It's Afternoon Tea Week!

Hello there,

Welcome back to Tea With Me and Friends, we're a bit excited today because it's the beginning of Afternoon Tea Week 2016! 

Afternoon Tea Week runs from 8th - 14th August this year and is a celebration of one of the nation’s favourite traditions. Whether enjoyed in a 5-star hotel, in a local tearoom, or as a home baked treat we know how much everyone loves a spot of afternoon tea and this week is the perfect opportunity to indulge! Pop by the Afternoon Tea Week website to see all the special events, exclusive offers, and competitions.

Some of the offers you can enjoy this week include 2 for 1 Champagne Afternoon Tea at Amba Hotel Marble Arch, 25% off Afternoon Tea in Oblix Lounge at The Shard, 25% off Birdcage Afternoon Tea at The Park Lane Hotel and 25% Afternoon Tea in Mirror Room at Rosewood London to name just a few!

In addition to celebrate Afternoon Tea Week Buyagift.com are offering Tea With Me and Friends readers an exclusive discount of 20% off all afternoon teas on the Buyagift.com website from 8th- 14th August, off some already discounted prices, simply enter AFTERNOONTEAPR at the checkout!

If you enjoy an afternoon tea adventure this week we'd love to hear all about it - leave us a comment or send us a Tweet!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna

The Friday Review.....JING Tea - Part 1

Hello there,

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a fab tea-filled week!

This Friday Review we are taking a peek at a couple of teas from JING Tea. Launched in 2004, JING is drunk in 75 countries around the world. Their range of loose teas and whole leaf teabags includes authentic examples of Asia's greatest teas, from China, Taiwan, Japan, India and Sri Lanka. And their hand-blown glass teapots and cups are just beautiful!

JING Tea teaware - photo from JING website

I was given several different JING Tea whole leaf tea bags at a tea event recently and looked forward to trying the teas.

JING tea bags

JING pack their whole leaf teas and herbal infusions into large teabags to allow maximum room for the leaves to expand and infuse. I decided to try the Earl Grey and the Jasmine Silver Needle tea bags first...

Silver Needle is a white tea from China. Its buds are picked and sun dried in April, in the mountains of China’s Fujian Province. In August, the tea is laid beneath a bed of fresh jasmine flowers for seven consecutive nights, combining the sweet white tea with a fresh, fragrant jasmine aroma.

JING recommend drinking this light tea at lunchtime or in the afternoon.

JING whole leaf tea bags

This tea should only be brewed for 2-3 minutes as its a light, fragrant tea. Once brewed the tea had a very pale yellow colour and the aroma is a very subtle jasmine.

Jasmine Silver Needle - JING tea 

The tea was light with a very refreshing flavour - the jasmine is distinct but not overpowering and I agree that it makes a lovely tea for afternoon drinking.

The classic Earl Grey is a Ceylon tea, scented with natural bergamot, from Sri Lanka. The tea also features blue cornflower petals, making it a very pretty teabag! It's a robust cup of tea, which once brewed is a lovely dark colour and has a smooth flavour.

Earl Grey - JING tea

The flavour of bergamot is obvious, but not overpowering - again its a refreshing cuppa! I would probably prefer to drink this in the morning as its a more robust tea than the Silver Needle.

For more information about JING tea and to see the other teas in their range pop by the JING tea website....you should also take a peek at their gorgeous teaware while you're there!

JING tea teaware - photo from JING website

Do you have a favourite JING tea? We'd love to hear from you if you do - leave us a comment or contact us on Twitter or Facebook.

Thank you for popping by today,

Rachel

March is tea month!

Hello there!

If you popped by Tea With Me and Friends during January you might have read about our resolutions for 2014....and you might remember that one of them was to learn more about Tea!

We all know that I love a good cup of tea with my cake, but at the moment I don't know much about it. I have already started expanding my taste buds, experimenting with different tea leaves and blends...not always picking the same tea when I'm indulging my sweet tooth in the afternoon!

Time for a cuppa?

Next month I am going to take this a step further and will explore more about the humble cup of tea....where did it come from and how did it get to be such a popular beverage in Britain? 

I declare that March will be tea month at Tea With Me and Friends!

Afternoon tea with Tea With Me and Friends

We hope you will join us to share in a little of the history, look at the different leaves and tell us about your favourite cuppa! We might also drool over the odd teacup or too! If you have anything tea related that you would like to share with us just get in touch!

Thanks for popping by today,

Rachel & Lorna