Browsing Category

Fruit Tea

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

 

Join my mailing list for more tea fun!


0 Comments
Fruit Tea Matcha Recipes

Huel Review, Including How to Flavour with Matcha & Tea

17th December 2016

A while back I became interested in finding some kind of meal replacement that’s super easy and good for me at the same time. I found Huel, a nutritionally complete food that I can make in minutes and not feel guilty about it’s effect on my body, I may even lose a little weight too!

Huel has received rave reviews and been featured in numerous newspapers but I wanted to try it for myself and have some fun experimenting. It contains all of the necessary proteins, carbs, fats and essential vitamins and minerals. Huel is also vegan which was one of my other requirements 🙂

The main reason for this post is to do a quick review of my experience with Huel as well as some recipes to get you started, they’re tea related of course! I wanted to see if I could use matcha and tea to add flavours and some extra health benefits to Huel

Review

When I stumbled upon Huel while researching fast healthy meals I thought it seemed like a great idea but was a bit sceptical if it would fill me up and how it would taste. I ordered a little to try and was pleasantly surprised, so I reached out to Huel and they were awesome enough to send me some more Huel to experiment with for you guys.

The best thing about Huel is how easy it is to prepare, it really does only need a few minutes, making it perfect for busy schedules! You can make it using just the Huel shaker bottle or a blender of some kind. I found it did take quite a bit of shaking so I moved on to using my Breville Blend Active, this guarantees almost instant lump free Huel and doesn’t leave you with a messy blender to clean afterwards.

I’ve only tasted the vanilla flavoured Huel, I figured vanilla is a pretty enjoyable flavour and would be easy to add other flavours to. The flavour is overall very pleasant, the vanilla flavour is sweet and enjoyable, there is a little bit of an unusual taste behind the vanilla but it’s so easy to add other flavours that this really isn’t an issue. The consistency is good and it does blend well, it reminds me a bit of a really runny porridge but it’s definitely a positive experience.

I found I could use 2 scoops of Huel (76g) and that would be enough to fill me up, the most surprising thing is it really does fill you up.  Two scoops works out to be 304 calories, so I was quite amazed I could replace a main meal with Huel and still be full. Huel works out to be only £1.33 for 500 calories so its also pretty good value and it lasts for over 1 year so you’ll never waste any by it going out of date.

Flavouring with matcha

As soon as I tried Huel I was anxious to try and flavour it with matcha! I always start the day with matcha and didn’t want to have to prepare my matcha and then make Huel as well and then drink both and the vanilla flavouring of the Huel really lends itself to matcha. I found that the correct amount for my personal taste was half a teaspoon of matcha per scoop of Huel, this was enough to still leave it tasting of vanilla but add a nice hit of matcha alongside it, and with no bitterness.

I use matcha from Kiss Me Organics for all my recipes, it’s good enough quality to taste amazing but priced low enough to not be crippling when a recipe requires large or regular amounts of matcha.

Flavouring with fruit tea

Next up I wanted to try and use fruit tea to add fruit flavours to Huel. You can just cut fruit up and blend it with Huel but I felt that adds an extra level of preparation to the process.

To flavour Huel with tea simply steep 2 teaspoons of fruit tea in 200ml of boiling water per scoop of Huel. Adding a teaspoon extra of tea for every scoop of Huel you’re using.

Any fruit tea you have will work, preferably loose not teabags. My favourites were Vanilla Slice from T2 & Strawberry Serenade from Whittard of Chelsea but have fun experimenting with any tea you have and let me know what your favourite is in the comments below!

 

Huel Matcha Grape Smoothie

While experimenting with matcha I found that I wanted some way to add a little more sweetness, without using a sweetener or sugar. I tried different fruit but found that grapes were perfect alongside the matcha and added a little extra excitement to Huel. These were the amounts I found perfect for me but you can test it out and adjust accordingly.

It was a little late in the day and the light was fading so the photo doesn’t really do it justice, it tastes amazing though! 😛

Add the following to your blender:

3 scoops of Huel

550ml water

1 – 2 teaspoons of matcha

10-15 grapes

Then blend throughly.

To keep things quick and hassle free I really recommend using the Breville Blend Active to prepare your Huel, it’s great for smoothies too so well worth buying:)

 

Final Thoughts 

I’ve really enjoyed my time with Huel as it fits perfectly in to my lifestyle, has helped me lose a little weight and is also amazingly convenient. It works as a meal replacement and really does fill you up, I’ve been having Huel a couple of times a week at dinner time but you can really have it as often as you like.

You can find the full range available from Huel here and a super helpful guide for using Huel here.

I’d like to say a massive thank you to the guys at Huel for sending me these products to review and experiment with. Also a huge thanks to my readers, I hope you’ve found this post useful 🙂

Bye for now! xXx

 

Join my mailing list for more tea fun!

