Mr. B and the Tea (and a rather shiny new Teapot)

Big pot, little pot

In November, Mr. B. caught viral meningitis.  It was a scary time.  He was very unwell and it has taken him many, many weeks to slowly bring himself back to something approaching normality.  Well, I say normality... the one lasting change since Mr. B. fell ill is a taste for tea!

As you may know from my random ramblings on the subject of tea in the past, I'm rather partial to a nice cuppa.  I love a good strong coffee or two (or three) in the morning but in the evenings, while I blog, I like a hot cup of tea.  Until now, Mr. B. has never joined me.  Tea just wasn't his thing.  So I owned a teeny tiny single-person teapot for my own use.

Meningitis causes an inflammation of the membranes around the brain.  While Mr.B. seems well recovered now, I'm rather stumped by his one lasting side effect following his illness.  In the weeks that followed his illness, he wouldn't even drink a cup of coffee in the morning - this was totally unheard of.  And to choose to drink a cup of tea???? Well, this was all new to me.  Mr B's new taste for tea causes us one issue - we needed a new teapot.

And, as luck would have it, we were asked to review one of these gorgeous Emma Bridgewater Pottery Teapots. We love the classic Emma Bridgewater polka dot design and, in fact, have a couple of mugs already.  This teapot is CERTAINLY big enough for the both of us now that Mr. B. is joining me for a regular evening cuppa.  The Polka Dot teapot, like most of Emma Bridgewater's pottery teapots claims to be a 4-cup pot but I think you can squeeze a fifth out!

I will admit that it feels like a bit of a luxury to finally be drinking tea that has been properly brewed in a great big pot with enough room for the tea bags to move around in.  We have been together for 10 and a half year so it is about time that I got a cup of tea worth drinking... and I suspect my visitors, namely my mum, will appreciate it too!

Even Mr. B is a bit in love with our new piece of Emma Bridgewater.  He moaned about the spout being drippy but I suspect it is because he hasn't had 34 years of teapot practice like I have!  I love the (not-at-all-drippy) spout, the no-need-to-jiggle-it-about lid and the big-enough-for-my-enormous-hands handle.  Even Lara loves it because she thinks it is a Mr. Tumble teapot.  Top scores all round.

Mama Tea Review – Caffeine Free Infusions

As someone who recently made the decision to reduce their caffeine intake, a vibrant collection of caffeine-free teas designed especially for mums was an ideal product to be asked to review. Mama Teas are a set of caffeine-free infusions that are great for anyone trying to reduce their caffeine intake, including pregnant and nursing mums.

At my caffeine-fuelled peak, I was drinking 3 cups of strong italian coffee and 3 cans of diet coke just to get me through the working day. I would round the day off with another fizzy drink during the evening and a cup of tea before bed. Not a great recipe for mellowness.

I've recently replaced one of my hot drinks during the day, and my hot drink in the evening with one of the tasty infusions from Mama Tea. I can't tell you how many times in the past I have tried herbal teas and lasted about 2 days before giving up. Generally, my opinion on herbal teas is either “ick” or “ho hum”. I also usually have to add a lot of sugar to make them palettable.

I have actually been really surprised by the set of Mama Teas. My favourite is the “Cool mama” which is a chamomile, spreamint and marshmallow infusion which is suitable throughout pregnancy. It is a tea designed to ease heartburn and indigestion or to generally cool you and make you mellow. I really like it as an evening drink to help settle me down for the night. The “Cool Mama” tea doesn't taste too strongly of any of the ingredients – just the way I like it.

Out of interest, I tried the Ready Mama tea which is a raspberry lead and motherwart (traditional ingredients to help prepare for birth) but it is also mixed with hibiscus and rose. My experiences of raspberry leaf tea from about week 38 of my pregnancy were definitely of the “ick” variety which is why I wanted to see if Mama Tea had managed to make it palletable. The hibiscus and rose give the tea a very gentle floral scent and it certainly does seem to make the tea taste less of general-purpose plant ingredient! It is also a really groovy pink colour instead of the more traditional bluey green. If you are looking for a tea to get you through labour and birth then I'd highly recommend it.

One of the other infusions in the range is the “Morning Mama” (ginger, chamomile and citrus) which is definitely one to replace my coffee-time drink. It has a fascinating tingle from the ginger and the scent of the lemon, orange and lemon-balm is enough to make you feel sprightly and ready for the morning. The "Morning Mama" tea is known to help reduce the feelings of nausea during morning sickness.

The range is finished off with “Glowing Mama” (rooibos, elderflower, echinacea and dandelion) which claims to be a powerful antioxidant and good for fluid retention and boosting the immune system. And finally, “New Mama” which is Mama Tea's most popular infusion designed for breastfeeding mums (not pregnant ones). The “New Mama” tea is a liquorice tea with fennel, fenugreek, nettle and lemon-balm. I have to say that I found it a little weird... very liquoricy and yet quite savoury. Three of the active ingredients are intended to increase milk flow so this tea is ideal for breastfeeding mums.

For each of the teas in the Mama Tea range, I found the flavours to be well balanced and not too 'tea-ey'; sometimes I find herbal teas to taste bitter and to leaf my mouth feeling dry, but these ones leave me feeling refreshed, as a good cup of tea should. My two favourite teas “Cool Mama” and “Morning Mama” really are a delight to drink and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

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