Fit for the Olympics

The Olympic torch passed through Clifton this morning, so the Lahloo Pantry team were up early for a bit of Olympic fun. Joe, Hannah and Holly went to the Suspension Bridge with heaps of cold infused Earl Grey and lots of Lahloo Pantry bags. It was a nice sunny morning and everybody seemed to be in a good mood!

Want some cold infused Earl Grey? Follow the red aprons! 

Iconic! Joe and Hannah by Clifton Suspension Bridge. 

 Fireworks and Union Jacks 

The fireworks made Holly jump! 

More Olympic fun at the Pantry until the end of the week! Superfoods and superteas to make you fit for the Olympics!

Rosebud, raspberry and almond cake (gluten free)

We love polenta cakes! They have great texture and flavour and they’re a great alternative to wheat based cakes, perfect when you’re trying to bake something gluten free. And why sticking to the old lemon and polenta recipe when there’s so much to explore? This recipe is floral, fruity and nutty and looks gorgeous too. Cover it in raspberry curd and it’ll have a bright pink colour, great when served on a slate, as seen at Lahloo Pantry!

Ingredients

• 225g butter (room temperature)
• 225g caster sugar
• 225g ground almonds
• 115g polenta
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsps Lahloo Rosebud
• a handful of raspberries
• zest of 2 lemons
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• a few drops of vanilla extract
• raspberry curd to serve

Line and grease a large loaf tin. Preheat the oven at 150C.

Beat butter and sugar until pale. Add the ground almonds and the rolled petals of Lahloo Rosebud tea. Gradually add the eggs and the vanilla extract. When thoroughly combined, fold through the remaining ingredients, except the raspberries.

Pour half of the mixture into the tin. Scatter over half of the raspberries. Pour the other half of the mixture on top and then add the remaining raspberries.

Bake for 30 minutes. Cover with foil and bake for 25-30 minutes until firm. Leave it in the tin until it’s completely cold. Cover with raspberry curd and decorate with some rosebud petals. Enjoy!

Lemon Verbena “agua fresca”

Inspired by this gloriously sunny weekend, we’ve come up with a seriously refreshing drink that we’ve called Lemon Verbena agua fresca (that’s “fresh water” in Spanish, in case you were wondering!). Keep it in the fridge and drink it in the garden when the sun is shining. Full of the goodness of two of our favourite herbs, Lemon Verbena and Peppermint, it’s very uplifting and invigorating yet caffeine-free.

 

Use three teaspoons of Lahloo Lemon Verbena per one teaspoon of Lahloo English peppermint (4 teaspoons in total per 400ml). Let it cold infuse overnight. Strain the tea and it’s ready to serve!

Serve it with a slice of lemon or a mint sprig. We love it!

A fresh and floral Tea Workshop

As the old saying goes, April showers bring May flowers. As we’ve all had enough rain already, this month we’ve prepared a selection of fresh and floral teas that will put a spring in your step. From the rejuvenating citrusy highlights of Lemon Verbena to the elegant sweetness of Jade Oolong, this Tea Workshop will make you think of the English countryside, garden parties and a midsummer night’s dream.

Join us at Lahloo Pantry on Thursday the 17th of May from 6- 8pm for an evening of #teadiscovery!

Taste the teas, learn about the story behind them and take home your favourites! Tickets are 100% redeemable so you will choose your goodie bag worth £15 to recreate the Lahloo experience at home.

Tickets cost £15 and places are limited, so book fast! E-mail hello@lahloopantry.co.uk or give us a call on 0117 329 2029.

Rhubarb and rosebud fool

Fruit fools are the epitome of British summer desserts. For this one, Laura at Lahloo Pantry combined the flavours of rhubarb and Lahloo Rosebud tea with a hint of vanilla. The result is as fabulous as it sounds (and it looks incredibly pretty too!).

Ingredients

• 500g rhubarb
• 150g (in volume) caster sugar
• 150ml water
• 1 vanilla pod
• 1 tbsp Lahloo Rosebud tea
• 150ml double cream
• 1 tsp vanilla sugar
• 1/2 to 1 tsp rose essence

Place the caster sugar, the water, the crushed rosebuds and the split vanilla pod in a saucepan. Bring it to the boil and let it simmer for 5 mins. Tip in the rhubarb, chopped into 3cm slices, and simmer for 2-3 mins until the rhubarb is cooked through, but don’t overcook it as it will go mushy. Let it cool down.

Place cream, vanilla sugar and rose essence in a bowl. Whip it until it’s soft. Do not overwhip.

Gently fold through rhubarb, using a straining spoon to drain most of the syrup. Fold into the cream and then spoon into glasses, drizzling over the syrup.

