Twinings Jasmine Pearls Green Tea: Why Have I Not Tried This Earlier?

(Photo taken from Twinings website)

It's been quite some time since Twinings launched their silky pyramid range, which has been a hit with Twinings fan's.

I've been lucky to try several of the blends (not all though!). So when I stumbled upon the Jasmine Pearls green tea pyramids, I knew I had to try them. I've searched high and low to source these in my area and haven't been able to. And, when ordering from Twinings it's always seemed to slip my mind to try these. But now, I'm really enjoying green tea and saw some for sale, I knew I couldn't miss out on the chance to try.

I love Jasmine Pearls. I love how they come as small, tightly curled balls, and then, as the water is added they uncurl, expand and then you can see how large the green tea leaves are.

Recently, I've been lucky enough to try different blends of Jasmine Pearls. And this morning, I can add my beloved Twinings to that list of Jasmine Pearl's that I've tried.

Rather happily, this tea was delicious. When brewing, the aroma was light and summery and smelt fresh. I love the aroma of Jasmine Pearls (though I appreciate it's not for everyone). And I was doubly interested in this Twinings brew because I loved their Jasmine Earl Grey hugely.

I followed the golden rules of brewing green tea. I've written about it loads on this blog so I won't repeat it here. But please go here for more advice.

Twinings Jasmine Pearls has a far more subtle taste them some of the other Jasmine blends that I have tried, but that's not a problem. I loved the subtlety of it, just as much as I love the stronger flavoured teas. The colour is a light a green, almost crystal clear which is attractive to look at.

The taste of this tea is wonderful. It has a delightful freshness about it, it's floral tones are inviting and moreish. (On the third cup today already!). It is a utter joy to drink and really freshens your mouth and tongue.

I have tried some cheaper blends of Jasmine Pearls (not yet reviewed, I'd like to stress) that have a strange, almost artificial taste to them. I'd even go as far as to say that some taste rather plastic to me. But this is not one of them. It's natural through and through. And the green tea is of a very high quality, thus the lack of bitterness that you can sometimes find when your nearing the end of your cup of tea.

I've had a bit of a hit and miss relationship with some of Twining's silky pyramid range. But this is a sure fire hit. 10/10 from me, and two thumbs up! (I'm visiting Twinings on the Strand next month - will be adding this to the shopping list, which is ever growing!).

If you can find this tea then please do give it a go. I don't think you'll be disappointed. A wonderful, nicely priced tea that is satisfying and delightful.

More information on this tea can be found here.

charbrew's Chocolate Orange: A Luxurious Tea, Perfect For Easter

I really love where I live, but sometimes I do feel as though I live in the back of beyond. I have heard about charbrew for some time but simply couldn't source it anywhere. However, after visiting family recently, I stumbled across a Tesco's that actually sold the brand, and sold plenty of different blends of charbrew, too.

It has only been since January that I've been aware of chocolate tea. I've been lucky to try several now, so when I saw Chocolate Orange, and what with it being Easter weekend, this was one that I decided to try.

Within the box you have 15 tea pyramids. They are packaged in a really lovely coloured box, and have the extra protection of being wrapped in a plastic bag inside too.

To be utterly honest, it wasn't too long after getting in from the supermarket that I prepared a cup of Chocolate Orange tea. There are some tea's that are totally intriguing and this was one I couldn't wait to make.

When I opened the plastic bag, as usual, I inhaled the aroma, and it was lovely. It doesn't smell at all dissimilar to a Terry's Chocolate Orange. This tea, I realised, was going to be a good replacement for a real Easter egg.

The colours of the tea are amazing. If you look closely at the photo, you can see orange mixed with tiny flakes of chocolate. It looks, and smells yummy. But would it taste lovely too?

There are specific brewing instructions with this tea. You are to boil the kettle and let it cool for two minutes. Then, slowly pour over the teabag and leave it to brew for three minutes. I followed them exactly to make the perfect cup of tea.

I then settled down and gave this tea a try.

The first thing that struck me about this lovely tea, is how smooth it feels. It's luxurious and rich and easy to drink.

