SOMETHING great is going on over at Dorset Tea so Taste went to find out what exactly all te fuss is about.
Wimborne based Spicers Tea have developed a luxurious blend called Dorset Tea which has been an instant hit with, not only tea lovers in the county, but also nationwide, with the tea now being sold in supermarkets around the UK.
I’d never taken part in a tea tasting session before and trying tea from Africa and India, varying in strengths, I felt my pallet had received an education.
After trying the separate elements which make the Dorset blend – Kenyan, Sri Lankan and Assam tea, you then taste the finished product and I have to say I was impressed.
Master Tea Blender Ben Hitchcock has 29 years of experience and along with his team he handpicked the teas for the blend back in 1999.
He said: “I’ve tasted hundreds of teas in lots of different countries and blended this tea was a matter of putting together the teas that work together and suit the hard Dorset water.
“We wanted to keep the quality but give people a cup of tea reasonable in price that they will want to keep as their everyday tea.”
It was created to celebrate the company’s founder Keith Spicer – who used to blend his own teas in his kitchen back in 1934.
In the first four years the Dorset Tea blend has gone from strength to strength and is now for sale in Asda, Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsburys from September.
A recent cheeky marketing campaign launched the ‘Dorset Tea Amnesty’ where Dorset people can go and swap their old bags for a nice box of Dorset Tea.
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Coupled with a sampling campaign the brand now has thousands of fans on social networking sites and is gaining in popularity daily.
These hilarious set of videos are a must see.
Beach Clean up
Dorset Tea Amnesty
Tea time at a Portland pub
Smuggling in Dorset
If you fancy having a taste of Dorset tea visit their website here where you can find out more details about their sampling campaign.
Top tea Tips
Here's top tips from master tea blender, Ben Hitchcock
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1 The average tea drinker in the UK leaves their tea to brew for under 10 seconds. Try leaving it for three minutes and taste the difference
2 Catch the water when it has just boiled and not leave it to rolling boil
3 Leave the tea to brew for two to three minutes in a pot, if possible
4 Controversially, Ben says to add milk if you choose and whether it is added afterwards or before is up to you
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