Cup Of Tea: Copa Cabana

(Photo sourced from www.cupoftea.uk.com)

We are all going a bit Brazil crazy here in the UK at the moment. Apparently, there is some sort of football thingy occurring. Not that I'm a fan of footie. I prefer Midsomer Murders or Miss Marple but there you go!

Anyway, I've tried (and reviewed) some fantastic tea's from Cup of Tea. So, last week, when a email popped into the inbox announcing a tropical new tea, and that there were free samples to be had, I wasted no time in filling in the box. This morning the tea arrived safe and sound.

There is enough tea in the sample to fill the infuser twice so you have the chance to try this tea two times!

Copa Cabana tea is described as being very tropical and suitable for being taken hot or served up as a ice tea. It can be brewed for as little as five minutes or as long as eight.

Visually, this tea is very bright to look at. Just like Brazil itself, it's colourful, fruity looking and a little bit exciting.

The list of ingredients is so varied I'm going to list them for you. You wont believe what is in this tropical tea! Here is the list ....

• Pieces of Apple
• Hibiscus
• Lemongrass
• Orange Peel
• White hibiscus
• Rosehip Peel
• Pineapple Pieces
• Beetroot
• Pieces of mango
• Carrot
• Raspberry pieces
• Sweet blackberry leaves
• Strawberry pieces
• Cornflowers

As you can see the sweetest of fruits are mixed with beetroot which has a slightly vinegary flavour and also carrot! I've never experienced carrot in a tea before. This was going to be one interesting cup of tea!

I stood in my kitchen, opened the packet and closed my eyes, inhaling the scent of the tea. I was really surprised because it's smell instantly took me back to childhood, for the tea reminded me of the smell of strawberry Hubba Bubba bubble gum that I used to chew in great quantities as a young girl. It was so full of strawberry scent it was just gorgeous and I'm sitting here now still smelling the empty packet.

I made two cups today. One this afternoon when I was working and didn't have much time so I brewed it for just four minutes, whilst this evening I brewed the second cup to eight minutes. The longer the brewing time the stronger the flavour, of course, so with this tea I'd highly recommend you brewing it for as long as you can.

When I took my first sip I was kind of expecting it to be very sweet, what with the vast amount of fruits the tea contained and the size of the fruit pieces, which are quite large. I was almost bracing myself for that teeth churning sweetness you can get with some fruit tea's but I was pleasantly surprised.

Although the tea contains a large amount of fruit pieces, it's a wonderfully balanced tea. There is a gentle sweetness to it, but also a slightly tart after bite, which I assume comes from  the pineapple and raspberry and the beetroot, too.

Copa Cabana is a very smooth blend. With each mouthful you pick up different flavours. One sip you can detect the strawberry, in the next you can detect mango. It's a like a little festival in your mouth. The flavours buzzing around everywhere giving your taste buds a real run for their money!

All of the flavours work well together. They are evenly balanced and this tea is just bursting at the seams with flavour. It really is the perfect blend for summer.

If you love fruit tea then this is a dream come true for you.

I found this tea tasty and pleasant enough and I enjoyed trying it. However, for me, it's not something I would drink a huge amount of as, though I like fruit tea, I prefer green tea. But if you are a fruit tea addict, or, if you want to avoid drinking caffeine then please give this tea a whirl.

For the fruit tea lover this is going to hit so many spots.

I'd like to thank Cup of Tea for sending out the free sample. I got the chance to try something really different and this tea is certainly unlike any other fruit tea available on the market. It certainly sums up summer really well, and you will get a flavour of Brazil where ever you live. 

If you'd like to try the tea then please visit this page. I'm not sure if they are still giving away the free samples but there is a option on the page still to select a sample so give it a whirl!

Calling All Tea Companies: Can You Do Something Special For Charity?

Today I was contacted by a lovely man called Joel from a tea company called Stir and Sip.

