I’ve always been more of a coffee girl than tea, although I am quite partial to a herbal tea, and drank gallons of peppermint tea when I was pregnant. So it was an exciting opportunity to try out some loose leaf tea from Jollybrew, could I be converted to a classic cuppa?
Jollybrew was started by Greg in the Chilterns in late 2014, after he tried loose leaf tea for the first time. He made it his mission to “introduce Britain (and beyond) to the wonderful world of loose leaf tea“. The company started with 15 blends at first and has now grown to 50 different offerrings, including traditional teas such as earl grey and darjeeling, as well as some fruity blends. The website showcases close up shots of all of the teas, plus also offers tea bags, ground and bean coffees and all of the tea gifts you could ever think of (teapots, timers, diffusers and mugs)
Jollybrew also offer a subscription service, where you choose a large pouch of your favourite brew to be delivered to you on either a monthly or bi-monthly delivery. There is no separate delivery charge and you receive a free tea sampler with your package.
We were sent two teas to try – delicate earl grey with jasmine, and peach green tea. Both came in 25g packets, with their own brewing instructions (heat and time) as well as caffeine level and antioxidant level. Most excitingly was the inclusion of a folded piece of brown waxed paper, which we worked out was a DIY tea bag!
The verdict
Both teas looked really inviting when we opened the packets, and had lovely strong smells. The peach green tea had green tea leaves and jasmine petals, with the earl grey being a mix of black and blue leaves. It was very straightforward to fill the tea bags, and I folded the top over when I put them in the mugs. This really worked to stop any of the leaves escaping in the water! Having followed the timing instructions, the resulting teas were the expected colours.
The earl grey was very drinkable (even to a non tea drinker!) and I would definitely have it again, without milk though. The green tea was also very enjoyable, with a delicate peach flavour which broke up the green-ness!
I really enjoyed the whole loose tea experience, it felt very decadent and classy, as though we were about to board the Orient Express. I might need to purchase some more elegant tea cups for the next taste though!
You can find Jollybrew online.
I love Earl Grey tea especially when it is really strong in flavour X #bloggerclubuk