A Taste for Twinings

Finally I am able to share my love for Twinings with you all.

I'm not sure how many of you reading this will be 'tea-lovers', but I'm pretty sure that most British readers will be responsible for at least one of the 165 million cups of tea consumed in Britain each day.  According to the United Kingdom Tea Council (yes such a thing does indeed exist and can be found at http://www.tea.co.uk/) Britain is the second largest per capita tea drinking nation, pipped to the post by the Republic of Ireland ("would you like a cup of tea Father?"). Considering the fact tea is not actually produced in Britain, this is pretty good going. We've also come such a long way in the varieties of tea available to us compared to the very first cup of tea (legend tells it) made by the Chinese emperor Shen Nung in 2737 BC, quite by accident when a leaf fell from the humble Camellia sinensis tree into his cup of boiling water. Now, before you nod off, or indeed, click off, I'm not here to give you a long and boring history of tea (you can look all that up for yourself if you feel the need). What I'm really here to show you is that there is a tea out there to suit any taste and mood, and it's just a case of finding the right one.

I'm proud to say I've been an avid Tea-Jenny since I was 5 years old and we had tea and toast before bed (somehow this was deemed by my parents to be the age when one is 'ready' to consume a healthy cuppa) and since then I've been on a voyage of discovery, seeking out new and exciting flavours. The thing with most tea drinkers I know is that the vast majority of them stick to a combination of milks and sugars, all centred around the humble Tetley teabag. Whilst this was the tea I grew up with, I quickly got bored of drinking the same flavour all the time. I think this was mainly because I can't take milk in my tea (cue lots on sickness if I do) and therefore I tend to taste the tea more. Now, I rarely drink 'normal' tea and find it can be a bit harsh compared to the more delicate concoctions I have now come across.

I remember the first non-Tetley teabag I tried and the sensation of this new flavour on my palate. I had read in a magazine that drinking peppermint tea could help ease painful periods and at first thought, what on earth was this. I come from quite a normal, working class Glasgow family, who drink Tetley, with milk and 2 sugars (except the strange sibling who doesn't take milk) and 'herbal stuff' wasn't ever in our cupboards. However, I found a box of this funny tea in Asda when I was 11 and have never looked back since! There are so many advantages to drinking tea (as well as the flavour) and many fruit and herbal teas are caffeine free, so no messing with your beauty sleep! Tea is full of antioxidants (which soak up all those nasty free radicals) and there is a ton of medical research backing up the benefits of a healthy cuppa. Tea also seems to be the old folks cure to all ills, particularly in my family. After any traumatic event or bereavement, the first statement is usually, I'll go put the kettle on, or I'll get us all a nice cup of tea. Tea and sympathy can solve all manner of problems.

I have a shelf full of different varieties of tea back home on Glasgow, mostly Twinings blends, but also loose leaf tea bought from Brewhaha (if you are ever in Glasgow shopping you must visit their tearoom!). I constantly seem to be drinking tea, I think because Glasgow is always cold, and I love the comforting feeling of drinking something warm and holding a hot cuppa in your hands. It also gives me a great excuse to collect tea sets, delicate china teacups and other tea making paraphernalia, much to my mother's dismay! One day I actually want to open my own little tearoom and serve up afternoon tea, my style - a girl can dream!

I want to leave you though with some of my favourite teas and a lovely little offer to help you kick start your tea journey!

Morning Detox is what I drink every morning before I even attempt to eat breakfast. It's a lovely refreshing start to the day, with honey and lemon, and also Milk Thistle which is your liver's best friend :) I'm not sure if it has any 'magic detox powers' , but I find that since drinking this tea on a daily basis I have felt more refreshed and ready in the morning, particularly as I'd often struggle to stomach breakfast and often reached for coffee in stead to give me a boost. This is definitely one to try!

This tea is quite similar to Morning Detox, containing that liver-loving milk thistle, but this also acts as a hangover cure for me, somehow managing to cure a fuzzy head and stop my stomach churning.

This is my newest favourite and I'm pretty gutted I've left a whole new box of this in Glasgow. If you love cherries this is the tea for you! White tea isn't anything scary or strange, but it is a more expensive tea and I think you can definitely taste a difference in quality with this one. There's less of a tea taste, but in a nice way. It just tastes lovely though and if perfect for an afternoon, chilling out with a magazine (and some cherries).


And now for my essential Twinings - you can buy boxes in most supermarkets that have 25 teabags, 5x 5 different types of teas. I think these are perfect for ensuring you don't get fed up of the same type of tea all the time, and also great for trying new flavours without having to buy 5 different boxes of teas. My two favourite boxes to buy are A Moment of Calm (being a teacher you definitely have moment in your day when you need to take a break and relax, and these I find are a perfect way to rest and restock) and Fresh & Fruity (these are perfect for a refreshment during the day, and lovely in summer).

And now to the whole point of this post: Twinnings are inviting you to try two new teas absolutely free with their 'Love a Different Cup' promotion. You basically go on the Twinings website and choose two teas you want to try and they'll post them out to you. Mine arrived yesterday morning and I'm looking forward to trying both tomorrow.

And the best bit? Once you've tried your tea they've kindly given you a 50p off voucher so that you can go off and purchase it :) Lovely people they are...

I hope you all enjoy exploring the world of tea :)


xxMxx


ps. thanks for your messages yesterday, I'm still not feeling great, but glad it's the weekend!

Have a nice weekend everyone :)