Saturday 23 February 2019

Piacha | Black and Cherry

Company:  Picha 
Name: Black and Cherry
Tea Type: Black Tea 
Loose or Bagged: Loose Leaf
Rating: 3/5
Best Served: Hot 
Water Temperature: 100°
Brew For: 5 minutes
Price:  £6.84 for 75g. £5.58 for 15 tea bags.
Description: This refreshing Ceylon black tea is brimming with creamy, sweet cherry flavour. A beautiful, distinctive flavour combination that will have you coming back for more.
Ingredients: Sri Lankan black tea, cranberry pieces (cranberry, sugar, rice flour, vegetable oil (sunflower)), vanilla pieces, flavour.

I seriously loved this tea, so much! It was actually my favourite of the teas that Piacha kindly sent to me. I am such a fan of Cherry and anything Cherry flavoured generally gets my attention, and even though I don't find myself drinking much black tea I was really excited to give this brew a go. 

The smells that come from this tea are incredible. The scents from the black tea are robust and bold, with a nice strong smell to them. The added cherry flavour really makes you think of Black Forest Gateux, which I adore! 


The flavour from this tea are great. The cherry flavour really mellows perfectly with the flavours from the Ceylon tea. I didn't taste too much of the black tea, which was actually quite a bonus for me. if anything the ceylon tea was a carrier for the stunningly strong flavours of the cherry. The black tea definitely lifts the sweetness of the cherry flavour. But it does have a little bit of tartness right at the end, which balance sour the initial sweet flavours which I really loved. 


It would be perfect for an Iced Tea! Cold brew Black and Cherry, frozen cherries and topped with a little bit of Soda/Sparkling Water or Lemonade would be perfect in the hot weather. 


I probably will end up buying some more of this tea but only when my stash has significantly dwindled. Or when it gets closer to the Summer moths as it's so refreshing! It's a bold, sweet and a bit tart blend thats perfect for those mid day sips. But black tea isn't my favourite and I have SO much tea to drink right now it's a joke... But after I make my collection substantially smaller I actually probably might contemplate picking up a small sachet for iced tea. 


Wednesday 20 February 2019

Manga | Alice in Murderland

Author: Kaori Yuki
Title: Alice in Murderland Vol.1 
Series: Book One of 11
Rating: 4.5* 
Publisher: Yen Press
Pages: 176 pages 
Published: 27th November 2018
Format: Physical 
Bought/ARC: Christmas Gift 
Buy: Amazon UK | Amazon US | Waterstones | Book Depository | Yen Press

Now! Let the "Mad Tea Party" begin!

The Kuonji clan, owner of one of the world's top conglomerates, has a tradition: Once a month, family members attend a "Mad Tea Party." But at the latest gathering, the nine Kuonji siblings in attendance are shocked to hear a pronouncement issue from the lips of their mother, Olga-

"I'd like you children to now fight one another to the death!"

As chaos erupts, Stella, the fourth daughter, loses all reason, and suddenly a whole new Stella, complete with blonde hair and blue dress, comes out to play-!!


This was my first Manga of the year and what a way to start! It's also my first ever hardback Manga that I own too. Mum to it me for Christmas and I was really excited to get stuck into it (and I've just received book 2 as well!). 

Alice in Murderland follows the Kuonji Clan, who once  month host an Alice style tea party. It's always  highlight of the month but this time it's different. Each of the siblings must now fight to their death until one sibling remains alive. Alice in Murderland Vol. 1 follows Stella, the fourth daughter, and her transformation drink the beginning stages of the .. duel? 

I love anything Alice in Wonderland and any different takes on it, adaptations or interpretations I'm always willing to give them a go. So I was super excited to read this and get stuck in. So I waited until I had a full day to read a little and binged the full Manga in one go. It's exciting, fun and very different to the usual cutesy Alice in Wonderland we'er used to. 

I always find Manga fascinating to read due to begin such a different medium to your Average UK style book/comic/graphic novel. But the art work in this particular book was extraordinary. I loved the detailing and the little bits of Alice mixed with Manga artwork, it was just incredible and added so much to the reading experience too. 

I'll definitely continue this series, regardless of how long it is/could be. Because it's a story I'd invest in, purely because of this one volume. 

