Bird & Blend Tea | Tea Club Subscription Box

When I visited Bird and Blend in Manchester I was trying to decide which Liquorice brew I wanted *This isn't totally irrelevant bear with me*. I opted for 'Aniseed Balls' for the time being but the lovely lady behind the counter told me if I signed up for the Tea Subscription Box I would be pleasantly surprised for my liquorice loving self! So guess what I did? Signed RIGHT UP! 

I've been eyeing up the Bird & Blend Tea Club for months, I'd say definitely a good 18 months, but it's taken me this long to actually go ahead with it. But when I saw a 'Fairytale Collection', I decided now was the time. 

Every month you sign up and the Tea Club is £7 + postage (I opted for the next day delivery at £3.95) and every month around the same date you'll receive 3 x 20g of tea, dependant on theme these will vary. In your first box you also receive a Perfect Tea Spoon and some drawstring Tea Bags! 

B&B have 4 different tea clubs:

- Original Tea Club 

- Caffeine Free

- Vegan and Veggie

- I Have and Allergy 

*I have opted for the Original tea Club, in hopes that not too many non-vegan friendly teas arrive. 

Above all for just shy of £10, 60g of tea, next day delivery and the chance to try teas up to a month before they go on general sale this tea club subscription is an absolute steal. I loved it and I think it is well worth the tenner a month, to be fair I probably waste a tenner a month on crap and now I get something awesome instead. As well as a free new tea scoop and some teabags to take my favourite brews on the go. 

The only downside I do have, well not down side but a way to make it better, would be some tea sacs in every box, I just think it would widen the market to who is able to buy this box and would make it a lot more favourable for me. As I normally have to wait till weekend to drink loose leaf! 

Interested? Buy here!

Now for this months tea's: 

Tea No.1: 

Company: Bird & Blend

Name: Mermaid Mist 

Tea Type: Fruit Tea 

Loose or Bagged: Loose Leaf

Rating: 4*

Best Served: Hot w/o Milk or Iced

Water Temperature: 100° 

Brew For: 4 minutes 

Buy: Bird & Blend

Price: 

Description: Mesmerising deep sea blue liquorice brew!

Ingredients: Hibiscus, Apple Pieces, Aniseed, Rosehip, Blue Pea Flowers, Liquorice, Blackcurrant Leaves, Natural Flavouring. WARNING: May Contain Traces of Nuts!  

So this is the liquorice brew that I was promised inside this months tea club. I've got to admit though I wasn't bowled over by the liquorice flavouring in this tea when it's piping hot, but the more it cools the more evident that sweet spicy flavour becomes. I think this would be a good brew if you both do and don't like liquorice it would just depend on how long you brewed it for. 

The colour of this tea is amazing too!! Such a deep purple-y/blue colour, reminded me a lot f the ocean at night time. You do get more of a blue sea colour when you cold brew the tea rather than brewing it hot. It smells fruity, sweet and you definitely get notes of that liquorice too! 

Tea No.2: 

Company: Bird & Blend

Name: Butter Brew 

Tea Type: Black Tea 

Loose or Bagged: Loose Leaf

Rating: 4.5*

Best Served: Hot with or without Milk

Water Temperature: 100° 

Brew For: 4-5 minutes 

Buy: Bird & Blend

Price: 

Description: A wizarding wonder of creamy, caramel-y, delight!

Ingredients: Indian Assam Black Tea, Sri Lankan Black Tea, Calendula Petals, Natural Flavouring. 

The Butter Brew is possibly one of the most exciting teas to me. I am a HUGE Harry Potter Fan, and butter beeris one of those top HP items everyone wants to try. So imagine how excited I was to see it transformed into a magical brew from B&B! Having a full fairytale collection' in the box was a wonderful start. I'm still amazed at ow they manage to come up with such weird and wonderful blends all the time! 

It smells incredible, it has a deep, bold scent with a little creaminess from the caramel flavours. It does have quite a sweet smell to it as well, but I think that's to be expected from a caramel type tea. Butter Brew steeps to a dark, caramel colour because of the various black teas in the brew. I mean look at how pretty the tea is! Those flecks of elbow really remind me of Hufflepuff too! Going of scent and looks alone this is a really nice tea so far. Bird and Blend have done really well in blending a tea that isn't too overpowering with such strong ingredients. 

I'm not the biggest fan of black tea, black coffee yes, black tea not really! Mainly because when I first started drinking tea it was to cut down on caffeine, and then when I finally tried black tea I just didn't like how strong the flavour was. I often find my self drinking some, I love a Chai and an Earl Grey, but that is about it. But Butter Brew is a really nice tea! I am very pleasantly surprised if I'm honest. I probably wouldn't buy a tin of 150g of it, but I probably will have some in the house for early mornings. 

Tea No.3:

Company: Bird & Blend

Name: Belle's Breakfast

Tea Type: Black Tea 

Loose or Bagged: Loose Leaf

Rating: 3.5*

Best Served: Hot with or without Milk

Water Temperature: 100° 

Brew For: 4-5 minutes 

Buy: Bird & Blend

Price: 

Description: An enchanted breakfast blend, perfect for your tea cup!

