Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
Tea is one of the most important ‘meals’ of the day in our house, with the morning pot of tea (yes, we use a pot) to replace breakfast. Lately, I’ve been using loose tea for the first pot of the morning to be able to strengthen the flavour and to reduce the plastic waste that can be found in some commercial teabags. Steenbergs sent us some Organic English Breakfast Loose Leaf Tea and Organic Double Mint Tea.
The Steenbergs Organic English Breakfast looks different. I compared it to the loose leaf tea from the supermarket and the Steenbergs leaves are chunkier, whereas the supermarket brands were like dust. This makes a difference to how they are brewed in the teapot because the leaves swell when absorbing water. With finer grains of tea, they swell but the flavour isn’t as full, and you get those particles of tea that collect at the bottom of your cup like a sediment. Steenbergs sent us a tea filter egg to use too, which is great if you’re only making one cup and also prevents some of the sediment. The flavour of the tea is full-bodied, and you don’t need much to make one cup in a pot. I used 1½ teaspoons of tea to make a pot and brewed for only about 3 minutes, which was enough. You can taste the ‘tea’ without there being a scum on top from additives and preservatives.
We also tried to Steenbergs Organic Double Mint Tea. Brewed in the same way in a pot, these leaves are just as substantial and there’s the lovely aroma from the box as you open them! As the afternoon goes on, I like to switch to herbal teas to reduce my caffeine. Mint tea is great for digestion both in the afternoons and after dinner. I found that I didn’t need as much of the Double Mint Tea per pot as I did of the English Breakfast; one teaspoon was enough as it’s really quite potent! The tea is fresh and strong but not acidic and brews nicely, filling the room with the mint scent.
Both are ideal for at home and either a pot of tea or a cup made individually, and make great gifts for tea lovers too!
Available from £3.45 at: https://steenbergs.co.uk
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