Stir and Sip are a unique company because it's 100% not for profit. Their aims and goals are simple: any profit they make from the sale of their tea's go to their local homeless drop in centre. The funds that are sent to the centre go towards providing homeless people with a much needed hot drink and hot meal.

The profits that Stir and Sip make go to their local charity Spitalfields Crypt Trust that was established in 1965 and who offer a drop in service for homeless people and provide support to those who are recovering from addiction.

Stir and Sip sell a variety of different tea's that come from across the world, both black tea and green tea. Their supplier is also from a non profit background, and who send their profits to help educate children in Darjeeling.

Stir and Sip are calling on all tea companies to follow in their footsteps and back an exciting initiative which is fairly simple to do, but could mean such a lot to a great many people.

In the week starting the 13th October 2014 Stir and Sip are asking tea companies to choose ONE blend of their tea and donate the profits to their local homeless charity. It's as simple as that. So, for every box of Earl Grey, English Breakfast or Afternoon Tea (or, any blend you want to!) sold, you will be helping those less fortunate, and who are in desperate need of a hot cup of tea and a meal. 

As the year progresses and the weather starts to turn, any donations that you could send to a homeless shelter could do so much, whether it be feeding someone, providing a bed for them or just giving them the opportunity to keep warm. And this is particularly vital over the winter months and in particular the Christmas period. 

Any of us that have been to our major cities will probably have seen those sleeping out on the streets in the most horrendous weather, and it's hard not to feel moved by their circumstances. 

If you'd like any further information then please contact Joel through Stir and Sip's contact page.

Wiltshire Tea Company: China Green Gunpowder

 

I've always liked the name Gunpowder Green. It's a really cool name for a tea, I think. I read recently that it has it's name because it resembles the old style gunshot in shape and that it makes a very nice "clang" as it hits the bottom of the pot!

I've seen Gunpowder Green in many shops and have always wanted to try it, but, for some unfathomable reason, it's never really made it's way into my shopping basket. I think, because of it's name, I imagine it to be very strong and of course green tea can be a little off putting when it's too strong.

When I received the sample, I was keen to give it a go!

I really love the appearance of this tea. It's bright and colourful, smells nice and is just interesting to look at. Here it is nestled safely in my infuser. 

 

I followed the brewing instruction's on this tea. I boiled the kettle, let it cool for a minute and then brewed the tea for two. Interestingly, I found this tea to brew to a really dark colour. Most green teas take on a light yellow or green hue which is almost translucent, but this is a very full dark orange coloured tea, which is very different from what you normally get with green tea.

As I set up the computer to write this blog, the tea cooled slightly meaning I could drink it once away once I settled down.

China Green Gunpowder is a green tea with strength. I would compare it to the black tea, Assam. It has oomph, is not delicate like some other blends, but at the same time, it's not bitter or astringent.

It is a smooth blend, slightly fruity and grassy. It has almost herbal elements to it, which, though I dislike herbal tea, is quite tasty. It feels like a very "natural" tea if that makes sense, that it's healthy and full of goodness. I felt as though I'm drinking something really good for me, which can't be bad, can it?

It is pleasantly rounded and it's perfect if you like your tea strong. Some green tea's are very delicate so when people try it (if they are used to heavy black tea's) it's doesn't always make a satisfying brew. Not so with Green Gunpowder. It has strength, is tasty and deliciously moreish.

Green Gunpowder has surprised me. I thought the stronger the blend of green tea the less tasty it would be. But I am genuinely struck by how nice this blend is. Lovely tasting, strong and fulfilling.

According to websites that specialise in green tea, Gunpowder is the strongest green tea you can find. So, it's even more impressive that I like it. Immediately after drinking my first cup, I brewed a second and liked it just as much on the second tasting.

However, if you're wary of green tea or are so so on it, this is not the blend for you. You'll probably find it a bit too strong, and, dare I say it, unappealing.

I've proven to myself by drinking and enjoying this tea, that I am now a fully converted green tea addict. I love the delicate blends, I love the flavoured blends and now I love the strong ones. I'm really, really impressed by this, and can only thank Wiltshire Tea Company for sending me to sample.

