Plenish Berry Gut Health 5x Shots [@NLi10]

 Plenish make one of my favourite 'not milks' but it's a little more expensive than my regular.  That makes it a nice breakfast treat.  So - when I saw the brand on a gut health I decided to give it a shot (or 5).

AND - it's Pomegranate based which I absolutely love.  There were single shots for £2 - but this 5x shots was £3.50 due to Tesco deals which seems a much better deal and you can give it a proper go.

So - I dug out the old Teapigs shot glass for 5 consecutive morning breakfasts and gave it a whirl.

The tastes are interesting, the cider vinegar flavour is most definitely there and the fruits and berries make it a pleasurable experience overall.  And the health benefits were interesting too - I think I'd say it did improve my 'gut health' for the time I was taking it.

Like all of these transitory bacteria products though it really only lasts as long as you use it so it's probably better as a nice morning boost of vitamins!

WWT Teapigs English Breakfast (plus cute animal pics) [@NLi10]

 We took a trip down to Bristol to visit the Wetlands Trust's site Slimbridge to see all the birds - and picked up a box of their tea at the same time - mainly as an excuse to share animal pictures.

Here is a shabby Egret - she is called Kevin!

These are Teapigs - so they have the lovely pyramids, but the eco friendly ones tear so easily due to the glue on the tab - note the little tear holes.

It mostly doesn't break but you have to be delicate with it...

...as with this tiny dormouse - that's a pretty small sock you're living in there!

The tea brews up nicely, and is pretty much the same as the standard Teapigs English Breakfast - a nice refreshing black tea

And ti finish - here is one of the pair of two otters they have at the site

It's a lovely place and big enough to occupy a whole day out - well worth a visit over half term!

https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/slimbridge/

Teapigs Kombucha - Original & Peach/Mango by @NLi10

 Kombucha is great - and Teapigs make some of the best quality big-brand tea there is - lets see what happens when you combine the two!

Here is the original version Kombucha.

It's made with Mao Feng green tea which is my favourite Teapig for home (the only one I buy in boxes of 50 for dreamy afternoons)

It aslo has all the right words like SCOBY and gives 5p to charity

Unfortunately it's really unexciting.  Good Kombucha sings with the memories of all the things that went into it, this was just odd pop.  Disapointing.

I also bought a Peach & Mango one - no picture of it in the glass - but this one was really nice!

The extra flavours have been added to balance out the bits I didn't like about the Original version, and while you couldn't identify it as TeaPigs it just tasted like decent Kombucha.

I'll have to look in Holland & Barrett to see if there are other flavours (and if they are still on the special offer!)

Things I use A Lot (I) aka What's In My Cupboard (@NLi10)

Ok - so essentially I'm running out of lockdown reviews again - but what a perfect excuse for a best of!  Less of a 'clips episode' than TV though as I'm not sure how recently I've mentioned any of these.

First up is my favourite TeaPigs.  I'm not a wine drinker, and I don't really get through much beer.  One thing I do love though is tea - and to me there is nothing that tops Tea Pigs Mao Feng Green Tea.  It has the right balance of strength and delicateness and tastes great hot or cold.  It's not a daily tea like my other green tea, but this is the one I save for a treat.

Along similar lines this isn't my everyday cooking oil, but Clearspring Japanese Toasted Sesame Oil turns fairly ordinary stir-fry ingredients into a luxury meal.  And it lasts for ages as you only need the tiniest bit to infuse the food and the kitchen with that little bit more authenticity.

This however I put on everything.  The original Schwartz Grill Mates Garlic & Herb Twist was a present, but you can still find them.  The mix is heavy on the salt and pepper, bu has other bits like garlic and chilli that you may not put on things.  This goes on my pad thai on toast (egg, this, tamarind, cooked in coconut oil), and goes great with every pasta and grill food that you can imagine.  If I ever can't get another one of these I might be in trouble (or have to blend my own).

I thought giving up dairy (mostly - still have milk in tea and pizzas with whatever they come with) would be impossible.  Switching to fake milk has really improved my sinuses and triggered some (accidental) weight loss too.  The two on the left are my favourite almond and Pea versions respectively.  The right hand one doesn't show up many places.  I believe that the Pea versions are the future and once people cotton on then it'll become the new alternative.  

Hope this was at least interesting!!

