In which I drink 3 more teas...
So despite my plan to drink 2 teas yesterday I accidentally slept away my jetlag. Which means another bumper, 3 tea issue today!
Teavent 2016: 3 Wise Teas
In which I belatedly start on my advent calendar...
Let me spin you a tale, dear Reader, of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and stock control. Don't worry it isn't that boring. I was sadly on a last minute business trip last week which means I missed the opportunity to purchase an advent calendar. I figured that I would be able to get an interesting and different one in the States but alas I was wrong. I also figured that I would be able to pick up a discounted one in a UK supermarket on the 2nd after I landed but alas Tesco's stock control meant they didn't even have an awful one left!
I had basically resigned myself to not finding one this year.
Osmanthus Green: Thesis, YouTube, Update!
In which I review some floral green tea and update you on my life...
Thesis Writing
So thesis writing is fully under-way now and my supervisors assure me that writing will get harder and longer as it continues - fun, fun, fun!
It takes me a while to get into writing but I expect I'll make a video about Thesis writing soon. I actually quite enjoy writing though so I hope I'll be able to keep the pace up and stay on schedule :)
It's A Brand New Tea!
On Tea - Tea Throughout the Day
In which I give my thoughts on what tea to drink when throughout the day...
So as a British person (66% of Britons drink tea daily) I feel the need to consume a good quantity of tea everyday. The average Briton drinks 3½ cups a day - you'll find me at the top of the bell curve dong my best to keep the average up. I normally have around 6 cups a day.
Sencha Green Tea
In which I blog about the last two weeks, gain another year and try some green tea...
The Last Two Weeks
It's been a busy few weeks so I'm afraid the blog has suffered slightly. I had a hectic week filled with work and rehearsing and just about managed to make a rather ridiculous cake. This was followed by a pretty stellar concert by CAOS which filled out the church and enjoyable festivities thereafter. I plan to update more regularly in the future.
Other than that I have turned another year older and received many gifts of tea, cake and board games. The tea will be reviewed shortly. As for the board games I now have Ticket to Ride: Europe, Alhambra & Hare and Tortoise. I probably won't review these as they've been around long enough to be well reviewed online but I've enjoyed playing them already :D
Green Earl Grey
In which I restock my work tea...
Teat for the Tea God! Mugs for the Mug Throne!
I was down to my last few tea bags at work and so decided to head the the Lowry Outlet Mall where there is a Whittard's outlet shop with a few friends.
There were some good discounts available:
- Buy one get one half price on all tea/coffee
- Ridiculous discounts on all Christmas packaged products (up to 80% off)
And now I have a large stock of new tea for work and for reviewing!
I will endeavour to review other tea brands in between all these Whittard ones too!
Green Earl Grey
"Stop what you are doing and savour!"
Regular readers will now I am a big fan of Earl Grey. With the aforementioned offers I just had to risk it and get hold of some green Earl Grey. This tea is essentially just green tea with bergamot added.
It's a lovely brew and means I can enjoy Earl Grey at work without the need for milk or lemon*. It's lighter than the black tea equivalent and very refreshing. I would heartily recommend it!
*Yes I drink Earl Grey with milk - I like it that way!
Web-link
Lowry Outlet Mall: http://www.lowryoutlet.co.uk
Tea: http://www.whittard.co.uk/tea/green/green_earl_grey/green_earl_grey_50_teabags.htm
Tom Out!
Blend of Both
In which I try a tea donated by Katy and put Sainsbury's to the test!
This tea was donated to me for the express purpose of reviewing on my blog so here it is :)
Brewing
"It has been expertly created to deliver the delicious full-flavoured taste of original Tetley, but with the natural refreshing benefits of green tea. So you can have it with milk and still enjoy green tea goodness."
There are no brewing instructions so I assumed standard Tetley brewing of a minute or two and then added milk.
Colour
Tea coloured though it came out a slightly darker hue than the normal blend does.
Aroma
Realistically it just smells like tea.
Taste
This is a very refreshing blend. Usually I find Tetley very strong but the addition of green tea lightens the blend while still tasting like the standard blend. I'd say it tastes like Tetley light and there is a bit of a green tea aftertaste.
Data Entry
This week I 'ave mostly been typing on a computer. Manual data entry is annoying, if only my handwriting wasn't so terrible and I could use OCR.
Web-link
http://www.tetley.co.uk/our-teas/products?id=3
Conclusion
Like Tetley, but lighter!
Tom Out!
Bonus: Sainsbury's Turkey Feast
Sainsbury's turkey feast
This week it is time for Sainsbury's Christmas offering.
