The Friday Review - Bluebird Tea, the Summer Collection 2016

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends! We've been a little quiet on the blog recently, but never fear...we're back with lots more tea and cake!

Today we have a lovely summer tea review for you....fitting with the beautiful summer weather we're having in the UK (hmmmm...this is a bit of a fib...it's currently very wet in Surrey!!).

Bluebird Tea - Red Velvet & Jelly & Ice Cream

Yes, you've read that correctly....part of the Bluebird Tea Summer collection is Jelly & Ice Cream! The whole range includes Jelly & Ice Cream, Sangria, Strawberry Split and Red Velvet - perfect for the summer months! I was lucky enough to be sent the red velvet and jelly & ice cream teas to try!

Let's start with the red velvet tea....

Bluebird Tea - Red Velvet

This tea combines Sri Lankan black tea, cocoa shells, white chocolate sprinkles, beetroot slices (yes beetroot slices) and pomegranate flowers. The blend is very pretty with flecks of white, red and yellow mingled with the dark tea leaves and cocoa shells. It smells amazing....just like cake!

Bluebird Tea - Red Velvet

Add your boiling water and you get a very attractive, ruby red tea which has a chocolate aroma. This tea can be enjoyed with or without milk....not surprisingly I opted for no milk.

The tea has a rich, bold flavour....again very reminiscent of a slice of cake. It's a warm, soothing tea, which would satisfy a sweet tooth without being overly sweet. It's an authentic flavour, not at all artificial. A lovely cuppa!

The second tea is a rooibos blend called Jelly & Ice Cream....

Bluebird Tea - Jelly & Ice Cream

This blend includes rooibos, vanilla, strawberries and elderberries.....and really smells like strawberries and cream when you open the packet! The aroma made my mouth water and made me smile....surely a sign of a great beverage!

Bluebird Tea - Jelly & Ice Cream

This blend can be enjoyed hot or cold - on this occasion I opted for hot. The tea is a pretty amber colour when brewed and smells just like strawberries! It's a really fun tea, which reminds me very much of jelly and ice-cream. The flavours are strawberry and vanilla, with creamy hints. 

I can't wait to try this as a cold drink!

For more information about the Bluebird Teas pop by their website

Bluebird Teas - The Summer Collection 2016

I'd like to thank the team at Bluebird Teas for sending us these teas to try - it's always great to sample new and exciting blends. Please remember that this hasn't effected our taste buds though, and all opinions expressed in this post are our own.

Have you tried any of the summer collection yet - we'd love to hear what you think. Get in touch and leave us a comment below with your favourite!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

The Friday Review....JADU Tea

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - today we have another tea-riffc Friday Review for you and today we are trying several teas from JADU Tea.

JADU Tea London is an independent Luxury Tea Brand based in the UK. ‘JADU’ is ‘magic’ in ancient Sanskrit and their mission is to conjure a little magic through the exploration of the enchanting world of tea. Their young team has a deep passion and enthusiastic commitment to reveal and celebrate the charm and allure of tea as a beneficial healthful beverage.

JADU Tea's aim is to offer high quality, luxury gift teas that bring a sense of indulgence and satisfaction to every customer.

We are reviewing three different teas today.....

JADU Teas

Here we have the Spa Afternoon tea, the Rooibos Creme Brulee and the China Green.

Let's begin with the intriguingly named Spa Afternoon tea which we received in a pretty gift box....

Spa Afternoon - JADU Tea

This is a loose leaf blend of Spearmint, Chinese Ti Guan Yin oolong tea, Nettle, Dandelion, Burdock, and Milk Thistle, which is designed to cleanse and purify. 

The leaves have a distinctive spearmint aroma to them, which hits you as soon as you open the box.

Spa Afternoon - JADU Tea

To make the tea, heat water to 80°C and infuse with 3g of tea per 200ml water for approximately 2 minutes - drink without milk.

Once brewed you have a lovely, light and refreshing cup of tea. It is minty in flavour, but not as minty as I had expected considering the aroma (to me this was a plus as it wasn't overpowering). I really enjoyed this cuppa.

Spa Afternoon - JADU Tea

Please ignore all the escaped leaves - I think I need to new strainer!

Now for something completely different - the Rooibos Creme Brulee....

Rooibos Creme Brulee - JADU Tea

A smooth, sweet treat in the form of an innocent herbal infusion. 

This blend is based on rooibos, the South African herb that is a popular naturally caffeine-free alternative to tea, combined with rich caramel and hints of cinnamon. 

