Royal Palace Tea

Other than tea, I have several passions. I love to cross stitch, listen to music (mostly the Beatles) and I will read or watch anything to do with the Tudors - that fantastic British dynasty which contributed to much change in the country I live in. Earlier this year, after doing a bit of overtime over the Christmas period, decided to buy myself a Historical Royal Palaces pass, which gives me unlimited access to the major royal palaces, Kensington Palace, the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and Kew Palace. The other benefit, aside from being able to visit those fantastic places whenever I wish, is that I have a nice little discount in the cafe and gift shops.

Recently, I visited The Tower of London that has an amazing two floor gift shop, with gifts to cater for every price range, from pocket money priced items to lovely tea sets costing over £100. When I visited I brought a wonderful Anne Boleyn cushion (one of my favourite Tudor characters) and a tin of this amazing Royal Palace Tea.

To readers in the UK this tea is available either in the gift shop of any Royal Palace or online. In the USA it's available from it's producer, Harney & Sons.

The first thing that caught my eye about this is it's tea. Secondly, it's in a wonderful caddy. The pattern on the caddy emulates the decoration on a tea service also available through Royal Palaces. Now, when I purchased this tea there were a couple of options, including a Royal Wedding tea. It was hard to choose but finally opted for this tea.

Royal Palace Tea  is a black tea, flavoured with the lemon, and uniquely, grapefruit, which in itself is a food I dislike, but, oddly, works well in tea. The tea comes in silky pyramids (thirty in a tin) and is filled with a substantial amount of tea.

The black tea has a smooth, almost nutty quality. It's dark in colour and looks gorgeous. The aroma of grapefruit is very strong, but extremely pleasant, the lemon less detectable by scent alone, but just unscrewing the caddy is wonderful as the lovely, fresh, fruity scent fills the air. As we approach summer this is a wonderful tea. It's light and fragrant, not at all heavy.

I made a pot of this tea. I will admit my first attempt was a disaster. I over brewed the tea, and maybe because of the grapefruit, it was bitter and undrinkable. Now, if I'm not making it in the tea maker (I prefer to make it in a pot when friends are here - much more impressive!) I set it for three minutes and no longer.

Now I have perfected the art of making this tea, it's extremely enjoyable. I like the fact that due to the lemon and grapefruit flavour, it's light and easy to drink. It's also refreshing and makes your mouth feel nice and cleansed after drinking.

The grapefruit, by it's nature I suppose, is the stronger of the two flavours. I can't eat grapefruit as I dislike the texture, but in this tea it's flavoursome and moreish. The lemon, which I have to admit is barely detectable, adds a ting. Even though it's the lesser of the two flavours, I'm positive without it it would be a totally different tea.

There are several layers of flavour in this tea. Underneath it all there is the strong, robustness of the actual tea itself which supports the strong grapefruit flavour. A lesser tea would drown underneath it all, but this is a well balanced, even tea which is both satisfying and fun to drink.

I like how different it is. How they have bravely put two strong flavours together to make a tea that is different but isn't too different that it's outlandish. Harney & Sons is a name I know of, and a name I've heard positive things about, but till now haven't had the opportunity to try.

I've served this tea up with lemon drizzle cake. It also goes well with freshly baked scones. It's versatile and can be taken with a drop of milk, but I think taking it black is the best way to enjoy this fragrant, summery tea.

This tea is a classic, stylish tea to add to your tea cupboard. And the caddy is very pretty too.

If you are careful not to over brew this, I'm positive this will become a firm favourite. The only disappointing thing about this tea is you cannot buy the refills!

So, if you're visiting the Tower of London then do pop into the gift shop and grab yourself a tin of this lovely tea. You really wont be disappointed and you will also have a wonderful souvenir from one of London's most recognisable landmarks.