If you'd like more information on Wiltshire Tea Company, please click here. and if you'd like to read about Gunpowder Green then follow this link.

Twinings Lemon And Honey Green Tea

(Photo sourced from Twinings)

I'm not a lover of honey. I don't like it on porridge, spread on toast, added to tea or in chocolate bars. I don't like it sweetened or unsweetened. And, if I'm honest, I have no idea why I brought this tea when I visited the Twinings shop last month. I think sometimes I tend to get over excited when I go to the store and look at things (and in this case buy things) that I wouldn't normally be interested in.

Earlier this week I was stood in the kitchen totally unsure about what I fancied. So, I decided to crack open my box of lemon and honey green tea. I'd brought it so I may of well try it, I thought.

After boiling the kettle and letting it cool a little I was surprised by the nice scent the brewing tea gave off. Maybe, despite my dislike of honey, this could be okay.

I let it brew for just over a minute and sat down with my breakfast ready to try the first mouthful.

And I was happily surprised. This tea wasn't bad at all .... in fact, it was quite nice.

I loved the tangy mixture of lemon, which can be a big sharp, and the sweet taste of honey. It was a really impressive cup of tea.

First of all, lets talk about the honey. Well, it's add's a gentle sweetness to it, and though it tastes of honey (obviously!) it's not too rich or over done. It's a light taster of honey but not at all heavy from the it.

The lemon brings a tangy twist to the tea. I've had a couple of cups of this tea, and the second cup I brewed for slightly longer and it took on a perfume like element, but if brewed for the time suggested on the box, one to two minutes, it tastes just perfect.

Together this tea was rather tasty. Not sure how I'd fair with a pure honey flavoured tea, but the lemon balanced out nicely with the honey.

Although I enjoyed the tea, and will certainly finish the box, it's not a blend that I would buy again. It just didn't hit the spot like some other blends have done.

However, having spoken to a lady who loves honey and has it on cereal, on yoghurt and who uses it as salad dressing and a sauce for chicken, I've found out that if you love honey it's a blend that you'll certainly love.

My friends review of it was that it was 'gorgeous and a honey lovers dream'. Well, I certainly couldn't sum that up any better!

If you'd like more information on this blend or if you'd like to buy a box then please visit the Twinings online store.

I've been told that this isn't a blend that is readily available in shops so please purchase online if you're struggling to find it in your local shops.

Teavivre: Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing Green Tea

Last month, through Twitter, I received a fantastic message from Angel who works for Teavivre kindly asking if I'd like to try some samples of their green tea. As a relatively new but enthusiastic convert to green tea, I couldn't say anything else other then yes please!

It was really lovely to have a tea company come to me and offer me some samples which proved that this blog is actually being read!

Teavivre sell all types of tea from green to black via white. They sell oolong, pu-erh, flowering tea, herbal and fruit tea as well as tea accessories. It's a brilliant go to website that have an extensive amount of stock. I do believe that you will never come away without buying something, or at least, seeing something you'd like to buy.

Anyway, just this week I got a huge packet of tea (see below) from Teavivre. This bag of tea is massive and contains a substantial amount of samples. I can't tell you how excited I was when the parcel arrived from China.

From each sample I guessed I can get two freshly brewed cups of tea. This was going to be really exciting!

This afternoon I took out all the samples and wondered what to try first. After quite some time I decided to go for Organic Superfine Dragon Well Long Jing. Each sample arrives in their own packet.

 

The packets are vacuum packed foil packets. Due to these being sample packs I can't say what the packaging will be like if purchasing a full sized pack, but, I think the tea keeps really fresh and fragrant  in these little packages.

When opening this packet I smelt the most gentle, fragrant aroma. It is absolutely gorgeous.

I found this tea to be the most interesting tea to look at. As you can see below, the leaves are really long!

 

I use an infuser and so you can't get a huge amount of tea in the infuser, however, that is a good thing because it makes the tea last longer!