It can be kept in the fridge for 1-2 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Six things you need for a perfect picnic

What is it that makes a picnic so exciting? Lying under the sun, enjoying the smell of fresh grass and a great view, sipping on a refreshing punch, eating delicious little bites and loads of fresh fruit…  If you’ve found yourself wishing you were spreading your picnic rug on a fresh meadow under the sun, we can’t blame you. We’re mad about picnics too!  This is our list of six things that make a picnic a perfect experience.

1. The weather

If you live in the British Islands, you know what we’re talking about if we say “changeable weather”. Ideally, your picnic day should be bright, sunny and a bit warm, to allow you to sit on the grass comfortably. If the day fails to meet these characteristics, you can always try an indoor picnic… It’s more exciting than it sounds! Find a cosy corner in the house and spread your picnic blanket on the carpet. Put some feelgood music on and start enjoying your selection of food!

2. The location

Spreading your blanket in a meadow á la Famous Five isn’t always possible for those who live in a busy city. But finding a sunny spot in a grassy place is definitely achievable! If you’re up for something a bit more adventurous, check the National Trust website for some inspiration.  P.S. Don’t forget your sunglasses.

3. The company

Taking a bunch of good friends along will definitely improve the picnic experience. But, having said that, we must admit that there’s something very charming in a solo picnic too. Grab a book, treat yourself, relax and enjoy.

4. The food

When we’re talking about picnic food, the perfect equation is maximum enjoyment, minimum effort. Here’s a list of our favourites:

• Spanish green olives. Choose a fat and oily variety. We love Gordales or Aloreñas!
• Your favourite bread, ideally something that you can tear with your hands (focaccia, anyone?)
• A light frittata cut into squares. We love it with added greens, such as spinach, peas or asparagus.
• Mini plum tomatos with fresh basil. Fresh, juicy, flavoursome.
• Tired of hummus? Try an aubergine dip. Thinly slice one aubergine and half an onion. Put some olive oil in a pan, add smoked paprika and the vegetables and sautée. Add salt, pepper and oregano to taste. Add some pinenuts and let it cook until the aubergine and the onion are soft. Refrigerate overnight, it will intensify the flavour.
• A savoury loaf.  Get creative and experiment with basic recipes! We are in love with this chorizo, pistachio and sundried tomato recipe)
• Heaps of fresh fruit… especially berries!

Love this pistachio, chorizo and sundried tomato loaf  from Lahloo Pantry

Mediterranean flavours: mini plum tomatoes with basil, Spanish olives and aubergine dip.

Delicious frittata with new potatoes, asparagus and feta

5. The drinks

Fill a glass bottle with delicious, sugar-free cold-infused tea. Genmaicha, Amber or Sencha are perfect with savoury food. All you have to do is use 1 teaspoon of tea leaves per 100ml and let it cold infuse for at least 6 hours, then strain it to remove the tea leaves. And have you tried our Rosebud & Lemon Verbena Summer Punch? The taste of summer in a glass!

6. The picnic gear

Donna Hays has some great practical ideas to picnic in style. But if you live nearby, you can always pop to Lahloo Pantry and grab a delicious takeaway picnic and some cold-infused tea!

Happy World Book Day!

There’s nothing like reading a good book while enjoying a great cup of tea. To celebrate World Book Day, here are the Lahloo team favourites!

Kate (founder): “I love Like water for chocolate by Laura Esquivel, it’d be great to read with a pot of chocolatey Amber oolong”.

Neil (finance director): “I’m currently reading The snow man by Jo Nesbo, it’d suit a pot of Shou Vintage Pu-Erh, equally dark and mysterious”.

Tilly (brand ambassador): “I can’t pick one! Well, maybe The tiger who came to tea, that’s a good one. And I’d read it with a pot of Sencha”.

Tidus (office manager): “Can I pick a trilogy? Then it’d be The Night Angel by Brent Weeks. And I’d pick a pot of something mysterious… like Matsumoto Black!”

Maria (social media marketing): “It’d probably be The Hound of the Baskervilles by Conan Doyle, or The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by R.L. Stevenson. With a pot of Genmaicha!”

Holly (store manager): “I love all the Harry Potter books and I’m proud of it! And The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. I’d read them with a lovely pot of Yunnan Cloud”.

Laura (Lahloo Pantry head chef): “I’ve just read Timbuktu by Paul Auster and it’s very sad but amazing! To be read with a pot of Earl Grey!”.

Hannah (infusionist): “I really love Winnie the Pooh! Hold on, maybe I should pick something a bit more serious, like On the road by Jack Kerouac, and I’d choose a pot of Peppermint to go with it”.

Emily (infusionist): “I really liked Water for elephants. And the film. And I’d have a pot of Sobacha with it!”

What about you? What’s your perfect pairing?