Teapigs Rhubarb & Ginger Tea (Waitrose) By @SpectreUK

I don't usually like ginger in tea. Mainly because the only ginger tea I have drank in the past is Lemon and Ginger, which has a habit of tasting a little medicinal, such as a cold remedy. Teapigs Rhubarb & Ginger should taste different at least. I do love rhubarb juice (sugared, of course) from the odd bit of rhubarb I grow in the garden (if I'm lucky). Though I was a little taken aback by the fifty / fifty ingredients in this recipe, as there is no tea involved just rhubarb and ginger. Obviously I've never written a blog about Lemon and Ginger tea, because I never bothered to look at the ingredients. I'll check next time I try to avoid a cup.

The flavour described on the back of the Teapigs Rhubarb & Ginger box is; "zesty rhubarb with a sweet ginger kick". There was certainly a dominant sharp fiery sweet smell of ginger on opening the packet within the box, with a fruity hint from the rhubarb. I rarely follow instructions, so ignored the recommended 3-5 minutes brewing time and left the tea temple in my mug for ages. There was a slight pinkish tint to the liquid in the mug upon removing the tea temple. On taste this was a surprisingly calming drink. There is an initial fruity zing from the rhubarb and sweetness with subtle fire behind it from the ginger. It was actually very nice indeed. Not a bit medicinal in flavour due to the fruitiness from the rhubarb and that sweetness from the ginger. The box also recommends trying a tea temple in iced water, which could be refreshing in the summer months!

Information on the box;
The 30g box contains 15 biodegradable tea temples. Ingredients are naturally caffeine free and include 50% rhubarb and 50% ginger.

Birmingham Marathon Food (@NLi10)

After a long day of spectating (and a lot of walking) as part of Birmingham’s first marathon I popped into the MAC cafe for a break.

In the cafe they have a large selection of cakes and teas - I chose the TeaPigs Mao Feng green tea and apple turnover. Both were perfectly lovely, but the main event was on its way.

Fish finger sandwich! 

This was made with great quality fingers and proper flakey fish this was a real mid day treat. 

And just enough to sustain me to see my friends finish the marathon - hooray!

Lorita's Bakehouse, Bromsgrove High St. (@NLi10) @LoritasBakehous

Bromsgrove has a very typically British high street at the moment.  The only things that can survive are the charity shops, the cheap shops and the boutique shops.  This suits me fine as I help out in the charity shop (Oxfam as usual), get my cheap lunch from the cheap shops, and then treat myself to nice things from the specialists.  Today is one of those treats as we popped into Lorita's Bakehouse (https://twitter.com/LoritasBakehous) for our lunch, and then decided that we could have some cakes for the afternoon too.  I don;t think I'd been in before as it's a few doors further than my usual place to sit and hide with TeaPigs and a hot sandwich, but it's good to try new places.  Both were very busy due to the rainy Saturday afternoon weather.



And I mean - who could pass up this selection! There is nothing on display here that I would have turned down, but after the amazing red marshmallow sensation last week I decided I'd take a slice of the raspberry and pistachio cheesecake and one of the banana custard slice.  We did share them between three of us (OK so I ate the most...)!

My partner's dirty cheese toasty is also worth an honourable mention - it was huge!  My smaller ciabatta was exactly what I needed, hot and tasty.



We took the cakes back to our shop and over the afternoon picked away at them.

So much cakey goodness!

A big problem with pretty puddings is that they never taste as good as they look, especially cupcakes, but here they are both as close as you can get.  I mean nothing could taste as good as the raspberry cheesecake looks, I don't think that's possible. On a bite per bite basis maybe the dark choc marshmallow bar was more to my taste, but this is a huge chunk of pudding and the milder, creamier flavour suits it more.  It's kind of like a milk jelly really, and actually tastes of pink (if that makes any sense).  The base is really well flavoured and the texture is soft but crumbly too.

Believe it or not though the banana custard slice was my favourite.  I loved this all, from the cunning use of the biscuits on the top (which naturally had gone a bit soft due to the moisture of the cream) to the real banana flavour of the base. It wasn't too sweet and had quite a deep, earthy taste which I loved.  I could imagine cutting the base into 9 little squares and having them next to a luxury coffee while the rain hammers on the cafe windows.

So, another place to add to the list of local cafe's to grab interesting things from when in Bromsgrove.  It's going to be hard to resist popping in again in two weeks time.