The brewing instructions said you could brew this tea for anything between one and six minutes. I opted for midway and brewed it for  just over three minutes, partly because I don't like green tea too strong, but mostly because I couldn't wait to taste this gloriously smelling tea.

This tea brews to a pale yellow colour. Of course how you drink tea is a personal thing but I take no milk (as suggested) or added no sugar. Milk doesn't sit well in green tea, but this tea is so delicate that adding any kind of sweetener, I believe, will detract from it's flavour.

I will openly admit now, that I loved this tea from the very first sip. It's flavour, like it's aroma, is delicate. It doesn't have that grassy taste that you can get from some green tea's. It has a pleasant sweetness to it.

I found green tea hard to drink at first thanks to a badly brewed cup many years ago, so I always take any new green tea with a speculative view. I always expect the tea, no matter how pretty it's packaged to taste awful.And it hardly ever does! But I taste it with caution ...

I should not of doubted my love for green tea in this instance. I absolutely can't describe enough how lovely this tea is. It's refreshing with a pleasant taste of orchid. It is not only mouthwatering, but it's palate cleansing as well.

Each sip is just heavenly. An over exaggeration of words you may think  but it's how I honestly feel. There is a softness and gentleness to this tea with no bitterness at all. It's is rounded and the flavour has depth, but pleasantly so.

I felt almost greedy when drinking this tea. This wasn't a cup of tea that lasted very long if I'm totally honest. As soon as I finished one sip, I wanted another one! It's quite an addictive tea, a lovely flavour that left you wanting more. 

This tea is ideal for summer days. It's light and a perfect companion for light meals such as salads. I would also highly recommend this tea if your either taking tentative steps into drinking green tea or want to start drinking green tea unflavoured.

For more information on this blend, please click here.

As you will see you can buy this tea packaged or in a caddy. (I love caddy's so will say, gone on, treat yourself!).

I will recommend this tea to any green tea lover or to anyone wishing to try it. It's of a superior quality and, according to the website, this batch was harvested on April 15th this year, so it's as fresh as you can possibly get!

Gone on, treat yourself and try some! You certainly won't regret it!

Whittington's Tea Emporium & Adagio's Earl Grey Lavender

There is something quaint about the name emporium. I've been to many emporiums during my holidays and they tend to be cute little places stacked full of knick knacks and oddities, but they tend to be dusty, cramped and a little dingy! Without a doubt though, you can always find something that appeals to you.

When I came across Whittington's Tea Emporium online, I was delighted to find a fresh, modern and thoroughly engaging website.

Whittington's Tea Emporium was formed in 2012. It stocks high quality tea, gorgeous teaware and handy tea related items such as paper filters and infusers. There is absolutely nothing tea related that you can't find at Whittington's.

What I found really great is they sell glass teapots, but have the forethought to sell replacement lids in case you have a mishap! I think that is really clever and smart thinking.

You will find on the website many different brands of tea and if you like the luxury of loose leaf tea you have ample choice. But, if teabags are more your thing, they sell them too. They sell tea from brands that I know, such as Canton and Adagio, and tea's from other companies that I do not.

Last month I wrote to Whittington's Tea Emporium and received a lovely response from Kyle. I like Kyle as his passion for tea is quite evident and as the owner of the company, he has turned a passion into a way to earn a living, and I think that is something most of us would like to do!

Kyle kindly sent me some of the tea's that you can purchase from the website. The first tea I have chosen to review is Adagio's Earl Grey Lavender.  As you all will know I love not only Earl Grey but the very different versions of the classic blend.

 

Adagio Earl Grey Lavender comes in loose leaf form and in a packet that is simple and easy to reseal, which is handy as tea can quite often loose it's flavour or scent if you can't keep it airtight. 

As you can see tea has a rich, dark colour with the pieces of lavender adding a bright splash of colour. It's a really attractive tea to look at! 

I brewed a cup and let it infuse for four minutes. The aroma from this tea is quite surprising. It's not lavender like I expected it to be, but has a rich vanilla scent. I was really, really surprised by this! It made for a really different tea to what I was expecting it to be!

