Review: Choi time teas
www.choitime.com
I’ve had some bad experiences with green tea. I have tried it so many times over the years, lured by the promise of it making me healthier, but all I get is a bitter aftertaste that makes me wish I hadn’t bothered. Then there was the time in Japan when we stumbled into a green tea cafe, picked our teas by looking at the pictures of the tea plantations where the leaves were grown, laughed at the shrine to David Beckham in the toilets and then drank the bitter, brewed stuff that made our mouths feel dry and echoing.
So when Matt showed me some sachets from Choi Time Teas, I wasn’t over excited. But I gave them a go and guess what – I love them! These teas are beautifully made and include a range of flowering teas – green tea leaves scented with jasmine and wrapped around flowers which gradually open out when you put them in hot water. They smell fantastic. They taste light, clean and floral. And they are a visual delight too.
If any of you are looking for a Christmas present or stocking filler for a foodie friend, have a look at their website. The teas on their own cost from about £6 to £22, which sounds a lot but each bulb can be used up to twelve times so it works out as a good investment. Oh, and they’ve won awards left right and centre and promise health benefits like stress reduction and better circulation. What’s not to like? I’m not sure I’ll ever go back to Tetley again…
Love Brownies
South African Wine Tasting Dinner @ Bristol’s Clifton Sausage
Busaba Eathai
Taste Britain
Loading ...
I tasted some Choi Time rose tea at the weekend round my friend’s place. It was at the end of really nice meal and it was a bit like an unexpected final flourish from the hosts – as if the meal couldn’t get any better, voila!
The tea was genuinely remarkable. It felt like we were drinking something really special; it reminded me instantly of rosewater or roseoil. It wasn’t at all overly perfumed or anything. Rather, it was subtle, delicate and refreshing. I just assumed we were drinking tea infused with rose oil or rose water and was actually thrilled to see that our tea had come from whole small rose buds and flowers and nothing else. It all looked very beautiful.
I imagine the tea is quite expensive, compared to your normal cuppa, but it felt much more like an event than a cup of tea – something very special, and something we’re still talking about the day after the meal. Wonderful stuff.
As someone who doesn’t really like green tea, or anything which isn’t Earl Grey or “normal everyday tea” I was surprised at how nice Choi Time teas were. Not only are you getting a nice cup of tea, but the way that they open up like a flower in your cup is something I’ve never seen before.
I’ve also found the drink to be very refreshing, and it left me with a nice aftertast. I can image they would be the perfect end to a meal…
We have Choi Time tea all the time and it tastes and feels like you’re doing something good for yourself. It’s really refreshing and moreish and seems appropriate to have at any time of the day. Its great after dinner if you want something refreshing but don’t want caffeine in the evening. If you put it in a glass it looks cool as the flowers open up in the bottom of your glass. My girlfriend has even tried baking peaches in it with creme fraiche and it was triumphant! Good stuff.
@ ozsmith – Baking peaches in it?
Share the method: I want to try that!!!