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Flavour: Enchanted Narnia

Ingredients: Rosebuds, cocoa shells, rose petals, lemongrass, raspberry leaves

Caffeine Factor: Caffeine-free

Organic Ingredients: Unknown

Price Range: £7 for 50g

Review: We love the name – and thankfully it doesn’t disappoint as a drink. It smells planty, florally and soapy – which you might not think sounds appetising, but this is a nice one. We don’t normally like lemongrass, but in this blend it’s balanced so well by the rose, while the cocoa shells give it an earthy flavour, so you don’t feel like you’re drinking kitchen cleaner or perfume. It’s a gorgeous combination, bright and vibrant, making it a perfect pick-me-up in the middle of the day.

Best time of year to drink this: Spring

Best time of day to drink this: Afternoon, to get you through a long day

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Flavour: Chocolate Digestives

Ingredients: Shri Lankan black tea, cocoa nibs, cocoa shells, fenugreek, liquorice, natural flavouring

Caffeine Factor: Caffeinated

Organic Ingredients: Unknown

Price Range: £7 for 50g

Review: Bird & Blend are this magical company that manage to make all manner of flavours that sound like they’re going to be disgusting and artificial…and then turn out to be heavenly. This blend is no exception. It smells malty, a bit like a biscuit dunked in chocolatey black tea. The flavour is similar, but light on the chocolate. It has an edge of caramel, but not too sweet; you can’t distinguish the liquorice. The black tea is mild, not bitter at all. Overall, it’s gentle, warming and soothing, the ingredients mixed together in a delightful balance. It’s a perfect afternoon treat, like a calorie-free chocolate digestive, just as the name promises. Gorgeous!

Best time of year to drink this: It feels wintry

Best time of day to drink this: Afternoon, to get you through a long work day

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Flavour: Cocoa & Coconut Rooibos

Ingredients: Rooibos (50%), cocoa shell (33%), coconut flakes (10%), sweet cinnamon (cassia), flavouring (4%)

Caffeine Factor: Caffeine-free

Organic Ingredients: Unknown

Price Range: £3.50

Bags Per Box: 20

Review: Coconut never goes down well in tea. Can we all just agree on that? So – the aroma of this one is so coconutty, but in a savoury way, like a Thai dish but not natural. On tasting it, we quickly declared it the worst we’d ever tried. The most tragic thing was that we both felt the need to taste it again, to work out what to say in this review…but that necessitated drinking more of it. It’s just so overpowered by flavouring, and the taste of sugared desiccated coconut…left in a cupboard for too long. There’s a musty, gone-off vibe. We shared it around our office to get further opinions and the general consensus was that it was awful – in fact, someone said it tasted like ‘vomit’. Then, unbelievably, one person said, ‘I like it – I’d give it a strong 7.’ So it’s obviously a marmite tea…but for us, it’s an AVOID.

Best time of year to drink this: NEVER

Best time of day to drink this: NEVER

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Flavour: Fresh Inspiration (formerly Pure Freshness)

Ingredients: Spearmint, peppermint, ginger, anise, cinnamon, lime, black pepper, cardamom, lemongrass, fennel, cocoa shells, liquorice, peppermint oil, dried lemon juice, cloves, spearmint oil, ginger oil

Caffeine Factor: Caffeine-free

Organic Ingredients: 100%

Price Range: £2-3

Bags Per Box: 17

Review: It quite literally smells like toothpaste. The flavour is initially very startling (no one expects to drink toothpaste!)…but then it gets better. It’s just so minty fresh…then bitter…then spicy (the black pepper KICKS at the back of the throat)…with a lingering feeling of coolness. It’s a highly confusing drinking experience. It’s definitely wakeful, and it would clear your breath after a meal out. The oils are just so strong that we wouldn’t personally drink this casually.

Best time of year to drink this: Whenever

Best time of day to drink this: After a meal

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Flavour: Pu’erh Dark Chocolate Chai

Ingredients: Organic Pu’erh tea, black tea, organic coconut flakes, organic cinnamon, organic cocoa shells, organic sarsaparilla root, organic liquorice root, organic cocoa nibs, organic roasted dandelion root, organic cloves, natural chocolate flavour

Caffeine Factor: Caffeinated

Organic Ingredients: See above

Price Range: Around £7 for 100g

Review: This is quite an unusual one! The smell is indescribable – a bit sweet (perhaps from the sarsaparilla), but it’s impossible to discern any individual ingredients.

The flavour is equally complicated. It’s heavy on the liquorice, with a strong (bitter) dandelion aftertaste. It doesn’t really taste like chai or chocolate, and wasn’t our cup of tea…but we can imagine someone out there really liking it, especially on a cold afternoon. Just don’t go into it expecting chai or a hot chocolate substitute. There’s just too much liquorice and dandelion to taste the rest.

Best time of year to drink this: Autumn and winter

Best time of day to drink this: Afternoon

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Flavour: Choco

Ingredients: Cocoa shells (65%), liquorice, cinnamon, carob, barley malt, cardamom, ginger, cloves, cinnamon extract (natural flavour), vanilla extract (natural flavour), black pepper, ginger oil, vanilla beans

Caffeine Factor: Caffeine-free

Organic Ingredients: 100%

Price Range: £2-3

Bags Per Box: 17

Review: This is very similar to their Choco Chili blend, but without the chili. It smells of chocolate and spice. It’s subtle but warming and very wintry. Tasting it, it’s not as chocolatey as you’d expect. Despite 65% cocoa shells, the flavour is more like sticky gingerbread cake – probably due to all the spice, and the liquorice adding that hint of sweetness. This is one blend where they got the liquorice balance just right.

