Tea with a twist!

Last July at the Bristol Wine & Food festival we served up Long Island Iced Earl Grey Tea and Amber Mojitos and they went down like a storm in a teacup (sorry)! So we’ve been working on new recipes for this years’ events – including Bristol Wine & Food 2010, Clinger Farm’s Harvest festival and Dartmouth Food Festival – with  our friends at The Rummer Hotel.  Fabulous bar tenders and mixologists and last night I invited a very select twitter crowd (@cowshedbristol, @pearcafe and @essexeating) to give me their verdicts.

It’s a tough job but someone has to do it! We tried these delicious creations:

‘Caviar’ Marteani – Didi’s clever and unique molecular competition entry. Dry gin martini with fabulous little black salty pearls of our cinnamon Smokey tea ‘caviar’ to give you a burst of flavour. Crazy but a little tricky for us to replicate!

Smokey Margarita – Martin’s amazing twist on a classic margarita using tequila infused with our smokey tea (they all loved the smokey tea)! Sensational and definitely coming to a festival near you soon! Here’s Elly sipping away…

Dragon Pearl Vespa - Joe’s chose the stunning fragrant jasmine Dragon Pearl tea to infuse vodka and created a jasmine and apricot Vespa with a burnt orange twist. I could’ve sipped it all evening! Dan and I loved this one and it will also be making an appearance…

Join us for tea in Cheltenham

This week is looking busy but really lovely. I am going to be spending rather a lot of time in and around Cheltenham. I love Cheltenham and despite there already being some lovely spots in other parts of the Cotswolds that serve and retail Lahloo Tea, we haven’t taken our lipsmackingly tasty tea to Cheltenham yet. Don’t panic Cheltenham we are coming this week!

I’m starting by sharing a lovely cuppa at elevenses with The Daffodil to tell them more about serving really delicious tea, then I’m going to train the wonderful team at Cowley Manor Hotel and C-Side Spa on serving Lahloo Tea (they are serving it in the really cool Tovolo tea infusers rather than tea pots so it’s going to be great) and finally I’m delivering new tea orders to the gorgeous Bob Parkinson’s Made By Bob and SallyAnn Bliss’ gorgeous PUREbliss Organics barn.

18th, 19th and 20th June 2010

Then on Friday we’ll be at the 2010 Cheltenham Food Festival sharing Lahloo Tea with festival goers.The Cheltenham Food and Drink Festival 2010 returns to Montpellier Gardens in the summer, for more gastronomic delights, a celebrity guest appearance from Antonio Carluccio and the chance to eat, drink and be very merry. Come along to stand E17 and find our more about how delicious Lahloo Tea is.

We look forward to seeing you there.

The fabulous Walnut Tree Restaurant is now serving Lahloo Tea…..

I feel very lucky that I have been treated to lunch at The Walnut Tree restaurant in the gorgeous countryside just on the edge of the Black Mountains near Abergavenny. If you haven’t had the chance to eat at The Walnut Tree, then I hope you have plans to do so as soon as humanly possible! Don’t worry if you live further than we do (about an hours drive from Bristol), they have lovely accommodation so you can sample the fantastic wine list as well as the food. Or maybe head to the fabulous Abergavenny Food Festival and make a trip to taste Shaun’s food (just remember to book).

The Walnut Tree has been a famous inn and restaurant since it began in the early 1960’s. It is now run as a joint venture between Shaun Hill (see above) and William Griffiths. The Walnut Tree offers proper dining and drinking in an informal setting. Join them for a glass of good wine and a plate of something delicious or sit and savour a full lunch or dinner in the welcoming inn.

The menu is an eclectic mix, based on Shaun’s personal taste and sound cooking techniques, rather than any particular country’s cuisine.  Shaun and his team have this year earned a coveted Michelin star in recognition of the food being served and the team serving it. Well done!

When I first contacted Shaun to introduce him to Lahloo Tea and to see if he would like to serve our tea at The Walnut Tree, I did so with some trepidation. You see I knew that Shaun also oversees the long-established restaurants at Fortnum & Mason. Especially, St James’ Restaurant where he oversees the tea menu. He really knows – and loves – his tea! He really appreciates the difference between a Golden Assam and a high mountain Second Flush Darjeeling.

I needn’t have worried. After our initial chat over a lovely cup of Jungpana Darjeeling over a year ago, Shaun enjoyed Lahloo Tea so much so, that he asked me to keep in touch. So I did! And now I’m happy to say that you’ll now be able to sip a delicious cup of tea after your meal at The Walnut Tree.

Together with Shaun we have created a delicious tea list from around the world. Choose from a pot of light and fragrant Darjeeling Second Flush from high in the Indian Himalayas, the wonderfully refreshing and digestive Orchid oolong from the Phoenix Mountains in China (superb with his sensational chocolate puddings) or a cleansing cup of Japanese green tea. Whatever you choose, it will be delicious. So when you go back or visit for the first time, sit back relax and enjoy the food lovingly prepared by Shaun and the team. Just don’t forget to ask for a special cup of tea to follow…

Lahloo Tea at The Rectory Hotel and The Potting Shed

The Potting Shed is a traditional British Dining pub in the stunning village of Crudwell in the Cotswolds. They focus on the little things that really matter; namely great beers on tap, a concise and interesting wine list,  fantastic food. In fact it was awarded New Pub of the Year 2010 by the Good Pub Guide. They even have their own organic veg patch out the back of the pub. This perfect pub deserves to serve a perfect cup of Lahloo Tea.

Lahloo Tea is also served at their sister hotel, The Rectory Hotel just 100 yards up the road. This beautiful, elegantly furnished period house is set in three acres of Cotswold stone-walled garden.

Jonathan and Julian have transformed this building into the ideal escape or the perfect base to explore The Cotwolds. If you are in that neck of the woods why not treat yourself or someone else to a night away, eat and drink at the pub then stay in the hotel. Wake up in the morning with an amazing breakfast (I recommend their full English Breakfast) and a delicious pot of Lahloo Tea.

You can then go off and explore the Westonbirt Arboretum, a magical sight all year round.