Saturday 4 October 2014

Kensington Tea Company: Green Tea With Wild Fennel

(Photo taken from www.kensingtontea.com)

So today, I was going through my box of tea really wanting to get going on my blog, so I wanted something really different to review first. When my eyes fell upon Kensington Tea Company's Green Tea With Wild Fennel I knew that was the tea I was looking for.

I have to admit I did have my reservations. I don't much like liquorice and it smelt very similar to liquorice. I didn't get on with liquorice tea, so I wondered how I'd fare. 

I used my trusty Floatea and measured out a perfect spoonful. I like to be very precise!


I really do like the look of this tea. It has a vibrant and bright green colour and within the tea little seeds are mixed in, adding a beige colour within the bright green! It's an appealing looking tea, and the aroma really started to grow on me. 

In order to have the perfect cup of tea I boiled the kettle and let the water cool for two minutes before infusing it for around three minutes.


I loved the colour of this tea. It's not reflected in the photograph but it has a dark, coppery colour to it which I was really impressed by as I'm used to green tea either having a green hue about it or it being almost translucent. A really interesting tea for all of the senses.

After it had infused I took my first sip. And I was really impressed. It did not taste like liquorice, rather more a aniseed taste.

What is pleasantly perplexing about this tea is that it has a sweet flavour to it, but I feel it would satisfy those with a savory tooth as well. It isn't overly sweet but the balance seems to be just right.

The fennel is very refreshing and dances around your mouth. It's tasty and incredibly moreish. It's also a warming drink, perfect for the cooler weather, which, it seems is now setting in for the winter.

It says on the instructions that you can infuse this tea three times. And I've done just that!

Second infusion: The second infusion was just as tasty as the first. It retains the pang of fennel, and is just as satisfying. The colour, however, is a little paler, but that is not off putting in the least.

Third infusion: The third infusion was quite pleasant but the fennel taste was much reduced. The colour was even paler but the tea was still satisfying.

I would say this tea is perfect for three infusions. I did push my luck and try for a fourth infusion but the tea was, by then, rather bitter so I'd say three infusions with the leaves is perfect.

This was a grand tea, perfect for autumn. Warming and comforting, especially on a wet and dark day like today.

Fennel is often used in digestive tea's so this would be great to serve after a heavy meal, it would make a fantastic after dinner treat!

Thanks, Readers!

I've just been going through my stats and despite not posting much this past month I was thrilled to see that I still had just under 1,000 page views. Thank you very much indeed.

I'm really proud of this blog, and even though I am not the best writer, it gives me so much pleasure to write about tea, which is something I love so much.

Keep coming back, new reviews will be posted on a regular basis!

Best wishes
Laura xxx.

Heartbreak ... and Autumn Tea's


You may have noticed that things have been a little quiet on this blog recently. It's been a bit of a difficult time for me personally. I split up from my boyfriend of eight years and the past few weeks have consisted of packing up belongings, making the long journey from Lancashire to London (Mum's looking after me) and trying to get back on my feet. Not surprisingly, blogging hasn't been on the top of my priorities, but I've really missed it. And today just felt right.

During all the upheaval, I've been keeping my eye on the tea front and have some really wonderful emails from tea companies promoting their autumn - and Christmas (!) tea's, and I'm really excited by this.

Bluebird Tea Company have a very tasty and exotic sounding Spiced Pumpkin Pie which sounds right up my street! Alongside that they have Parma Violet tea, Mocha Chai and Gingersnap Green. I've purchased one or two things from Bluebird in the past and they are a fantastic company.

Twinings have just re-launched their website and it's funky and modern and I really like it. Alongside the new website they have just announced their set of Christmas tea's. From what I can tell they are the same lines that they had last year, but with different names. I'm really pleased they have brought back their Christmas cake flavoured tea, which was last year called Christmas Cheer and is now called Christmas Afternoon. It was by far my favourite line from their range last Christmas. It does actually taste of Christmas cake, and is perfect for those who cannot or do not take milk in their tea. It's gorgeous and mouth watering!

And I'd just like to remind you about Kensington Tea Company's Christmas Spice. It is by a million miles the greatest Christmas green tea EVER. With it's pink peppercorns, sugar snowflakes and luxurious milk chocolate pieces it's really a gorgeous indulgent tea for the festive season, and it's really reasonably priced too so it won't break the bank. I can't wait to be able to experience it again.

So, there are exciting times coming up in the next few months in the tea world. A such a lovely way to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year!

I'd also like to thank fellow blogger Rebecca from The Hot Cuppa blog.  She helped me no end during a particularly horrible day. She's a real star!