Ingredients: Sri Lankan Black Tea, Kenyan Black Tea, Chinese Keemun Black Tea, Chinese Black Tea, Rose Petals, Flavouring. 

The Belle's Brew was actually one I wasn't looking forward to trying that much. With every surprise subscription box you may end up with a tea that just isn't for you. And this, I assumed, was going to be that tea for me. As I said above, I don't really *love* black tea and only have it rare occasions, and I also don't like rose or many floral things at all. 

It wasn't too bad, I won't lie, I did enjoy the brew and I will be finishing the pouch. But I don't think I'll buy any again. Don't get me wrong the tea is a good quality tea, the strong bold flavours form the black tea are great and the rose really does come through which I didn't expect. But it was just a touch too floral for me. But if florals brews are your thing, I strongly recommend you give Belle's Breakfast a go! 

All in all I am really impressed with the Subscription Box. There are three very different brews, to suit different tea tastes which I liked. It's nice to find something new and possibly find something inside your comfort zone. I'm always up for trying any type of tea so this box is perfect for those who are hard core tea drinkers and those wanting to explore new avenues. LOVED IT! 

Blog Tour | Just Don't Mention It by Estelle Maskame

Title: Just Don't Mention It 

Author: Estelle Maskame

Pages: 432

Rating: 5 stars +

Form: eBook and Paperback 

Release Date: 21st June 2018

Publisher: Ink Road UK 

Acquisition: Sent to me by the Publisher in exchange for an honest review 

Buy: Amazon UK | Waterstones | Amazon US 

Blurb: "And all that’s left is me. The Tyler who doesn’t know who he really is."

At seventeen, Tyler Bruce is hot – a hot mess. His girlfriend is a knockout, his reputation untouchable, parties are nothing without him. Even his car is unreal. But inside Tyler is in ruins – and he'll stop at nothing to keep that a secret.

Then one summer Eden comes to stay. She's upfront, sharp and far more enticing than a stepsister should be. She also sees straight through Tyler's bad boy façade … to the vulnerable kid within. The quiet kid who took all the punches. As Eden draws Tyler in, his defences start to crumble around him.

As irresistible and dazzling as its Californian backdrop, Just Don’t Mention It is Tyler's story – his heart-stopping tale of past hurt, finding hope and figuring out who the hell he wants to be.

First of all I just want to say a a massive thank you to Ink Road for thinking of me for this blog tour and sending me a copy of JDMI to read ahead of Publication Day, this has been one of my most anticipated book for a long long time. And thank you to Estelle Maskame for signing and personalising all of the ARC's that was such a nice touch. And a very excited Becca when I noticed it too! 

Just Don't Mention It follows Tyler's Story whilst following the storyline of DIMILY. So to see everything from his point of view really made you view the story in a very different way. The Did I Mention I Love You series is one of the best book series I've ever read, and I binged all three books in just two days. Which is non stop reading when you work full time FYI! It's just such a unique and captivating love story, it's blissful reading. 

Tyler was always seen as a bad boy in the DIMILY books, especially the first one. More portrayed as an arrogant half wit with no sense elf responsibility or care in the world, and as good as he was written JDMI was a great way to see why he was written like that and why Estelle made such an excellent character.

JDMI is not only from Tyler's point of view, but it is also in two different time periods too. So it's set in present day at the same time as DIMILY and set 5 years previous when Tyler is 12. This just made the book flow so perfectly, to delve into the past of Tyler and see the way his past shaped his future and his attitudes and behaviours. It's also quite open about the affects of Child abuse too. 

I think what I loved the most about this book is so open and as hard as some scenes were to read they felt so real so emotional. Estelle deserves a medal for writing such a stunningly read book. As much as I adore the love story between Tyler and Eden, JDMI and DIMILY are so much more than that. It's a story of love, friendship, heartbreak, the affects of abuse, mental health. 

The back of JDMI has a page of contact details for Samaritans and NSPCC and this honestly made me tear up. That's just such a thoughtful and meaning thing and something I've never seen before. This book does have triggers, and to help address that at the need. To offer help and support and help guide people who may not know where to go, is just. I don't know, well done Ink Road. 

Want to keep up to date with DIMILY updates and Tyler love? You can follow Estelle on Twitter too! And you can follow the rest of the Blog Tour:

Bird & Blend | Ultra Violet Lemonade!

I've really really been loving Matcha at the moment, it's just delicious! So I've been trying to have it in so many different ways and see which one I love the most. So I thought I'd give a lemonade a try as this seems to be a very common way of it being done! 

What you'll need:

- 1 Cup - I used this plastic smoothie cup as I was on my way out

- 1 Cup of Ice 

- Lemonade - I used Diet

- 1 Perfect Scoop Matcha Spoon

- Ultra Violet Matcha from Bird & Blend (2 scoops)

- Hot Watcher 

- Matcha Whisk and Bowl 

Steps: 

- First add your scoops of Ultra Violet Matcha to your Matcha bowl. Be careful to not drop it form too high a height or you'll risk losing some of your matcha powder. I used 2 level scoops, but if you want your matcha a bit stronger add two heaped spoons. 