0 Comments
Black Tea Fruit Tea Tea Reviews

Bluebird Tea Co. Christmas Review

1st December 2016

When it comes to Christmas I love the little things, like the weather changing, people’s excitement building, Starbucks limited edition treats and new bath goodies at Lush but most of all I look forward to the Bluebird Christmas exclusives!

This year sees the return of Christmas Cake & Snowball, which also has a much appreciated vegan option this year!

The new products in this year’s Christmas bundle are Mulled Cider, Sugar Plum & some Bluebird crackers which I’m insanely excited about. Review time!

pouches

Sugar Plum

Sugar plum is a sugary sweet berry filled infusion with a nice warming hint of cinnamon. The blackcurrant in this blend really comes through, along with the hibiscus. The cinnamon is definitely there in precisely the right quantity, it’s warming and festive, without it being overpowering.

It’s a beautiful coloured blend once prepared, that’s perfect to show off in glass teaware on the big day. The sweet cinnamon scent really travels and is sure to add a festive aroma to any gathering! 😀

 

stars

Left to right: Snowball, Sugar Plum, Mulled Cider

Mulled Cider

This is a less sweet tea that I find super refreshing, it gives off an almost peppery scent with cinnamon notes but the apple & lemon peel create a drier more savoury vibe. Mulled Cider is perfect for cold Christmas evenings when you’ve devoured all the chocolate in sight but still want a little extra treat to snuggle up with.

I generally steep my tea multiple times during long work days and by the end it’s often been a bit steeped to death but I found this tea is actually really enjoyable as quite a weak infusion, hot or cold.

Bluebird’s Mulled Cider & Sugar plum are both caffeine free making them perfect to drink on those late night Christmas Netflix sessions, while remaining able to sleep.

cracker-close

Christmas Crackers

These really are too cute! I love the silver foil effect against the brown and the rectangular shape is far more interesting than more traditional cylindrical crackers.

Each cracker contains an individually wrapped Bluebird tea bag, party hat and tea related joke. I decided I’d unwrap one of these without the ‘snap’ and have a look inside for the purpose of the review, then put it back together and save them for Christmas day, no one will ever know! Just like presents under a Christmas tree 😉

 

Final Thoughts

One of the things I admire most about Bluebird is their ability to capture the essence of an event or completely non-tea food in their blends. Mulled Cider & Sugar Plum really are Christmas through and through, with snowball as a chocolate-coconut treat and Christmas Cake completing their Christmas line up.

If you’d like to read a more in depth review of Snowball, Christmas Cake or many of the other Bluebird Tea Co. Christmas teas you can find most of them covered in last years hamper review.

Take a look at Bluebird’s Christmas range to find the perfect treats for the holiday season, you won’t be disappointed.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review.

Happy Christmas to everyone over at Bluebird HQ and to my readers! 🙂 xXx

0 Comments
Black Tea Fruit Tea Reviews

T2 Tea Black Forest Bliss & Terrific Toffee Review

2nd September 2016

I’m a huuuge fan of T2 Tea, I’ve been in love with their tea ever since I wandered past one of their stores in London. They have an incredible range of tea but I particularly enjoy their fruit teas, especially in these summer months when I’m getting my cold brew on!

I was thrilled when they sent me some of their flavoured matcha to review and equally delighted when they sent me some of their best summer teas as well! Read on to find out what I thought of Black Forest Bliss & Terrific Toffee from T2 Tea.

I often enjoy using tea as a replacement for naughty calorific food (mainly chocolate), so I was particularly excited to try these dessert-like teas 🙂

 

Side View

Terrific Toffee

I absolutely adore toffee flavoured tea! Black tea and toffee are a match made in heaven, they pair so well and this tea is a fine example of this. It smells so so good, it’s sweet and really has a cosy feeling to it. I could imagine just curling up with a mug of this as the colder nights drift in here in the UK. I like that this tea isn’t overly sweet but still has a deep satisfying flavour, one I’ll be enjoying for a long time!

Terrific Toffee is EXCELLENT for pudding replacement, I can skip the calories and have something sweet and delicious after dinner or pretty much all the time, as it’s been since this tea arrived. A little bit of this tea goes a real long way, especially in a tea bottle of some kind where it has longer to steep, for more on tea bottles check out my Top 10 Tea Bottles post 🙂

 

Black Forest Bliss

Black Forest Bliss

This is technically a tisane as it contains no tea and is primarily made up of cocoa husks with some fruity ingredients too. The packaging is fantastic, T2 really know how to make their customers feel special! They steered away from their trademark orange boxes and went with a super pretty red, white and black box, just like the colours of Black Forest Gateaux!

