Tuesday 8 April 2014

Williamson's Does It's Bit For Chari-TEA!


My late Dad, who really was rather lovely, grew up in a naval family. So, he often spoke about the sea, life at sea and the dangers of the ocean. His father was in the navy for many years, so the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institute) was something close to my Dad's heart. Whenever we went on holiday he's sought out the RNLI and spent a fair few pennies there.

Now, I live virtually on top of the Irish Sea, along the Lancashire coast, and many a time, as I've stomped down the promenade, I've seen the Blackpool branch of the RNLI out on practice. Like my Dad, I have a huge amount of respect for the guys who volunteer. The weather is often foul, and dangerous around the coast. And they go out, often in high winds, high tides and in the pitch black to rescue those in danger.

Whenever I walk into Blackpool, or Fleetwood, I always pop into the RNLI shops, and recently, my boyfriend kindly brought me a pack of Lifeboat Tea. It's worth noting, before I start the review of the tea, that the RNLI do not receive any governmental support, yet, it's classed as the 4th emergency service. All the money it runs with comes from donations. If people were to stop giving the RNLI money tomorrow, it would last only for six months. If you can spare a few pennies, then please do, it's a worthwhile cause.


Anyway, onto the tea. The tea is branded under the name "Lifeboat Tea" and is sold by the Williamson brand, which according to the box was established in 1869. I don't know anymore about them at this point as it's a brand not readily available in supermarkets in the UK.

This tea is a pure and simple black tea (they also do green tea, English Breakfast and Earl Grey)which comes from Kenya.

As normal, I brewed the tea for around five minutes and it brewed to a dark, treacle colour. It had quite a strong, malty, aroma and I was really intriqued, not least because of it's dark colour.

I don't add milk nor do I add sweetener to tea now, so I do get to really appreciate the very real taste of a black tea.

After letting it cool for a minute or so I took a sip and was surprised. It wasn't a strongly flavoured tea, in fact it was quite sweet tasting, a little like redbush tea, but not overpowering in it's sweetness.

It was full bodied, malty but surprisingly nice. It was a different experience really as most teas now I drink flavoured, such as Lady Grey, Rose Garden or Earl Grey, so to taste the tea in it's purest form is a bit of a novelty now!

I found this tea to be refreshing and extremely light. It fills your mouth with a delicate type of sweetness, yet is robust and full of strength which you expect to have with a black tea.

I'll be honest, being a tea from an unknown company, I wasn't expecting too much but I was happily surprised. It's such a lovely tea, and can be taken with a splash of milk and sugar if that's how you like it, or plain and simple like I did.

If you happen to be near a RNLI shop, then do pop it and try this tea. I think you'll enjoy it, and if your lucky you may even find some of their other blends, too! I would very much like to taste their spin on Earl Grey: that would be interesting.

Of course, if you do not live near a RNLI, then the tea is available from Tesco's, Waitrose and Asda's.

If you like a hearty brew, then I'd recommend this. And by purchasing this tea you really are contributing to something extremely vital to coastal life.

Let's be honest, you could be helping them save someone's life whilst your enjoying a cuppa!



2 comments:

  1. Do you happen to know the percentage of sales actually goes to the RNLI?

    ReplyDelete
  2. To be honest, I don't know the percentage that is sold through supermarkets. But, I do know that 100% of the profits per box of tea goes to the RNLI if you buy it in one of their shops.

    Hope this helps.

    Laura x.

    ReplyDelete