The chocolate taste's lovely. It's really rich as I've said, and has a lovely rounded taste. It's quite sweet too.

Amongst the richness of the chocolate, you have the bright, fruity orange flavour which blends very well to form this wonderful chocolate orange tea. The added orange is very refreshing and prominent. It doesn't get lost in the chocolate flavour, but perfectly compliments it. They two work hand to hand to give you a real treat of a tea.

It's also very warming, too. It makes you feel lovely inside, and I feel it's best to drink this tea while hot, it wouldn't work as a iced tea, I don't think. Also, because of it's richness, it's not the sort of tea you could drink cup after cup of.

I have to say I was looking forward to trying this tea. But the actual tasting exceeded how good I imagined it to be. It's a really fantastic tea and it's a brilliant tea to have whilst others are sitting eating Easter egg's!

And, because of it's fruity tang, this would be the perfect tea to drink whilst eating a toasted and buttered hot cross bun!

I was really impressed with my first taste of Charbrew. And I'm hoping, if I can source them, to try many more out of their range.

For more information on Charbrew's tea's then please click here.

Laura's Bargain Buy: Banana And Cinnamon From Typhoo

Earlier this week, Rebecca from Good Coffee, Good Tea let me know that she had been in B&M Bargains and had seen this Banana and Cinnamon tea.

I love banana and recently enjoyed my banana weetabix very much. I've wanted to try a banana tea for ages, but not many tea companies use this super fruit in their blends.

So, I trotted off to B&M and found, to my delight, that they had plenty of boxes of this tea. They cost 39p each for 20 envelopes. Or, you could by 3 for £1.00. Naturally I opted for the 3 for £1.00. And am I glad that I did.

I've not really tasted much Typhoo tea before. It's not a brand that my parents used, so I wasn't too sure about what the quality of this tea would be like.

As this is a fruit tea, I boiled the kettle and let it brew while the postman dropped off a parcel for me. When I came back into the kitchen, the aroma of banana was gorgeous.

When I took my first sip I fell totally in love with the tea. The banana flavour, much to my delight, was strong. The cinnamon, though present was not overly strong, or over powering. It was just right and added a wonderful balance to the tea.

The banana was sweet, moreish and delightful.

This tea was really up my street. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was a total bargain for the price. If you can source this - and it won't be easy - then pick up some boxes. It's really gorgous.

My best bargain find, ever!

Canton's Classic Earl Grey

Canton's Earl Grey is a classic blend of Earl Grey. It is made with extremely high quality black tea and it's citrus flavour is light and refreshing.

I am fussy when it comes to Earl Grey. I find the variance of quality is huge, from the really awful to the really spectacular.

I was really impressed with Canton's tea so far, so when I saw they had enclosed a Earl Grey I knew that it would be very high up on the list to try.

As normal with Canton, the tea comes in a silky pyramid. I'm really seeing the benefit of silky pyramids as they enable you to have the luxury of loose leaf tea contained in easy to use teabag.
I really love watching the tea's brew because you can see them expand and grow.

I love the taste of this Earl Grey. The base tea is of a very good quality. It's rich and full bodied and tastes just a little sweet. It is made up of Assam and Darjeeling tea and it's that blend that gives the tea it's unique flavour.

The citrus flavours work really well. They taste totally natural, and are a little bit reserved. This isn't a up front lemon tasting tea. There is a subtlety to the lemon flavour. It's happy to sit back and just let the flavour of the black tea take the forefront, but it's makes it's presence known!

This is a really good Earl Grey, with good quality ingredients. It is a total pleasure to drink. For more information please click here.

Teapigs Popcorn Tea - A Very Different Treat

(Image sourced from Google).

As readers will know, I often do tea swaps with fellow blogger, Rebecca. I know she is a fan (as I am becoming, too!) of Teapigs, so when she recently sent me some tea, I really appreciated that she had included a sample of Teapigs Popcorn tea. (This tea is quite pricy so I really do appreciate the kind thought).

I have had  rice in a tea, but not popcorn so I was really interested to see how this tea would smell, what it would look like, and most importantly, how it would taste.