The leaves have a wonderful rich, caramel aroma.

This blend includes Rooibos, Cinnamon, Caramel pieces, Hazelnut pieces and Calendula petals.

Rooibos Creme Brulee - JADU Tea

This tea once brewed can be enjoyed with or without milk (I opted for without).

The tea has such a pretty aroma and a rich amber colour. Its definitely a tea for someone with a sweet tooth as the caramel flavours come through really well, but saying that I found it quite a light blend (so again, not too overpowering).

Finally we move onto something a little more traditional....the China Green tea, which we tried in the form of a tea pyramid....

China Green - JADU Tea

This is a full-bodied green tea from the Yunnan province of China.

To brew the tea it is recommended that you heat water to about 80°C and infuse 3g of tea per 200ml of water for 2 minutes. Enjoy this green tea without milk.

China Green - JADU Tea

I love a good cup of green tea and this cuppa was lovely - it had a subtle grassy flavour, very refreshing and easy to drink.

All in all I enjoyed all the teas we tried from JADU Tea and I loved the gift box that the Afternoon Spa tea came in (this is optional when purchasing the tea). There are ten teas in the JADU Tea range, including several black teas, green teas, a white tea, the rooibos we tried here several herbal infusions. To read more about the range pop by the JADU Tea website.

We'd like to thank JADU Tea for sending us their teas to try. But please remember that although we have received these teas free of charge this has not effected our taste buds, and all thoughts expressed here are our own.

Have you tried any of the JADU Teas? We'd love to hear your thoughts....

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

The Friday Review....BRUU Tea

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends...guess what...it's Friday and so we have another tea-riffic tea review for you!

We were really excited recently when this little box was delivered through our letter box by our postman...

BRUU - the gourmet tea club

Yes, BRUU is a tea club.....and they send you tea through the post....I love this idea and couldn't wait to try the tea....

BRUU tea - through your letterbox!

The idea behind this tea subscription is simple....you join, you call the shots and they send you a different set of teas each month. The tea selection is personalised, depending on your preferences and all the teas are high quality loose leaf blends. 

Let's start by looking at the tea which BRUU sent us from their huge selection....

BRUU Tea selection

In our box we had:

Lemon Meets Ginger

Famous White Dragon

If Terry's did Rooibos

In normal tea language....what we have here is a green tea, a white tea and a rooibos. Once brewed I have to say they made a pretty trio, with bright vibrant colours...

The first tea I decided to try was the Lemon Meets Ginger, which has a green tea as its base. I hadn't come across a green tea blended with lemon and ginger before, but imagined a bright, zingy tea perfect for the morning.

As soon as I opened the packet I was hit by the aroma of lemons, it actually made my mouth water! 

Lemon Meets Ginger - BRUU Tea

Each packet comes with brewing instructions so you can enjoy the perfect cuppa, including water temperature, amount of leaves and brewing time. So once I'd finished sniffing my tea I added the water....

This photo doesn't really do the tea justice...as the tea is really a beautiful, bright yellow once brewed. The aroma of lemons continues and the taste is zingy and bright. The lemon is probably the strongest flavour, with the ginger coming through as a warming hint at the end of each mouthful. The taste is clean and not at all synthetic - a great cup of tea to wake up to in the morning.

Next let's take a look at the Rooibos tea....If Terry's Did Rooibos....

If Terry's did Rooibos....BRUU tea

Now....as the name suggests....open the packet with your eyes shut (although I'm not entirely sure why you would do that) and your nostrils could be fooled into believing there is a certain chocolate and orange treat in front of you. The aroma is amazing...again...my mouth watered!

Once brewed the tea is a lovely warm orange colour, it looks like a very inviting cup of tea.

The flavour is more orange than chocolate, but it still reminded me of that chocolate treat I indulge in every Christmas (yes, I said the C word!). This is a warming cup of tea, perfect for the autumn evenings.

Finally I moved onto the White tea....now I love a good cup of white tea and so I was intrigued by the Famous White Dragon....

Famous White Dragon - BRUU tea

Although this blend has a white tea base, it is packed full of fruity flavour, including ......dragon fruit! When I opened the packet, the air was filled with sweet notes....I couldn't wait to try the tea....

A slightly lighter coloured tea when brewed, it also had a more delicate flavour too (to match the delicate white tea base). This tea is light and fruity and very refreshing - it reminded me of berries. This was definitely my favourite from the selection we were sent.

