BRUU tea subscription - discover new tea without leaving the house!

 Hello,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - we hope you are keeping well and safe.

Recently we were sent a tea subscription box from BRUU tea, a UK company who want to share their love and affinity with tea with everyone! BRUU tea's mission is to get people trying better tasting tea and their focus is tea subscription services. The subscriptions are based on individual's preferences and therefore hopefully you should receive teas that you really enjoy each month. 

So, let's tell you a little about our box....

First off, it's letter box sized, so no worries about missing your tea when its delivered at the beginning of each month. 

The box contained three named tea pouches, a mystery tea and some chocolate as an extra treat!

I liked the packaging, each tea pouch was labelled clearly and came with a little card to give you information about the tea. On the front of the card is the name, type and brewing instructions. On the back of the card you learn what the tea is, where it's from and why BRUU thinks its a great tea to try. Personally I love learning about new teas and blends when I try them, I think its interesting to read where they have come from etc. 

In my box I had a black tea, a green tea and a fruit tea. I was pleasantly surprised that I hadn't come across the black tea or the fruit tea blend previously.

I liked the handy little information cards, which can be stored easily for future reference. Although because they are nice and small, the print is also a little small!

On to the teas themselves.....

The black tea - Surianalle from Kerala in India

First thing I noted....the tea leaves are really fine, some will probably escape your strainer. The tea once brewed is a lovely, punchy morning tea. It's got a nutty brown colour and a really fresh taste, perfect for starting your day. I don't think I have come across this before, but really enjoyed it. 

The green tea - Mao Jian from Hunan, Xinyang China

A light yellow colour once brewed, I have to say this isn't one of my favourite green teas. To me it tastes "green", and I can't really taste that sweet and floral notes described on the tasting card...but that could just be me!

The fruit tea - Turkish Apple 

This blend surprised me - it includes lemongrass from West India, apple from Turkey and pineapple from America. The leaves have an almost creamy smell to them (this sounds weird, but honestly it smells creamy!). The blend creates a lovely warming cup of tea, perfect for the grey weather we are experiencing in the UK at the moment. The pineapple and apple brings the sweet notes, perfect against the mild spice of the lemongrass. I think you could enjoy this at any point in the day. 

I really enjoyed this blend! 

The important bits: The subscription starts from £10 and you receive three pouches of tea, enough for 20-40 cups depending on the tea. Subscription options are either rolling monthly or in blocks of 3, 6 or 12 months and you are free to cancel whenever you want. Postage in the UK is free, but BRUU tea will ship their subscription boxes outside of the UK too.

I'd like to thank the team at BRUU teas for sending us this subscription box. But please note that this gift hasn't effected our taste buds and all opinions expressed in this blog post belong to me!

If you'd like to find out more about BRUU tea please pop by their website.

Thanks for stopping by today,

Rachel 

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

Time for a little.....Tea Mail from Piacha

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends - today we have some very exciting news for you from our lovely friends at Piacha. Recently the fab London tea shop launched their Tea Mail subscription service - yes, tea lovers out there...you can join Piacha Tea Mail and have tea delivered straight to your door!

Piacha tea ships in a big envelope that fits through your letter box and packs in tea for two for a week. Better still....Piacha don't charge extra for UK delivery, and only 50p per tea for delivery in the EU. 

Pia very kindly offered me the chance to try the subscription service for myself.....a real treat to be able to pick a tea out from the range! I easily set up my account via the Piacha website, picked my tea from the range and sat back and waited....

Piacha Tea Mail subscription 

What wonderful post to recieve - a big envelope full of tea!

I opted to try Genmaicha - a jade green tea, blended with a generous helping of roasted brown rice. The leaves look really pretty with all the brown rice mixed in....

Genmaicha from Piacha

To brew this tea you should use 1-2 teaspoons of tea per mug. Add water at 80°C and infuse for 2 minutes - enjoy without milk. The tea once brewed is a pretty pale yellow colour and it has a nutty aroma....

The brown rice gives the tea a wonderful nutty flavour too, a bit like popcorn! It's a refreshing and unique taste - perfect if you are looking for something a little bit different!

The subscription service that Piacha offers is so flexible - you can opt to have a delivery as often as you want. As well as being flexible and easy to manage, it is also easy to unsubscribe, suspend or cancel orders at any point. Better still - tea bought via a subscription gives you a 10% discount on the standard prices! 

Piacha Tea Mail

The exciting bit....

In addition to trying the tea subscription myself, Pia has offered Tea With Me and Friends readers a tea-riffic 50% discount of your first tea order when you subscribe to regular tea deliveries. From now until the 8th August just use the code TEAWITHME@PIACHA when you set up your subscription to receive the discount.

T&Cs: 

Only available with code TEAWITHME@PIACHA - for purchase of tea envelopes at piacha.co.uk. 

Valid until 8 August 2016. 

New subscribers only.

One per household. 

Max. order £50.

To see the whole Piacha range and find out more about the subscription service please pop by the Piacha website. We hope you enjoy the subscription service - we'd love to hear about the tea you enjoy!

A big thank you to Pia for letting us try out her fab Tea Mail subscription!

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