Crooked House Windsor

The Crooked House in England's royal and luscious Windsor is a beautiful and quaint tearoom brimming with charm.  Genuinely crooked like the famous leaning tower of Pisa, this is a really interesting and cute building, and well worth a visit once you've finished basking in the glory of the castle.

A beautiful building so close to the castle and surrounded by history, this place has a lot going for it before you even get to the tea.

Quaint and very snug, this is a place brimming with character with very sweet and attentive staff. Our waitress politely apologised for the lack of flowering tea and was very quick to serve. 

When our order did arrive we were delighted to see loose tea in a pot, but disappointed that it was metal. Some lovely chintz would have been just perfect. I hate metal teapots, they burn!

I had ordered Jasmine Tea, so the milk went to waste, which is always sad to see. I would have liked to have been offered extra hot water, but as this is a bustling venue with hardly any space in a prime tourist spot I can understand why I wasn't. 

The sandwich arrived just as ordered and the salad was lettuce tomato and cucumber (standard British interpretation) and luckily no dressing.

All in all a lovely experience, and reasonably priced for a tourist town.

Hendricks Gin with Jubilee Tea Cup

Green Tea Pearls from Teavivre

I was lucky enough to receive some complementary tea from the good people at Teavivre. This is one of the undeniable perks of having a tea blog; sometimes nice people send you tea.

Jasmine tea pearls are one of my favourite ways to enjoy tea. Green tea is consistently in the news alongside various claims of its health properties and weight loss benefits. This means that many people are left with the impression that green tea is for the health conscious and fad dieters. People don't expect 'diet' things to taste nice, so they are happy enough to tolerate bitter and dull green teas. This does green tea a great disservice, as it should be enjoyed for its delicate taste and soft aroma.

Tea pearls themselves are a beautiful and traditional way to enjoy green tea. Placed in a cup of hot water they gradually unravel as they infuse.

Unlike teabags, the leaves can be used over and over again. A few pearls should be enough for 4 or 5 cups of tea throughout the day, just add new hot water.

The instructions on the pack of the Teavivre 'Dragon Pearls' are to infuse in hot water for 1-2 minutes. It is important not to over brew the leaves to avoid the bitter taste that results. The green tea is accompanied by jasmine, which also helps prevent the bitterness that can plague green tea. Once the pearls have brewed for a minute or two, then scoop them out and set them aside. The pearls can be used again after the cup is finished.

Don't forget that although believed to be healthier than other sources of caffeine, green tea still contains a relatively high amount, so try not to over do it all at once if you don't want to be wired all day!