Rooibos Crème Caramel Tea (@Brown_and_Green, Trentham) By @spectreUK

Finding the most ostentatious sounding tea in a supermarket possibly shouldn’t be too hard for me. In previous delusions of grandeur I exclaimed horrified in one Waitrose some time ago that they’d run out of Waldorf Salad! This Rooibos Crème Caramel couldn’t sound much more pretentious (moi? – for Fawlty Towers fans) if it tried. Naturally caffeine free with fifteen biodegradable tea temples, the usual smart cardboard box from Teapigs oozed modern sophistication. Oh, and the smell… one of the odd things as a food blogger I find is you end up sniffing teabags! These are probably the best smelling teabags ever. They are a mixture of naturally caffeine free rooibos and chunks of caramel. Sported as a dessert tea with only two calories, this tea is possibly fit for kings… and I have fifteen cups!

The instructions suggest brewing for three minutes, but I’m a ‘builder’s tea’ type of tea drinker and left mine for ages. A drop of milk and a short wait to cool.... I immediately found that it was a bit odd drinking this tea at work. It felt like I should be somewhere else… like the top of an overly sunny mountain, surrounded by bonsai trees and scantily clad lady’s fanning me with big leaves, whilst someone out of eyeshot plays a harpsichord. This tea smells so good it’s difficult not to breathe it in through your nose whilst trying to drink it. This tea made me want to live in a forest, with all the houses made out of wood, and all the insides of these wooden houses smelling of Rooibos Crème Caramel. People dress in togas, greeting each other in the woodchip streets, and praise the Rooibos Crème Caramel tea at the tea(bag) temple on the top of the overly sunny mountain listening to birdsong (after someone shot the harpsichord player). The rooibos hits the tastebuds first mixing quickly with caramel sweetness. It was then that the creaminess mixed with the milk which left my tastebuds on sumptuous velvety cushions. Adding sugar would probably be insane and only for fanatics.

The box also suggests instead of adding milk, trying a spoonful of crème fraîche or possibly something I may try out of the office and its kitchen bustle is latte style; by covering a tea temple with boiling water for three minutes, then topping up with frothy boiling milk, and adding a dash of cinnamon… Pretentious Moi?

TeaPigs matcha super power green tea drink (@NLi10)

This was another one of those Ocado impulse purchases, although in fairness I'd have picked this up from anywhere!

TeaPigs have been good to us over the years, providing decent teas that are worth seeking out, and the occasional free bag in the post. These are based on the Macha Tea kit that I reviewed about a year ago where you mix up your own Macha drinks. Once I'd got the concentration of powder to juice right I found it a good way to start the day. Here we see they have premixed varieties.

The two flavours on offer were Elderflower and Apple, each offering their own temptations but both offering buckets of sprightliness.

I do love it when products look like Shrek juice! The elderflower variety was really sweet and citrusy - it contains concentrated lemon juice and is very reminiscent of the mornings I mixed the green tea powder with Orange juice. Nice enough but nothing too fantastic. As expected the Macha was a little too intense for me and I'd have been better off just having half a serving!

Because of this I shared out the Apple variety at lunch. This looks very similar but the flavours are a lot more subtle and refreshing. I believe I tried this mix at home too, but not with this degree of success. The person sampling this with me declared it to be 'better than just good, it's amazing!' Which is high praise indeed. 

While I'm not fussed about the elderflower on I can certainly see myself picking the apple variety up again, when out and about and requiring a boost anyway. 

The thing I was searching for on Ocado when I picked these up was another 50 Mao Feng Green Teabags which is my luxurious evening and weekend green tea that I treat in the same way as many would a can of beer or bottle of wine. It's nice to have a big box available!

While green teas are certainly an aquired taste I can see these being a popular addition to the TeaPigs range and hopefully the start of more quality ready to drink cold teas.

Higher Living, Green Tea Coconut (@holland_barrett) [by @NLi10]

While in Holland & Barrett I spotted a few other things that I added to the Snack-BackLog that I seem to always accumulate.  What can I say - there was a sale on! Today I'll be looking at this Higher Living Green Tea Coconut (there was a definite coconut theme on this shopping trip!)

As you can see this basically looks like Teapigs.  The box is the same, the colours are the same, the tea temples are renamed teepees but otherwise this is the same demographic.  Now - I'm not an expert on the luxury tea scene - this could well pre-date the TeaPigs branding, but it seems that more expensive teas do better when the imitate the market leaders.  

So lets have a cuppa and see what it's like!

The first thing to notice is that the smell is intense. There is a lot of coconut smell here and it's kind of off-putting! I know that I deliberately chose this due to it's inclusion but expected it to be more like the delicate hints of jasmine that I like in my favourite green tea.

The second thing is that it's a lot stronger in caffeine than I'd expected.  Maybe I overbrewed it and caused both of these together, but this works more for me like a regular cup of tea than a lighter drink and wasn't a good choice for late in the day.  I relocated these to work where the extra alertness is a plus.

