The Great Drum of Heaven

Not only considered by some to be an aphrodisiac, Pomegranates are actually quite good for overall health. It is said pomegranates have anti-viral and anti-tumor properties. Pomegranates are also full of antioxidants (three times that of wine and green tea!) and vitamins such as vitamin E, A, C and folic acid. In fact, the high antioxidant content of pomegranates has put it on the list of 'Super fruits'. It is also said that eating pomegranates may relieve some symptoms of: stomach disorders, cancer, dental conditions, osteoarthritis, anemia and diabetes!

The islanders of Madagascar have always known pomegranates to be a special gift of creation. In their native tongue it is known as 'Ampongabendanitra' or 'the great drum of heaven'. Numerous uses of this versatile fruit were discovered by the Malagasy people, with little of the fruit being wasted. They used the leaves to make ink, the skin was used to make treatments for stomach ailments, bark was used as a vermifuge (for ridding the body of parasites), and the fruit was used to make wine!

We were so inspired by the pomegranate that we decided to create a tea that features this divine fruit along with ever-so aromatic orchid vanilla, high grown Ceylon tea, lime pieces, safflower, calendula and sunflower. All this resulting in a diverse cup of tea; with wine like notes of pomegranate, astringent fruity touches and of course a velvety smooth vanilla finish. Get yourself your own little bit of the great drum of heaven when you purchase our Pomegranate Vanilla flavoured black tea here.

Thank the heavens for this delightful fruit, we certainly do!

Frozen Wine Tea?!

Ice wine! The difficult to produce but unique and delightful beverage that we've taken inspiration from.

Ice wine is produced when the grape is frozen solid on the vine and harvested at a maximum temperature of -10 degrees Celsius! The frozen grapes are pressed and what results are aromas of apricot and honey, a fine balance between fruity flavours, sweetness and acidity and finally a beautiful golden or rich deep amber colour. Notes of sweet fruit such as apricot, peach and melon are prevalent in the resulting ice wine. To be considered true ice wine, the wine must abide by certain rules that have been set out by the Vintner's Quality Alliance (or VQA for short), one of which is that the grapes must be naturally frozen - never artificially frozen. Ice wine is also made predominantly made with Vidal grapes, as they have a thick skin, which enables the grape clusters to withstand the elements. Ice wine is particularly difficult to produce, not only because the grapes have to withstand the elements, but also because crows and because other birds find Vidal grapes to be especially tasty and because conditions have to be just right to make true ice wine. After all of the element withstanding and surviving hungry birds, the wine undergoes weeks of fermentation followed by a few months of barrel aging.

We couldn't resist blending the world of Ice wine with the world of tea, so we created our Icewine flavoured black tea! We've blended this tea not only with high quality orange pekoe grade black tea from the top three tea growing regions in Sri Lanka, but also with white tea, raisins and Ontario Ice Wine! This tea, in all it's iciness, is not only great hot during the winter but it is also great iced during the summer! Get yourself a little taste of the unique and rare flavour of ice wine with this tea, find it here.

Tropical Blue Mango

The blue mango, mysterious, enchanting, beautiful and delicious! It's no wonder it has captivated so many. An Indian writer, named David Davidar, once said of the blue mango; "[it is] astonishingly beautiful" and recounted how the fruit glints blue in the dark green leaves of the trees. In Thai, the fruit is called "The Brahmin Who Sells His Wife", which commemorates the legend of a Thai man who fell in love with the fruit and sold his wife for a basket full of them! Another Eastern legend says that the meat of the blue mango is so sweet that after eating only one, you won't be able to taste sugar for three days! And did you know that mangoes have been widely cultivated and exported for millenia?!

This mysterious and legendary fruit most definitely deserves a tribute, so we've commemorated it's reputation with a delightfully fruity and exotic green tea. Blended with a Sencha style green tea produced in the Hunan province of South Eastern China that has a smooth and almost honey-like character to it. We've then paired it with sweet and tart pineapple pieces and smooth mallow petals to compliment and enhance the bright, exotic and sweet mango flavour of this delightful tea. This tea is not only perfect when hot but when made iced it is also a wonderful refreshing treat on a hot summer's day. Sit back, relax and transport yourself with this tea to a sunny and warm location where the delectably sweet blue mango grows abundantly. Get your Tropical Blue Mango tea here.