Friday 1 February 2019

Brews I Drink In a Day | #1 (In Collaboration with Tea Is A Wish)

Afternoon! So Myself and Kimberley from Tea Is A Wish Blog have been chatting over the last few months and we decided that it would be a nice idea to do a collaboration post. So, we're doing a 'Teas I Drink In a Day' posts, well technically I'm doing brews because I do love a good coffee. The idea of the post is for you guys, to see, on an average day what the kind of drinks are that we have. We're planning on doing this at the end of every month (give or take) and see how our tastes change over the year! 

Luckily for me, Kim, is a lot more organised than me and her post has already gone live, which you can read here. Kim is a fabulous tea blogger and both her Blog and Instagram are amazing! I've followed her for a while now, but started talking to her more since we both became Tea Reps for Leaves of the World and honestly she's such a lovely person you should all follow her. Now, like right now. I'll wait here...  


6:30am.

My first brew of the day is always coffee. Always. I literally will never start a day without one and if I do, my day generally goes to pot. Andy bought me Nespresso Vertuo Machine for Christmas and I love having a proper coffee in a morning before my journey to work. Most morning I have something lighter, this morning I had Melozio. 


8:00am-8:30am.

Last week, I placed a little order with Pure Chimp to get their new Vacuum Flask and I've loved taking Matcha with me on the bus in a morning. I've been sipping it on the bus but mainly drinking it when I get to work and leaving it on my desk. The flask is great at keeping your Matcha hot for hours! Today I had the Turmeric Matcha, and some Oatly Barista Mylk. And yes it's dark outside, and yes it's morning! 

Clear your mind & improve your concentration
Tastes great with your hot/cold milk of choice
Feel good energy without the anxiety
Anti-inflammatory properties & high in antioxidants
Improve your health today with Turmeric Matcha Tea



2:30pm.

Generally at some point of the day after lunchtime ish I'll have a black tea or another coffee. Today I had a Mocha Chai from Bird and Blend. I need a pick me up and a shot of caffeine after lunch because lunchtime for me is usually 2pm-3pm and it's a long drag before I go home at 7pm! The Mocha Chai is a nice shot of caffeine form the coffee beans, a nice creaminess from the cacao bean and a bold flavour from the Ceylon black tea. 

Three of our all-time favourite beverages combined in this malty black tea blend – Chocolate, Coffee and Chai. Real chocolate drops, heaps of warming spices and whole coffee beans balance brilliantly in this Autumn chai, especially good with milk!

Ceylon black tea, cacao bean, chocolate chips (sugar, cacao, emulsifier soya lecithin), coffee beans, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla pieces, flavour.



5:00pm.

I'm usually really struggling by now. And today I'd had a really bad tummy! I suffer with IBS and can often struggle when it gets to tea time for normal people, but for me I still have a 2 hour block left at work before I can go home. Today I ended up having the Mint Humbug from my Twist Tea Tin and it was delicious. The Sweet Liquorice and Minty flavours really help settle the stomach and for some reason do give me a little bit of oomph to keep going through what is generally the hardest part of my day. 

A rich and naturally sweet mint and toffee tasting infusion.

A caffeine-free blend of rooibos and mint with no added sugar or artificial sweeteners, this Pud Without Sin is a simple, guilt-free pleasure that’s particularly great after dinner.

The Twist

For an even more indulgent treat, add frothy milk to create a Mint Humbug Latte.

Ingredients

Rooibos (65%), Liquorice, Mint (15%) (Spearmint, Peppermint) Natural Flavouring.
Warning
Contains Liquorice. People suffering from hypertension should avoid excessive consumption.



9:30pm.

Finally sat down! As much as I love my job, finishing at gone 7pm and then not sitting down properly till gone 9pm is beyond crap. The day takes it out of me and I just need something simple and soothing at the end of the night. I'm really not that sensitive to caffeine so I can have a Matcha at night. I love having something sweet and creamy like Ultra Violet Matcha from Bird & Blend. It's sweet, delicious and perfection in a cup. I mix it with some hot frothed almond mylk. 

One of the first floral matchas ever created. Inspired by Pantone's Colour of the Year, Ultra Violet is a nod to our often requested Palma Violet + Purple Rain teas. Classic Matcha lovers will love this. This classy and elegant matcha isn't super sweet, you can still taste the matcha with a floral hint.

Japanese matcha green tea, cardamom, lavender, natural flavouring granules.


That;s it! Don't forget to make sure you check out Kims post and tell me what you drink in a day!