Green tea Green tea!

Yes, more green tea, I am really enjoying my role as taster and reviewer!  It's good to ring the changes and see what delicious beverages there are out there.

My first was a present from my parents and bought from Sainsburys in the UK.  They gave me two boxes of this Free Trade tea, one with a peach flavour, the other mint flavour.  I liked them both very much.  Light, refreshing and not too perfumed.  Perfect at all times of the day (apart from after 18h because if I drink tea after then I my sleep is even worse than normal).

Hell I can't rotate it!

I don't know how expensive the tea was (rude to ask when it's a present dontcha know?) but Sainsburys own brand is probably quite reasonable.

+ points - great tasting everyday tea, Free Trade, non bleached bags
- points - can't get it in France!

The second tea is a really serious bag of tea leaves.  This was very kindly brought to me by a lovely lady who had come all the way from the next town on the train to deliver a home-cooked meal when I was just out of hospital.  She'd added all sorts of other treats, this tea included.  I simply cannot express enough gratitude to the people who came round during that very difficult period bringing delicious food, drink and treats or coming round to pick up ironing or deliver cakes or magazines and with it showing their love and concern.  It warms my heart still to think of the care and outpouring of concern that they showed and believe me it helped me enormously and also helped my children, and showed my scared husband that there were good guys and gals in the world and sometimes that good things happened, amongst the horror and sadness that we'd come across.

So, back to the tea.  I don't like to make a pot unless I have visitors and a friend showed me these really neat disposable tea bags which are on sale in a local posh kitchenware shop.  They are so dinky and easy to use and not messy.  With the other tea infusers like the metal balls and the like, I find they are messy to use and take too much time to clean.  These little paper bags are quick to use and disposable (and biodegradable too).

So, the tea.  It's called 'Destination Premium' Hubei and Fujian Chinese tea, floral and refreshing.  It's flavoured with jasmine so the taste and smell is floral.  The bag lasted for ages as I only needed a few leaves to make a cup strong enough for me.  I had to be careful not to leave it to steep too long as that made it too strong as well.  However, the tea never had that bitter taste even if it was left a long time in the cup.

The taste was more full-bodied than other teas I'd tasted and the floral hints made it an aromatic pleasure.  Don't know what the price is but it's probably a very economic way to drink green tea as the bag lasts so long.  Ingredients: Green Tea only!  No additives.

+ Bag lasts for ages and great if you like floral teas and strong tea with a stronger flavour, organic. 
- Not good if you don't like stronger teas or floral taste or smell and can't be bothered with tea bags

And the third tea today is a Kusmi Tea, luxe de luxe!  This was a treat from a lovely friend.  I'd been saving it since Christmas and now I've nearly finished it:-( I've written already about the historic Kusmi teas and how they have updated their image and are now uber-fashionable (in Paris at least).  The packaging is gorgeous and the mix is interesting.  This tea is called 'BB Detox' and it contains green tea, maté, rooibos, guarana and dandelion.  It is also grapefruit scented.  The best thing about this tea is opening the tin in the morning and inhaling the smell!  It's heavenly.  Not strong but refreshing and delicious.  A real pleasure.

The tea itself (and it's tea leaves) is light, non bitter and very easy to drink.  Slips down nicely.  You're left with a refreshing taste and a feeling of having your thirst really satisfied.

I'm not sure if it detoxifies but it feels clean and afterwards my pee is pale yellow (sorry tmi).

Although the tea was a present, I did look at the price in my local shop and it's really expensive, so it's a luxury and a really generous present.

+ The smell and the light taste and the feeling that you might be doing good things for your body.  The packaging and the cheerful yellow are a pleasure to look at too.
- The price