So...how do you get your hands on a BRUU tea subscription you might ask.....well its very simple actually, just visit the BRUU website and pick the package that you want. You can decide whether you want two, three or four teas each month and you can also say what kinds of teas you like to drink. You can then choose from monthly payments or one-off payments of 3, 6 or 12 months - making it a very flexible subscription. Subscriptions start from about £10 per month.....pop by the website for more information and to see some more of the teas that could be sent to you.

We'd like to thank BRUU for sending us these teas - we thoroughly enjoyed discovering more about their tea club! Please remember that although we have received these teas for free, this hasn't effected our taste buds at all and all opinions expressed here are our own.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

The Friday Review....Birchall Tea....Part Two

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends.

Do you remember a little while ago we enjoyed a tea-riffic tea tasting event with Birchall Tea?  Last time we told you about the company itself.....but we didn't tell you much about the teas. Birchall Tea has black teas, green teas as well as fruit and herbal infusions in their range and today we are taking a taste of their Redbush.

Now, I'm not the greatest fan of Rooibos teas and so I decided to ask the lovely Beth to sample this one for me as I know she rather enjoys a cup of Rooibos.

I can honestly say that this is the nicest Redbush tea that I have ever tasted – and I am a real connoisseur, having been a regular drinker of Redbush (or Rooibos as I call it, having been introduced to it by my South African family) for the last 6 years.

Redbush Tea - Birchall Tea

The design of the bag is very sumptuous - from the way it looks to quality of the material used - and already makes you feel like you’re in for a treat. 

The taste of the tea is smooth, incredibly flavoursome and full, which leads to the whole experience being extremely satisfying. 

I will be keeping a close eye on where I can source these teabags as my box is not going to last very long – having devoured 5 cups the first day I had it!

Well it certainly sounds like Beth enjoyed this Redbush! This red rooibos tea is made from the soft needle-like leaves of the South African plant, Aspalathus linearis, it is rich in anti-oxidants and naturally caffeine free.

You can buy this tea directly from Birchall Tea on their website, where you can also find information about the rest of their range.

Thank you for popping by today,
Rachel

The Friday Review.....Dragonfly Tea

Hello there,

Well, it's Friday again (doesn't it come around quickly!) and so that means it's time to share with you our latest tea review. This week we wanted to share a slightly overdue review with you from Dragonfly Tea. Earlier this month a wonderful surprise arrived at Tea With Me and Friends Towers in the form of a scrummy dark chocolate Easter egg. However, this was no normal Easter egg....just look what we found inside....

Easter treats from Dragonfly Tea

Now I'm afraid that I don't have a photo of the beautiful Easter egg before I decided to smash it to pieces! I can tell you that it was made by New Forest Chocolates and was a decadent dark chocolate with a gold dusting.....and it was really nice....so nice that Lorna might not have actually eaten any of it (sorry Lorna!).

Now inside the egg I found four Dragonfly teabags.....

Dragonfly Tea

Dragonfly Tea are a family-owned, British company with a hundred year heritage of sourcing, growing and making pure and fine teas. They offer tea lovers a range of authentic, artisan teas from across the globe, and include black, green, white, naturally caffeine free and rooibos teas. 

All Dragonfly Teas are organic and each string & tag sachet comes individually sealed. On your tags you will find wonderful little quotes to make you smile.....

We were looking forward to sampling the four teas we found nestled inside our Easter egg (so much better than finding chocolate inside!). We had "Emerald Mountain" an organic green tea, "Golden Himalaya" an organic Darjeeling tea, "Cape Malay Chai" and organic spiced Rooibos and "Swirling Mist" an organic white tea to sample. Aren't those names just fabulous!

Let the tea tasting begin.....

Dragonfly Tea Tasting

We decided to try the four teas together so we could compare the flavours and really notice the difference between the teas....so we got our favourite teacups out (and my beautiful new Fortnum and Masons mug!) and got brewing.

The first thing we noticed was the difference in colours of the different teas....

Dragonfly Tea Tasting

From left to right we have the white tea which was a pale yellow hue, next the rooibos which was a rosy red, next the Darjeeling which was a beautiful amber and finally the green tea which had a pale green colour. All were vibrant, but clear.

Let's start with the Emerald Mountain, the green tea....

Emerald Mountain Organic Green Tea, Dragonfly Tea

This tea comes from Southern China and is a beautiful light green colour once brewed for approximately two minutes. It has a smooth and light flavour.....with no hint of bitterness.

Next came Golden Himalaya, the organic Darjeeling....

Golden Himalaya Organic Darjeeling Tea, Dragonfly Tea

I love the bright amber of this tea, its so welcoming and made me smile once it had brewed. This tea comes from tea gardens in the Himalayan foothills.