The tea is really interesting to look at. As with all the Teapig tea's, they are made from fully bio-degradable silky temples so you can see the tea, and within the little triangle, you can see the popcorn mixed in with the green tea leaves. 

Teapigs Popcorn is a green tea and so I boiled the kettle, as normal, let it cool and waited a few minutes to add the water. I brewed this for three minutes.

Whilst brewing, this tea actually does smell of popcorn. Not the sort of popcorn that is smothered in butter or other sweet stuff, but, having worked in a cinema many moons ago, it reminds me of plain and simple, freshly made popcorn.

The tea takes on a light golden colour which is really nice to see.

To be honest if I lead you into the room and you didn't know this was tea, you would, most likely, think it was actual popcorn.

So, what did it taste like? It tasted exactly like popcorn! But this tea works really, really well. The slightly nutty flavour of the popcorn works so well with the herbal, grassy, element of the green tea. In fact, I would go to say that out of all the green tea I've tried so far, popcorn is the flavour that blends the best with green tea.

In a surprising way, the flavour of the corn and the flavour of green tea is actually fairly similar and this is probably why it works so well together.  It's a good union of two flavours, and the Teapigs blender has really worked wonders with this tea.

If you are not keen on green tea or are making your first tentative steps into the green tea world, this may not be the blend for you. It's quite a strongly tasting tea and I think it could be off putting to those who are not totally sure if they like green tea. The unique flavour of green tea is very evident here, so it may be just a bit too strong if your so so on green tea.

But, if your a green tea lover, as I am, this is marvelous. I think green tea lovers will really enjoy this tea because it's familiar, the flavours are easily detected and it works really well.

It's also a good treat to have if your watching your weight - you get the nice taste of popcorn without the calories!

Please click here for more information on Teapigs Popcorn Tea

I certainly can't wait to treat myself to a box of this super tea. It may just work it's way into my regular tea rotation!

Chash Tea's Simply Glorious Damask Rose Bud Tea

The tea world is massive. Just when you think you've seen every tea company, another one will pop up. I will admit that I stumbled across Chash Tea almost by accident, but I'm very glad that I did.

I was, quite frankly, amazed when Dan from Chash Tea sent out a set of samples for me. Not only did he include a extensive collection of tea, he also kindly sent me a glass cup and infuser.

It really was a thoughtful gesture, and I am very much looking forward to seeing tea's brew in this lovely cup.


Chash Tea pride themselves on being a seller of high quality tea's. You will find them stocked in restaurant's, cafe's and museum's as well as art galleries and theaters.

I was told by Dan, in a email, that their tea's will be very different to what I've experienced so far. This intrigued me and I couldn't wait to get started.

I chose Damask Rose Bud Tea, partly out of curiosity, and partly because, as you can see, the buds looked so very pretty.

They look, smell and feel absolutely beautiful. I couldn't stop looking at them and it seemed a shame to brew them, but that is what they were sent for! But even now, looking at the photo, I still can't believe a tea could look quite so beautiful.

Now I'm new to infusers and glass cups, so I was a little bit apprehensive at first. But, took a deep breath and dove in!

I filled up the infuser with a heaped teaspoon of the rose buds. They fitted perfectly in the wonderful infuser, which I love. I boiled the kettle and let it cool for a few minutes, and then poured the water over the infuser which, obviously, was placed in the cup.

I watched the rose buds brew with awe. I could see the rose buds unfurl inside the infuser, and gently the tea changed from being simple, plain water, to a light yellow liquid. I have never, ever seen a tea brew like this before as I only have traditional pots, not glass pots, and I found it mesmerising. I could not take my eyes off it.

When brewing was complete this was the end product. A very light coloured liquid with a ever so slight pink hue to it. I was so excited. The glass mug was fantastic and I'm really grateful for Dan's kind thought.

I have experienced several rose tea's which I totally love. I wasn't sure what to expect with this tea. When I imagine rose tea's I imagine very fragrant floral tones, but this wasn't what I noticed here. I was quite surprised.

