Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sponge - Tech, Cosplay, Baking & Podcasts

tea bags

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Early Thoughts of Christmas

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After my visit to the Whittard's outlet store I have a plethora of tea to review :) Here's the second one - Spice Imperial.

If anyone has suggestions for companies other than Twinings and Whittard's for me to try please add them to the comments. I don't want to only review these two companies. Also I will keep you posted on

Brewing

"Brew one teabag in a mug and remove when the tea is the strength you require.

Warming in the winter and also makes wonderful iced tea. Best brewed light and drunk without milk, but can also be brewed stronger and drunk with milk"

Simple enough to brew. I have tried it with and without milk but haven't yet had the chance to make iced tea from it :S

Colour

Dark brown as any standard black tea.

Aroma

Smells like Christmas! A very similar smell to Chai but with hints of orange and no ginger.

Taste

Once again this is nice brewed either way and I tend to make it without milk when I have it at work. You can definitely taste the cinnamon first and foremost with hints of orange and vanilla. If you aren't a fan of ginger you could use this as replacement Chai though I think I still prefer Chai myself.

Compiling Fail

While I did try this tea at the Tea Party previously mentioned I am currently using it to calm me down as a particularly pesky configure script is not playing ball at the moment as it can't find GCC :(

Conclusion

Tastes like Christmas! But in a subtly different way to Chai. Delightful!

Web-link

http://www.whittard.co.uk/tea/flavoured_black_tea/spiced_imperial/spice_imperial_50_teabags.htm

See you all next week!

P.S. Tea Party Cakes

Here pictures of the Tea Party cakes as promised :)

Tea-themed cupcakes :D

The variety of cakes on offer

The Volcano Cake!

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The Late Tea

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I apologise for the lack of posts this last week-and-a-half but I have had a major deadline to work towards.

After my visit to the Whittard's outlet store I have a plethora of tea to review :) Here's the first one - Vanilla flavoured tea.

Brewing

"Brew one teabag in a mug and remove when the tea is the strength you require.

Best brewed light and drunk without milk, but can also be brewed stronger and drunk with milk"

Simple enough to brew. It is definitely worth trying both methods to see which you prefer, I know that I did.

Colour

Dark brown as any standard black tea.

Aroma

The vanilla smell is fairly strong and overpowers the smell of tea.

Taste

This really depends on how you make the tea. At work I brew it lightly without milk and while it smells of vanilla this mostly brings out the tea flavour. On the other hand brewing it strongly with milk brings out more of the vanilla flavouring which is complemented by the milk (use more milk than normal). Either way this is a very nice tea.

Tea Party

I first tried this at a tea party I held which featured some amazing cakes (pictures will follow) and a competitive game of Trivial Pursuit.

Conclusion

Either tea-like with a hint of vanilla or milky-vanilla with a tea aftertaste. Lovely.

Web-link

http://www.whittard.co.uk/tea/flavoured_black_tea/vanilla/vanilla_50_teabags.htm

See you all next week!

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The Gift of Tea

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This week I received a lovely gift box of green tea all the way from America! I was told to make an exciting sounding tea lemonade with this but have only had the time to make a normal cup of tea this week. [I also visited the Whittards outlet shop but more on that next week!]

Brewing

"1) Boil water. 2) Place one sachet in cup. 3) Pour 8fl oz hot water over sachet. 4) Steep for 3 minutes."

This is a green tea so milk need not be added. While you are waiting for your tea to brew you can enjoy reading the packaging as I did ("For best karma, please reuse or recycle.")

Colour

Pale brown which has more in common with black tea than green tea.

Aroma

You can smell the mint strongly. It actually reminds me of mint sauce. This might sound odd for a tea but does help bring to mind the memory of delicious roast lamb.

Taste

I am happy to report it doesn't taste of mint sauce :) There is a strong mint flavour with a hint of lemon grass (a pleasant aftertaste). There is also an underlying taste of tea :) I couldn't taste the lemon essence but it probably helps bring out the other flavours.

Fantasia

I took a break from writing my Continuation Report (the reason this entry is so late!) to try this tea. I've been trying to find familiar films/series to watch which are conducive to the writing process and Fantasia has been one of the best yet [I've written 7 pages today :)].

Conclusion

An invigorating green tea which tastes strongly of mint.

Web-link

http://www.tazo.com/tazo.asp

See you all next week!

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The State of Tea Drinking in Germany - Part 1

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This week my I am in Berlin on holiday. When else will I get the opportunity to assess the state of tea consumption in this fine country?

At breakfast I chose to try Ronnefeldt's English Breakfast blend.

Brewing

No official timings so I defaulted to a few minutes brewing before adding some alpenmilch. The main point with this brand of tea though was the tea caddy system which is definitely a better solution than Twining's little tea bag strings.

Colour

A nice brown tea colour as expected.

Aroma

Smells like a standard tea - a good sign for tea abroad.

Taste

This is a fairly normal blend of Ceylon tea for a good breakfast cuppa. Definitely a successful tea. Apparently tea drinking is on the rise in Germany which can only be a good thing :)

Breakfast

In order to do this tea justice I did my best to assemble a Full English from the buffet. Very crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, tomato and some würst later and I had the closest approximation I could muster.

Conclusion

Deutschland has definitely succeeded at normal tea! 

Web-link

http://www.ronnefeldttea.ca/business/shop/category.php?id_category=7

See you all next week for more German shenanigans!

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A Refreshing Workday Tea

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This week my teapot was sadly destroyed by an evil washing machine (resonance is bad kids!) :( As such this week's tea is once more of the tea bag variety.

On a recent trip to replace my green tea at work I decided to be daring and try a tea company I was not familiar with - Clipper.