Price: £2.70 (although it is in the £3 meal deal too)
Taste: A bit different from last time this is turkey, bacon, stuffing, cranberry sauce and salad. The stuffing is lovely and moist and there's no overpowering mayonnaise flavour. The cranberry sauce adds a pleasant aftertaste but is a little subdued. I think the weird thing about this sandwich is that it doesn't seem particularly Christmassy just a glorified chicken and bacon sandwich really. It's still better tasting than the Tesco one but it is still disappointing.
Orange & Lotus Flower Green Tea
In which I try a fruity and flowery green tea.
Brewing
Green Orange Lotus Tea
"We suggest brewing this tea for a maximum of 2 minutes, any longer and you'll lose the delicate taste. Allow one bag per person and use freshly boiled water"
This is a fairly exact brewing time but for good reason. Over-brewing really does ruin this tea.
Colour
A brownish-green like most green teas but it looks a little more orange to me :)
Aroma
Smells like green tea with a strong hint of orange. I'm not sure if I could smell the lotus flower as I don't know what they smell like.
Taste
Obviously this should be drunk without milk. This tea has a light, delicate, complex flavour. You first get a familiar green tea flavour with a hint of orange which builds before tailing off into a floral flavour. I can only assume this is the lotus flower flavour which is delightful :)
Camera Mug
I drank this tea from my new camera lens mug :D
Camera lens mug
Conclusion
Delicate, floral, tasty!
Web-link
http://twinings.co.uk/green-teas/orange-lotus-flower-green
Great British Tea Test 2012
So at the end of the month my plan is to drink all the 'standard teas' i.e. Tetley, PG Tips, Yorkshire, Sainsbury's brand etc. and compare them. I anticipate this may require the help of my house mates. I will then run a double blind study to assess taste etc. and post the results in the style of a scientific paper sometime in December :D
Tom out!
P.S. Camera lens mug:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0058CW9UO/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00
Bonus: Tesco Christmas Sandwich
Tesco xmas sandwich
Since it is now November I feel I can now get away with breaking the Christmas embargo. At the bottom of my tea reviews I will be reviewing a Christmas sandwich from one of the major retailers. This week it's time for Tesco.
Price: approx £2.60 (although it is in the £3 meal deal too)
Taste: The turkey is nothing special but it normally isn't in these sandwiches anyway. The cranberry sauce is good. The sausage was a nice addition but the sausage wasn't particularly flavourful. I found there was too much mayonnaise which, coming from someone who loves mayonnaise, made the sandwich a little lackluster despite it's moistness.
Cranberry Green Tea
Here's the second of my candidates for a new workday green tea.
Brewing
"We suggest brewing this tea for a maximum of 2 minutes, any longer and you'll lose the delicate taste. Allow one bag per person and add freshly boiled water."
Same as last time - a nice quick brew for a delicate tasting tea.
Colour
Very pale brown with a reddish tinge.
Aroma
Unlike last time you can clearly smell the cranberry and the general tea aroma is less pronounced.
Taste
At first the tea tastes like a herbal tea with a weak cranberry flavour - very refreshing. The after taste is stronger than last time and tastes more like your usual green tea.
BC-ISMRM
I've been drinking this tea while going over my slides for a presentation at the British Chapter of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. Getting nervous now as this is my first presentation at a conference.
Conclusion
A refreshing workday green tea with a subtle cranberry flavour - lovely.
Verdict
Which is better? There's only one way to find out - DRINK!
I think the Mango and Lychee tea is the more interesting but the Cranberry tea is more suitable for day-to-day drinking. For now I think that will become my workday green tea :)
Web-link
http://www.twinings.co.uk/green-teas/cranberry-green-tea
Tom out!
P.S.
Mango and Lychee Green Tea
I ran out of green tea so this review and the next review my attempt to find a new workday green tea :).
Brewing
"We suggest brewing this tea for a maximum of 2 minutes, any longer and you'll lose the delicate taste. Allow one bag per person and add freshly boiled water.
"
A change to my usual long brewing habits. However I did over brew the first cup and I don't think it ruined the tea at all - it just made it taste more of green tea than mango.
Colour
Very pale brown.
Aroma
I'm not sure if I would pick out the smell as mango or lychee (I don't believe I have ever sniffed a lychee) but there is definitely a pleasing fruity aroma.
Taste
At first the tea tastes like a herbal tea with a strong mango flavour (probably lychee too but it's clearly a complimentary flavour as I don't know what it tastes like and it isn't very obvious). The after taste is a weak tea flavour which is equally enjoyable.
Lasagna Lunch
I've been drinking this tea while enjoying a home-made lasagna for lunch. Back to work soon though!
Conclusion
A very refreshing tea which, as it's green, doesn't require milk. A fruity, soothing change to my workday tea schedule :D
Web-link
http://www.twinings.co.uk/green-teas/mango-lychee-green
Tom out!
The Gift of Tea
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
See you all next week!
A Refreshing Workday Tea
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!
Twinnings Free Sample 1
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!