You may remember a year ago I posted a series of blog entries on potential New Year’s Resolutions and how to go about keeping them. One post in particular addressed beauty routines – you can find this here. In this I mentioned that fruit teas are a great way of keeping your skin hydrated but without the dullness of sipping just plain old tap water.
In addition fruit teas are a fab alternative to high-caffeinated drinks such as coke and coffee if you fancy reducing or completely cutting out your caffeine intake or when de-toxing – a common goal at this time of year after all of that Christmas feasting!
I’ve been a big fan of Yogi teas (I still am!) but I may have just found a brand that’s knocked them off my Number One spot : ) Their name is Yumchaa and they make the most amazing teas I’ve ever tried. I’m going to admit fruit teas are not my favourite go-to when it comes to hot drinks. I’d rather have a coffee any day but when I’m trying to be good I do like to reach for a fruit tea. However this brand has made me a true fruit tea convert – I could easily drink these every day!
Yumchaa’s unusual name comes from merging Chaa (i.e. tea) with ‘Yum’ – simply describing how tasty their teas really are! My sister introduced me to them a while ago when she took me to their lovely little tea shop in Camden specialising in nothing but their fine teas and the odd naughty nibble.
I had a ‘Notting Hill’ and my other half had a ‘Wanderlust’. “What” may you ask “are a ‘Notting Hill’ and a ‘Wanderlust’ when they’re at home?” The cuteness to Yumchaa is that that they name a lot of their blends really cute, memorable names as they can often include four or more ingredients – much too lengthy to list in a title!
Well she remembered how much I loved them and gave me three different flavours – and the best ever tea strainer known to man – as all Yumchaa teas come loose! These are Notting Hill, Wanderlust and Red Christmas. I don’t exaggerate when I say that I smelt these before I could see them when opening them on Christmas Day! The scents are incredible and the colours beautiful! You should really invest in a glass teapot just to see how beautiful they come out when the tea leaves diffuse.
Notting Hill contains Keemun black tea, Apricot, Strawberry, Marigold Blossom and Cornflowers (this one’s admittedly not caffeine-free!)
Wanderlust includes Sencha green tea, Apple, Cinnamon and Almond
And Red Christmas (a limited Christmas edition of course) includes Rooibos, Ginger bread spice, Almond, Cinnamon pieces, Aniseed, Pepper cloves and Chocolate chips
The scents from these packets have taken over our drinks cupboard and they all taste amazing. I won’t fib, they don’t taste exactly as they smell, but no fruit tea ever does. However they’re certainly not like any other fruit tea brand as they taste incredibly close! I suggest adding a hint of sugar or honey if you like your tea a little sweeter but they certainly aren’t essential.
Yumchaa also makes many, many other flavours if the above don’t take your fancy or if you’re feeling curious and love your fruit teas I urge you to give them a go. Specialising in black, red, green and white teas they’ll make your de-tox or vow to reduce your caffeine a breeze this year!
You can find their shops all over London, where you can also sit and enjoy a cup there and then with a nice bit of cake. If you can’t get down to one of their London shops, fear not, they sell all of their blends on their website. Find out more at www.yumchaa.co.uk
Happy tea-making : ) x
P.S. Here’s a little piccy of the awesome tea strainer that my sister treated me to along with the triple-tea fantastic-ness. I have no idea where she bought it from (it’s made by a French company called Pylones) but I recommend gift shops and home-ware stores if you want your very own!