It tasted much nicer than I'd expected from the intense smell, the coconut was a nicely sweet layer of the deep tea tastes.  I wouldn't say that it was quite as luxurious as the teapots green tea I have but it's kind of aiming for a different spot.  It's certainly interesting enough to want to pop back to Holland & Barrett to find other teas from this range, and nice enough that I'll have no problems finishing the box.  

This is one to have as your first drink of the day on a dark winter morning, where the smells and tastes remind you that summer will always come back (although the weather at the moment is more like tropical storms anyway).

TeaPigs - Popcorn Tea [@NLi10]

A while back I got sent some TeaPigs popcorn tea as part of the Matcha Tea review package. I took them to work and they got buried in a draw.

As the colder weather has drawn in I have found myself upping the tea rations and exploring all the things I had.  This sat undrank until I felt just the right kind of adventurous today.

I'd previously had some Genmaicha tea which is very similar to this and not really enjoyed it. I think it's dark earthy taste contrasted too starkly with the sweet chinese meal and drink if had next to it causing this bias.

Today I was careful to not make it too strong as a first attempt, but also not to add sugar so I could get the full flavour. To my surprise I quite liked it, the brown rice that gives it the distinctive earthy flavour was still the dominant flavour but it was more balanced than if expected.  I think that this tea would be a favourite for coffee drinkers or smokers who prefer dark flavours, as it doesn't really taste like a tea at all.

I'd much prefer to have a nice delicate cup of jasmine green tea or similar to this on 90% of occasions but I think that as a warming winter drink this works well.  As the original version of this tea I tried was bottled and therefore cold I think this is best enjoyed for me after a long walk in the snow or rain. It may be one therefore to look out for in cafes after walks.

I won't struggle to make it through all the teabags, but any that don't get used this winter will likely be kept til the next one.

Erlenbacher's Sunshine Cakes [review by @Nli10]

We were sent these cakes by the kind folks at www.erlenbacher.co.uk while away at Glastonbury.  They seem to have survived their time in the neighbours house and made their way to us for the review.

I think the idea is that these are the luxury cakes that you see in patisseries and cafes for you to either eat at home - or order in if you are a cafe that wants to attract more people.  They come beautifully presented in a paper container that is not only easy to remove but doesn't stick to the cake at all - it is even perforated so it tears down in sections quite satisfactorily - other cake manufacturers take note!

The two flavours we were sent were rhubarb and apple.

First up I tried the strawberry and rhubarb cake - this one above is a little squished due to transport but it's accompanying twin was in much better shape.  The range have similar soft bases with the toppings varying to give the different styles.  The fruit on this was good, not over dry and not over moist - the rhubarb being dominant over the strawberry but both providing a nice variety in tastes per mouthful.  Even though I cut this into slices to share it was easy to consume the whole thing without trouble.  More of a satisfying snack than a lunch, but great with a nice cup of tea.  

The textures were soft throughout and it had a good luxurious feel to it (again - the packaging really helped here).  The top was crisper than the base, but not hard as I initially thought it may be.  Also it wasn't too sweet which was pleasing, too many cakes try to compensate for flavour with sugar.

The following day I tried the Apple Crumble version.

The cake base for this seemed identical to the rhubarb one, but the topping was very different. There was less apple than I'd expected, but enough to give the flavour and all were recognisable chunks.  The crumble is the star here, providing a nice counter to the soft base and just adding a bit more bite to the experience.

That said - unusually for me I think I'd go for the rhubarb given the choice between the two.  I think the stronger flavours just appealed to me more.

While I'm not sure these are special enough to seek out cafes that stock them I'd certainly be happy when I spot them in town.  There are a few high-end cafes around Birmingham (I was in one in the Custard Factory yesterday - I had a slice of tiffin) and I'm frequently after something a little more substantial than a biscuit but less than a full meal to accompany my TeaPigs and this fits the bill well. Hopefully I'll get to try the chocolate flavour one day too!

Teapigs Organic Matcha Super Green Tea Powder [Review by @NLi10]

I'm a bit of a Teapigs fan boy.  After Cinabar mentioned them to me I tried them out and fell in love. 

Not as much in love as with Fentimans (whose first ever TV advert came out this week) but then that's a longer standing thing, and there are far more quality teas out there than quality soft drinks.  My other soft drink love - Pocari - is off to the moon next year, it really is a good time to be a quality brand.

