Review: Festive Tea from TEAPIGS (Competition Ended)

FESTIVE TEAPIGS

 
 
Teapigs tea is especially pure, I have not tasted a finer tea!

 

Anyone who knows me, knows I am a big herbal tea fan. I drink fennel, chamomile, ginger, jasmine and more.  Most people I know do not drink as much as I do, and some even think herbal tea is yuck! Well I think they just simply have not given it a chance or tried decent herbal tea. In my herbal tea journey, I have come across some yucky herbal teas, often cheaper ones sold in supermarkets, but to have a good quality herbal tea is a thing of beauty. So when I came across Teapigs in my local farm shop a few years back and wondered what the difference was between this tea and my normal tea, I investigated and discovered a lot!

Making The Shift From English Breakfast To Herbal Tea

 
Many years ago I was a black tea fan. That was all I drank.  Tea in the morning, tea at noon, tea in the evening, tea during the day… well you get my drift. I had it with milk and with lots of sugar. Then one day I was having a cup of tea and suddenly felt nauseous, and that was it, my normal tea drinking days were over. I made a switch to coffee and then over the past few years to herbal tea.
 
Now I think the mistake people make when making the switch to herbal tea is that they expect it to taste or be like normal tea. Some wonder about putting milk in, and while some you can put milk in, most you do not. You have to change your tea-drinking mindset and switch it from a sugary high to a ‘aah this is soothing… relaxing… warming…and calming’.
 

Tea As A Meditation – Tea Can Be A Sacred Experience.

 
Some of you may have watched the movie Karate Kid 2 where Mr Miyagi and Daniel go to Japan. Daniel gets to experience a tea ceremony with the woman he is falling in love with. In the west we use it as a beverage, something warm to drink but it can be so much more.
 
A short while ago I read a book by a well known Buddhist teacher called Thich Nhat Hanh who advocates mindfulness as a practice for well-being and one of the things you can do, to be present, to enjoy the moment, is to drink tea. But with mindfulness you do not just drink tea you feel the tea, feel the cup, smell the scent of the tea, you are with the tea – mindfully. You are not drinking tea and thinking about what is for dinner, or drinking tea and organising the next activity or worrying about something, you are using tea to bring you back into stillness which makes tea drinking a purely sacred experience. Drinking tea alone or with friends can be a deepening practice of present moment awareness.
 
Thich says:
 


Tea meditation is a time to be with the Sangha in a joyful and serene atmosphere. Just to enjoy our tea together is enough. It is like a “good news” occasion, when we share our joy and happiness in being together.

At times, when we are drinking tea with a friend, we are not aware of the tea or even of our friend sitting there. Practicing tea meditation is to be truly present with our tea and our friends. We recognize that we can dwell happily in the present moment despite all of our sorrows and worries. We sit there relaxed without having to say anything. If we like, we may also share a song, a story or a dance.

Plum Village Mindfulness Practice – Tea Meditation

 
In Japan the tea ceremony is called Chanoyu, Sado or Ocha. It is like a beautiful harmony of dance through the ritual or preparing and serving of Japanese green tea (Matcha). With the tea ceremony, it is not about the tea but more about the process, more about preparing tea from one’s heart.  Watch below a beautiful video from the movie Karate Kid 2 of the Japanese tea ceremony.

 
 
Teapigs Logo
 
 
Teapigs is a company which prides itself on good quality tea, no cheap shoddy tea, no powder at the bottom of the teabag – only high quality, whole leaf tea. Because of this they are able to supply both loose tea and tea in tea temples (those little pyramids that are utterly fun and pretty to put into a tea cup).
 
Teapigs love tea but they are not tea snobs.
 
ETHICAL
 
Teapigs are ethical and through the Teapigs ethical scheme they are currently working with the Noel Orphanage in Rwanda. Through raising money through donations and events Teapigs is raising the living standards of the children and much more.
 

Green Credentials

 
Teapigs is working with the tea estates from which they source, to put the little green frog on every pack they sell. At the moment their English breakfast (everyday brew) blend has Rainforest Alliance certification.
 
The packaging on their tea is fully recyclable and the cardboard used to make the packaging is FSC certified.
 
They also print on sustainable board, but the last flashy logo tells you that the ink they use to make their packs of tea is not only pretty but is vegetable-based.
 
Teapigs’ tea temples are made from biodegradable corn starch. The material was developed in Japan and has the green “pla” mark which is an endorsement by the Japanese bioplastics association.

 

So it is with great pleasure I get to introduce my journey through Teapigs tea in this review, and what better way to start than with a Festive Tea first.

Spiced Winter Red Tea (Caffeine Free)

(NOT just for Christmas – beautifully warming for Winter)

 

Ingredients: rooibos with orange, cloves & cinnamon – Christmas in a cup!

