Tag Archives: english breakfast

Kenyan Tea | Drink Review

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I am quite obsessed with tea. A day without tea is just a bad day. I usually drink English Breakfast tea but I decided to give Kenyan tea a shot. With interesting results: it’s even better than my normal tea.

I reviewed Marks and Spencer Pure Origin Mount Kenya Teabags and they are really flavoursome, fresh and bright. They just make such a good cup of tea. In fact it is hard to make a bad cup of tea with these teabags. This is definitely the tea I will be buying from now on. I can’t say enough just how amazing the tea tastes. They are also Fairtrade which just makes the tea taste even better.

Just as amazing is Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Kenyan Fairtrade Fine Tea. Try Kenyan tea. You won’t look back. (no, I am not being paid to write this. They just rock)

Kenya is a country famed for its long distance runners…just look at this year’s London Marathon winners. But that’s not the only impressive export from this beautiful East African country. Did you know that thanks to Kenya’s perfect climate along the Rift Valley, the country provides nearly 53% of the tea leaves we Brits drink in our daily cuppa?

Kenyan Tea is at the heart of many of Britain’s favourite teas blends making up the 165 million cups of tea we drink each and every day in the UK. As we approach a Summer of British celebration, we’ve no doubt there’ll be more tea (and cake!) consumed than ever before, so here’s a few reasons it should be Kenyan tea you’re drinking:

* Her Majesty the Queen was visiting Kenya on the day she ascended to the throne – 6th February 1952.
* It’s remained a popular spot with the Royals, as it was also where Prince William and Kate Middleton got engaged in 2010.
* Of the 78 Olympic medals Kenya has won since 1964, 69 were for athletics running events.
* With the exception of 2010, a Kenyan runner has won the men’s London Marathon every year since 2004. This year Wilson Kipsang was only four seconds behind the course record.
* Kenyan tea is grown within the regions that nurture the top athletes.
* Kenyan tea is uniquely refreshing and 100% disease and pest free.

We British are famed for our love of a good brew, so we’ve asked around to find out what makes your perfect cuppa. While milky tea is still our favourite it seems we’re getting more adventurous as more are trying lemon or honey in a cuppa, while over a third of you are experimenting with the purer tastes of loose leaf, single estate and rare teas from around the world.

To introduce you to the distinctive taste of Kenyan Teas we’ve sent you two delicious teas so you can experience the high quality and distinctive flavour, and discover what’s truly at the heart of a good cuppa.

About Kenyan Tea

· Tea has been grown in Kenya since 1903 and quickly thrived thanks to the growing conditions, climate and altitude. Tea is grown in both large plantations and smallholdings across 180,000 hectares with production reaching up to 390 million kilos per year. Today Kenya is the largest producer of tea in Africa and one of the world’s largest black tea producers.

· Kenya tea has been proved to have higher levels of antioxidants compared to teas produced in other parts of the world.

Stockists

· Marks and Spencer Pure Origin Mount Kenya Teabags – £1.79 for 50 teabags. This is the first Kenyan tea to be grown and packed at source, the result of a 2 year project with M&S training farmers to pack tea for export and local sale.

· Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Kenyan Fairtrade Fine Tea – £2.39 for 80 teabags. This tea is grown in fair-trade tea gardens in the Kenyan highlands where the climate and altitude produce this fine tea with a full flavour.

WHITTARD OF CHELSEA RELEASES PERFECT ‘CUPPA’ GUIDE

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WHITTARD OF CHELSEA RELEASES PERFECT ‘CUPPA’ GUIDE, AHEAD OF BUMPER TEA-MAKING DAY – MOTHERING SUNDAY

The UK Tea Council expects more than 165 million cups of tea to be drunk in the UK this Mothering Sunday. As the annual homage to Mothers approaches, millions of sons and daughters around the country are planning to serve breakfast in bed including the ultimate ‘cuppa’ for the celebrated women in their lives. Tea and coffee specialists Whittard of Chelsea, who have already identified a pre-Mother’s Day tea selling surge, have today released their expert guide to making the perfect cuppa.

Every year, Whittard of Chelsea monitors the Mother’s Day effect, estimated to be one of the biggest tea-making days of the year. Selling over 130 varieties of tea, Whittard last year saw a +32% surge in sales of tea gifts in the run up to Mothering Sunday. So far this year, the firm tea favourites are – unsurprisingly – English Breakfast and Earl Grey. However, sales of speciality flavours such as English Rose and Orange Blossom are also creeping up.

Says Fiona Robinson, of Whittard of Chelsea’s head office in Oxfordshire:

“A cup of tea in bed is one of life’s simple pleasures, and one that children can help

prepare at any age to spoil the lady of the house. Whittard starts to see a real peak in sales about two weeks before Mother’s Day as people come in to buy their favourite teas, along with pretty bone china to make a celebration out of the perfect cuppa. Tea gifts also sell very well for Mother’s Day with year’s best sellers including tea caddies, leaf tea with silver-plated infusers and tea selection boxes.”

Whittard of Chelsea’s Expert Guide to Making the Perfect Cuppa

1. Choose the right blend to suit your mood – Deciding on the right blend – whether loose leaf or a teabag – to suit your mood and individual taste is key. Many people have on average three blends in their cupboard for exactly this reason. Great wake-up teas for Mother’s Day include classic English Breakfast or Assam.
2. Delicate cup and saucer or comforting chunky mug? Many swear that tea tastes better from fine bone china. Fine bone china cups are lighter and more delicate than ceramic mugs and keep the tea hotter for longer. However, nothing will do sometimes but a great big comforting mug of strong tea.
3. Is it a full tea tray moment? Mother’s Day offers the perfect opportunity to produce a proper ‘tea moment’ complete with laden tray, sugar lumps, strainer, tea pot and milk jug.
4. Always use freshly drawn water either from the cold tap or even better, filtered. Pre-heated water loses oxygen and dulls the flavour of the tea.
5. Are you in a Milk Mood? Some teas are considered best without milk but it’s all a matter of taste. For example, Earl Grey has a very delicate flavour so only requires a dash of milk, whilst some prefer it without milk and just a slice of lemon.
6. Boiling is best – Pour the boiling water straight into the cup as soon as it’s boiled. Boiling water brings the tea to life

TEAPOTS & TEALEAVES

7. Warm the pot with a dash of water. It creates a better brewing temperature
8. Measure your tea leaves carefully
* Very strong dark type of teas; 3 or 4 teaspoons per 6 cup pot
* Medium strength teas, possibly drunk black. 2 teaspoons
* Lighter teas, enjoyed without milk. Use 1 teaspoon of leaves
9. Optimum brewing time for tea leaves is 3 to 5 minutes – Less does not extract the full flavour, more and it can become bitter.
10. Stop what you’re doing, pour and enjoy!