The flavour is warm and rich but remains light....it has a slight fruity taste which I really enjoyed. This was my favourite of the four teas and would make a lovely cuppa to brighten your day.

We then moved onto the Cape Malay Chai, the organic spiced rooibos....

Cape Malay Chai, Organic Spiced Rooibos, Dragonfly Tea

Now if you have read any of our Friday Reviews before you'll know my feelings about Rooibos teas....I have never really "got" them. However, the brilliant thing about The Friday Review blog posts is that its allowing me to expand my taste buds.

This tea has a lovely rosy hue, but as you can see from the photo it is still clear and not cloudy. It also has a wonderful spicy aroma. The taste too is warm, soothing and lightly spiced....not at all overpowering.

Finally we have the Swirling Mist, an organic white tea....

Swirling Mist, organic white tea, Dragonfly Tea

This is a delicate and light tea, which has a pale yellow hue when brewed for a couple of minutes. Lorna commented that this was a refreshing cup of tea, very thirst quenching.

All in all we enjoyed all these teas and would like to thank Dragonfly Tea for sending us these samples. We also have some more blends to try so watch this space for another Friday Review coming soon!

To find out more about the Dragonfly Teas please visit their website, here you will also be able to find out Stockists or buy directly online.

So, over to you....have you tried any of the Dragonfly Teas? Do you have a favourite Dragonfly Tea....let us know which it is....

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

The Friday Review...Piacha Tea

Hello there,

It's Friday again (doesn't it come around quickly??) and so it's time for another Friday tea review from Tea With Me and Friends! This week we are sharing with you a couple of teas from Piacha a tea bar & shop in London.

Bit of a weird name I hear you say...one you haven't heard of before...well according to the website Piacha means either ‘drink tea’ or ‘devoted to tea’. However, in this tea bar's case it also means Pia’s tea – as the tea bar was founded by Pia, a tea enthusiast ex-lawyer.

Pia got in touch with us recently to introduce her tea bar and tea range they offer.  The Piacha tea range consists of an impressive twenty-two teas and blends, including black, green, oolong, herbal, rooibos and hibiscus teas. The website includes phrases such as "intriguing tea blends", "full flavours" and "tea smoothies" - as you can imagine this peeked our interest some what!

Pia kindly sent us a selection of teas to try, but today we are going to focus on two Rooibos blends - rhubarb rooibos and rooiboos choc cinnamon.

If I am honest I am not a huge fan of rooibos teas, there is something about the flavour that I'm not keen on. In fact I might have asked a friend to sample the rhubarb rooibos first....

Rhubarb Rooibos - Piacha

Now this blend is described as a "guilt and caffeine-free treat", as rooibos has been blended with  strawberries, rhubarb and a hint of creamy fudge. But does it live up to this claim?

The minute I poured the boiling water over the infuser my nose was hit by the sweet aroma and my mouth actually watered! I was rather jealous of this cuppa that I had asked my friend to sample for me! As I handed her the cup full of ruby red tea I wondered whether it would taste as good as it smells.....blends like this have let me down so much previously. However, Beth assured me that the tea was indeed delicious....and that was it I needed to taste it for myself!

The blend is sweet, but not in an artificial way, it's refreshing and ever so slightly creamy. All in all a lovely cup of tea....I even made myself a cup to enjoy! I also think this would also make a lovely iced tea in the warmer months.

Inspired by this discovery I decided to brave the rooiboos choc cinnamon blend on my own....

This time the rooibos is blended with cardamom and cinnamon for a more soothing cup, it is then finished with a hint of vanilla and cocoa to add some sweetness.

The tea is a strong amber colour and its extremely fragrant, the aroma lingering in the air for a while after I had finished my cup (weird I know!).

Now if the first blend reminds me of the summertime, then this one definitely reminds me of the winter months - full of cinnamon treats and comfort. It also sort of reminded me of apple pies, but that was probably just the cinnamon and the vanilla in the blend. I have to admit that I didn't enjoy this blend quite as much as the first - I couldn't quite put my finger on why, but it wasn't as appealing to me (it could just be my rather sweet tooth!).

You can enjoy these blends for yourself in the tea bar in Islingston, London - either as a take away or drink in experience. You can also buy the loose leaf blends directly from the website. The weights vary slightly, but it's approximately £6.90 for 100g.

You can also buy really cute tea gift cards....

