Review : Teapigs

The wonderful tea alchemists, over at Teapigs recently sent us a package bursting at the seams with delicious temples of tasty tea and we couldn’t wait to get tucked into it.

I am an enormous traditional tea drinker – there is rarely a time that goes by at work where there isn’t a mug of steaming caffeine fuelled goodness on my desk BUT I really enjoy herbal teas, too. Nath can’t stand traditional tea (he’s coffee mad, and I hate the stuff) but he absolutely loves herbal teas; especially peppermint! Nath and I are going to do this as a collaborative review because we both look for such different things in our hot drinks. I have a really sweet tooth and Nath prefers something more refreshing, that really packs a punch so you can read our thoughts below.We were sent this beautiful array of flavours; from left to right: Chamomile flowers, super fruit, peppermint leaves, apple & cinnamon, lemon & ginger.These boxes contain 15 temples in each package, aside from the peppermint which has 50 temples. The 15 temple boxes are priced at £3.99 on the Teapigs website (27p a cup – try to beat that in a high street cafe!) and £9.95 for the 50 temple package (just 20p a cup!).

Lemon & Ginger tea temples

This tea is naturally caffeine free and is described as being like “homemade lemonade, traditional ginger beer, croquet and morris dancers” (We love the quirky humour on these packages!).

Kate: Nath & I both love lemon and ginger, independently of each other and with lemon, in particular, I like it to wow me with its’ taste. Whilst this had a lovely refreshing taste, I didn’t quite get the zing on my tongue that I was hoping for. The warmth of the ginger was definitely there though, and helped to make me feel a little better when I was struck down with flu recently!

Nath: This is the first lemon and ginger tea that actually tastes of lemon and ginger, usually you get a faint hum of the ginger after you sip.  Not that it’s of any consequence but the tea temples for this flavour look phenomenal!  I’m not sure I can taste the morris dancers but I put that down to my unsophisticated palate.  This is pretty incredible as an iced tea too.

Super Fruit tea temples

Another naturally caffeine free tea which is bursting with berries. This has an hibiscus base which makes it a beautifully dark crimson colour and gives it a “punchy and slightly tart taste”.It’s full of cranberries and blueberries so you get a yummy superfood hit too, as it’s full of antioxidants!

Kate: This one was a slow burner for me. It was the first one of the box that I tried because I thought it would be my least favourite. I find with berry flavoured fruit teas, I end up pouring them away because they taste like really weak squash that’s been warmed up. Super Fruits is far more punchy and delivers on flavour in a big way. You get the well-rounded berry flavour followed by the tang of the cranberries afterwards. Plus, its a brilliant crimson colour, so it makes for a beautiful mug!

Nath: This is exactly the kind of tea I normally hate with a passion, but not this one!  I’m into interesting tastes and this one has a really pleasant tartness that is balanced with an amazing fruitiness.  You know instantly that it’s a fruit tea by the colour, it’s pretty amazing.  What I like most about this is when I drink it as an iced tea.  You can really do it with all Teapigs teas but this one I’ve found to be the best.  If Summer ever gets here, I’ll be enjoying these all the time!  It’s easy to make these into an iced tea.  Just fill your cup with boiling water just above your Teapigs temple.  Leave it for about 5 minutes and then top it up with iced water.  Easy!

Apple & Cinnamon tea temples

Described by Teapigs as a “lovely fruity, punchy and spicy tea” this one is fruity and spicy in equal measure. As much a winter warmer as a spring sipper, too – and of course, caffeine free.

Kate: Well, I fell in love with this one a little bit. It’s like a steaming mug of liquid apple pie, and there is very little I like more than apple pie. I tried to discretely decant the package into my handbag so that I could stash them at work but damn it, Nath noticed. I didn’t think he’d realise that there were only three left but apparently he likes apple pie, too. My youngest sister loved this one; in fact I haven’t found anyone who didn’t so far. My absolute favourite – so good & full of flavour.

Nath: My main issue with these sorts of teas is that normally you end up with a funny coloured water with an aftertaste of something.  This tea is different.  Not only does it smell absolutely incredible but it’s a really strong in flavour (the water does change to a decent colour too I suppose).  Being from the West Country I love apples and all of the different ways there are to enjoy them.  This one has become an instant new favourite.

Chamomile Flowers tea temples

These are the prettiest of the temples, full of tiny little golden blooms; you almost don’t want to brew them! Teapigs explain that the chamomile flower is great for helping calm, restoring sleep and assisting digestion (and no nasty caffeine!).

Kate: I waited until last to try this one because I really didn’t like the smell of the temple. But it’s so good! I totally understand what Nath said about feeling full after you drink it. It’s really satisfying and flavourful and you get a lovely kind of floral scent in your mouth after a sip. It’s not something I’d drink to kick start my day, but certainly one I’d have to mellow out and get ready for bed. Plus, yellow is my favourite colour so it gets bonus points for looking so beautiful!

Nath: This is a good one to drink before bed (‘no, really’ I hear you say?!).  The difference between the chamomile tea from Teapigs and others is that these are made with the whole flower and not just the ‘dust’.  This makes the tea taste much more ‘real’.  When you drink it you almost get a fullness, at least I do anyway.  I can’t think of a better drink to have after Darcey goes to sleep and I can sit down.

Peppermint Leaves tea temples

Peppermint seems to be the go-to herbal tea for most people and that’s no surprise. But you’ve not tried peppermint tea until you’ve tried Teapigs peppermint tea. They originally called this their “tummy tonic” as it’s reputed to help digestion (although they can’t confirm this!). It’s a refreshing little number, designed to perk you up and tickle your taste buds.

Kate: I love peppermint tea, but I do it in phases. When I first fell pregnant with Darcey I cut out breakfast tea straight away and switched to peppermint and it definitely (for me, anyway) helped to establish a sense of calm. Now, I’m not a particularly angsty person so that might not be the greatest testimony I could give but the flavour, well… it’s second to none. We have probably tried around 10 or 12 peppermint teas and it was this flavour that brought us to Teapigs many years ago, at the Good Food Show. Honestly, you won’t beat it; the flavour is strong, refreshing and lights up your mouth! Yum!

Nath: Probably the only good thing I got out of my trip to Morocco was the discovery of this tea. I’m a big coffee person but I’ll pass on my caffeine hit for a mint tea and the mint tea from Teapigs is easily the best that I’ve found! Quite often, if you go for other brands, you get a really weak taste that isn’t really mint like. There’s no mistaking that these are fully of minty goodness, it practically punches you in the face (in a good way, obviously)!  I could easily drink this, and only this, for the rest of my life!

*Disclaimer: we were kindly gifted these teas in exchange for our review. All photographs, words & opinions are our own.*