the emperor's garden

IMG_1519, a photo by tillytakestea on Flickr.

I snapped up this Minton tea cup and saucer in the local antique shop. I was drawn to it because it's traditional without being chintzy and I haven't seen anything like it offered in the latest ranges. What do you think? Worth £15.00?

Choi Time Review - Exotic Mixed Flowers

Yet another fancy free sample to try. I could get used to this life.

This time we have the Exotic Mixed Flowers variety which is another of their Giant Flowering Bulbs

As the last giant bulb I tried was pretty dramatic I decided to ignore all my pretty little teacups and use a large wine glass instead.

I know.

Pretty radical, but stick with it.

So here we have the bulb in the glass, it's pretty large and it's not actually that pretty. It looks like a rolled up ball of some dull plant. But, let's just see shall we?

So the water is added and it's pretty dull

Still a bit dull, yawn

Hang about - what's this?

OMG, as the cool kids say - that is one gorgeous looking flower

These bulbs open up into the most striking flowers. Anyone looking for tea with the 'wow factor' should certainly consider looking into these for the appearance alone. 

Now we come to the taste, an it's really the taste of good quality Jasmine Green Tea.  It's more expensive than the bags you get in the supermarket, but I think you can see why.

I topped this little beauty up a few times and I wasn't disappointed in the flavour. The flower started to fall apart as the tea steeped for an hour or so, but I think that's to be expected. It's osmosis isn't it? Let's pretend I'm clever and that it is.

Anyway, do you want some? Or are the pictures enough for you?

If you want to give them a whirl you can get 10% off with the code TillyTakesTea10.

Flowering Tea bulbs - ChoiTime Tea

The second of my exciting free samples from ChoiTime Tea was one of their flowering tea bulbs. Now these look so pretty that it's easy to forget that the appearance really should be secondary.  Even so, they are, they're very pretty so it would be foolish to ignore that fact.

The pretty little bulb that I unwrapped really was crying out for a pretty vessel to sit in. I decided on a bone china teacup and saucer that I think is very delicate and with a sense of fun. I felt this would complement the spirit of the tea beautifully.

As with all their teas, these are authentic traditional teas and we'll have none of your tea bag malarky here.

It's a lovely and tightly wound ball with a pretty little flowery centre.

When I added the hot water the ball began to unravel, much as you might expect, but rather slowly. However, there's quite a lot of green tea here, so you can get quite a lot of cups.

The tea we're looking at here is the Thousand Year Red and it comes with a hole raft of promised health benefits. In addition the red flower symbolises 'luck, happiness and prosperity'. Well I won't say no to some of that.

The tea itself is Jasmine Green Tea again, and the quality is pronounced. This is a joy to drink and savour. I topped up the water time and time again, and it still tasted good. I even left it stewing while I got distracted by some filing, and after a quick after refresh it was fine again.

The only possible issue was when I accidentally swallowed some of the flower. Not because there's anything wrong with that, but because I'm so used to floating bits in my drink being flies! So lighten up people and drink tea like it's supposed to be drunk.

If you fancy some of this tea ChoiTime will give you 10% discount with the code TillyTakesTea10

Choi Time Tea - Jasmine Green Tea Pearls

I'm pretty new to this blogging lark so I put out some feelers and got myself some lovely tea samples free via fuelmyblog.com

ChoiTime tea is what I would call an artisan brand. Their tea is sold in all the upmarket shops and is based on the traditional Chinese way of enjoying tea.

According to their site, in China tea is taken very seriously. No surprises there, but in China it seems it's far more common for people to take an interest in the specific tea plants, their cultivation and provenience in the same way the west does with wine. That's something that's really pretty obvious once you stop and think about it, but we mainly trust our brands to do that for us. They always tell us they pick the finest leaves don't they? 

So no tea bags here, no ground leaves, and no preservatives. ChoiTime tea is about the ceremony of tea. When these pearls mix with the hot water they slowly unfurl to reveal the whole leaves they are made of.

I was very kindly sent four separate samples, so I think that requires four separate posts so as to keep it all simple. First off, I thought I'd try what seemed to be the most simple and traditional sample. So I went for the Jasmine Green Tea Pearls in my greenest teacup.

I didn't time the steep, but waited until the water had changed colour slightly and the pearls had unfurled. 

And very refreshing it was too. I often find that green teas can become bitter very easily, and this was absolutely not the case here. Green tea can be a very dominate flavour, but here it is subtle and fresh. It was a pleasure to sip for a drink with so many health claims.

Obviously I can't speak for those health claims, but that's not why I drink tea. I drink tea because I love tea. I love the taste, and I love the taste of this. Of course as this is to be drunk without milk or sugar this is a good choice for anyone who is trying to cut out either of these for whatever reason.

You can even top up this tea with more hot water as you go, so the single serving can last all day. This is surely good news for tea lovers, as it means you can continue enjoying the same tea without extra waste or cost. That's what they call win-win.

I topped up the tea with fresh hot water many times and found that I didn't lose any discernible quality in taste. 

People who enjoy sanitised and plastic looking products won't like this brand. This is a brand that is proud of its ingredients and their quality. Tea is made from leaves, so you see leaves in this. It's a traditional truth that too many producers shy away from. Here the leaves are the main event, and I think that's how it should be. Why have a hamburger when you can have a steak? Yes, you've guessed it, they're more expensive than your supermarket brand so maybe not an everyday tea for most people. These teas would make lovely gifts for any tea lovers, and their sense of occasion really marks them out for events. All in all I really enjoyed the Jasmine Green Tea Pearls.

If you fancy trying something from ChoiTime Teas they have kindly offered a 10% discount with the following code: TillyTakesTea10.