Trying our hand at Matcha Tea

We get a lot of green tea sent our way at ATC and sometimes, after several cups, they can start to blend into one. So we were rather intrigued to try something different in the form of Kanuka Matcha Tea based on the traditional Japanese tea ceremony known as ‘The Way of Tea’, said to invoke peace and harmony.




Complete with everything you need to create the ‘Chanoyu’ (ceremony) at home, the Kanuka Matcha Starter Kit includes a 40g pouch of Matcha tea powder, traditional bowl and whisk, and bamboo measuring scoop.

Making the experience as authentic as possible, the tea is sourced from an eco farm in Shizuoka, Japan and claims to be the best ‘ceremony grade’ tea around. So we put it to the test!



To serve one, you will need your whisk, bowl, measuring stick and tea powder.

• First, pop half a level teaspoon into the bowl. 
• Then, add around 40ml of cold water and mix into a paste until frothy.
• Heat around 150ml of water (not boiling, around 70°C) and stir into the paste.
• Then drink!

Alternatively you can make the tea into a latte by substituting the water with milk and adding honey to sweeten.



The ceremony itself is simple to perform and it’s a good way of taking a few moments out of your day to chill out. Straight out the bag the tea smells gorgeous and to taste, it has a slightly sweet but earthy flavour. It’s recommended that you take two servings a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon to provide you with a burst of energy as an alternative to coffee. I couldn’t tell if it was the act of preparation or the tea itself but I did feel rather peaceful after my little dish of zen.



Plus if you're on a health kick, in addition to its calming benefits, matcha tea, high in antioxidants, is apparently good for maintaining a healthy metabolism and combating high cholesterol - so it’s worthwhile dedicating 10 minutes out of your morning routine to give it a go.

If you’re a fan of green tea and looking for something new, whether it’s for the mind of the body, I would recommend giving matcha and 'the way of tea' a try - Laura

For more info visit: https://www.kanukatea.com/

The Tea Makers of London Review

The popularity of green tea has grown a lot over the last few years and it seems as though no desk snack draw is complete without a loose leaf pick me up. Famed for its supposed healing properties and skincare benefits, the choice of brands and flavours is vast and forever growing. We recently got the chance to try some interesting blends from British tea company, The Tea Makers of London - here's what we thought ... 

The Tea Makers of London was founded by a Sri Lanken tea expert with the goal of sourcing and creating a unique tea experience, or to quite simply “create the perfect cup of tea”. The company kindly sent us three different flavours to taste, each with its own tantalising exotic name: Jasmine Dragon Pearls, Dragon Well and Sencha Supreme.

To start, the packaging is simple but elegant and stamped with ‘The Great Taste Awards 2016’ seal of approval. The large pyramid tea bags are also minimalistic, showing off the high-quality loose leaf tea inside. 

Jasmine Dragon Pearl

Who wouldn’t want to try a tea with such an interesting name? Christened Dragon Pearl because of the pearl shape of the tea, this artisan tea is made from silver needle green tea leaves and Jasmine flowers which give it a yellow hue. A gorgeous fresh, floral scent that hits you straight out of the box and a pleasant smooth taste.

Supreme Dragon Well

This emerald green tea is made up of a selection of pan-fried teas and is apparently chock-full of vitamins. This is your all-rounder tea classic green tea, it’s mild, easy to drink, which makes it the ideal kind of brew to just chill out with. A great choice for any time of day as it's not too strong.  

Japanese Sencha Supreme

This Japanese blend benefits from 800 years of tea-farming which has led to this unique flavour. This one is a little more of an acquired taste, it’s slightly more bitter than the others and its aroma is quite pungent. However for avid green tea drinkers, we think the heightened sensual experience make it an interesting choice for those after authentic flavour, soaked in a rich history. 

So, have the Tea Makers done their job? Have they created the perfect cup of tea? In the land of green tea, they're certainly in the running and we can understand why they've racked up so many 'Great Taste' stars. 

A traditional choice, but a classic for a reason, our favourite was the Dragon Well flavour, a lovely smell and just the right amount of flavour for a satisfying green tea. If you're looking to try a selection of teas that offer an expansive range of tastes and styles, we would definitely recommend checking out The Tea Makers of London.

To find out more, visit www.theteamakers.co.uk

This post was kindly sponsored by the folks at The Tea Makers of London. As usual all thoughts and opinions are our own!

The Afternoon Tea Club Cuts the Cake

Ah January, detox month – time to ask for gluttonous forgiveness and get over those overindulgent chocolate binges and festive drinks.

Whittard's Green Tea.

But if you’re anything like us, the chocolate pile from Christmas, doesn’t just disappear come the last verse of Auld Lang Syne. With all the good intentions of gym memberships, substituting orange Matchmakers for carrot sticks and fitting that 20 minute run into your lunch hour, it just seems a little bit sad, wasteful, criminal even, to throw away those untouched boxes of Malteasars.

So rather than punish ourselves, we declared February would be our realistic detox month – time to ditch the cake and start the detox!

Goodbye cake, hello fruit ... tea.

The lovely people at Whittard got us into the spirit with a detox package perfect for tea lovers like us. Bundled together with the Whittard seal of approval was a beautifully presented tin of green teas, caffeine free fruit tea and our very own Pao mugs equipped with infusers – suddenly, detox didn’t seem so scary!

Superior Green Tea selection.

Putting our new mugs to the test, we went for the loose fruit tea. There’s something about the smell of the Strawberry and Kiwi tea that just wakes you up. It’s refreshing and airy and though we did leave it to brew for quite a long time, it doesn’t hit you in the face which is good if you’re feeling a little bit un-enthused about the whole cutting-down thing.

Gotta love accessories.

From the green tea selection our favourites had to be the Strawberry and Rhubarb and Gunpowder flavours. On completely opposite ends of the tea spectrum, the Rhubarb flavour was subtle but pleasant, something to wind down with, whereas the Gunpowder was, as you would imagine a little heavier and smoky.

The verdict? If you’re hoping to battle the February fitness climb, these teas are the perfect companion to give you a little sweet fix and feel good about it. 

For more info visit www.whittard.co.uk and let us know how your tea detox is going at @TeacupReview!

The Afternoon Tea Club Reviews: Joe's Tea Co.

It should be pretty obvious by now that here at the Afternoon Tea Club we like a good cuppa so  naturally when we receive lovely tea things in the post, it gets us just a little bit excited.

Queen of Green Tea.

We were recently treated to a lovely box of Joe’s Tea Co. Queen of Green Tea (Thanks for sending it over!) and we have to say it was rather delicious.

Taking the fuss out of tea time and in the interest of being eco friendly, Joe’s Tea is made from completely organic tea, herbs and fruit and interestingly is only ever transported by land or sea – this really is green, green tea.

The first thing you notice about Joe’s Tea is the presentation. The packaging is simple yet has that modern cool which adds to the current fashion for tea drinking.

I absolutely love the tea bags themselves, they’re made from corn starch which makes them 100% biodegradable and look ever so cute with the little Joe’s label hanging over the side of my new black tea cups (Charity shops really are the best place to find tea sets!)

Now to the taste. Green tea has always been a good cleanser after a meal or quick pick me up and this blend provides a refreshing taste to do just that. The flavour is strong and distinctive - Queen of Green fit for the queens of Afternoon Tea ... ahem. I would love to try some other blends from Joe’s Tea Co., particularly the Proper Peppermint flavour.

Fancy a cuppa?

To find out more about Joe’s Tea Co. and to find stockists head to www.joesteacompany.com.