Amber mojitos

Do you love mojitos? We do! And we knew there was a way of making them even better: adding our favourite ingredient (that’s tea, in case you were wondering!). The chosen one was Amber, our very chocolatey oolong from Taiwan, the one that coffee lovers adore. Its sumptuosity, light smokiness and those hints of passionfruit simply had to work in this traditional Cuban highball.

Invaluable help was provided by expert cocktail maker Charlie from Amoeba (neighbours of Lahloo Pantry in Clifton!), who incidentally hates tea… we still have to find the tea that will convert him! Crucially, though, at the end of our experiment, Charlie admitted that the combination really worked. And we couldn’t agree more! So here’s our recipe for you to try.

Ingredients

• 50ml rum
• 25ml freshly-squeezed lime juice
• 20ml demerara simple syrup (made with sugar and hot water)
• 12 mint leaves (clapped, not cut. Clapping will release mint oils without adding any bitterness. We, of course, didn’t know this, but it’s the most impressive piece of advice we received from Charlie!)
• 75ml cold infused Amber oolong. (1 teaspoon per 100ml water, cold infused for at least 6 hours).
• Crushed ice to taste.

Charlie’s tip: try freezing Amber once cold infused (extracting the tea leaves first!). Once frozen, smash it and use it as crushed ice to top your mojito!

Charlie is not too sure about adding tea to his mojitos…  

…but it works! Holly is loving it! 

Perfect! 

A Tea Workshop for chocoholics

If you’re crazy about chocolate, you can’t miss our next Tea Workshop on Thursday the 26th of April! The food of the gods has been the inspiring force behind this month’s selection. Discover which tea enhances the flavour of dark chocolate, which has notes of cocoa nibs or which is perfect to use as an ingredient in a chocolate tart.

Founder Kate will guide you during the tea tasting, showing you the story behind our teas, their health benefits and how to pair them with food.

As usual, tickets are £15 but they’re 100% redeemable, so at the end of the workshop you’ll be able to choose your favourites and take them home to recreate the experience!

To book your place, call Lahloo Pantry on 0117 329 2029 or e-mail hello@lahloopantry.co.uk.

Amber infused Hot Cross Buns!

One of our favourite things about Easter are hot cross buns! In Medieval times, bakers would place a cross on their loaves to protect them from evil spirits. Some say that the tradition might even be pre-Christian.  Either way, their spicy, fruity flavour makes them the perfect seasonal treat. A cup of tea and a toasted hot cross bun with some melted butter is an Easter classic that we can’t wait to indulge in!

Laura, the chef at Lahloo Pantry, has been experimenting with some of our April Tea Heroes and came up with this gorgeous recipe, a variation on an Andrew Whitley’s essential. Using fruity, chocolatey Amber oolong as an ingredient gives these buns a different dimension of flavour that will surprise you!

“Half for you and half for me, Between us two shall goodwill be“

Ingredients

(for the fruit) 

half a cup of Lahloo Amber oolong

200 g of sultanas and raisins, mixed to taste

Soak the fruit in Amber for at least an hour, but preferably overnight. Make sure that all the fruit is covered.

(for the ferment)

280 g milk

140 g wholemeal flour

20g sugar

10 g fresh yeast

Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the milk and make a paste, adding some of this mixture to the flour. Gradually add the rest of the milk, whisking until creamy. Leave the ferment covered in a warm place for about an hour.

(for the dough)

200g strong white flour

110 g wholemeal flour

50 g butter

35 g sugar

10 g mixed spice

1 tbsp and 1/2 finely ground Lahloo Amber oolong

1 egg

a pinch of salt

Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix. Add butter and egg, mixing all the ingredients together and kneading. It shouldn’t be too tight, so some stickiness is fine. Once you’ve been kneading for a while, add the fruit, draining any excess of liquid first. Carefully fold and press until the fruit is evenly distributed.

Cover the mixture and leave it to rise.

Separate the dough into 16 pieces, putting them on a floured surface.

Place the rolls in straight lines about 5 cm apart on a lined baking tray. Cover them and put them in a warm place until they’re almost touching.

(for the crossing mix)

50g plain white flour

50g water

5g sunflower oil

1g baking powder

Place this mix in a piping bag with a fine nozzle and draw the crosses. (Is it just us, or are piping bags fun?)

… Now it’s time to bake! Put your hot cross buns in the oven (preheated to 180 C). It should take around 15 minutes, but keep an eye on them so they acquire the right colour!

Once they’re out, it’s time to glaze them!

(for the glaze) 

10g cornflower

100g tea

sugar

Boil the cornflour in the tea until clear. Brush over the buns as soon as they’re out of the oven. They’ll be super shiny!

Once cooled, you can toast them and slather them in butter, although we must warn you, they’re amazing on their own!