The August Teatourist Subscription Box - take a peek here!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - today we're taking a peek at the August box from Teatourist to see which six teas we are discovering this month!

We always love it when a new Teatourist box falls through our letterbox - a delivery of tea is definitely better than bills! Each month Teatourist sends subscribers 6 tea tasters from a variety of different tea companies. This month's selection is called "fresh and frisky"- a selection of teas to extend that summertime love!

As always there is something for everyone, from green teas to a cardamom chai, a flavoured rooibos and a camomile blended with fennel and rose. Some of the tea companies will be familiar to hardened tea addicts, but there will also be some new companies to discover.

This month's selection.....

This varied selection of tea makes for a very pretty tea leaf photo.....

The clever thing about the Teatourist box is the tea is sent in little pouches, each pouch has enough tea for a couple of cups.....perfect for trying out new blends. If you like something you can buy more, but if a tea isn't to your taste at least you haven't wasted lots of tea and money. It's a great idea for anyone wanting to discover new teas and be a little adventurous with their tea drinking.

Each tea pouch comes with a brilliant little card which describes the tea and how to brew it, along with information about the tea company. I particularly like the tea tips they that provide, giving you tips on making the perfect cuppa.

If you'd like to find out more about Teatourist and their tea-riffic monthly tea subscription pop by their website!

If you've got the August box we'd love to hear which is your favourite box - leave us a comment here or get in touch on Twitter or Facebook!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel and Lorna

Time to..... explore the April Tea Box from Teatourist

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you're feeling tea-riffic today!

It's always an exciting time when the next Teatourist subscription box arrives through the post - each month they manage to curate an exciting and diverse collection of teas that I have not discovered before! They package up enough tea for you to enjoy about four cups of each variety - meaning you really get a good taste, but there is not much waste if something isn't to your liking.

This month's collection is light and fun, perfect for springtime...it includes two black teas, three herbal teas and a veggie tea!

Teatourist April subscription box

In this post we are going to look at the first couple of teas I tried.....one of the black teas and the veggie tea! First off we have the Thieves Brew by Bev's Tea company. This 100% Vangedi Pekoe black tea is a medium caffeine tea from Sri Lanka,  which sounded perfect when I found myself in a rather delicate (self-inflicted) state on Bank Holiday Monday.

Thieves' Brew tea by Bev's Tea Company

The tea should be brewed with 95 degree water for 3-4 minutes to produce a cooper-coloured tea that will make you smile...

Thieves' Brew tea by Bev's Tea Company

The flavour is smooth, with a slight nutty note. I enjoyed it black, but it can be drunk with milk or lemon. Bev is a tea consultant, based in Scotland, who has previously managed a tea estate and set up a sustainable micro tea factory in Sri Lanka. I think it's safe to say she knows her tea!

Thieves' Brew was a very refreshing cup of tea, perfect for my delicate state....

The other tea that really intrigued me was the "veggie tea" from Leaves of the World. This company was started by The TeaNomads and it specialises in certified-organic tea and boasts one of the largest selections of vegan-friendly teas in the UK!

Pumpkins Go Bananas is a sweet brew which can be enjoyed hot or cold and is packed full of fruit and veg.....just take a look at the "leaves"....

Pumpkins Go Bananas - Leaves of the World

This tea is full of apple, carrot, pumpkin, pineapple, banana chips, ginger and coriander. It should be brewed using 2 teaspoons of leaves in 100 degree water for 5-8 minutes.

Pumpkins Go Bananas - Leaves of the World

 This pale yellow tea smells and tastes just like banana!

It's sweet and can apparently be enjoyed hot or cold. It's definitely something really different, that I wouldn't have tried if I didn't have this month's Teatourist box. I hope this post illustrates how diverse the Teatourist boxes can be - keeping both traditional and experimental tea lovers happy!

To find out more about these companies or the teas they offer pop by their websites - you never know what you'll discover!

Bev's Tea Company

Leaves of the World

Thank you to Teatourist for sharing another one of their tea-riffic subscription boxes with me. To find out more about their monthly boxes pop by their website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

What's inside the Teatourist February Box?

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends, we hope you're well today!

We're very excited to report that the February Teatourist has arrived with us - we first experienced the delights of Teatourist when their January box landed on our door mat earlier this year. Teatourist is a tea subscription service, which brings tea lovers six wonderful blends from different tea companies each month. To read more about the service pop by our last post.

Let's take a peek at the February box....

February Box from Teatourist

This month's box includes a selection of black and green teas from Cheshire tea, Edgcumbes, Good & Proper Tea, Oteas, Tea in the City and The UK Loose Leaf Tea Company. 

We have a breakfast blend from the Good & Proper Tea Company, which features Assam, Kenya, Ceylon and Darjeeling leaves.

There is also a full bodied blend from Edgcumbes tea blenders which features Orthodox Assam, Darjeeling second flush, Keemun and Lapsang Souchong.

Oteas have provided a tea bursting with health benefits, combining black tea with dandelion roots.

There is a lightly roasted oolong from Tea in the City.

Possibly the prettiest tea I have ever smelt....the Cherry Sencha from Cheshire Teas. This is a blend o Sencha green tea, rose petals and natural cherry flavour.

Finally we have a Gunpowder Organic green tea from The UK Loose Leaf Tea Company.

