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This delightful, easy-to-make beverage teeters between the sweetness of vanilla and the floral explosion of Lavender Blossoms, with the cakey base of rooibos to balance the two beautifully. You can get both Rooibos Vanilla, and Lavender Blossoms at Char in our Winchester shop, or online. I enjoy this best with coconut milk which gives it some extra lightness, but you can use any milk you prefer. If you like it a little sweeter, it is also lovely with a dash of honey. Thing's You'll Need You will need a 500ml container that will fit in your fridge, and a strainer...

Whether you are trying to keep cool on the hottest days, or just want to feel a little more refreshed, Char have an excellent range of teas for you to try as cold brews. There are a few ways to enjoy tea cold, and we will outline these for you. Try a few, you may be surprised by what you enjoy best!   Just Ice, Please This is the quickest and simplest option, for those of you who just want one refreshing cool cup of tea. Prepare your tea as you would normally based on the infusion instructions, with half...

Matcha is the delicious, grassy, umami result of nearly a thousand years of intimate tea understanding. This finely ground tea powder is put directly into your cup or bowl, and then whisked in a small amount of hot (but not boiling) water until it becomes frothy. This is the traditional way to drink matcha, however in the west we have discovered the delight of adding milk to this drink to create a matcha latte. This drink is perfect served cold with ice on a summer’s day, or warm in the heights of winter.   The process of creating matcha   Before matcha...

When you think “Chinese Teas”, what initially springs to mind?   According to one legend, the Chinese emperor Shen Nung was sitting beneath a tree in 2737BC and boiling water to purify it when some leaves fell into the water. Upon drinking this new concoction, he declared it delicious. And we couldn’t agree more.   Since then, tea has developed in many ways including gaining specific cultural brewing and drinking practises, and different methods of production resulting in very different beverages. Chinese teas may be seen by western eyes to be synonymous with green teas and, while there are a plethora of beautiful Chinese...

  Jiangbei 江北 Teas: Liu an Gua Pian  This tea region (whose name translates directly to North of the River Yangtze) is the most northerly of China’s tea growing regions, and its lower temperatures result in a slower rate of growth for the tea plant camellia sinensis. This slow growth has the effect of producing a smaller-leafed tea with a sweeter flavour than teas from other tea regions of China. Char’s Liu An Gua Pian is a wonderful showcase of these iconic aspects, with its full-flavoured floweriness that leaves a sweet aftertaste. Additionally, this tea contains a higher concentration of antioxidants than its...