*This Ultra Violet Matcha from Bird & Blend is super fine, and rarely has any lumps. But if you want to be sure, you can always sieve your Matcha into your bowl. I chose not too. 

- Pour over a small amount of hot water and using your whisk, make a thick Matcha paste. 

- Top up with some more water and pour over your ice. 

- Viola! It really is very easy to make a delicious, healthy matcha to go that doesn't always taste too grassy either. Ultra Violet Matcha form Bird and Blend is perfect if you, like me, were a big fan of the Purple Rain blend. It tastes exactly like it, and smells like it too. No grassy smells or earthy tastes with this Matcha. The perfect starter flavour if you ask me!

Will you be giving this fizzy treat a try?

Leaves of the World | Fruit Salad Tea-Pops!

So since Britain seems to be in this season the rest of the world calls Summer? I thought I'd inject some sunshine into my recipe this month. What else is better than a Tea-Pop? A Tea-Pop is an ice pop/ice lolly made from iced tea. Pretty simple, pretty delicious. 

Company: Leaves of the World

Name: Fruit Salad

Tea Type: Green/Fruit Mix

Loose or Bagged: Loose Leaf

Rating: 5*

Best Served: Hot w/o Milk or Iced

Water Temperature: 80° 

Brew For: 2-3 minutes (including during the recipe!)

Buy: Leaves of the World

Price: £5.50 for 50g. £10 for 100g. 

Description: I'm possibly the most refreshing new kid on the block. My melange of fruit is sure to give your taste buds that mouth-watering feeling. Filled with peach pineapple, lemon and rose, I am quite simply to die for! You can make me hot or iced, or even better, use me as a base for a fruit punch bowl. Take it to the next level, and ice me as a lollypop overnight! Delish! 

Ingredients: Organic: apple, lemon peel. Natural pineapple flavour. Organic: Sencha green tea, peach, rose flower petals, marigold blossoms

The fruit salad tea is absolutely delicious. I love it. It tastes exactly like those Fruit Salad sweets you could get in a pick 'n' mix bag when you were little. now I'm just hoping they do a Black Jacks tea to match. IMAGINE THOUGH! *heart eyes*. 

Anyway I did actually get a mystery taste of this tea a month before it was released and adored the blend so much, I secretly hoped it was released. It's just such a summery brew. It's a tea that you drink, in the hopes it stays piping hot and lasts forever. When you get to the bottom of the mug and wonder if it's acceptable to brew another pot!! 

Fruit salad is also a really nice chunky tea too. As soon as you open the packet the scent is just incredible. I couldn't wait to try the tea and it was actually the first I tried (even with a pina colada tea in the pack!!). You could really see the full pieces of fruit and tea leaves, which I always like in a tea. It shows quality and allows the tea leaves to unfurl and brew properly. 

It has a nice balanced sweetness from the apple and natural pineapple flavour which a cleansing earthy flavour from the sencha green tea. The rose petals and marigold blossoms just help tone the brew and mellow all the flavours together without tasting too floral. It's rare I love a green tea hot, but this one really hit the nail on the head for me!! 





Recipe

You will need: 
100ml of Hot Water (80 degrees)
5 leaf loaders of Fruit Salad
Ice Pop Mould 
330ml can of Lemonade - Diet 
Sugar - If required

Steps:
- Add your 5 leaf loads of fruit salad tea to your brewing tool (I used my IngeniuTEA) and add the 100ml of hot water. You could use up to 125ml/150ml. It really depends on how strong you want it, add a little sugar too it you'd prefer. 

- Leave the tea to brew for around 5 minutes, which is a little longer than normal for green tea but you really want to make sure you get the maximum intense flavour form the tea as it will mellow when it's frozen!

- Strain the tea and allow to cool, I'm inpatient so I just dropped in a handful of ice instead until it wa lukewarm. Just cool enough so you don't burn yourself if it spills when filling the moulds. Always ask a responsible adult for help if you need it. 

- Top the mixture up with around half to full can of lemonade. Again, depending on how strong you'd like them or how fizzy you want the flavour to be. 

- Top you ice pop moulds with your mixture. Mine would have made around 12 if I'd had enough moulds. Instead I got six and a pack of ice cubes too

*For a fun optional extra pour a little bit of grenadine into the mould when you've topped them up. The sugar density of the grenadine will mean it'll sit at the bottom, making for a very fun and epic looking lolly for your kids once frozen!!  


Don't forget you can buy everything shown in the review:

- Fruit Salad Tea

- Leaf Loader - Perfect scoop of tea!

- Ice Pop Mould

*Use TEANOMADBECCA20 for a cheeky 20% discount at the checkout too. AND the guys at Leaves of the World also gives samples out on every order and free delivery over £30. What more could you want?