Teapigs offered to send me a kit for their green tea powder (which I'd not heard of) so I said YES and received the below with a couple of other teas which I will review in the future.  I knew that I could get this off their website but I spotted it in Selfridges first and was amazed at how much it was.  The Teapigs site has it for much cheaper though and has a bundle deal like I got for £32.50.  This should last you for 30 days though so it's cheaper than a lot of diets or health kicks.

The question is, what is it and what does it do.  Essentially Matcha is a specific kind of green tea, that is ground into a fine powder (it looks like makeup). It's special properties are said to come from it's growing techniques (shade is involved) and the fact that you ingest the powdered leaves instead of throwing them away.  What it's supposed to do is listed here - and unlike a lot of 'bad science' food products this has references for all it's claims that link to peer reviewed journals. This is a good thing, as it means that it isn't just people agreeing with what the packets say - this has been tested.

In a nutshell it's a kick start for the morning.  Essentially you take a shot of the powder (with water, juice, milk - whatever you like) and your body slowly releases the caffeine and other good things over the course of the day.  The closest sensation I can link it to is the Health Potion that I reviewed many years ago - not for the initial roar of caffeine, but the calmer alertness that came later.  

In the above picture I did it with hot water (like tea) and below with cold milk.  The lumps in the top picture are as I took it before using the whisk - you realistically need one to get this perfect every time.

The below picture is with orange juice.  I expected this to be horrible, but it was surprisingly smooth. In fact it wasn't dissimilar to the 'shrek juice' smoothies that I like.  In fact the taste hasn't been a problem for me - it is just very strong green tea.  My partner tried one and had to be coaxed into drinking the second half of the shot - she disliked the flavour so much!  I guess that you already know whether you like green tea strong or weak so you can judge this yourself.

The real question is how effective this is.  The parcel arrived on the 9th of May and I started on the 10th.  This gives us 16 mornings of potential Matcha usage.  I wanted to write this up at the half way point and again at the end to see exactly what I thought as it went on.  I am tempted to eat a similar amount of normal loose tea in the following 30 days to see what that does, but we will see.

Initially I had no problem with compliance and the first 5 or so days passed without issue. I found that I had a little tea shot, then breakfast and about half way to work (I've been walking most days) i started to feel like it kicked in.  It is almost like a 'brightening' feeling where you are waking up a second time and not unlike drinking a cup of tea.  This lasts until after lunch and doesn't end with a crash but gradually peters out.  I grew to quite like this sensation and was happy to have the pick me up.  My walks home were more tiring, but not noticeably different to a day where I hadn't taken the shot.  I started to look into other types of powdered tea and where I can get the next months supply from.  I was reminded of one of my favourite ever online cartoon series called 'Beat The Blerch' and in combination with recent lifestyle changes was going to use this as the cornerstone of a new 'me'. But...

Around the 16th I noticed that I was having problems, which I suspected may be a combination of factors - most of them unique to me.  I've recently found out about a long standing medical condition that presumably I've always had but never really understood.  Two of the things that they say aggravate it are alcohol and caffeine.  At various times and for various reasons I've cut these out of my diet and improved my health - without really understanding why.  While the Matcha tea shot only has about the same as a cup of green tea (that I'd normally have most days at work) I found the mornings becoming gradually harder. Then one morning I felt terrible and was really groggy so completely forgot about the tea.  The day was less bright and breezy because of this, but the following morning I wasn't quite as groggy.  This got me to thinking about whether the powder tea was causing problems with my condition.

I switched back to having the shot that morning, but was now keeping a much closer eye on how I felt.  The day went well and the morning again was more lethargic and harder to get up from.

I had two days off from the powder to have a think about things.  I looked up the caffeine values for the things I'd been drinking and made a mental note of the alcohol I'd had at a couple of social outings.  I resolved that there should be no problems with having the shot in the morning as long as I only had one decaf tea besides that in a day and no alcohol.  This isn't a big change, but I think the problem days did occur when Pepsi and tea had also been consumed so I may be unfairly placing the burden on the matcha.

It is like this that I have continued, on weekends having the shot a little later as having energy when no one else is up seems unnecessary.  I've been OK in the mornings so far, but will monitor things.

For a person who can drink a normal amount of caffeine (say a cup of coffee a day, or two cups of regular tea) then this problem should be non existent.  You should expect to have half a day of bright and productive energy and no slump that sugar based energy drinks and highly caffeinated products produce.  I can't really talk about the skin side yet, I will see if I make it to the end of the thirty days.