Thank you for Pia for sharing these teas with us, please note that although we have received samples for free all opinions expressed in this post are our own. Look out for more tea reviews featuring Piacha tea blends in the future!

Now over to you, have you tried any Piacha teas? Do you like rooibos teas and do you have a favourite? We'd love to hear from you....let us know by leaving a comment below!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel

Tried and Tested .....Twinings Tea - Awake

Hello there,

As we are coming to the end of tea month on Tea With Me and Friends I thought it was time that I shared with you another tried and tested tea review.

Recently I was a little disappointed to discover that one of my Twinings teabags had exploded in it's box. When I brought this to Twinings attention I am pleased to report that their customer service response was not only speedy, but also very customer focused. I received a letter from them within days, which also included some vouchers and also some new teabags to try - I was very impressed!

Great customer service from Twinings Tea

I have to say that I was rather intrigued by the attractive bright orange packaging of the Awake teabag and so I decided to give this one a try first. When I read about the tea on the Twinings website I found it is a herbal infusion featuring rooibos, ginger and ginseng making it a caffeine free way to kick start your day.

Just looking at the packet makes me smile!

The tea itself is indeed very refreshing and bright, as it includes a hint of peppermint and cinnamon with the other ingredients. I brewed the tea for a couple of minutes, as recommended by Twinings, and was pleased with the warm appearance of the brew.

A caffeine free way to kick start your day! Twinings Awake

This tea both looked and smelt great, and also tickled the taste buds - a great alternative to my usual cup of strong black tea or coffee first thing in the morning!

I'd like to thank Twinings for sharing with me! Have you tried this unusual infusion - what did you think?

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

Tried and Tested Tea....Bellevue Tea

Hello there,

Welcome to a new series of articles from Tea With Me and Friends - since it's tea month in March we thought we'd start sharing some tried and tested articles with you. If you read our resolutions post at the beginning of the year you'll know that I wanted to spend some time in 2014 learning about tea and trying out different types of tea.

In these "tried and tested" articles I will be sharing with you some of the teas I have tried and what I thought about them!

I'm kicking off with several different teas from bellevue Tea, which is an independently owned family business based in London. Bellevue was founded by Clare Jones and her tea trader husband Mike...both have a love of tea a an extensive knowledge which helps them source high quality tea.

Clare and Mike very kindly got in touch with me and sent us some lovely tea to try out......

A selection of Bellevue Tea

We were really spoilt by bellevue who sent us Ceylon black tea bags, Rooibos tea bags and a pouch of the bellevue belter (a strong, loose leaf blend). The teabags all come neatly packed in a box, each is stringed and has a tag - there are 25 individually wrapped bags in each box. The bellevue belter comes in pouches of either 100g or 500g.

Nicely packaged bellevue tea

I decided to start my tea tasting with a cup of Rooibos tea......which proved to be a lovely, rich and smooth "red bush" tea. The tea had a gorgeous mahogany-red colour, and a slightly sweet flavour. I drank my cup without milk or sugar/honey...but you can add all of these to taste.

A tasty cup of bellevue tea rooibos tea

This tea costs £2.50 for 25 individually wrapped teabags.

The next tea I tried was the Ceylon black tea, which was also in teabag form. Now, I am a bit of a fan of  Ceylon tea, I love the refreshing flavour and its often my default choice when I am out for a spot of tea!

A Tea With Me and Friends favourite - a nice cup of Ceylon tea!

bellevue tea's Ceylon tea is hand-picked in Sri Lanka and has a lovely, fresh taste. Again, I enjoyed my cup black without any sweetener. This tea is also £2.50 for 25 individually wrapped teabags.

That just left me the bellevue belter to try, which is the bellevue house blend tea. This tea got its unusual name when a friend of bellevue tea was drinking it on holiday declared that it was ‘a real early morning belter’. This is a good strong blend, including teas from India and Africa.

A belter of a cup! May I introduce the bellevue belter!

Now I read all about this tea on the bellevue website and decided I would enjoy this tea first thing in the morning as an alternate to the cup of the coffee that I sometimes require to kick start my day! The tea had a wonderful aroma to it and was a lovely dark colour. It turns out that I'm quite a fan of stronger teas and this was a lovely cup of tea! Not too overpowering, I really enjoyed my cup of belter!

The bellevue belter is available as a loose leaf tea at £3.00 for 100g and £12.60 for 500g.

I really enjoyed my tea adventures with bellevue teas (thank you again for spoiling us!) - if you'd like to know more about the teas available pop by the bellevue tea website.

If you have tried any of these teas we'd love to know what you thought!

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel