced Pumpkin Pie.

Review Time!

rooibos-teabags

Rooibos Early Grey

I’m excited by this blend! Earl Grey is awesome and rooibos is my drink of choice at night when I can’t sleep (happens A LOT), so this is perfect!

I received this tea as teabags, as always you get high quality pyramid teabags from Bluebird, with a generous serving of tea. This means multiple mugs from one teabag, perfect if you have company or just need something to binge drink 😉

The flavour is really unique, I love the sweet floral flavour from the bergamot as it dances with the sweet and slightly nutty rooibos. It’s a really soothing blend that’s perfect for the colder months ahead 🙂

 

pumpkin-spice-2

Spiced Pumpkin Pie

I was a bit unsure about this initially, pumpkin isn’t really something I’m amazingly fond of but after one sip, my view of the Jack-O-Lantern vegetable had been changed, drastically!

This blend is so warm but without being spicy or burning your throat at all and it screams Autumn! With Halloween and Bonfire night coming, this tea is perfectly timed and sure to go down well with anyone you share it with. It has just a gentle warming feel but is overall a sweet blend, with a slightly spicy tickle after every mouthful.

It’s one of those flavours you really want to savour and swirl round your mouth, the only way I can describe it is a cuddle in a mug. You need this tea in your life!

I’ve seen a lot of talk about a famous Bluebird Pumpkin Spiced Latte that can be made with this tea so I just had to give it a try! OMG it was amazing, the most Autumnal drink ever! This tea is really great all round and the Pumpkin Spiced Latte adds to it’s greatness, get some of this tea while it’s still available! 🙂

 

lapsang-chai

Lapsang Chai

This is a combo between Lapsang Souchong, Assam and chai, the result is a beautifully unique and perfectly blended cuppa! I usually find that the smoked flavours of Lapsang Souchong are exciting but often overpowering, this blend keeps the smokey excitement but with a flavour that isn’t at all overpowering.

I like the addition of the chai flavours, it adds a slight warmth to the experience, while diluting the smoked taste. The tea is so pretty loose, with it’s warm fiery flecks of red against the dark black tea. Overall I found this blend highly enjoyable, I love that it’s not a flavour you’ll find anywhere else and the result is a complex and thoroughly enjoyable.

 

choco-pops

Choco Pops

I’ve been holding out on you a little bit and decided to save this one until last, basically because it’s incredible! The smell when I opened the packet blew me away, I’ve never smelt tea this good before. It’s so good it might actually be my favourite Bluebird blend, possibly ever! 😮

It smells like a packet of melted chocolate and isn’t like other teas that claim they’re chocolate and then the flavour disappoints, it really is chocolatey, thanks to cacao bean, chocolate chips, fat reduced cocoa powder AND chocolate sprinkles 😀 When the water is added the chocolate smell takes on a slightly herbal scent from the tea leaves but the flavour is so good! I like that this tea is made up from a blend of Sri Lankan black tea and sencha green tea, it gives the tea a lighter flavour than if it was all black.

I really love Coco Pops, especially the chocolate milk that’s left at the end and you really do get that same chocolatey taste from Bluebird’s latest blend. The toasted rice adds a genmaicha twist to the brew, which works amazingly to create a cereal-like vibe alongside the chocolate. I love this tea!

Closing Words

That’s my review of the latest blends from the Bluebird HQ, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.

A big thank you to Bluebird for being so awesome and sending these fantastic new products to me!

If you’d like to check out the new Autumn blends from Bluebird you can find them here.

Make sure you join my mailing list below and follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to get more from my blog, including my upcoming review of the new Bluebird flavoured Matchas!

Bye for now! xXx

 

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