Fancy a brew...?

I love a good cup of tea. It's more than that really - we have about 30 different kinds of tea in a special tea cupboard in the house; from black tea blends right through to fruit teas. I'm hooked!

Here are 3 of my fave tea brands:

Teapigs:
Their Tea comes in some great bagged Temples (a great name for their pyramid shaped tea bags) and loose varieties such as jasmine, chocolate flake and oolong - yummy! The chamomile is probably the best ever thing for relaxing before going to bed!

Paned Gymreig
Of all the standard black tea bags out on the market at the moment to have at home or in the office, Welsh Brew is by far my favourite. Tea is a lot about the kind of water you have; soft or hard. The water here in Cardiff is soft (not so many minerals dissolved in it) so the tea is really good - if you have hard water buy a brand of tea specifically for hard water areas for the best cup of tea. For most people this tea will put a smile on your face from winter through to the height of summer

Norfolk Lavender Blend Tea
I was skeptical at first - lavender blend tea...? But I was pleasantly surprised - this Norfolk blend tea is based on Earl Grey, but has added oils and lavender blossoms. IT is a creamy and relaxing tea, which is said to help alleviate headaches. It's very tasty with a drop of milk too!



And how does one go about drinking such teas I hear you ask? In a teapot. Resist the urge to put the teabag in the mug - you really do need a tea pot to get the best cup of tea. This is my new teapot I had for Christmas - it's very cool!

 Follow these instructions to get a great pot of tea:
1. Boil water in the kettle
2. Pour a little of the boiling water in the pot, swirl and pour out. This warms the pot.
3. Pour the water into the pot, then add your teabag. Generally it's 1 per person (plus one for the pot if you like it a bit stronger) or 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea.
4. Leave to infuse and brew for 3 - 4 minutes
5. Whilst this is happening, add your milk and sugar if desired into the cups
6. Check the tea has brewed to your liking (leave for longer for strong tea)
7. Pour into cups (if using loose leaf tea then you will need a tea strainer to catch the  leaves)
8. Enjoy!

As to the debate of whether the milk goes in before or after the tea goes in the cup I leave that one up to others to debate - and for you to choose!

One thing is for sure - you will need a tea cosy. No one wants cold tea by the second cup, so you need to keep it warm. You can go for a "tent" cosy which covers the entire pot, or a fitted cosy which acts like a woolly jumper for your cosy. These are my fave as you can pour the tea whilst the cosy keeps on warming your tea. These are some of my favourite cosies from in store:

 

 
These cosies are easily hand washed in case of accidents, and stretch to fit most sized pots. So the message is: Go loud and proud, or sophisticated and sleek - but do make lots of good tea and enjoy!

Debs