 
 
So warming, this Teapigs tea warmed up my cold body on a Winter Day

 

I often get so cold at my computer and my flat is not the warmest place on earth. I often sit with a hot water bottle beneath my feet and wrapped in layers in winter so warm drinks and copious amounts of tea are a real necessity. I was pleased to experience this festive tea on a particularly cold November day and was very surprised to find thatbthe spices in this tea really warmed me up on the inside. So now I know what I will be drinking on cold days throughout the Winter.
This tea is a delicious, no milk required, perfect amount of spice, tea, with a beautiful fragrance and colour. With a base of rooibos not only is this tea warming but is full of antioxidants. Rooibos has a high mineral content, is said to improve circulation, relieve stomach upsets and much more. This is a keeper for me and would make a great gift for someone.
 
 
 
Spiced Winter Tea 
 

CHAI TEA – A Taste Of India

Ingredients: black tea, cinamon, ginger, clove, cassia, natural flavour

 
 
 
I had never had Chai Tea before now I had heard all about it and it was yummy!

I had heard so much about Chai tea, chai lattes and the likes and as a herbal tea drinker who never adds milk, I was a bit unsure of whether I would like this tea, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was my first black tea since my experience some time ago but the combination of spices with milk and honey really made this a lovely alternative to my plain herbal tea. This is similar to the popular drink in India called Chai Masala which is a spicy milky drink.

This Chai Tea is “…a rich, malty Assam tea blended with cardamom pods, cinnamon, ginger and cassia…”

 
Chai Tea
 

CHILLI CHAI

Ingredients: Black tea, cardamom, clove, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, chilli

Now I anticipated not liking this because my mind was thinking ‘chillis’ –  is it going to be super hot to drink, but nooo, it was really nice. It was a bit like the Spiced Winter tea and made me nice and toasty on the inside on a cold day. It was not as overpowering as I was anticipating which is great. I think you could have it stronger and more hot if you left the tea temple in for longer, but it was perfect for me at 3 minutes.

I loved the colours of this tea and being able to see all the great high quality ingredients in my latte glass. I am all for pretty tea temples and seeing the real tea inside them. Also this way I could see exactly the strength the tea was becoming for my taste.
 
Chilli Chai Tea
 
 

Chocolate Flake Tea

 

Tea & Chocolate ? What’s Not To Love?

Ingredients: Ceylon Black Tea (83%), chocolate (sugar, cocoa, emulsifier soya lecithin) (7%), cocoa beans (6%) natural flavouring (3%)

Now don’t expect chocolate in tea to be of the same strength or depth as say a hot chocolate would taste, but this tea is rather scrummy, and sometimes hot chocolate is just far too sweet, so this gives a nice balance. It delivers a hint of chocolate in the tea at just the right level and when sweetened with a little honey it’s a really nice flavour. I have to say I was a bit cheeky and did not add milk to this tea – I added double cream, so to me it was creamy and moreish. So far the inclusion of black tea has made me realise I perhaps had an aversion to poor quality tea and need other ingredients to enjoy black tea now.

Rooibos Creme Caramel

Ingredients: rooibos tea, caramel pieces (condensed skimmed milk, sugar, glucose syrup, butter, humectant: sorbitol, emulsifier: mono-and diglycerides of fatty acids) (5%), natural flavouring.

 
 
 

This is lovely. Really easy to drink. The Rooibos was a really gentle flavour after 3 minutes of steeping the tea temple and the caramel was just a hint, which to me was perfect. I was actually  mesmerised watching this tea infuse into the hot water. Something I think will be a new addition to my regular warm drinks.

Liquorice And Mint

 
Ingredients: Liquorice root and peppermint
 
 
On Teapigs.co.uk there are over 170 reviews of people absolutely adoring this tea. Seriously loving this tea. And I imagine that if you like peppermint tea and your like liquorice, then you will simply love this. It leaves a liquorice aftertaste also and there are no added ingredients to mess with this flavour combination.
 
Me, I am not a mint tea lover, I am not a big liquorice fan either. So you can imagine this tea ranked not highly on my tea drinking choices, but I can see how many people do love it and go back again and again to buy it from Teapigs. To me, I guess it’s like Marmite, you either love it or you hate it and I fall into the latter (sorry Teapigs!).
 
 
 
OVERALL OVERVIEW of TEAPIGS TEA
 
Teapigs offers not only high quality tea but none of the jargon from poserish tea companies. I love their advertising, their packaging and their keen desire to be ethical and support this beautiful planet. The teas I have tried are clearly beautiful teas and not only perfect for everyday drinking, but also amazing as gifts. I also peeked around their site at the other products they sell and they sell some wonderful tea sets and products I will look into for myself at a later date. Overall I give this tea 5 stars!

