The Top Floor Flat

The BBC Good Food Show didn’t just feature food, it also had a fair number of drinks.  What caught my attention, not surprisingly, was the range of teas available.  Rarely have I seen so many styles and flavours of tea all in one place.  Lucky for me they also offered samples so I downed my way through white teas, black teas, green teas, red teas and probably some maroon teas but I’m not entirely sure.

Top Pick for BBC Good Food Show Tea: Revolution Tea

Revolution tea instantly stood out due to the number of teas they had on display and their simple, elegant logo and packaging.  I realise that marketing and packaging shouldn’t be the main reason I pick a top tea (and it’s not) but it definitely drew me in to begin with.  They had the misfortune of being sandwiched between some of the more aromatic pork vendors, probably not the best placement for something as subtle as tea and were placed in an incredibly high traffic area.  Therefore, when I noticed the simple smell and packaging I was instantly drawn in.

If the idea was to provide a relaxing experience they certainly delivered.  The pomegranate white tea I sampled was a lovely break from the overwhelming flavours of the stalls around me and had a taste that held up even with the assault of the nearby pig roast.  In exchange for my email address, I also got a sample of the pear white tea to take home which I enjoyed over the weekend.
Had I the time (or if I didn’t think they’d have kicked me out) I would have sampled a much wider range of their teas as they had an almost overwhelming amount on display.  Possibly most impressive is that they stood out in the land of tea when they’re actually based in Arizona.  Who knew such wonderful tea could come from America?  While the natural ingredients do of course come out of Japan, China, India and other Eastern tea growing countries, the blend is perfected in the States – a perfect meeting of East and West.

Check out their website for the full range of their teas.  I haven’t sampled the full range but I can wholeheartedly recommend the pear white tea as it was fantastic.

Other favourites:

Tiny Teas ltd
Tiny Teas once again had a wide range of teas available, all of it loose leaf.  While this might make it a bit more difficult to manage at home if you don’t have a tea strainer (come on guys… who doesn’t have a tea strainer?) many people feel loose leaf teas tend to have a better flavour.  They are also a world-friendly tea.  All of their packaging and shopping bags are hand made by the Kawangware Street Children and Youth Project which aims to but a sustainable community structure in place in Kawangware.  Pretty cool.
They also gave me a card with a recap of what different teas are good for.  Here’s the rundown:
Black teas for relaxation, stimulation and digestion; Green for stress reduction (ooh, need some of that), metabolism and immune system; Oolong for general well-being; White for detox, bones and fatigue; Rooibos for skin, colds and allergies; Herbal for general wellness and their fruit infusions for lots of vitamins.
Check out the full range on their website.

My Cup of Tea
Again, I was won over by adorable packaging and then sold on the delicious teas.  In this case I tried their black tea.  Although I’ve been on a white tea kick lately I can’t pass up the classic.  They do have a much smaller range of flavours (all available online) but what’s interesting is that they make and sell tea to businesses and the part of the business called My Cup of Tea is their consumer facing branch.  With My Cup of Tea you know you’re getting the quality you’d get in a restaurant.  Yummy!

Stay tuned tomorrow for my recap of Sweets, Squashes and Ciders from the BBC Good Food Show.