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

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

Enjoy seasonal food: teatime apple and pear cake

This is an adaptation of a recipe I found in Marie Claire ‘Fresh’ by Michele Cranston. It’s the perfect seasonal cake for those in-between meal times – elevenses and afternoon tea!  Easy, quick to make, tasty and perfect with warming black and oolong teas. Put the kettle on!

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 50g ground cashews
• 3 free range eggs
• 125ml organic milk
• 400g caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, sliced
• 250g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons ground chai tea leaves
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3 pears, cored and sliced
• 3 apples, cored and sliced
• icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180c (350f / gas 4). Using 1 tablespoon butter, grease a 20cm round springform cake tin and sprinkle with half the cashew nuts to coat the tin.

Put eggs, milk,sugar,ginger, flour, chai tea and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and blend to make a thick batter.

Fold the pears and apples into the batter carefully and spoon into the cake tin. Sprinkle with remaining cashew nuts and dot with remaining butter.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours, remove and cool. Put the kettle on, put tea leaves into the pot, brew the tea then pour into your favourite cup or mug. Sprinkle cake with icing sugar, slice a wedge and serve with a dollop of natural yoghurt. Now sit, relax and enjoy!

Beans and buds!

Although it’s really a celebration of really good beans (with the likes of illycaffe, Bristol coffee roasters Extract, Bath boutique coffee roasters Lazy Jose and Cornwall’s Origin coffee) at the UK’s first coffee festival in Bath on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th May, we are going to be there to celebrate the true taste of tea buds!

You see, there is so much to discover and the tea that is generally on offer is really disappointing. So we’ll not only show you that you can love really good beans as well as really good buds (we do!) but we’ll also show you with our unique Forlife infuser teapots and tea infusers just how easy it can be to enjoy delicious leaf tea from fabulous producers.

It’s free to come along and there’s also ice cream, chocolate and gorgeous kitchen textiles to keep you busy. So head to stand B37 and open you eyes to the epicurean delights of tea with Lahloo Tea. We look forward to seeing you there.

PS mention the words beans and buds and a gorgeous Lahloo cotton shopping bag is all yours!

“I don’t take coffee, I take tea my dear”

When we heard about the Tweed Run we just had to get involved! It’s a brilliant idea. So not only are we linking up with them to create their very own Tweed Afternoon tea – a delicious blend of Darjeeling, oolong and a touch of assam – but Kate will be cycling the route too!

We’ll be setting off from Central London at midday, on a 12 mile route passing the Tate Britain, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace (no word yet on if ma’am will be joining us), Saville Row, stopping off in the park for a spot of tea courtesy of Lahloo Tea in Kensington Gardens, St Paul’s and ending with a bit of a knees-up with Hendricks Gin in the City of London (near Bishopsgate).

Proper attire is expected. Tweed suits, plus fours, bow ties, cycling capes, and jaunty flat caps are all encouraged! Sounds like fun!

We think this is perfect to celebrate our involvement!

Elemental – Cup Of Brown Joy from Moog on Vimeo.

Gorgeous vintage tea cup flower displays

images: Martha Stewart

Looking for inspiration to brighten up our new workspace with some spring flowers, I came across this gorgeous egg cup flower display. It’s gorgeous and so simple. As we run a tea company I thought it would be lovely to use some of my vintage tea cups instead of using just egg cups, a bit like the image below:

image: Polly Wreford (via Sarah Kaye)

But using spring flowers – daffodils, bluebells, crocus – like this:

image: Polly Wreford (via Sarah Kaye)

It struck me how lovely it would look in the centre of the kitchen table for a special Mothers’ Day afternoon tea or an Easter brunch. Often the simplest gifts are the most special. I’m sure if my Mum lived closer she’d love it! But as she doesn’t I’m treating her to afternoon tea at Liberty of London instead to say thank you for everything.

Have fun creating your tea cup flower arrangements. Don’t foget to save some cups to drink tea from too!

The perfect stocking fillers!

It’s even chillier than last time I wrote! I hope you’re keeping warm and that your Christmas plans are coming together. I am so looking forward to a fabulous feast on Christmas Day and a long walk in the woods on Boxing Day. But, I’ve still got so much to do it seems a million miles away! If you have too, don’t panic! Click here to see our little collection of some of our favourite stocking fillers. I hope you find some inspiration!

Happy Christmas from Lahloo

And don’t forget:
♥ order 3 or more pouches and we’ll deliver them free
♥ just email us and we can wrap them for you!
♥ order until 1pm Monday 22nd December by 1st Class or 1pm on Thursday 23rd December by Special Delivery in time for those stockings.

Enjoy your Christmas and here’s to a fabulous 2010!