Brewing

"This is how we do it: always use fresh water, pour it over the tea bag while it's still boiling and allow to brew for 2-4 minutes. The rest is up to you"

A reasonable brewing time and though I usually favour stronger tea I have enjoyed this brewed both slowly and quickly. A quick brew will bring out more lemon flavour than a slow one will.

Colour

Very pale green, hard to see in my usual mug.

Aroma

The lemon smell is not particularly strong when you remove the tea bag from the packaging but when you make the tea it is very fragrant indeed. You must enjoy lemons to enjoy this tea.

Taste

This is a very refreshing tea and has quickly become my staple at work in this warm weather. If you brew it quickly the tea takes a back seat and you get a lovely, lemony libation. With a longer brewing time you get a nice green tea with hints of lemon. This is definitely the tea I would suggest to someone who hasn't tried green tea before!

Work & Music

This tea has been an excellent pick-me-up this week with an increased work load. I have also been accompanying it with a variety of good music including Marc Bolan & T-Rex and some comedy from "Weird Al" Yankovic (currently Pancreas is stuck in my head).

Conclusion

Vraiment rafraîchissante! J'adore les citrons.

Web-link

http://shop.clipper-teas.com/teas/green/fairtrade-green-tea-with-lemon

See you all next week!

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Twinings Free Sample 2

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For those of you who don't know, Twinings are currently giving away free samples (http://www.twinings.co.uk/discover-our-range/free-samples/)! I took them up on their kind offer and chose a Blossom Earl Grey for this week's tea.

Brewing

"Use freshly drawn water. Use water at a rolling boil. Use one teabag per cup or one per person in a teapot. Steep for 3 to 5 minutes (or to your taste). This delicate tea is best enjoyed black or with just a touch of milk."

Your standard Twinings brewing instructions once again. I brew it strong and enjoyed it with milk as I would normal Earl Grey.

Colour

Dark brown.

Aroma

Though you can still smell the bergamot present in your usual Earl Grey tea it is much more restrained. The hint of orange blossom makes this tea nice and distinct from traditional Earl Grey.

Taste

I think this might be the tea with which to convert those who don't normally enjoy Earl Grey. With a weaker flavour the bergamot doesn't overpower the taste as much and this is a very refreshing tea.

Hard Work Pre-Quiz

I enjoyed this tea before clearing out the basement and heading off to a quiz in Withington. A quiz run by a man who can only really be described as a gentleman pirate (impressive facial hair and a waistcoat) who has possibly the most amazing voice I've heard outside of a particular episode of Black Books.

Conclusion

A lighter version of an old classic. Very refreshing.

Web-link

http://shop.twinings.co.uk/shop/taiwanese-high-mountain-oolong-6.html

See you all next week!

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Twinnings Free Sample 1

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For those of you who don't know, Twinnings are currently giving away free samples (http://www.twinings.co.uk/discover-our-range/free-samples/)! I took them up on their kind offer and chose a flavoured green tea for this week's tea.

Brewing

"Allow one bag per person and add freshly boiled water. Leave to infuse for no more than two minutes to ensure you get a light, delicate, fresh taste. Always best enjoyed without milk."

This tea is brewed for much less time than the others in the Twinnings range. Also since this is a green tea no milk is required.

Colour

Very pale green-brown similar to normal green tea.

Aroma

Very light smell with orange definitely present. I'm not sure that I can smell the lotus flower but I do have a cold at the moment.

Taste

Delicate is definitely the case this is much lighter than normal green tea. If you're not a fan of green tea normally you might enjoy this. You can definitely taste the orange but it is again fairly light. Definitely refreshing but very weak compared to my usual tastes.

Television

I tried this while sat down for this week's episode of The Apprentice after a thorough spring cleaning of the house. It definitely helped refresh me during my well deserved sit down.

Conclusion

Delicate and light with hints of orange. Nice after a spring clean!

Web-link

http://www.twinings.co.uk/discover-our-range/green-teas/green-tea-with-orange-and-lotus-flower/

See you all next week!

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And Now For Something Completely Different!

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It may not have escaped your notice that today is one of the hottest days of the year (I write these in advance, so it's probably raining by the time you read this). Having disproved the old adage that hot tea makes you cooler in the summer (this has never, ever worked for me or anyone I've asked under the age of 40. Lies I tell you!) and with this being tennis season I felt some iced tea was in order.

Ingredients

  • 8 Tea bags (I have a penchant for Earl Grey)

  • Water

  • Lemon

  • Sugar (I used brown but caster is fine)

  • Ice cubes

Brewing

  1. Boil 4 cups of fresh, cold water in a saucepan.

  2. Add the tea bags and leave to brew, while covered, for 5 minutes.

  3. Remove tea bags.

  4. Pour tea into large jug.

  5. Add 4 cups cold water to jug.

  6. Add sugar and lemon to taste.

  7. Add ice cubes to cool the tea to desired temperature.

  8. Enjoy!

Colour

Your iced tea will be a darker brown than commercial brands.

Aroma

As the tea is cold there is less aroma than usual but you can still pick out the bergamot as well as the lemon. It definitely has a nicer smell than shop bought ice tea.

Taste

Though I would normally consider sugar in Earl Grey to be sacrilege (though I do add milk which is seen as equally bad by some) it works very well in iced tea. The normally strong flavour of the tea is subdued but still present. All-in-all a pleasant experience.

Interesting Facts

Iced tea makes up for 85% of all tea consumed in the United States. 

There is a very nice story about the recipe being invented at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair but sadly recipes have been found dating back to the 1870s.

Conclusion

Follow instructions. Be refreshed!

Web-link

http://www.twinings.co.uk/discover-our-range/speciality-teas/earl-grey/

See you all next week!