Earl Grey biscuits

These Earl Grey biscuits are one of the recipes we’ve tried as part of our Earl Grey Challenge. They’re Lahloo Pantry’s chef Laura’s take on this recipe by Martha Stewart. Delicious and zesty, the perfect accompaniment to a cup of Earl Grey and a lovely present for friends or family!

Ingredients:

250g flour

225g butter

100g sugar

10g Lahloo Earl Grey

grated orange zest

a pinch of salt

Use a mortar to grind the tea leaves, mixing them with the flour and a pinch of salt.

In a separate bowl, mix butter, sugar and the orange zest. Then gradually add the dry ingredients to this mixture.

Divide the dough in two, and put each part on a separate piece of baking paper. Shape these  into logs, rolling them carefully in the baking paper to a diameter of about 1 and 1/4 inches. Freeze the logs in the baking paper for 1 hour.

Pre-heat the oven to 175 C .

Cut each log into biscuit-sized slices. Place them on a lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart.

Bake 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Cool on a rack and they’re ready to eat! Enjoy!

Perfect Picnics!

Donna Hay’s delicious Crispy Potato Salad

Nothing beats the simple enjoyment of tucking into your favourite  yummy treats!  Throw in some great company, the great British countryside (or even a quiet spot in your local park will do!)  with sunshine filled days and it’s Lahloo’s idea of heaven! If you couple this with a glass or two of our refreshing English Garden Punch (alcoholic or non-alcoholic, gently sparkling Earl Grey, elderflower and fresh mint) we really won’t be able to contain our excitement!

Oh, you may chuckle at our enthusiasm and pleasure at such ‘everyday’ things but what great things these really are! What do you love doing? What simple pleasures have you forgotten about? Spend time daydreaming about those things and then go out and do them – now’s your time! Remember it’s all about taking it easy.

Taking time out and ‘tuning in’ your senses to the world around you and is a fabulous way to help you unwind, forget your worries and cares and allow yourself to fully relax. Here’s to taking time out and to doing the simple things you enjoy!

One of our favourite treats is to pack up a scrummy picnic and escape! We’ve found some truly delicious picnic snacks from Donna Hay’s latest book that we thought you’d love to try!

Who ever said picnics need be boring? Forget soggy sandwiches and limp salads, here’s to simple, easy seasonal  recipes bursting with fresh flavours and taste! Now you’ve no excuse to get out and about!

Happy picnicking!

Lahloo launches at the South West’s Chandos Delis

Here at Lahloo we have been celebrating! We are absolutely delighted to be supplying one of, not only our favourite but also, the South West’s favourite specialist food retailers Chandos Deli.

Most Saturday’s you’ll spot Kate popping in to Chandos on her way back from her morning run across Ashton Court for the ingredients to make her favourite weekend brunch – boiled eggs and toast and marmalade! Leaving Chandos with her arms full – a loaf of real bread, either Hobbs House Sherston loaf or Richard Bertinet’s delicious sourdough, local salted butter, free-range eggs and marmalade – and stopping to pick up the FT, Kate  finally makes her way home!

Not long after, Kate and partner Neil fight over the foodie pages by Jancis Robinson and Nick Lander, slurp  pots of nice strong breakfast tea, dunk toast soldiers into their runny eggs and hum along to BBC radio 6. Only then is Kate one very happy bunny!

Chandos’ deli was first set up in 1992 on Chandos Road in Bristol (hence the name). After humble beginnings, they went from strength to strength. The quality of their produce and exciting range (without forgetting their friendly and knowledgeable staff) meant that their business was an overnight success.

Chandos is a top spot for food lovers in Bristol (Whiteladies Road, Clifton Village, Henleaze and Quakers Friars), Bath and Exeter. So, when the opportunity arose we jumped at the chance to work alongside Iain and his passionate team, confident they would showcase Lahloo tea’s in all its glory and do us proud!

It’s easy to see why it’s gone from strength to strength, and become one of the South West’s favourites. Great food, pure & simple: their concept is very simple!  And it goes hand in hand with Lahloo’s. Iain’s passion and dedication to sourcing exciting/authentic produce is why he has chosen to stock Lahloo. Like Lahloo, Chandos is an independent, vibrant company that prides itself on its attention to detail and customer service. So, it would seem like the obvious partnership and a match made in foodie heaven!

