I adore the ritual of tea making.
That is the full ritual of using tea leaves, tea pots and tea strainers.
However, modern life can get in the way and tea making often only results
in a quick tea bag dip and a splash of milk. Time and convenience being of
the essence, in my house it's often only tea bags that see the light of
day and my tea pot sits redundant on the kitchen shelf and my poor strainer
hidden from view in the drawer.
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Himalayan Imperial Black Tea |
So when I was kindly sent a pack of Himalayan Imperial Black tea by online tea
merchants Love Tea, I took this as a sign to
resurrect the tea making ritual in my house.
The last few weekends, Sundays in particular, have proven the opportune time to
perform tea making and enjoy leisurely tea drinking whilst perusing the papers.
For instance, May Day Bank Holiday weekend this year saw a shift in the tea
stakes and may be a combination of the extended weekend, it being my Ukrainian
Easter celebration and the delight of good weather, led to making time for real
tea.
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Tea Bag Envelope |
With the pack of tea, came a small envelope with little empty tea bags ready to
fill with the tea leaves alongside a Love Tea information card.
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Love Tea, Tea Bag |
The card describes the excellence and organic certification of Jun Chiyabari,
the boutique tea garden in Nepal's Hile region where the leaves are harvested
from.
Noted is that Jun Chiyabari creates new leaf styles and production
methods which enhances the quality of the tea.
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Instruction Card |
The Himalayan Imperial Black tea leaves differ from ordinary branded loose tea
as the leaves are straighter, longer, thicker and are flecked with golden
streaks.
As per the instruction on the card, it suggests using 3g of leaves (which will
produce 250ml of tea - ideal for one cup) plus hot water (ideally at 95°C) in a
tea pot, allow to infuse for 2-3 minutes and then strain into a mug.
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Tea leaves in the Tea Pot |
Tasting it without any additions, it was deliciously clean, fresh and very
palatable with a very evident taste of tea (as you would expect of course) yet
not overbearing. Referring to the notes on the information card and as a
reference point for tea connoisseurs, the aroma produced is earthy and the red
fruity acidity is released once infused which is counter-balanced by a rich
cocoa-esque after-taste. In a nutshell - thoroughly enjoyable.
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Tea strained into a Mug |
I then decided to have a second mug of tea but I made my own tea bag by placing
the leaves into one of the bags provided which was easy to do and was a nice task
to fulfill for a change.
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Creating a Tea Bag |
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Tea Bag in a Mug ready for Brewing |
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Lemon & Home-grown Mint |
Once brewed, this time I added a slice of lemon (black tea &
lemon is very popular in Poland - my family over in Poland don't drink it any
other way). Plus I added some sprigs of mint from my herb garden, as mint
is one of my favourite flavours and works well with lemon.
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Tea with Lemon & Mint |
Again, very
fresh with a fruity zest coming from the lemon, the tea tasted pure.
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Ukrainian Paska & Jam |
Consumed during Ukrainian Easter weekend, it worked perfectly with a
slice of paska & jam (a cake/bread which is traditionally eaten at
Ukrainian Easter).
Love Tea provide a wide variety of packages in
one, three and six month batches, ranging from the 'Mini' - excellent for those
that like me that have re-discovered the art and pleasure of weekend tea
making; to 'Classic' - for those that enjoy their daily cup of tea; right
through to 'Tea Lover' which speaks for itself and is the ideal package for
those that have an insatiable thirst for tea!
In addition, Love Tea have £2.00 samples available which
offer the opportunity to enjoy the ritual of tea-making whether it be an entirely new experience or if you just want to re-acquaint yourself with loose-leaf tea.
Love Tea have a 'no commitment' policy, so you can order
without having to commit to a period of time/minimum orders which comes with
the added benefit of free UK delivery. Packages are such that they can
fit through standard letterboxes so no inconvenient collections from the
sorting office needed!
I have honestly fallen in love with tea making again and have made a resolve to
make time at weekends to perform the process at home, with family/friends and
to accompany it, if it's not paska season, then I'll bring out the chocolate
biscuits!
If you yourself are looking to turn over a new leaf with regards to tea making,
log onto Love Tea and see what's brewing....
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SPECIAL OFFER
Love Tea are offering 'Word In Veg Ways' readers a special discount! You can receive 40% off your first month's order using the code: VEGWAYS40. Visit: www.lovetea.co for more information about the ranges/ordering process or contact hello@lovetea.co to clarify the discounted offer details.
Disclosure: This post was written following receipt of a sample from Love Tea. This review was conducted honestly without bias and I was not required to produce a positive review. For further details of my PR policy, please see the Press, PR & Food Writing page of this website.