Would I even be British if I didn’t like tea? It’s a question that plagues my mind, but luckily for me I do like tea, usually with milk and one sugar. However if you’re talking about Teapigs tea then there’s a endless list of varieties for you to try. A few weeks ago I was invited to Teapigs HQ for an event called Tea School to be educated on all things tea. I felt well and truly clued up after leaving that morning with lots of amazing new tea flavours to try.
Teapigs was set up by Nick and Louise back in 2006 and they both met through working together for a rather large tea company. Their mission when they created Teapigs was to get the nation drinking real tea. The more they learnt about tea at their former employer they realised there was a whole lot of quality teas just waiting to be put on the market for everyone to enjoy a proper cup of tea, with real tea leaves, herbs, flowers, fruits and spices. They are also the first tea company to be producing and using a fully biodegradable tea-temple (mesh tea bag made from corn starch) since they launched.
That morning along with a few other lovely attendees we learnt about the process of tea production from the field all the way to into our cups and giving us that sense of warmth every time you take the first sip from your cup. The best amount of time that you should let your tea brew is 3 mins for a normal black tea, and we discussed the idea of setting a 3 minute challenge to see what you could do in 3 minutes whilst your waiting for your tea to fully brew. We also learnt the process of making matcha tea, which made me want to try it again. The first time I tried a matcha latte I wasn’t too keen but that morning made me want to give it another go. Onto the lovely ladies I was at the event with, Michelle from Daisybutter, I love Michelle’s blog and we’ve met a few times and it’s made me wonder why we don’t see more of each other she’s so damn lovely. Then there’s Natasha, a lover of design and I love to follow her colourful adventures via her instagram. And finally Terri from The Lovely Drawer, her blog is wonderful and her calligraphy is awesome too. Terri brought along her adorable daughter Maggie who had all of us smiling.
We then had the chance to create our very own teapigs tea blend. I opted for a rooibos and apple base with cinnamon and ginger which I called Dirty Chia. I was worried the flavours wouldn’t go well together but I had a cup soon as I got home and was really pleased with my creation, and feel that it’s a perfect tea for the afternoon and evening. I also found out that rooibos was a natural alternative to decaf tea. Having found out the process of making black tea decaf I definitely will be going for natural decaf tea from now on. It was really interesting to see how each of us made such a unique blend as there were so many different flavours to choose from. Have you tried any Teapigs blends before? If so which is your favourite? Mine might have to be the liquorice and rhubarb, as well as the everyday brew of course and since the event I rather like the mint and chocolate blend, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!
Thanks so much to Teapigs for hosting such a wonderful event. I will now have to hold them responsible for a tea obsession that’s fast developing! Better go and pop the kettle on… again!