If you like what you see in this review, you can purchase a wide range of Teapigs Tea and accessories for tea making direct from the site Teapigs HEREYou can also keep up to date withTeapigs On Twitter HERETeapigs Facebook Page HERE and Teapigs Pinterest Page HERE.

 

WIN – WIN – WIN (Competition now closed!)

Teapigs have been generous and are offering 1 lucky winner the opportunity to win 6 festive teas as described in this review.

 

Start entering on the competition app below. You get extra entries for social sharing and much more.

I would like to say a great big thank you to Teapigs
for sponsoring this give-away and providing me with products to review.
 

                       MERRY CHRISTMAS & may 2014 be full of blessings for you!

                                                               GOOD LUCK!


*ENTERING* – Enter through the app below, click on the first option (comment on blog) and follow instructions. This will unlock further additional entries into the competition.

Day 11 – Win 6 Festive Teas from TEAPIGS

 
Question being answered in the comments is:
 

Visit TEAPIGS and tell me what tea do you feel will get you
through the hectic festive period and why?

Comment only eligible for entry into give-away 
if entrant goes through the GLEAM app above.
 
 
*Post Disclaimer: I received 6 Teas from Teapigs based in UK for review. All opinions are my own. 

Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

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Kelly Martin
Kelly Martin

Kelly Martin, author of ‘When Everyone Shines But You’ is a dedicated writer and blogger who fearlessly explores life’s deepest questions. Faced with a decade of profound anxiety and grief following the loss of her father and her best friend Michael, Kelly embarked on a transformative journey guided by mindfulness, and she hasn’t looked back since. Through her insightful writing, engaging podcasts, and inspiring You Tube channel Kelly empowers others to unearth the hidden treasures within their pain, embracing the profound truth that they are ‘enough’ exactly as they are.

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63 Comments

  1. December 11, 2013 / 1:19 am

    Green tea with mint

  2. December 11, 2013 / 5:38 am

    It's a bit twisted to say any tea with mint (I'm allergic) so I can die, as the only way to get any peace over Christmas, right? I'm going to say the chocolate flake tea, a little chocolate taste without the carbs over a time I'd normally have been stuffing my face with chocolate…although don't get me wrong, I'll still be having a *little* actual chocolate!

  3. December 11, 2013 / 10:12 am

    Ginger Tea because it's good for digestion which let's be honest, over the Christmas period our digestion needs all the help it can get :-/

  4. December 11, 2013 / 12:14 pm

    Chamomile tea – great for relaxing. It just makes all the tension melt away.

  5. December 11, 2013 / 12:14 pm

    Really like the sound of the christmas red tea, I love christmassy smells and flavours

  6. December 11, 2013 / 12:25 pm

    Green tea with jasmine always makes me feel better so I'd go for the Jasmine Pearls

  7. December 11, 2013 / 2:24 pm

    Chamomile – need to relax.

  8. December 11, 2013 / 4:56 pm

    Silver Tips White tea……pure, refreshing and soothing. Hopefully putting me in a relaxed frame of mind for Christmas

  9. December 11, 2013 / 6:27 pm

    Chamomile tea – relaxing and very good for the digestion if you are feeling stressed!

    Hazel Rea – @beachrambler

  10. December 11, 2013 / 6:50 pm

    Chamomile -to relax me

  11. December 11, 2013 / 6:57 pm

    I think the Chilli Chai would be the perfect thing to warm me up this Xmas. ( signed in under hubbys facebook, scott broomhead )

  12. December 11, 2013 / 9:26 pm

    The Herbal Super fruit -great for an energy boost

  13. December 11, 2013 / 9:55 pm

    Earl Grey, Strong, to give the stamina (and shake this blooming cold)

  14. December 11, 2013 / 9:57 pm

    this is so cool

  15. December 11, 2013 / 11:28 pm

    Liquorice And Mint, Liquorce is my favourite and I do love a bit of mint.

  16. December 11, 2013 / 11:43 pm

    Chilli Chai – sure to warm me up

  17. December 13, 2013 / 1:36 pm

    My mum would have the chocolate flake tea!

  18. December 14, 2013 / 12:47 am

    chocolate flake tea to keep me calm and happy

  19. December 14, 2013 / 3:24 am

    Real liquorice root and Punchy Peppermint leaves. As I believe these are good for the digestion / digestive tract. I think they may aid digestion.

  20. December 14, 2013 / 9:17 pm

    Licorice and mint – will keep me energised!

  21. December 16, 2013 / 11:13 am

    liquorice and mint is very refreshing and calming

  22. December 16, 2013 / 8:31 pm

    The Green tea with mint – would help with digesting all that food!!

