Harrods English Brekfast

Sorry for the delay everyone I have been busy with work and generally not drinking enough new tea :S

Brewing

As with most of the loose leaf teas I have reviewed a 3-5 minute brewing time as a matter of personal taste is required.

Colour


Tea coloured. This is quintessential tea!

Aroma

It smells like tea. I feel I may have to start reviewing more exotic teas to stop making this section a little boring :S

Taste

I think I prefer this to the Twinings English Breakfast. It seems to have a fuller flavour and is very good for kick starting your day :)

Londinium

Funnily enough I bought this tea in Harrods and have since enjoyed it on many occasions. Despite what you may have heard about Harrods this won't set you back any more than other leaf teas on the market. If you are a tea (or coffee) lover I can really recommend the Tea & Coffee section of Harrods. The staff there are very knowledgeable and helpful. There is also a ridiculous range of more expensive blends to try if you like :)

Conclusion

A very good cup of tea. Also not as expensive as you would expect!

Web-link

Harrods English Breakfast Tea

See you all next week!

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The State of Tea Drinking in Germany - Part 2

While I have returned to the UK this week I brought back some leaf tea from Germany with me.

Pictured is a delightful tea shop in the Arkaden at Potsdamer Platz. The staff were friendly and happily let me peruse their selection of teas which all have samples in little glass jars for your nose's pleasure.


The tea I chose to purchase smelled amazing - Blueberry Muffin tea :)

Brewing

Despite not being able to read German I have been able to ascertain that this tea should be brewed for between 2 and 4 minutes. I, as usual, preferred to brew it for longer. I decided to try the tea with and without milk as I was unable to determine the suggested course of action because of the language barrier.

Colour

A nice light brown which looks good with or without milk.

Aroma

There is a very strong smell of blueberry muffin which is almost overpowering in the bag. However when brewed the aroma is still present (and still lovely) but weaker. A good compromise I think.

Taste

In a similar vein to the sticky toffee flavoured tea from Whittard's this tea has a normal taste while the aroma provides a pleasant experience :)

I found that adding milk was my preferred choice for drinking this tea.

Cakes!

While I actually enjoyed this tea with a prototype cake (more on that after a tea party I have planned) I did also visit some friends this week (a delightful couple should you ever meet them). Their cake offering was an apricot flan with a good balance of sweetness (not too sweet as is common) and nice shortcrust pastry - lovely :)

Conclusion

German tea is definitely in a more than acceptable state, at least within Berlin.

Web-link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_culture#Germany - Good elsewhere too it would seem!

See you all next week!

P.S. The Riots

I strongly support the movement to drink tea in protest of the rioting in England currently. Show your support to our police forces, firemen and volunteers!

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The First Weekly Tea

The idea of me presenting my tea of the week was suggested at my birthday party last month. Since I am always happy to oblige in such endeavours I am going to start a weekly tea review blog :D

So this weeks tea is Whittard's Loose Leaf Sticky Toffee Pudding Flavoured Tea (currently 25% off in their Manchester store). It sounded crazy so I simply had to try it.

Brewing: "Always drink lightly brewed with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of leaves per 6-cup pot. Boil freshly drawn water, warm the pot first with a splash of hot water. Add the tea and pour on boiling water. Brew for 2-5 minutes. Do not add milk."

Brewing the tea is straightforward but it should be enjoyed without milk. I personally think that brewing this tea for 5 minutes is best to really get a strong aroma.

Colour: A traditional light brown tea colour

Aroma: It does exactly what it says on the tin! Just open the packet and take a long deep breath to truly get that sticky toffee pudding smell in your nostrils. A wonderful treat :)

Taste: I had no idea what to expect when tasting this tea, would it go down like syrup? Well disappointingly it tastes like normal tea (but with the amazing smell described above). However, I feel this is probably for the best as I don't know as if I could drink an entire cup of sticky toffee syrup (this is a lie, I totally could but probably shouldn't). These sentiments were also expressed by those who tasted the tea with me, so we have a consensus.

Conclusion: Nice tea taste, amazing smell. Warming and lovely.

Web-link: http://www.whittard.co.uk/tea/flavoured_tea/sticky_toffee_pudding_tea.htm

See you all next week!

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