Battle of the Green Teas [By @SpectreUK]

I've tried plenty of green teas in the past and even blogged about a few, such as my favourite Jasmin Tea. Green tea is supposed to help with digestion, so I like a good cup of green tea after lunch at work or after dinner especially when I've eaten something spicy. I love Japanese restaurants, such as Mount Fuji, for their fine food and selection of green teas such as Sencha and Houjicha. I also love regular green teas, such as green tea from Twinings. I found these two boxes of green teas languishing on the Foodstufffind's shelf and thought I'd let them fight it out after a trip to the local Chippy for some heavy greasy food to digest.

Mao Feng Green Tea (Westmorland Service Station)

This Mao Feng Green Tea was produced by Teapigs, in London, which are a favourite brand of mine, as they are the only company so far that I have found that can produce chocolate flavoured tea that I like! Just a quick look on Google told me that Mao Feng comes from the Anhui Province, in China. Apparently Teapigs use the whole leaf in their tea temples, which are perfectly spacious for the three minutes suggested infusion using one bag per mug. The shredded tea leaf filled the tea temple as I poured freshly boiled water over it in my tea mug. As it infused there was a definite bitey green tea smell from the light green liquid that tickled the hair in my nostrils. The taste was a smooth almost enchantingly delicate green tea flavour that soothed my stomach after my tasty yet slightly greasy chips and battered sausage, even leaving a soothing aftertaste to wash the grease away. I also felt a calming and relaxing effect from drinking this tea that soothed my mind and senses, not to dozing off point, but at least to ease the incessant buzzing of thoughts that constantly drive my head. I could have drunk one cup after another of this Mao Feng Green Tea all afternoon, which is rare for me as I hardly ever drink tea (he snorts tea out of his nose as he lies terribly!).

Information on the box;
15 Biodegradable tea temples, which weighs 37.5g. Ingredients included; green tea (keeping it simple, I see...)

Green Tea Chai

Looking at the ingredients of this Green Tea Chai produced by Higher Living, in West Sussex, I could see that this was certainly a more complex drink than the Teapigs' Mao Feng Green Tea. The question crossed my mind as to whether this more complex green tea would add to the relaxing effect that green tea should have on the mind and the belly (and my belly is pretty sizable to get the whole thing relaxed), or could its complexity take away some of the experience? I noticed on the box that Higher Living only uses ingredients grown to the highest standards and avoids using synthetic pesticides and fertilisers, which is good to know as these can be harmful to wildlife.

There was a definite mixed spice odour from the tea bag, with cinnamon being the most dominant smell. I undertook the suggested four to five minutes infusion, again using one teabag in my tea mug. The mixed spice smell from the teabag seemed to change on infusion to a predominate cardamom smell, with cloves and cinnamon in the background. The odour transcended to the taste with an initial mixed flavour of cardamom and cloves soon replaced by a fiery bite from the cinnamon. This was a very warming drink that didn't particularly relax me whilst drinking it as the brutish cinnamon thwack at the end of the flavour exploded between my senses, but the cold weather outside begged me to drink more. I would more likely drink this tea to warm myself up before leaving for the Chippy and sitting on a cold park bench to enjoy my greasy salty chips and battered sausage.

Information on the box;
20 tea bags in a 40g box. Ingredients included; green tea (56%), cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves.

Verdict: I enjoyed drinking both of these green teas very much and realised on tasting them that they were both at different ends of the spectrum where flavour and venue were concerned. For an all year mind and after lunch or after dinner belly soother I'd happily drink gallons of the Mao Feng Green Tea, whereas for a winter green tea warmer I'd pick the Green Tea Chai with it's fiery spice to heat me up against the chill outside.

By Spectre

Teapigs - Silver Tips White Tea [by @NLi10] (@Teapigs)

Here at FSF we all quite like tea so when TeaPigs posted a thing on Twitter saying random people would get free tea for a retweet I was happy to roll the dice - after-all someone must be winning these things.  Lo and behold my ID was picked and I got sent some free tea!  I was expecting a little box of them, so two teabags in an envelope was a shock, but one that was presumably much easier to post and so more likely to result in future give aways.

I've had TeaPigs before - Cinabar raves about them and I often spot it in cafe's and pubs (!) and choose that over more traditional alternatives.  To me this is a fine alternative and not a compromise.  It's just not a brand I ever considered taking home - even though one Bromsgrove cafe seems to have pretty much all the range (21 flavours apparently)!

The type I received was silver tips white tea, which I'd not had before but a friend is a very keen drinker due to a recommendation by her beauty therapist who says it is good for healthy skin!  I decided that like them I should drink it without milk and like green tea just leave the bag in.  The teabag itself (or to use their parlance - Tea Temple) is a kind of odd plastic-like (yet biodegradable) gauze which seems to both be very solid and almost not there.  It's an interesting little thing.  The leaves are noticeably leafy and will easily confuse children that hadn't actually thought about what tea is made from, even the tea dust in the bag is green and recognisably leafy - AND stays in the bag!

The tea is quite full bodied and only slightly aromatic.  It's not floral like the earl grey and Jasmines that I tend to drink without milk.  It does almost feel like a very posh version of PG Tips, but there is maybe less of a green tea and more of an earthiness to the blend.  More importantly there is a substance here - it tastes strong without tasting stewed and there are still subtle notes to the flavour even towards the bottom of the mug.  It makes me want to experience more of the alternative varieties that are out there.


At first with the luxury soft drinks from Fentimans I was reluctant to take them home and to buy them in larger quantities as I felt it may spoil the magic of drinking them out and having something special to hunt for in pubs that would never be a disappointment.  As is probably obvious to long time readers I soon got over this and now fill a basket at Waitrose or Ocado with these every so often so I can treat myself at home.

Why am I bringing this up?  TeaPigs is a luxury brand that is made by a small, local company costing pounds in a crowded marketplace where the basic product (a store brand teabag or cola) can be had for pence.  This is justified by the fact that these are products that are made with both the consumer and the tea-picker in mind - all the flavour with non of the compromises, just like Fentimans.  In these austere times it's pretty hard to justify that step up to something like this for the 4 or 5 normal cups of tea I have in a day, but I don't think I would want to - this is supposed to be special and savoured.  I can see myself seeking out a couple of boxes of these to stash away in a tea caddy for a speedy special occasion drink (one for home and one for work).

In short I think that TeaPigs is slowly becoming my Fentimans of tea, and I can't think of any higher compliment than that.

Yerba Mate (@TebayServices Westmorland Service Station) [By @SpectreUK]

Made from pure yerba mate leaves there are 15 biodegradable tea temples in the 22.5g box from Teapigs. The box stated that people would either love or hate this tea. So I guessed it was rather like the Marmite of tea. Sadly I’ve never been a fan of Marmite, but I do like most teas, so I thought I’d give this a go. Yerba mate grows in South America. It is said that drinking the leaves increases focus and alertness while helping with detoxing and weight loss. I could always do with a detox from all the booze I drink and some weight loss from all the crisps, cakes and sweets I eat, and besides my attention span is.... what was I talking about? Anyway, the back of the box suggested drinking this tea without milk and with a touch of either cinnamon, which I am definitely not a fan of, or ginger. I was sure that there would be some cinnamon in the house somewhere as Cinabar had recently eaten some of her special home-made cinnamon toast, but I just couldn’t bring myself to look for it. I couldn’t find any ginger to sprinkle into the drink either and didn’t have any ginger biscuits for dunking , so I had to drink this tea straight, which was fine with me. Having said that once I’d squeezed the life out of the teabag and left the brew to cool to drinking temperature I was surprised at just how smoky this tea was. It was like drinking a cigarette, but I wouldn’t say that in a totally bad sense! I gave up smoking over fourteen years ago and still have the odd craving now and then. This drink really did taste like tobacco. Not bad either. With a touch of ginger or cinnamon I’m sure it wouldn’t be noticeable as they are such strong flavours in their own right and very warming tastes for cold winter’s nights. Without those added sprinkles this drink would be perfect for ex-smokers who miss the taste but don’t want the hassle of going out into the cold and wet to light up, and there’s the whole nicotine addiction problem with smoking too. It would also be perfect for smokers who want a little extra to warm themselves up after being frozen solid outside. Although, being addicted to tea isn’t a bad thing at all... I think it’s just being called English!

By Spectre

TeaPigs [English Breakfast / Chilli Tea / Chocolate Flake Tea) (Harvey Nichols) [By @SpectreUK]

Although beer is my favourite drink, tea is definitely my favourite non-alcoholic drink. Tea has its advantages over beer. You can drink as much as you like and still drive, and also you don’t get yelled at by the missus as you can’t get plastered on tea. Teapigs started out in 2006. They have a range of teas in every colour you can think of from black, green, white, red (Rooibos), blue (Oolong) and Herbal tea. They also sell teapots, mugs and a range of gadgets and accessories, such as the Loose Leaf Infuser and the Infusing Wheel (which sounds a bit like a Chinese tea torture device).