  23. December 17, 2013 / 6:59 pm

    It would have to be matcha for me! Nothing like a good strong boost in the morning to get me going for the rest of the day, and its full of natural goodness and antioxidants too, unlike other energy drinks.

  24. December 17, 2013 / 7:17 pm

    The chocolate one. Very unoriginal I know, but I need chocolate to get me through life!

  25. December 18, 2013 / 8:17 am

    Glass of iced tea … relaxes me.

  26. December 18, 2013 / 11:07 am

    chocolate flake tea

  27. December 18, 2013 / 11:47 am

    I don't like coffee, love the smell, hate the taste but I do get a bit envious of all the mocha/latte/espresso choices so I'd really like to try the Chai Latte – and the extra calcium and protein from the milk should come in handy too

  28. December 18, 2013 / 11:55 am

    Chai latte for sure takes me back to when I lived in India fab place to drink chai with fab views of the himalayas imagine waking up to that felt blessed xxx

  29. December 18, 2013 / 8:16 pm

    The chocolate one

  30. December 18, 2013 / 8:22 pm

    spiced winter red will keep me in the christmas spirit xx

  31. December 19, 2013 / 12:47 am

    Chilli Chai

  32. December 19, 2013 / 9:37 pm

    the spiced one sounds delicious

  33. December 20, 2013 / 2:00 am

    Chamomile tea because it's my favorite. (Gianna)

  34. December 20, 2013 / 8:03 am

    Spiced winter red sounds good

  35. December 20, 2013 / 1:22 pm

    I think the Spiced Winter Red Tea would be a good choice to try – I've tried rooibos before, and wasn't too keen on it's own, but love the idea of it so hopefully the added ingredients would make the difference to me. I've been suffering with sore throat, snuffles etc. so feel this would be a good choice and that the spices would give me a boost without caffeine

  36. December 20, 2013 / 5:18 pm

    Camomile, always relaxes me and I love the taste

  37. December 21, 2013 / 8:38 am

    chocolate flake as chocolate helps everything

  38. December 21, 2013 / 10:45 am

    Green tea! It is always relaxing 🙂

  39. December 21, 2013 / 4:51 pm

    I love the Tea Pig's Breakfast Tea. It's my special treat at any time of the day. All the teapigs brews have such wonderful taste!

  40. December 21, 2013 / 4:51 pm

    Liquorice and peppermint. Perk me up!

  41. December 21, 2013 / 6:05 pm

    Chocolate flake tea looks good a bit of a treat

  42. December 21, 2013 / 7:48 pm

    Spiced Winter red will relax and get me in the mood for Xmas

  43. December 22, 2013 / 4:44 pm

    spiced winter red/ it wuddnt be xmas with out some spice

  44. December 22, 2013 / 6:21 pm

    Spiced winter red – lovely

  45. December 22, 2013 / 11:05 pm

    Spiced winter red yum

  46. December 23, 2013 / 10:01 am

    Would love to try the Chili Chai

  47. December 23, 2013 / 12:39 pm

    spiced winter red, it just sounds warm homey and devine!

  48. December 23, 2013 / 3:28 pm

    spiced winter red, as i am pregnant and trying to cut back on caffeine x

  49. December 23, 2013 / 6:56 pm

    Peppermint Tea, I find it very calming and it wards off any bugs that may try and take you down in the days leading up to christmas.

  50. December 23, 2013 / 8:57 pm

    I don't you an beat Chamomile, it's so relaxing

  51. December 23, 2013 / 10:56 pm

    Would really like to try the Creme Caramel flavour as am a massive fan of Rooibos tea!

  52. December 24, 2013 / 1:42 am

    Popcorn perfect to relax with a christmas film

  53. December 24, 2013 / 2:31 am

    That chocolate flake tea sounds very nice… but then, I am a chocoholic

  54. December 24, 2013 / 9:42 am

    Spiced winter red

  55. December 24, 2013 / 9:43 am

    Camomile Tea help me relax before bedtime

  56. December 24, 2013 / 10:25 am

    Liquorice and peppermint to help with my poorly tummy ;(

  57. December 24, 2013 / 10:32 am

    Green Tea with mint which is very good for you xx

  58. December 24, 2013 / 12:15 pm

    Peppermint is a necessity for these tough times ahead! 😉

  59. December 24, 2013 / 4:00 pm

    I have some Christmas Tea with cinnamon – lovely! 🙂 x

  60. December 24, 2013 / 5:44 pm

    camomile tea

  61. December 24, 2013 / 9:56 pm

    The red tea looks very interesting.

  62. December 24, 2013 / 10:04 pm

    Always camomile to soothe and relax!

  63. December 24, 2013 / 11:14 pm

    I usually drink decaf pg tips, but the chocolate flake tea sounds divine!

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