A great selection for either someone new to the world of loose leaf teas or an experienced tea lover!

Each pouch has enough leaves to make about four cups - the perfect amount to try out a new tea, as well as a tea card that tells you all about the tea and the tea company. 

I have already tucked into two of the teas....

Discovering new teas via Teatourist

Tea and cake via Teatourist

For more information about how Teatourist works pop by their website.

We'd like to thank Teatourist for sending us their February.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

Teatourist January Box - closer look part 1

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends!

Our last post about Teatourist talked about the January box that we had received, which included six different teas for us to try. We were very excited to receive a diverse selection of teas from six different tea companies. Today we're taking a closer look at the teas in the box from Morgan's Brew Tea Company and Exclusivitea.

Teatourist January Box 2017

Let's start with Morgan's Brew Tea Company and their Gunpowder Tea, which is a Chinese Green Tea from the province of Zhejiang.

Gunpowder Tea - Morgan's Brew Tea Company

Morgan's Brew Tea Company is an independent, family run company which operates out of a 19th century stone townhouse in Welshpool, mid-wales.  I just love how  this tea company began....

 In 2006 Geoff and Anne Meredith took over Poppy's Tudor Tearooms in Shrewsbury Shropshire and their regular customers enquired about tea they could enjoy at home. So, a plan was born where the regulars would taste 50 or so different teas and chose an overall winner. The tea they chose was a black tea from Kenya and Rwanda... and that was the beginning of Morgan's Brew Tea.

Gunpowder Tea - Morgan's Brew Tea Company

Gunpowder tea leaves are rolled into small pellets and the tea is believed to taken its English name from the fact it looks like black shot power grains.

Morgan's Brew Tea Company has a top tip when buying this tea - look for shinny leaves and the smaller the pellet the higher quality the tea which gives you a more fragrant delicate tea.

I followed the instructions found in my Teatourist box and brewed myself a wonderful cup of green tea...

Gunpowder Tea - Morgan's Brew Tea Company

People often say they don't like green tea because they find it bitter, this is usually because the tea has been brewed with water that is too hot. The brewing guide suggests pouring the water into your cup first and then adding the leaves as this avoids scorching the leaves.

I found this tea to be well rounded and easy to drink. A nice, refreshing cup of tea!

Exclusivitea is a small boutique tea company, which specialises in sourcing teas from Sri Lanka. The tea company, which is based in Kent, works directly with the growers and suppliers bringing regional teas to tea lovers across the UK and Europe.

Pure Ceylon Tea - Exclusivitea

The tea included in the January Teatourist box from Exclusivitea is a Pure Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka. It's a Broken Orange Pekoe Fannings (BOPF) grade, which is the most common grade, from a single estate.

Pure Ceylon Tea - Exclusivitea

As you can see these are intensely rich black tea leaves, so I was looking forward to a good punchy cup of tea - perfect for first thing in the morning! 

Again, I followed the instructions on my brewing card, using just one teaspoon of the leaves and allowing them to steep and develop for three minutes.

Pure Ceylon Tea - Exclusivitea

I was not disappointed by this cup of tea - it was rich in colour and bold in taste. If you love your back tea, then I would suggest this is perfect for you. 

I really enjoyed discovering the teas from these two companies and look forward to sharing with you the rest of the teas in upcoming posts - watch this space!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Time to be a...... teatourist!

Hello there tea lovers,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - today we're sharing with you a tea subscription service that we have discovered recently.

Teatourist deliver surprise selections of loose leaf teas from artisan tea companies, all supplied in taster-sized portions. Sounds perfect for someone looking for a tea adventure!

Teatourist work with 100s of tea companies to bring subscribers a different selection of teas each month. The sample selection are delivered in a box that fits through letter boxes.....so no waiting in for the postman!

Inside the box you'll discover six different samples, each from a different company. Each sample has enough tea for three - four cups of tea and comes with brewing instructions.

Let's take a look in the January box....

This box features some companies I know and some that I haven't discovered before, which is really exciting! This box includes:

Matcha green tea from Teaologists

Rooibos earl grey from Tea Leaf London

Recover tea from Blendology

Reggae refresh from Born Wild Tea

Pure Ceyon from Exclusivitea

Gunpowder Tea from Morgan's Brew Tea Company

Something for everyone I think you'll agree!

I love the little pouches that the samples come in - they are clear so you can see the tea leaves and resealable to keep your leaves fresh.

The pouches are attached to a tea card which includes brewing information on one side. The card tells you how much to use, how long to brew for and how hot the water should be. It also includes guidance on whether you need to add milk etc.

Finally there is a tea profile on the card and a place where you can rate your tea experience!

On the other side of the tea card is a fuller description of the tea and information about the tea company who have provided the tea - great if you love the tea and want to buy more!

This tea subscription is a rolling monthly membership, you can start and stop your subscription as you please. Each box costs £14.95 and they are delivered around the 20th of each month.

I love the fact that the pouches provide 3-4 cups of tea - this gives you enough tea to really try it out and maybe share a cup with a friend, but doesn't leave you with lots of wasted tea if you don't like a particular blend.

Even my cat Tinker enjoyed exploring the teas.....

I'd like to thank Teatourist for sending me their January box to try! If you'd like to find out more about their subscription pop by their website.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel