drink 43 types of tea

Last two:

Lipton – the box is at work and I can’t remember the exact name but it’s something like Morocco Mint and Spices. It’s another mix of crushed peppermint with cinnamon etc and is another great minty tea. There are so many good mint teas in the shops now.

And the 43rd tea:
Twinings Ceylon. Well I thought I’d end on a classic. It’s an amber tea that is apparently supposed to be drunk at those light, relaxing moments of the day. I don’t really have light relaxing moments so decided to have one of these after lunch to see if it brought on a light relaxing feeling. I certainly had a better afternoon than morning, so perhaps it has magical properties.

I’ve really enjoyed this goal and will miss it lots.

Whittard Moroccan Mint tea

Takes me back to my holiday a few years ago in Morocco, when we drank so much mint tea that the gite actually ran out of mint. This is described as a ‘refreshing combination of green tea and spearmint drunk for centuries in Northern Africa, often served with sugar’. This is an understatement – they put loads of sugar in it in Morocco.
This is fine to drink without sugar, does taste authentic but I kept it light, didn’t leave it to brew for long. Healthy, refreshing and comforting.

Whittard Chinese White Tea

On the box it tells me ‘made from the youngest buds and dried immediately to preserve their nutrients. It produces a very pale and delicate tea with an almost ethereal flavour. Brew until you achieve a pale silver liquid.’

Unfortunately I left the tea in to brew too long – not so much pale silver as suspiciously yellow – so it was quite bitter. Will try it again as I want to like it – and I still have 48 bags to go.

Yogi Tea Women’s Energy infusion

Apparently ‘helps refresh the mind and body when experiencing daily fatigue’. Anything’s worth a try.

A blend of hibiscus, mint and licorice, but the licorice is all I can taste. It’s not my favourite tea by any means.

Lipton Infusions Warming Lemon and Ginger

They sent me a free teabag in the post, I’m drinking it right now. I’ve often bought Twinings Lemon and ginger, this smells different, less sharp, a pleasant scent. Taste is similar, less gingery than the Twinings version, refreshing but not overpowering.

Oxford Breakfast

In The News cafe this afternoon in Oxford. No idea if it’s any different from English Breakfast, but it was good.

Twinings Lemon Grove teabags
Black tea flavoured with – you guessed it – lemon! A good strong taste of it which I like.

It was lemon tea that got me hooked in my early twenties on teas other than your average builder’s brew. Actually I recall it was orange and lemon tea, from Taylor’s of Harrogate. I must track down if they still do that.

Ordered Masala tea at the Indian restaurant last night. V like the chai I drink whenever I can but creamier, frothier, they obviously have a knack. Plus apparently they make it with cardamom and bay leaves, not the flavoured teabags dipped in water that I use. It was good.

Went to Gloucestershire for a week and got a chance to try some great new teas:

Teapigs (www.teapigs.co.uk) Winter Spice – another spicy tea to add to my repertoire. Teapigs do ‘tea temples’ not teabags. I’m going to be buying from their website.

Darjeeling First Flush – tried this in The Old Dairy Tea Room. Very delicate, a beautiful colour.

Waitrose English Breakfast – for a store brand, this is remarkably good.

And finally, from my favourite blender Blends for Friends, I got some ‘Gloucestershire tea’ – a mix of North Indian Assam, East African, Sri Lankan and Kenyan teas. Bought in the same tea room as above. and brought home as a souvenir. So I can extend my holiday a little longer!

Green Tea with Orange and Lotus Flower, from Twinings

I’m not generally a fan of green tea, but this was lovely – really light. It was a one free bag, so I might have to go and buy a box.