Damask Rose Bud tea has a very subtle aroma to it. You can smell that it's a flower, it has a earthiness to it which is interesting, but it doesn't have the strong, sometimes artificial scent you can have in some rose tea's. It's floral tea in it's pure, natural form.

Taking my first sip I fell totally and utterly in love. As I warmed my hands around the cup (it was very early this morning and I was chilly), I took a sip and just knew that this was something that appealed to me.

The taste was just so delicate and refreshing and the taste of rose buds was very, very different to what I imagined it to be. This wasn't overly perfumed, it wasn't artificial at all. It just felt very natural and it was just so lovely.

When drinking this tea, I felt as though I were having something that was healthy and good for me. But, at the same time, this tea is the ultimate in luxury. You feel as though you are drinking something that costs hundreds of pounds.

I really can't put into words how lovely this tea was. Not just how it tasted but also how gorgeous it was to look at.

If you would like more information on Chash Tea and their wonderful Damask Rose Bud tea then please click here

Do not miss out on this lovely tea. Treat yourself to something that is pure luxury. You won't be disappointed.

Morning Dew Is Just My Cup Of Tea

Cup Of Tea Limited is a totally new company for me. I had stumbled across them a few months ago when I was searching for seasonal caddies, but it was only recently that I decided I would love to try some of their products.

Cup of Tea is owned by Simon and Christine Collins and it's based in Somerset. According to their website, both Simon and Christine have many years experience within the tea industry. They specialise in the finest teas. Simon, who I've spoken to through email is a thoroughly nice man, who is always so friendly and welcoming.

Simon kindly sent me several samples of tea to try. I woke early today, unable to sleep, so decided to get up and try some of the many teas that were waiting for me!

I decided, after quite some time of deliberation, to try Morning Dew.

Morning Dew is a green tea that contains mango, lemon, sunflower, rose and cornflower petals. When looking closely at the tightly curled leaves, the deep green is an attractive colour, and the vibrant pink and blue ingredients make for a dramatic splash of colour.

I am really starting to love green tea and I love the really earthy, grassy aroma the unbrewed leaves give off. To me, it's extremely appealing and this tea was a good choice.

I brewed this tea for around a minute and a half. As you can see below, it brews to the typical golden colour you'd expect from a green tea.

This is a very light and restrained tea, and I mean that in a totally positive sense. I love strongly flavoured tea's but when you come across something really delicate, that is a lovely change to.

I seem to have experienced mango a lot recently, but this is one of the most delicate tasting tea's that contain mango. I have to say, and taste is a totally personal thing, but the lemon came out far stronger in taste through this tea.

On taking my first sip, I tasted that ever so familiar, slightly herbal taste you get with green tea and it's becoming a very firm friend of mine. I'm really enjoying the taste. It does take a little bit of getting used to but I've totally fallen in love with the distinct flavour.

Another reason why I love green tea is the exotic flavours that tends to be blended with it. It's really different.

Anyway, back to Morning Dew ....

There is a delicate lightness with this tea that is glorious. Not only does it make for a perfect breakfast cup of tea, but if your making your first steps into the green tea world, the gentleness makes this a great tea to start with.

In fact, this would be perfect to serve for an afternoon tea if your friends prefer green tea over black tea. 

With it's perfectly blended mixture of rather robust green tea, with gentle fruity flavours this makes for a refreshing drink, perfect for the upcoming summer season. Its so light, so incredibly  moreish and delightful.

It's a extremely high quality green tea, that leaves no bitter aftertaste that you can experience with some of the cheaper blends.

As a cup of tea this is wonderful. I can truly say I enjoyed every single sip. And, if I'm totally honest, this tea invites you in to make another pot.

Please click here for more information on Morning Dew it really is a lovely cup of tea. And if your really lucky, you may just receive one of Simon's very happy sounding emails!

I'm incredibly pleased to have been able to try this tea. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with what is going on in the tea world, and exactly how much choice is out there can sometimes be confusing. So, I'm utterly grateful I received a sample of this pleasant tea. It started my day off on a wonderful footing, and drinking it was a few minutes of bliss.