At the end of last year, I had a lovely visit from Jess Salter, a journalist for The Telegraph. Over afternoon tea and a pot or three of Mr Shao’s green tea we nattered about all kinds of things: growing up – unknowingly down the road from each other – in Yorkshire, tea, business, my love of flavour and aroma and more! And it was fantastic to read Jess’ article recently featured in The Telegraph’s weekend magazine regular Word of Mouth feature. Read more here >>>
Kate Gover: tea hunter
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
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!
Hannah and Josh drink Bristol Brew and pair it with the perfect biscuit. But will it be a dunker?
Josh from Lahloo Pantry talks about oolong, the tea of the black dragon.
On the 7th of October Lahloo Pantry celebrated its first anniversary! We still can’t believe it’s been a whole year since it opened its doors for the first time. Twelve months full of excitement, learning, fun and hard work makes us feel quite proud of what we’ve achieved. Here’s an overview of the Pantry’s first year in images! 
Preparing for the grand opening
Hannah learning about infusion times!
Drinking the limited edition Witches Brew just before the Witches Tea Party
Charlotte models the Pantry bags by the advent calendar!
Making mince pies with the Pantry’s own Earl Grey mincemeat!
Cold infused Earl Grey samples on the day in which the Olympic torch passed by Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Hannah and Holly sporting fabulous matcha moustaches!
Hannah and Joe painting the town green!
The Lahloo Tea fancy dress party. Smoky, Matsumoto Black, Earl Grey, Rosebud, Sencha, Shou Vintage, Sheng Vintage, Wild Rose, Amber and Bristol Brew!
Danny replaces Holly as the Pantry manager just before the 1st anniversary. Here’s to another fabulous year!
Nothing says autumn like pumpkin spice! Our favourite spice blend here at Lahloo is chai spice. One of the pleasures of autumn is drinking a cup of the warming, comforting and invigorating Spice Chai by the fireplace -but it’s even better when you have something sweet to go with it! This recipe has it all: the warm, incredibly comforting flavour of our famous Spice Chai, the seasonal flavour of pumpkin and the creaminess and sweetness of a classic dessert. 
Ingredients
Heat the cream in a saucepan, but don’t let it boil. Make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and add the spices and tea. Cover it with cling film and allow it to infuse for a few hours, or preferably overnight.
Sieve out the tea and spices and put the cream back on the heat. Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar, then pour the boiling cream and the pumpkin puree into the mixture and whisk. Place it back onto a low heat. Whisk constantly until the custard reaches ribbon stage. Immediately remove it from heat, pour into a cold bowl and continue to whisk for 3-5 mins until it has slightly cooled.
Pour into ramekins and refrigerate.
Just before serving, sprinkle sugar evenly over the surface of each crème brûlée, then caramelise using chefs’ blow-torch.
Once again the sleepy Welsh town of Abergavenny illustrated its growing cultural ethos for their love of good foods and appreciation of independent producers at its annual festival. Seen as ‘The Don’ of all food festivals, the place was teaming with celebrities from the culinary world including the likes of Israeli chef Yotam Ottolenghi, the South West’s own Fabulous Baker Brothers, and renowned Michelin starred chef Pierre Koffmann. Visitors flocked from across the country to the event, and with an estimated foot fall of 30,000 over the two days it was all hands on deck for the exhibitors and event organisers. The produce on display included local cheeses, ales, chutneys, wines and sugary treats for those with a sweet tooth. Oh and of course there were some tea stalls there!
We loved the green jasmine and mango bubble tea!
We arrived at the site early on Saturday morning, it was one of the first days this year you could feel that autumn was in the air. As we made our way to the Lahloo pitch the atmosphere was lively, and there were many exuberant exhibitors making sure their stalls were ready for the on-coming stampede of eager foodies!
Neil getting the kettle on!
The festival itself was an excellent way of promoting our beautiful selection of artisan teas to the general public and to prospective retail buyers. We met lots of loose tea fanatics, many were already Lahloo customers (which we were very pleased about!) However, we greeted with open arms those that were new to loose leaf tea, and invited them to join in the ways of Lahloo! Towards the end of the Saturday a young Welsh boy and his mum came running over to the stall, eager to sample “every tea you have please”. He was a very sweet boy with a real passion for tea- he drank loose leaf tea every now and again, but was tired and bored of normal bagged tea with milk. After tasting all the samples, he decided that our Himalayan Oolong was his cup of tea, he absolutely loved it! Turning round to his mum, he asked if he could buy a tin using the rest of his pocket money, his mum was more than happy to oblige! It was really gratifying to see someone so young exploring and developing their tastes through tea.