So, this weekend why not head on down to your local Chandos?  Check out what’s going on, pick up some of your favourite ingredients for a lazy Sunday brunch and (it goes without saying) don’t forget to do them justice by picking up the perfect accompaniment to all that delicious food; Lahloo tea – real tea for real people!

J’adore les macarons!

The first time I ever went to Paris I fell in love. Paris is a truly magical city full of wonderful and inspiring sights, sounds, shops, cafes, chic-ness, food and drink. One of my lasting memories of Paris will always be the first time I spotted macaroons! Wandering and cycling (my favourite thing to do in Paris) through the chic streets of Paris, we stumbled across Laduree, a beautiful almost fairytale-like patisserie and salon du the.  Oozing with style and indulgence, I just had to go in.

Laduree has been making beautiful patisserie since 1862 but what they’re really famous for is, macaroons. Not only do their eye-catching candy colours look beautiful but these bite-sized little meringues are just delicious. Ever since I first bit into the crisp outer shell and sunk my teeth sumptuously into the soft, smooth inside they have become my favourite tea time treat.

I went to Paris a couple of weeks ago and discovered Sadahuru Aoki’s beautiful Japanese-French patisserie full of stunning looking and sensationally tasting tea inspired patisserie. His Matcha Millefeuille and Zen cakes were incredible and just right with a cup of Japanese green tea after our long cycle uphill to get there!

Once we’d savoured our wonderful patisserie and felt utterly revitalised, we couldn’t resist bringing some of his wonderful treats back to the Lahloo hub. It’s really difficult to find good macaroons in Bristol (although you can find them in London: Laduree in Harrods and the Burlington Arcade, Pierre Herme‘s pop-up in Selfridges and more recently Bougie in Covent Garden) so I brought a whole box of tea and Japanese inspired macarons – Genmaicha, Matcha, Hojicha, Yuzu and Sesame. What a treat! You see, they are just the right texture, size and sweetness to go with a cup of Lahloo tea – crisp and chewy on the outside, smooth and soft in the middle. Absolutely dreamy!

Unfortunately, I’m not in London, or Paris, enough to keep my habit satisfied so for ages I’ve been trying to find a recipe that meant I could make them at home. I’ve finally (after lots of failed attempts) found an easy to follow recipe to use that works every single time. Thanks to this recipe I adapted from Lorraine Pascale’s ‘Baking made Easy’ programme on BBC recently, I can now easily make macaroons to enjoy. And I’m in heaven!

Delicious nibbly tea time treats!

Picture courtesy of Design*Sponge

I love the Design*Sponge blog! It’s packed full of gorgeous things to make, do and eat! The recipes are really simple and they have absolutely beautiful photography. It makes me want to spend the whole day baking! You can almost smell the warm chocolatey mixture baking in the oven, can’t you! You can’t beat a tasty little moreish treat with a cup of Lahloo Tea! And these Chocolate and Spice Biscotti are just the biscuit! Find the recipe right here >

(ps a few months ago a recipe using our very own Assam Chai was featured on this stunning blog! Take a closer look here > )

Have fun!

Crumpets!

A steaming pot of tea and hot buttered crumpets; the perfect excuse to gather friends together around the fire on a Sunday afternoon and escape the winter blues!

I recently found my Grandma’s hand-written cookery book full of classic English tea time recipes. She had everything you could possibly need for the perfect afternoon tea time treat and I discovered a really simple recipe to make your own crumpets. Get the kettle on!

Makes  16  Prep/cooking time:  1-2 hrs   Pre-heated oven:  180℃

Ingredients:

1 pint / 600ml warm milk

1 lb/ 450g plain sifted flour

2 tsp dried yeast

1 large egg

1/2 tsp sugar

A little salt

oil to fry

Method:

In a large bowl mix all ingredients and beat well. Leave the mixture to rise until bubbles appear on top. Beat and cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise again. Then pour into crumpet rings (or pastry cutters) and bake in a brisk oven until golden. Turn over and cook on the other side.

As easy as that! Remember, crumpets are best served hot, toasted and well buttered in front of a roaring fire with a steaming pot of tea.

Bring on Sunday!

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 ; )

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!