As I sat down after a incredibly long day, I curled up in front of Dr Who and took a sip. Earl Grey Lavender is a rich tea, full of flavour and depth. I have to say, I didn't taste lavender as a flavour. Instead I picked up a lovely taste of vanilla, and it's almost caramel like, too.  However, as I made my way through the cup I did actually start to notice a floral taste to this tea. There is a lot going on with this blend!

This is so, so different from your normal Earl Grey it's quite extraordinary. I'm positive that if you like rich vanilla and caramel flavours then you will love this tea. Even those who love the traditional take on Earl Grey will be impressed by this high quality, high taste tea.

Earl Grey Lavender is perfect for those moments when you want to take ten minutes out of your hectic day to gather yourself. It's pure luxury, indulgent and perfect if your dieting as it gives you just that hint of something spectacularly sweet without all the calories!

Earl Grey Lavender really does get the thumbs up from me. It's tasty and it's a modern spin on a classic tea.

Adagio's Earl Grey Lavender can be purchased from Whittington's Tea Emporium, with prices starting from £5.

Do have a look around Whittington's Tea Emporium. There is plenty to see there, and Kyle even has a blog on the website too. You will spend a good amount of time on the site - there is so much to catch the tea lovers interest.

Ahmad Tea: Earl Grey - I Just Couldn't Resist!

Not another Earl Grey review, you may be thinking! I know and I'm sorry. But, if I have a Earl Grey sitting in the cupboard, how can I not review it?

Ahmad Tea, as readers will know, kindly sent me two selection boxes. One featuring green tea, one featuring pure and flavoured black tea's.

The first black tea I tried was their gloriously delicious English Tea No.1 and it was incredibly tasty. But, being a Earl Grey lover (and addict!) I found it very hard to leave this in the cupboard and not try it. So, last night I decided to. Since then I've had three more cups!

This Earl Grey is a very strongly scented take on the famous tea. It has a wonderful citrus aroma with is fresh and inviting. As you can see above, each tea comes in it's own foil envelope, so when you pull open the envelope the lovely scent is very strong and tempting, too.

I just wanted to spare a minute to talk about their packaging. Each tea from the Classic selection box comes with a painting of various London sites, and, being a native Londoner, I feel just a little homesick each time I see them. But the illustrations are wonderful and are really pretty to look at.

Back to the tea. The brewing suggestions on the tea say to brew between three and four minutes. Last night I brewed the tea for four but found it a little too strong for my tastes so opted today to brew it for three minutes which was far better suited to my tastes.

The tea used in this blend is very strong, so the addition of bergamot oil which adds a lovely citrus based taste is lovely. However, this blend is one of the stronger blends of Earl Grey I've tasted, so I think you have to already be a Earl Grey lover to totally enjoy this. If your just stepping into the Earl Grey world, or are unsure if you will like the famous blend, then this may not be the one for you. It's quite overpowering and I find that one cup is enough, so I tend to have a cup, then have a cup of something else till a bit later on.

I don't think I've had a tea that is quite this robust. But it's totally enjoyable. It does not lack oomph that's for sure!

I absolutely loved this tea. It hit all the spots for me that make for a perfect Earl Grey:

• A good quality base tea (which all Ahmad tea's have)
• A fresh, fragrant aroma
• A lovely fruity taste
• A richness that leaves your mouth feeling refreshed

I don't take milk with this tea, though of course, there is nothing stopping you if that's your thing! But, I love to add a slice of lemon to really bring out the tastes wonderfully.

For more information on Ahmad's Earl Grey, and if you'd like to buy it online please visit their shop.
The good news is you can purchase Ahmad's Earl Grey in lots of different quantities, as well as loose and in teabag variety.

Of course Earl Grey also comes in as part of Ahamd's Classical black tea selection box. If you fancy treating yourself then check it out! It's gorgeous to look at and the contents are not too bad either!