Before I’d even opened the sealed plastic packaging I could already smell the chocolatey, “cherryey” fragrance, which only increased once I’d opened the packet. This tea really does smell so good once it’s been prepared, and the taste is equally exciting. It starts with a mainly chocolate flavour and then a slight fruity zing from the cherries kicks in, the two flavours are paired perfectly. Amazingly this tea really does taste of Black Forest Gateaux, minus the cream which is probably a good thing!

T2’s Black Forest Bliss is also great iced or cold brewed but as it’s so strongly flavoured less is more! 😉

 

Top Down

 

Merrier Infuser

Merrier Tea Infuser

I also received one of T2’s Merrier Tea Infusers with my tea, which I’m really thrilled with. It has bright green rubberised handles, with a matching lid to hold the flavours in when infusing. A really nice touch is the pattern the holes on the infuser make up, super cute! The lid also doubles as a drip tray making this perfect for getting your tea fix when you’re at work, without making a mess. It’s also available in a load of colours so there’s one for everyone!

I have various infusers but I always come back to my infusers that are this kinda style, they’re easy to wash and allow the leaves to really open up and release their flavour. This will definitely be one of my most used infusers, my old one was a tad trashed so this is a welcome replacement! You can take a closer look at the Merrier infuser here.

 

Final Words

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my review of T2’s Black Forest Bliss & Terrific Toffee teas, I really recommend trying them or basically any of T2’s tea! 🙂 Black Forest Bliss is out of stock online at the moment so I can’t link directly to it but it’s available in T2’s UK shops and will be back in stock online soon!

I’m really grateful T2 sent me these teas to review, I’ve enjoyed reviewing them and photographing them so much!

If you’d like to read more of my tea reviews and other tea related posts you can subscribe to my newsletter below or find me on social media (Twitter, Instagram or Facebook).

If you haven’t already entered my competition to win over 260 teabags head over and enter here 🙂

Bye for now! xXx

 

My Mailing List

 

 

 

 

0 Comments
Fruit Tea Iced Tea Recipes Rooibos

Sparkling Blueberry & Strawberry Cream Soda Iced Tea

9th June 2016

As it’s finally a bit sunny in the UK I figured now would be a good time to have a play in the kitchen and come up with some new iced tea recipes.

Last summer I made a Strawberry Lemonade Iced Tea recipe that was really popular, everyone liked the fizzy element of the lemonade. I decided I’d do another fizzy iced tea recipe but switch the lemonade out for cream soda, which had me reminiscing of childhood quite a lot actually!

I LOVE blueberries so I decided to use Blueberry Rooibos from Whittard of Chelsea, a long time favourite of mine. Using rooibos as the tea base is great as it has sweeter more fruity tones and is also caffeine-free.

 

To make this Sparkling Blueberry & Strawberry Cream Soda Iced Tea you’ll need:

Blueberry Rooibos


  1. Blueberry Rooibos tea from Whittard of Chelsea (or a similar tea but theirs is incredible).

2. Cream Soda

3. Strawberry syrup (I used the ice cream kind but I’m sure it would be even better with strawberry beverage syrup)

4. Ice cubes

 

How to make it:

I love to make iced tea in my kilner jars, this is the perfect infuser as it fit's right in to them so you only need a little water.

I love to make iced tea in my kilner jars, this AdHoc infuser is perfect for them as it fits right in to them and sits on the bottom so you only need a little hot water 🙂

1. It’s really easy to make and only takes a few minutes. First up you need to steep about 1 teaspoon of Blueberry Rooibos tea for every mug you make, in a small amount of boiling water. Only use a little boiling water so you can make the rest of the drink as cool as possible.

2. Fill the rest of the bottle up with chilled cream soda

3. Add a squirt of strawberry syrup and mix

4. Top with ice and you’re good to go!

This is the perfect drink for spending days in the sun, it pairs amazingly with fresh fruit and kids will love it too. You can swap the tea for a different blueberry or berry flavoured tea but I really recommend Blueberry Rooibos from Whittard of Chelsea for that vibrant blueberry flavour.

Be sure to share this with your friends and family 🙂

Thanks for reading, bye for now! xXx



0 Comments
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!

Close up

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

0 Comments
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.

full selection(web ready)

 

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 (web ready)

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

0 Comments
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

Earl Grey (not actually edited)

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

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.

 

Creme Brulee Rooibos

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.

 

Chamomile

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

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!

 

Lime White

 

lime2

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

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 🙂

 

Teabags

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

 

 

0 Comments
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

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 Loose

Mandarin Rose

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

 

Close up Iced

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 Loose

Front

Top Down

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

If you’d like more tea related news, reviews and competitions you’ll love my newsletter

0 Comments
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!

 

Featured Image portrait

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