Our February 2017 Box

Love is in the air this month as couples around the world celebrate Valentine's Day together, a day when the Patron Saint of Lovers "St Valentine" was supposedly executed. It's a day many have come to love or loathe, but for me it's a reminder of how powerful love is.

We often think of love in terms of people - a strong affection for another, a spouse, child, family members or friends. But love should also be seen as a form of energy. We already know that all matter is energy in movement. Even the most solid objects are built from energy. We are surrounded by energy. We ourselves are energy.

Love is the most powerful energy and when it's channelled into something you can't help but feel it. The other evening I watched the movie Lion at the cinema (highly recommend it) which told a true story about a young child that got lost from his family. It was packed with love, there was not a dry eye in the entire cinema and on the way out the staff were handing out tissues!

So, whether you love or loathe Valentine's Day, you can't ignore love and we encourage you all to channel that powerful energy into people and passions. Only good things will come out of this simple act.

This month we want to encourage you to experiment with your teas and have selected ones that work fantastic when blended together. Who knows, putting this additional energy into how you make your BRUU could result in you creating a new blend you fall in love with. Try mixing different combinations and quantities of this month’s teas and if you are feeling brave you could even try your own ingredients - dried fruit and spices tend to work best.

Mayfair Black - A careful blend of Assam and Kenyan black teas are mixed with a sprinkle of calming Safflower petals to produce a wonderful, full bodied tasting tea with a slight mellow astringency. It's a high-class breakfast tea that should be savoured and enjoyed. Origin: Assam, India, (2016 2nd Flush) and Kericho, Kenya (2016) grown 6500ft above sea level.

Malibu Fruits - A dreamy fruit tea with lashings of coconut. You might catch yourself singing the "Pina Colada" song, just try not to get caught out in the rain. Works great on its own, blended or as an iced tea.

Congou Mao Jian Green - The tell-tale signs of silver tips in this tea signify their harvesting has been selective and as such must have been plucked every day to ensure only new shoots are gathered. Grown in the mountainous region of the WuYi mountains, the tea is allowed to ferment briefly which results in a slightly dark hue on the leaves. A smooth tasting tea, though surprisingly pungent, it would be a good first green tea to try if you've traditionally drunk black tea. Origin: Zhejiang Province, China. Grown 5000 ft above sea level.

At the end of February BRUU is visiting tea plantations in India, so look out for pictures on our Facebook and Twitter profiles - we're hoping to come back with some exclusive teas for you to try too. Also, thank you to those that took part in last month’s survey, we'll be announcing the results soon and how that will affect future BRUU deliveries.

With love
Anneka