Come and see us at Abergavenny Food Festival’s spectacular Christmas Food and Drink Fair

SUNDAY 5 DECEMBER 10.00am to 5.00pm

What are you going to eat this Christmas?

Come to the Abergavenny Food Festival’s spectacular Christmas Food and Drink Fair on Sunday 5 December (10.00am to 5.00pm). Whether your taste runs to the rare and exotic, the innovative or the traditional, this is the time to fill up your cupboards, firm up your menus, liven up your culinary plans and have fun while you are doing it!

There’s so much on offer. From an unrivalled foodie shopping experience to inspirational masterclasses, tutored tastings and demonstrations, there really is something for everyone. And it’s very much a festive family event, with free entry to all children under 16 (if accompanied by an adult).

Featuring over 60 of the best local and regional speciality food producers offering fresh and cured meats, poultry and game, cheeses and chocolates, gourmet teas, cakes and desserts, wines and liqueurs, ales and ciders and more.

Come and join us for a cup of Spiced Chai

Buy your entry wristbands on-line here >

Or follow the action on Facebook and Twitter

Warming Spiced Chai Latte

Go for a walk and take a flask of our favourite winter warmer!

BUY ASSAM CHAI SHOP NOW >

Escape Christmas madness and relax with a cup of tea!

Does this look like your average Christmas shopping scene at this time of year? No, I thought not!

I enjoyed a day mooching with my mum in law on Sunday last week and ended up on a very ordinary high street looking for Christmas present ideas. It struck me how uninspiring, not to mention stressful, it can be. I love hunting out unique places and things to give people and it’s not always easy to do on the high street. So, I thought I’d share some of my little secrets with you.

You too can escape the chaos of Christmas shopping and pick up gorgeous Christmas gifts to pop under the tree that are a little bit different! And remember if you shop online you can do it from the calm and warmth of your own home and take as long as you like, you don’t need to queue and you don’t need to carry it all home! Sounds like bliss!

So put the kettle on, light your favourite candle, put some non-cheesy Christmas music on and shop away! Have fun!

I love:

♥  To Dry For‘s ever so stylish tea towels

♥ Beautiful perfumes from Lyn Harris at Miller Harris

♥  Soma for gorgeous UK created art, jewellery and more

♥  the wonderful and eclectic goodies at The Hambledon!

♥ Emily Bond‘s beautiful British countryside inspired fabrics and homewares

♥ oh and last but not least Lahloo for all your tea gifts (look out next week for our very own gift sets inspired by life)!

Relax, unwind and indulge your senses in style at Cowley Manor in the heart of the English countryside!

Over the past 2 weeks I’ve been taking Vicky, our new ‘tea apprentice’, on a tour around some of our customers. It’s been great fun but also really wonderful to take stock of some of the amazing people and places we supply with Lahloo Tea. One of these very special places is Cowley Manor in the heart of the Cotswolds near Cheltenham.

A few months ago we started working with the team at the incredible luxury hotel spa. Cowley Manor is a contemporary chic country house hotel set in the idyllic British countryside. With an emphasis on comfort, service and very few rules, Cowley Manor is the perfect place to relax, unwind and indulge your senses. The hotel oozes simple luxury and everywhere you look there is a another special place to daydream.

Not only do they now serve a fabulous cup of tea in the hotel, but they do so in style. You wouldn’t expect anything else from the team at Cowley Manor though; they use the Lahloo Tovolo Tea infuser. A unique, simple yet stylish way to enjoy loose leaf tea-cup by cup, at work or on holiday.

Then there is their fabulous C.side Spa! The C.side Spa uses only the most natural of products during each experience and their own in-house Green & Spring product range. Its such a stunning setting with a beautiful range of products it was a pleasure to be invited to create three specific blends. Each had to be in keeping with Cowley Manor’s ethos of relax, unwind and indulge the senses with natural ingredients taken from the British countryside used throughout the Green & Spring range.

The 3 teas Kate created – Bliss (a blissful, indulgent blend of Green Jasmine and Rosebuds), Revive (a reviving blend of Japanese green tea, fennel and peppermint) and Unwind (an utterly relaxing blend of Chamomile Flowers and Lavender) – are delicious as well as therapeutic. Whatever your mood or feeling, these teas complete the Cowley Manor experience. And they have been hugely successful with guests at the hotel, spa and village shop.

This place is the perfect place to getaway from it all. They even have wellies you can borrow!

To discover a very special place nestling in the Cotswold countryside and to book a luxury getaway, visit http://www.cowleymanor.com or to visit their Paris ad Amsterdam hotels visit http://www.curioushotels.com

To buy Green & Spring products visit http://www.greenandspring.com or to follow them on twitter hunt our @greenandspring

To find countryside seasonal inspired recipes like Lemon & Thyme Shortbread click here

Well done Casamia, winner of Gordon Ramsay’s best restaurant

As you know we supply Lahloo Tea to fabulous cafe-bars, gastro-pubs, restaurants, delis and spa hotels around Bristol, Bath, the Cotswolds, Devon and Wales. I love working with the truly inspirational people we supply (we wouldn’t be here  - they are all doing something very special in their own way. It’s great to see them being rewarded!

Our customers are on a roll! From Best Dining Pubs 2010 (see the post right here) to the Best New Cheese Retailer – Runner Up 2010 at The British Cheese Awards (well done Dave and Debbie at Arch House Deli) and now Gordon Ramsay’s Best Restaurant 2010 – the superb Casamia in Westbury-on-Trym.

First of all, huge Congratulations to you all at Casamia! You deserve it!

Secondly, what makes them so special in our eyes. Always one to hunt out new and interesting places, I came across Casamia and was intrigued by their amazing menu. When I was treated to dinner by my wonderful other half for our wedding anniversary, I was blown away. Down an unassuming alleyway in a suburb of Bristol was a hidden gem!

At the heart of this little Italian restaurant is a truly lovely family – the Sanchez-Inglesias’. Mama and Papa, Paco and Susan, ran Casamia before, in 2006, their sons – Jonray and Peter – took over with their experimental, ground-breaking, boundary-pushing fabulous Italian inspired food. Now, eating at Casamia was a real experience and I loved it. Not surprisingly the young chefs, only in their twenties, soon won a much coveted Michelin Star. The boys are inspirational and full of new ideas – some of which I have been sworn to secrecy on!

I spent some wonderful afternoons tasting and discovering tea with the boys and their passion for ingredients was exciting. It was their appreciation of ingredients as a holistic sensory experience that stood out for me. Just like the liquid nitrogen they used in the final to create the fresh aromas of lemon groves on the Amalfi Coast! We finally chose a list and began working out just how to serve each one. They have been serving Lahloo Tea beautifully since the summer this year. Thank you for your enthusiasm and interest, boys.

When the boys told me they’d entered, I was so happy for them. And now, I’m even happier. Well done!

Visit their site at: http://www.casamiarestaurant.co.uk/

or follow Casamia chefs Pete and Jon Sanchez on Twitter
twitter.com/jonraysanchez
twitter.com/peter_sanchez_