Sunday 11 March 2018

Leaves of the World | Buchu Beautiful Balm

This months recipe is a little bit different, and a non edible one too! After receiving my Rep Package a week or so ago, I really took to the Buch Beautiful blend that Leaves of the World had sent me. The scent of this tea is so calming, and relaxing I really wanted to do something that helped ease tension and what better to do than a calming balm! 

You Will Need: 
- 3/4 Cup of Melted Coconut Oil (I used Vita Coco)
- 1 Small Jar (I used a small clip lock one from Wilko)
- Small Container to melt the Coconut Oil 

Steps:
- Firstly, get together all of you ingredients in one place. This'll make the steps and process a little bit easier if you have everything together. 

- Melt your Coconut Oil in the microwave. Don't do this over the stove or else you'll risk deep frying the tea leaves. Trust me from experience, I know! 

- Once the oil is completely melted, remove it from the microwave and leave it for around 10 -15 seconds. 

- Scoop 3 Leaf Loaders of Buchu Beautiful tea into the melted coconut oil and stir. The tea will start to infuse in the oil. 
- Pour your mixture into the jar, and leave the lid open. This'll allow the coconut to air and cool quicker. 

- Every 15 minutes or so stir the mixture to allow the tea to infuse through the full balm, rather than sitting at the bottom. 

- Once hardened, close the lid and leave for 1-2 days to cure. 

Products Used in this Recipe:
£3.50 each
This will be your best friend when it comes to making the perfect cuppa. It's no ordinary spoon you see. It holds just the right amount of tea leaves, and as it has the perfect shape and a rounded edge, none of the tea will escape when you are trying to load it into your tea making accessory. 
It's a stylish and indispensable piece of kit for any brewing TeaNomad

The Leaf Loader has come in handy for me and I use it at leas once a day. It is a perfect scoop of tea for one cup, measuring your tea properly gives a better brew and a better flavour if everything is measured correctly. The long handle helps get to the bottom of your pouches when you're nearly out of tea! 

£6 for 50g.
£11 for 100g.
Let me introduce myself, I'm Buchu, and yes, I am BEAutiful! A native of South Africa, not only do I look pretty, but I am a superfuit, too. Due to being a natural diuretic, I have been linked to help aid weight loss. I also have lots of detoxifying properties and have been holistically used as an antiseptic. Plus I have cacao in my list of ingredients, too, so bonus points for me. My taste is a deep nourishing floral black tea, with relaxing lavender and citrus lemon myrtle, with a blackcurrant and chocolate undertone. Like I said: beautiful!
Ingredients: Organic: Black tea, lemon myrtle, cocoa shells, buchu leaves, lavender flowers, rose petals
The Buchu Beautiful tea is a delicately floral and fragrant blend of tea. I/m not usually the biggest fan of floral anything to be honest but I really enjoyed this one. I will be doing a full review on this blend within the next week, but honestly this was just a perfect blend for Spring! 
The black tea is strong and bold, but the soft and delicate flavours of the lemon myrtle and lavender make this tea calm and soothing. If you'r not sensitive to caffeine, I do think it would make a perfect bedtime brew before you sleep. 


Sunday 4 March 2018

Turmerlicious | Vanilla

Company: Turmelicious 
Name: Vanilla Latte
Tea Type: Turmeric  
Loose or Bagged: Latte Powder
Rating: 3.5*
Best Served: Hot 
Water Temperature: 100° 
Brew For: Instant
Price: Single Serve (20g) £1. 10 Serve (200g) £6.. 95

Description: Vanilla - the mildest in spice using naturally sweet organic vanilla for a golden, smooth and dreamy drink

Ingredients: Coconut Milk Powder 67% (Coconut milk, Maltodextrin, Modified Food Starch), Coconut Nectar 17%, Turmeric 9% , Ginger, Cinnamon, Black Pepper.

To Make: Add 20g of Instant Latte Mix to a cup, and add a little boiling water. Mix together until the powder has incorporated with the liquid. Top up with boiling water and enjoy! You could also use semi skimmed milk, or nut milk. 

This is weird. I literally never thought I'd ever review any product that resembles a Turmeric Latte. To be honest, I don't really know what's going on. I'm drinking as I review as I think that might be the best way to capture how I fee about this drink. 

Firstly, Turmerlicious is NOT soluble. Therefore the mixture will settle at the bottom of your cup, you may want to keep a spoon or stirrer handy to keep mixing it up as you drink. Instant impressions: It tastes nothing like I expected. I did, in all honesty, expect it to taste a little bit like curry. Turmeric is a big ingredient in curry and my food so I naturally associate it with savoury foods or drinks. 



Flavour: The flavour of this one is quite odd. It does have the strong turmeric flavour, but the vanilla gives the drink an added sweetness making it more enjoyable and easier to drink. I think with the expansive amount of benefits you get with adding turmeric to your daily diet this would be a nice drink to have as a mid afternoon brew, rather than a first thing in a morning kind of drink. 

The texture is odd and something to get used to though. I'm not really used to 'bits'. I don't like bits in my orange juice, my yoghurt or anything that is supposed to be liquid. So having all the floaty granules in the drink is a little had dot get used to and gives the drink a different texture. But to be fair if you can look past that, because you will, it is a really nice and different drink to try. 

I can't wait to try the other flavours such as Choco, Chilli Choc and Ginger! 


Thursday 1 March 2018

Leaves of the World | Tea and Walnut Loaf Cake

You Will Need: 

2/3 Cup of Walnuts
125g Butter
1/2-1 tsp Vanilla
1 Cup of Caster Sugar
1/2tsp Milk
4 Perfect Scoops of Leaves of the World Nuts About You
1 1/3 Cups of Self Raising Flour
2 Cinnamon Sticks
2 Eggs

How to Make: 

- Preheat your oven to 160 degree and line 2 small or 1 large loaf tins.

- Brew your 4 scoops of Leaves of the World in 1/2 cup of water and add your cinnamon stick. Set to the side whilst you make the cake batter.

- Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. I suggest using a wooden spoon rather than a regular electric mixer. It gives a nice, smoother texture and better tasting cake.

- Chop your walnuts into pieces. I had mine in quite a chunky cut, this is my preferred taste and texture.

- Beat your eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl, and add to the butter mixture and beat. Your mixture may split this is fine, it'll come together when you add your dry ingredients.

- Add your brewed tea to the wet mixture and mix a little, make sure the tea has cooled down slightly before adding it in. Try adding an ice cube to your water. Do not add the cinnamon sticks.

- Sieve in your flour and fold the mixture gently. You may find it easier to add the flour bit by bit to allow the combining of ingredients easier.

- If your mixture is a little thick add your 1/2-1 tsp of milk

- Sprinkle any remaining chopped walnut son top of your loaves and place in the middle of an oven for 40-50 minutes. Checking every 5 minutes once your cake has been in 35 minutes. A skewer should come out clean from the middle.

BiteSize Review: Leaves of the World Nuts About You is a strong earthy black tea infused with the nutty aromas and flavours of cocoa beans and almond slices. This cake is the perfect recipe to pair such a strong and bold brew with, a perfect slice with a brew not hess snowy cold days.

If you're thinking about making my Tea and Walnut Loaf you can stock up on Leaves of the Worlds amazing Nuts About You here, and use TEANOMADBECCA20 for 20% off your order too!! Perfect recipe in time for Mothers Day.