Desert Island Teas with Pippa of Kendal
Posted 20th May 2013 by Whittard
Pippa, the manager of our Kendal store, gets into the island spirit and tells us what she would choose to take with her when cast away ... mind you, not so sure she'll find the power supply that she'll need for her luxury item!
1. Two teas
If I were to spend the rest of my life alone on a desert island the two teas I would choose to pack a lifetime supply of are firstly, Irish Breakfast teabags - I can't live without a cup or two of this throughout the day as it is, so this will be my number one item. The super strong Assam blend will keep me super alert incase i meet any scary creatures! The second tea I would choose is Organic Peppermint, again, a favourite of mine this will also help my digestion when I'm discovering exotic new foods!
2. One pack of biscuits
Out of pure greed if I had to choose a packet of biscuits to take with me, my choice would be a pack of our luxury short bread fingers. All of our shortbread is to die for and i know that this box contains the most!!
3. One book
Oooooh, one book? Now you are really asking!! It would have to Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. It's a true story of an escaped convict from Australia who heads to India to start a new life, whilst there he falls in love with Mumbai and meets many amazing people. I read this book when I was studying at a Film School in India and in the book he visited many of the places I was visiting at the time. His descriptions of India, the people, the smells, THE TEA and the culture in general conjure up the amazing feelings I experienced whilst I was there. When I need to escape the world this is the book that I curl up with and I can definitely see myself doing this on golden sands, with waves crashing on the shore in the distance!
4. One song
Mr Blue Sky - because it makes me feel good and I can dance like no one is watching me...
5.One luxury item
My kindle fire HD!!! This way I can have as many books as I want, music, films and can scan for WIfi networks! ha ha!
6. Which desert island would you prefer to be cast away on?
I would love to be left on any island where the water is clear, the sand is golden and the sun is beaming! It would also help if there were no wild tigers, snakes, spiders or any other scary creatures!!!
Thank you Pippa!
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Five Green Tea Highlights (New Loose Teas part 2)
Posted 15th May 2013 by Whittard
Our new range of loose teas features some very special varieties of green tea, here are a few that are particularly worth highlighting:
A very special steamed tea from Japan. Several weeks before it is harvested the tea bushes are shaded to protect them from the sun. Having become accustomed to abundant sunlight, the plants dramatically increase their levels of chlorophyll and this intensifies the flavour of the tea. A deliciously clean tea with grassy notes.
A very special and rare green tea, only a limited amount is produced every year in Anji, Zhejiang. "Bai Cha" translates to white tea. This is not a reference to the type of tea but to the plant cultivar used to produce this tea, which has very light green leaves thought to be similar to the colour of white jade. This tea produces a pale cup with a sweet smooth taste. My own personal favourite an exquisitely delicate cup!
Tian Mu Qing Ding translates to Heavenly Blue Peak and this is a wonderfully aromatic and flavourful tea. Grown in Zhejiang province in China. These beautiful dark leaves produce a clear and bright cup with a long-lasting taste.
Jun Chiyabari is a boutique small garden in the eastern Himalayan region of Nepal producing some fantastic and unique teas. This is a very special green tea with a sweet and light but flavoursome cup. Mango and Bergamot Loose Tea This tea is a decadent and delicious blend of green sencha tea, petals and fruit flavouring. The combination of petals with the flavour of mango, lulo and bergamot produces a sophisticated aromatic blend perfect for an afternoon indulgence.
This tea is a decadent and delicious blend of green sencha tea, petals and fruit flavouring. The combination of petals with the flavour of mango, lulo and bergamot produces a sophisticated aromatic blend perfect for an afternoon indulgence.
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Nuts about Hot Chocolate
Posted 15th May 2013 by Whittard
Earlier this year we asked for your hot chocolate flavour suggestions, then we narrowed the options to a final nine and asked for your votes. The nine flavours were: Spiced Orange, Hazelnut, Almond, Rum and Raisin, Toffee Apple, Macadamia White Hot Chocolate, Amaretto. Maple Syrup and Irish Cream.
Lots of you voted and the two most popular flavours were Amaretto and Hazelnut. These two flavours went into recipe development and after much tasting and refining by our Head Buyer, the recipes were finalised with delicious Amaretto Milk Hot Chocolate and Hazelnut White Hot Chocolate.
In the Autumn, these will join our current range of seventeen flavours, but in the meantime if you would like to have an exclusive preview, simply visit our Facebook page and enter our competition to win two samples.
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Desert Island Teas with Octavia of Cambridge
Posted 2nd May 2013 by Whittard
In part 2 of our variation of Desert Island Disks, we quiz Octavia of our Cambridge store on the essentials she would take, if she had to spend the rest of her life alone on a desert island:
1) Two Teas
Irish Breakfast as I need a mug in the morning to wake me up and I'm a traditionalist at heart and Lapsang Souchong as my mum always brews a blend using this so the aroma conjures up so many memories from my childhood.
2) One packet of biscuits
Fox's golden crunch creams
3) One book
The Oxford English Dictionary - it would keep me occupied for a long time!
4) One song
Tuba Smarties by Gerrard Hoffnung. This song always makes me laugh and reminds me of my family.
5) One luxury item
My stanley knife and some blades so then I could be productive and build things.
6) Which desert island would you prefer to be cast away on?
One where there was plenty of edible plants and berries so that I could eat well, other than that just cast me away!
Thank you Octavia!
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Seven Black Tea Highlights (New Loose Teas Part 1)
Posted 30th April 2013 by Whittard
We’re thrilled to introduce some exciting new additions to our loose tea range, we're adding forty six in total including green, white, yellow, black, oolong and puerh. In this piece, we're highlighting some of the most special black teas:
Darjeeling Badamtam 1st Flush
The Badamtam estate is situated high in the Himalayas and watched over by a majestic bronze statue of Buddha. This first flush is picked as the spring sun warms the valleys. The young shoots produce a delightfully sweet floral taste, best enjoyed lightly brewed for a fragrant, golden cup.
1st flush refers to the first pickings of the season, typically around March and considered a speciality. When fine tea is picked it is done by hand and only the top bud and next two leaves are picked.
Second flush teas from Assam, in north East India, are particularly sought after as they possess all the finest characteristics of Assam tea. This tea from the Mangalam tea garden is full-bodied with the distinctive Assam malty taste and long-lasting flavour. Second flush refers to tea picked when the leaves grow back after the first flush , typically around May/June.
This orthodox tippy leaf tea from the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro has a pleasant spicy flavour and produces a rich copper cup.
Nilgiri Kala Moti
Kala Moti means black pearls and this is a very special tea, grown at high altitude in the Nilgiri mountains of Western India. A soft delicate tea, full of flavour.
Black Pagoda
This is an elegant black tea with long golden tips tied by hand into the shape of pagodas. Full-bodied, but mild with a sweet aftertaste.
Keemun Hao Ya B
A rare tea, grown in the Anhui province of China. It is aromatic, floral, and subtly fruity and produces a clear, hazel colour.
This is one of our Head Buyer’s favourites. "It is a tea that is smooth and sweet with a gentle smokiness and dry finish. I prefer to take it black - a lovely tea to drink any time of the day."
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