Dormouse and the Teapot is our name, taste testing tea is our game!

So when the lovely people at Cosy Tea sent us their complete range to try out how could we refuse? Especially as all the tea they produce is organic and the black teas are fairtrade too.

The company produce eight teas in all; Earl Grey, Breakfast, Rooibos and Vanilla, Chamomile, Peppermint, Blueberry and Echinacea, Peppermint, Jasmine Green Tea and Lemon Green Tea.

On first impressions we loved the gorgeous knitted themed packaging, with each box featuring a different type of stitch. The individually wrapped unbleached bags made tea time into an event with their funny little slogans our favorite was "we like it with a splash of milk, Murder She Wrote and a chocolate biscuit (or five)."

So we popped the kettle on got out some vintage teacups and do what we do best. Drink tea.

Our tea tasting notes:

Earl Grey: The king of all teas and our fave. Cosy Tea's version didn't disappoint lovely citrus bergamot notes.

Breakfast: Strong enough to wake up your taste buds in a morning, without being blow your head off strong like some other brands.

Rooibos and Vanilla: Deliciously sweet with vanilla notes, meant we didn't need to add our usual sugar lumps. We tried it with and without milk and loved it both ways.

Chamomile: We must admit we are not usually fans of chamomile teas. But we all felt that this was very drinkable and would be nice as an iced tea in the summertime.

Blueberry and Echincea: Would be gorgeous on a cold evening with a spoon of honey. We loved it's sharp berry flavours.

Peppermint: We tried this after dinner as a digestive. It warded off any potential indigestion and was lovely and minty without being overpowering.

Jasmine Green Tea: A beautiful green tea with floral jasmine notes

Lemon Green Tea: Very refreshing we served it black with a slice of lemon and lime and throughly enjoyed it too!

All in all we were really impressed with Cosy Tea, finding the teas themselves good quality and a lovely drink. They also have a lovely website (where you can even learn to knit a tea cosy).

Bottoms up!


We were sent this tea  free of charge to review.

LOVE February Competition - Fourteen days of fabulous prizes!

Dormouse is having a Valentine's lie in. Here are some Sweet Words from writer Andrew Oldham to go with your morning cuppa.

Photo credit: sideshowmom from morguefile.com


THE GROTTO

They say the roof is made of crystals;
The kind that glimmer when candles are brought in,
But they must be brought in on a summer's evening
When the grass pollen is high,
and the flowers are turning to seed.
I think of the lovers that came here
Clutching jam jars with lights in
Watching the shine in each others eyes in the flickering light
But eighty years on and the grotto is waiting to be restored
The walls have turned to moss and mould and
Instead of lovers turning to each other with flames
You turn to me and say it looks like a witches coven,
We laugh and for a moment we shine.


Reproduced with kind permission from Ghosts of a Low Moon by Andrew Oldham (Published by Lapwing) RRP £10. Signed copies can be purchased here.

Andrew Oldham is an award winning writer and poet. His work has featured in The Sunday Times, Ambit, The London Magazine, Interpreter's House, North American Review and Poetry Salzburg. His poetry has been broadcast on BBC 4's Poetry Please. He lectures on creative writing at EHU and the OU. He lives in Saddleworth where he curses rain and climbs trees to face North winds.

Dormouse and cupcakes sitting in a tree K. I. S. S. I. N. G !

Yes it's no secret we have a love affair with cakes and in particular cupcakes. They are so sweet and scrumptious and best of all you don't have to share as they are designed just for one. Needless to say we have tasted more than our fair share in our time!

Therefore we feel are qualified (and proud) to bring you our five fave cupcakeries.

1.Sweet Tooth Cupcakery

Photo: Carol Oldham