It’s a delicious after-meal treat that we highly recommend.

Best time of year to drink this: Autumn / winter, when you need a bit of inner warming

Best time of day to drink this: Afternoon / evening, after food

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Flavour: Turmeric Chai

Ingredients: Turmeric root (55%), cinnamon (14%), liquorice, ginger (7%), cardamom (3%), black pepper, apple, fennel, mace, cocoa shells, cloves

Caffeine Factor: Caffeine-free

Organic Ingredients: 100%

Price Range: £2-3

Bags Per Box: 17

Review: Another turmeric blend, but we aren’t fans of this one.

The ingredients list is a little bizarre. When you hit ‘cocoa shells’ near the end, your eyebrows go up automatically.

Although 55% is turmeric, you can’t smell it much over the spices. That set flavour expectations. Disappointingly, it didn’t taste much of spice. The liquorice overpowers just about everything. Then, long after we’ve drunk it, there’s a lingering turmeric aftertaste. That’s it – no cardamom or pepper or apple, and certainly no coca flavour! We’re not sure why Yogi thought this needed sweetness. It would be so much nicer without it. Some might like it, but we don’t see the point. It’s like turmeric chai for people who don’t like turmeric or chai.

Best time of year to drink this: Autumn

Best time of day to drink this: After dinner, if it’s your thing

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Flavour: Sweet Chili

Ingredients: Liquorice, Cocoa Shells, Spearmint, Fennel, Anise, Ginger, Peppermint, Nettle, Chili pepper, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cloves, Black Pepper

Caffeine Factor: Caffeine-free

Organic Ingredients: 100%

Price Range: £2-3

Bags Per Box: 17

Review: The smell is like chilis and earth (possibly from the nettle), mixed with cocoa shells. The combination is very, very odd indeed.

The taste, as you would hope from a tea of this name, is very fiery, particularly from the ginger. Happily, the inclusion of spearmint keeps the fire from overwhelming your mouth.

The flavour is also initially quite sweet (fennel and anise), but it’s toned down by the other flavours. It’s an unusual blend that grows on you with each sip. If you can allow the taste to settle in your mouth and make sense, it turns out to be a lovely wintry evening drink to have after a meal.

We also expect it would be a good one to drink if you had a cold (the fire would clear your sinuses) or a toothache (because of the cloves).

Best time of year to drink this: Winter

Best time of day to drink this: Evening

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Flavour: Choco Mint

Ingredients: Cocoa shells, liquorice, peppermint, anise, fat-reduced cocoa powder, cinnamon, black pepper, carob, cardamom, ginger, peppermint oil, vanilla extract, barley malt, cloves, vanilla beans

Caffeine Factor: Caffeine-free

Organic Ingredients: 100%

Price Range: £2-3 (worth the money!)

Bags Per Box: 17

Review: This is one of our absolute favourite blends, especially from a standard off-the-shelf brand.  As soon as you brew it, you can smell the cocoa, dark and inviting.  A moment later, you’re hit with the refreshing smell of peppermint, sure to pick you up no matter what sort of day you’re having.

And the taste…!  It’s just amazing.  You can’t actually pick out all the individual ingredients (black pepper!?), but the combination is divine.  It’s fresh, with just the right hint of sweetness; the liquorice doesn’t overpower the rest of the blend.  It makes for a satisfying post-meal drink, in place of puddings – like After-8 mints, but subtler and with nothing artificial.

It’s the perfect morning wake-up drink, a delicious digestive aid in the afternoon or after dinner, and a relaxing moment of happiness just before bed – like Hotel Chocolat’s Peppermint Cocoa, but way cheaper.  But be warned: we each bought several boxes and they disappeared before we knew it.  Family and friends kept drinking it behind our backs!

This is definitely a must-have tea.

Best time of year to drink this:  A definite all-year-rounder.

Best time of day to drink this: Any time of day.  There’s a strong risk of chain-drinking, with this one.

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Flavour: Choco Chili

Ingredients: Cocoa shells, cinnamon, licorice, ginger, black pepper, carob, anise, chili pepper, barley malt, cloves, cardomom, ginger oil, vanilla extract, vanilla beans

Caffeine Factor: Caffeine-free

Organic Ingredients: 100%

Price Range: £2-3

Bags Per Box: 17

Review: This is simply divine – definitely one of our top teas.  As soon as you brew it, you can smell the cocoa shells.  Drinking it is even better.  It’s so dark-chocolatey, but without the calories or caffeine, and with that gorgeous wintry spice mixture thrown in.  The combination is instantly warming and soothing, with a mild chili and ginger kick at the back of the throat.  Although be warned: that kick gets hotter as the water cools down, so we recommend not letting your cup sit too long.

There is just enough licorice to keep the blend from being too bitter, but not so much that the sweetness becomes overpowering and sickly.  The inclusion of vanilla softens the drink, as well – one of the rare instances when we have really liked vanilla in a tea.  And it can’t be scientifically proven, but drinking this right at the end of Three Tulsi’s second pregnancy seemed to bring on labour contractions – you can’t go wrong with this tea!

Best time of year to drink this: Autumn / winter, when you need a bit of inner warming

Best time of day to drink this: Afternoon / evening, when you’re settling down to relax

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