On the Saturday afternoon Laloo Tea founder Kate took part in one of the infamous Rude Health rants. Taking centre stage at the Market Hall Kate ranted about the common misconceptions of green tea and why they were in fact not true. The main myth Kate tackled was the misconception of green tea being bitter- Kate passionately dispelled this view and explained that it was merely down to quality of the tea leaves, and the method in which it was made that affected its flavour. Let’s hope people took note and are now brewing up the perfect cup of green tea every time. I think the free samples of iced Jade Cloud tea Kate handed out maybe swayed peoples opinions- it is delicious!
On the Saturday evening in the Old Market building team Lahloo relaxed after a busy day with a drink and a good old live food debate. Amongst those on the panel were Tom Herbert of Hobbs House Bakery and The Fabulous Baker Brothers, Carolyn Steele- a TED lecturer and writer of ‘Hungry City: How food shapes our lives’, and investigative food journalist Joanna Blythman. They tackled issues that currently affect independent producers and retailers, looking closely at the effects big corporations have on the success of the small businesses, and debating ideas of quality over convenience. All involved were inspiringly passionate for the cause and had great arguments for and against. We left feeling very motivated and valued by this community, our intentions as a small business were confirmed. We just want to give you good value, ethically and locally sourced goods at a good price!!
Until next year Abergavenny!
A couple of weeks ago we wrote a post about foraging with some ideas to use your late summer pickings. This cake is a great way of using your foraged blackberries, a seasonal favourite. Emily, the Lahloo Pantry head chef, added a hint of mixed spice to complement the flavour of the fruit and decorated it with Chantilly cream and berries… Would you say no to a slice and a cup of Darjeeling?
Ingredients
Mix together flour, sugar and butter and reserve a small part of the mixture (around 3/4 cup) for topping.
Add salt, baking powder, vanilla, milk, mixed spice and egg yolks to the main mixture and blend well.
Beat the egg whites until they’re firm, fold into the batter and pour this into a greased baking tray. Sprinkle the blueberries over the top and then add the reserved flour, butter and sugar mixture.
Bake for 45 mins at 350C. Enjoy!
Matcha, the super healthy Japanese finely-milled green tea, is not only delicious but also incredibly versatile. At Lahloo Pantry it’s used in sweet and savoury dishes. This time chef Emily has added some matcha to her usual pizza dough recipe, which adds extra goodness! Top it with your favourite ingredients and serve with salad for a delicious meal.
Nice and crispy matcha base!
Ingredients (makes 9-10 pizzettes)
Mix flour, yeast, matcha, sugar, oil and water and bring together. Cover and allow to rest for 20 mins. Add salt and beat until smooth and elastic. You can add a little water or flour as necessary. Allow to rest for an hour, then roll out the mini pizzas.
Choose your topping! This one has creme fraiche, tomato, onion, black olives and wilted spinach.
Bake at 200C until the base is golden and cooked through (typically around 10min, depending on how thin it is!).
On Saturday the 9th Lahloo Pantry will be on Corn Street for Bristol’s Big Green Week. All around St. Nicholas’ Market you’ll find the most inspiring and exciting independent businesses from the South West! There’ll be plenty of things to do, so come and say hello to the Pantry team if you’re around.
To celebrate Bristol’s Big Green week here are our favourite tea-cycling tips!
1. Loose tea is greener:
Brits consume 165 million cups of tea every day, according to The Guardian. Although teabags can be composted, some of them are partly made of a nasty-sounding material called polypropylene, which isn’t fully bio-degradable. Some teabags have staples that aren’t bio-degradable or environmentally-friendly either.
Drinking loose tea generates less waste, plus you can reinfuse your leaves up to 6 or 7 times depending on the type of tea! (Check our website if in doubt!). Each reinfusion will taste diferently to the previous one, and observing the subtle changes is a wonderful way of exploring tea.
2. Reinvent your old China:
– Use old cups and saucers to plant fresh culinary herbs and put them on your windowsill. Basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano or sage are always essential!
-Use teacups and saucers as a centrepiece, to display fresh flowers. They create a unique, vintage and very British touch.
Flowers in teacups by Flowers for Eddie at Lahloo Pantry
3. Re-imagine your old tea tins:
Use old tea tins to make candles, as planters or to display your flowers.
More display ideas by Flowers for Eddie
Lahloo Tea 