I was impressed by the professional look of the packaging for these three tea blends. Though there are three tea temples in each tin, which means there is an awful lot of packaging for just nine bags of tea. However, it does say on the bottom of the plastic box to reuse the tins or recycle them, which is a comfort. Teapigs’ website also states that they use environmentally friendly packaging, so the plastic will end up in the recycling bag later…

English Breakfast - Morning Glory

There is a cockerel on the front of the tin to help you get in the waking up mood. This tea is made from a blend of Rwandan, Assam and Ceylon tea. After infusing for around three minutes and adding a spot of milk, I let the drink cool for a few more minutes. On drinking I could easily taste the hardened edge of Assam, followed by a sharp kick that was a taste I was unfamiliar with. I suspect that this taste was the blended Rwandan. These two flavours brushing together in the mouth really enliven the senses with each mouthful, this wake up taste then gently smoothes out with Ceylon. It’s an ingenious blend of tea that is a real treat to wake up to. It’s just a shame I only have two temples left now…

Chilli Tea – Drink it Raw

The fire extinguisher on the front of the tin raised some alarm bells for this tea. I’ve tried chilli chocolate and chilli beer, but not chilli tea. Without tasting I can’t tell whether it’s a good idea, but it is innovative, as I’ve never seen chilli flavoured tea before. This innovativeness could either be considered as brave or foolish. Sometimes you just shouldn’t do something, even if it hasn’t been done before. It suggests on the tin that you can drink this with or without milk. I decided to try it with milk to start with and perhaps drink one without milk later. Ceylon tea has been blended with orange peel, chilli pieces and natural orange flavouring. The tin suggests you try it with a slice of orange also, but I thought that there was enough orange in the ingredients without adding any more.

There is a strong orange smell to this beverage that worryingly screams of Beechams. Fortunately the drink itself actually tastes like tea that’s been flavoured with orange, rather than an orange flavoured remedy for a bad cold. Unlike the smoothness at the end of each mouthful of the English Breakfast blend, there is a light bite of chilli at the back of the mouth. Still the orange flavour threatens to overpower when breathing in the aroma before every taste. Just before my tastebuds differentiated between the tea and the orange flavour and a sinking feeling took over, the chilli bite snapped me out of it. Ceylon Orange Pekoe tea mixed with chilli may help to alleviate the smell and strong taste of orange, whilst still giving the chilli bite I actually started to look forward to at the end of every mouthful.

Chocolate Flake Tea - Melt Away

Chocolate mixed with coffee works for some, for me only in coffee flavoured chocolates. Coffee mixed with tea doesn’t work at all – come on, we’ve all tried it once and it’s revolting! Chocolate mixed with tea? A few months ago I’d have said that was a silly idea, yet a few months ago I said that chocolate beer was a silly idea, and look where that got me! However, I’m just not at all keen on the idea of chocolate mixed with tea. The tea bag smells quite strongly of chocolate, which is small wonder considering the tin claims that there are cocoa beans and chocolate flakes mixed in with the tea. In the absence of cream I had to opt for milk, having just finished my lunch I couldn’t help thinking that this drink could go down very well indeed or alternatively be a complete disaster. As with all these blends the tin recommended 3 minutes infusion, so I gave it roughly three minutes to infuse.

This beverage does smell of chocolate and you could be mistaken for drinking a hot chocolate if you close your eyes and just whiff, yet the liquid looks like a regular cup of tea. There is no froth, no brown glop to mix in, you just remove the tea temple and let it cool. On tasting I was pleased to find out that I was wrong again; you can mix chocolate with tea and get away with it. If you hate those rotten powdered chocolate drinks or the ones you have to mess around with boiling milk and then adding a blob of chocolate that never properly mixes in, then this is the drink for you. This drink is perfect for a late night hot drink before bed or a hot drink for pudding after a good hearty meal. There is a decent hit of tea with every mouthful wrapped lovingly around by a cocoa flavour that never overpowers the tea. The cocoa flavour respects the tea, pulling out the tea flavour without being sickly sweet, yet the cocoa still dances on the tastebuds as if it was always meant to be there. I don’t usually like a pudding, but I do like a hot drink of tea after a meal and this is absolutely perfect for a required chocolate hit, without the guilt of added fat on my belly. This Chocolate Flake Tea should be in every restaurant. I’ve found my perfect hot pudding drink and simply have to get more of this chocolate tea! And if I drink loads of it; I won’t put weight on, I can still drive and I won’t get yelled at for slurring or falling asleep in strange places!

By Spectre