Homemade Earl Grey mincemeat

Our mince pies at Lahloo Pantry are always a huge success. The secret? Really good pastry, but, above all, our incredible mincemeat, infused with zesty Lahloo Earl Grey. Here you can find out how to prepare it, ready for all your Christmas baking. Also perfect if you want to give some homemade presents to friends and family.

Ingredients

• 500g golden sultanas
• 500g dried cranberries
• 500g raisins
• 200g mixed peel
• 250g unsalted butter
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp mixed spice
• zest of 2 oranges
• zest of 2 lemons
• 500g dark brown sugar
• 500ml amaretto liqueur
• 250ml Lahloo Earl grey tea

Put all the dried fruit and spices in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Place the zest, sugar, tea and amaretto in a pan and heat gently until sugar dissolves. Pour over mixed fruit and stir gently. Cover and allow to sit for two days. After two days pack it into sterilized jars -better when they mature in a cool dark place for a few weeks!

 

Christmas shopping at Cowley Manor

If you love Christmas shopping, don’t forget that Lahloo will be at Cowley Manor on the 23rd of November for an amazing evening of boutique shopping! The stunning and very chic hotel in the Cotswold countryside is beautiful at this time of the year, and the evening will be full of gorgeous gift ideas and seasonal treats, including mini-spa treatments and of course our selection of teas! With exclusive brands, great music, Christmas cocktails and a fabulous fashion show, it will certainly be a unique shopping experience.

Tickets are £7.50 in advance or £10 on the door and they include a glass of champagne and a mince pie. All ticket profits will donated to Winston’s Wish, the charity for bereaved children. So if you want to book in advance you can visit the Cowley Manor website. Hope to see you there!

School holiday lazy days brunch: Spelt, ricotta and honey pancakes

So, it’s finally the school holidays and you’re winding down. Hopefully you’ve done all your Christmas shopping and you can just enjoy some time with your little ones. Why not make this berrylicious brunch to start the day. Then get them wrapping presents before settling down to a really good film. Enjoy a relaxing few days before Christmas.

PS By the way Shrek is on BBC 1 on Thursday afternoon so it could be an afternoon on the sofa in front of the fire with a pot of Vanilla Mist and a few mince pies.

Eat, drink tea and be merry!

A big big ‘THANK YOU’ to all our customers for your ongoing appreciation of Lahloo Tea. Here’s a little Christmas message from me, Kate:

Tea is a wake-up call to the senses!

It’s cosy on a cold day, refreshing on a hot day, uplifting when you’re down in the dumps, calming when the stresses of life get on top of you, revitalising when you need a pick-me-up and nourishing from the inside-out!

Oh and when it’s the good leaves, it tastes great too! In a nutshell, it’s pretty fantastic stuff!

So for 2011 make Lahloo loose leaf tea part of your everyday life.

Best wishes for Christmas & Happy New Year!

Kate

Christmas order update!

With all the news about delayed deliveries and thousands of presents being stuck in warehouses and of course the very wintry weather we’re having, we thought we’d update you about Christmas ordering with Lahloo Tea. There is still just about time to place your order and make sure that someone special has their beautiful Lahloo Tea in front of the fire on Christmas Day.

Please place your order before midday tomorrow, 21st December to make sure. And to help we are upgrading all your orders from now until 21st to a next day service (only UK). All orders placed before midday will arrive with you the next day*. All orders placed after midday will arrive 1-2 days later.

*But please be aware that the recent bad weather may have an effect on the delivery time in your part of the country. We are working closely with our carriers to ensure your gifts will arrive before Christmas Day.

Make Christmas special with Lahloo Tea

Give someone you love a Lahloo Tea moment! And today only, Monday 13th December, we’ll pay the postage!

These beautiful gifts are inspired by those moments in life that are made for tea.

BREAKFAST IN BED  Lahloo Breakfast tea, 2 egg cups and marmelade – serve in bed with a warm friend and a nice hot cup of lahloo tea!

TEA & BISCUITS Lahloo Earl Grey and delightful all butter bites with a subtle zing of lemon- the perfect excuse for a natter over a cup of lahloo tea.

COSY TEA & CANDLE Light a candle, make a cup of tea and curl up in a huge armchair! An evocative aroma of a blazing fire burning huge logs from an old cedar tree. Get cosy!

BLISSFUL TEA & CANDLE Run a bath, read a book, eat chocolate – soothe the senses. A beautiful floral, woody aroma of the rambling tea rose outside the cottage door, a flower pressed into a scrap book. Bliss!

FIRESIDE CHRISTMAS TEA Evoke memories of your favourite Christmases with warming winter spices blended with the woody aroma of the fire. A real treat!  Merry Christmas!

TEA & SIMPLICITY The ideal gift for any tea lover at home, work or play.

SHOP HERE FOR TEA GIFTS >

Lahloo’s home-made Christmas!

Christmas for me is all about giving but it can be really tricky to find that special gift in the usual mayhem of Christmas shopping. It’s also really cold out there at the moment! So if you fancy giving something a little bit special this year and you’d really like to stay in the warm, how about making gifts. There’s nothing better than a jar of homemade ginger nuts to go with a pouch of Lahloo Tea. We’ve even gone to the trouble of giving you the recipe! Have fun (especially licking the spoon)!

And to reward your hard work, for today only, with every pouch of Lahloo Tea you buy we’ll give you a rather stylish Lahloo Tea caddy absolutely free! The perfect tin to pop those biccies in and for storing Lahloo Tea when they’ve all gone!

Buy Assam Chai , Amber oolong or even Green Mulberry –  just the thing to go with your home-made ginger nuts. And give someone you love their own tea and biscuits moment! They’ll love it!

ps I hope my Dad isn’t reading this ; )

Don’t panic and make time for tea!

It’s the 1st December and the countdown to Christmas has begun! We’ve created our own Christmas advent calendar to treat you to tips, offers and treats in the run up to Christmas. Subscribe here >

Take time out to relax and look after yourself or come Christmas Day you’ll be no good for anyone!

You still have 20 days left to order online so even if you’re snowed in you can still go shopping! And it gets better – you’ll avoid all those horrible queues too! So keep warm, make a pot of tea, put that Rat PAck Christmas Album on iTunes and get inspired!

Look at what we have to offer – tea stocking fillers, tea lovers gifts, foodies gifts and even something special for grandma! Keep calm, drink tea, enjoy the run up this year and have lots of fun too!

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)!