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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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