Pukka Night Time tea review and giveaway (c/d 7 March 2012) CLOSED

I've been good with my January resolution to cut down on caffeine, and it is easily done with Pukka teas, they have a selection of teas for any occasion. I have written about Pukka Refresh, Three Mint and Love tea recently.

Today I want to tell you about a tea called Night Time.

It is a blend of an organic oat flower, lavender and limeflower (plus chamomile, valerian root and other herbs).

This blend is beneficial for a peaceful sleep.

The smell of the limeflower blossom for me is one of the memory triggers. Lime trees grow in abundance in my home town, and whenever I pass by a lime tree in blossom, I am doing a trip down the memory lane. I am ten again, and sitting on the tree in the school yard.

This is one of my most favourite aromas, beautiful and gentle.

This restful tea lulls me to sleep.

It has a delicate taste, not too grassy and not too flowery either.

If you haven't tried yet any of Pukka teas, here is your chance to win a selection of three teas that I reviewed recently. One winner will get a pack each of Refresh, Three Mint and Love teas. This prize has been kindly sponsored by Pukka.

I will also add a Lindt Chocolate bar - A Touch of Sea Salt.

Don't worry, you will get 3 boxes of tea, not 3 sachets, I only placed the sachets for the purposes of taking a photo. :)

To be entered in the draw please:
  Answer the question by leaving a comment below this post

You do not have to follow my blog to be entered in the draw. If you decide to follow my blog, I will be thrilled, of course, but it doesn't give you any extra brownie points except my gratitude.
Please leave me some means of getting in touch with you if you win: your Twitter name, or forum name (if you come from any of the comping forums), if you use a Blogger, make sure there is an email address in your profile.

And the question is:
Do you like herbal teas and/or which one is your favourite?

Good luck!

The winner will be selected from all entries after the closing date (7 March 2012).

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Wow, what an amazing response! Thank you for all your comments, I have enjoyed reading them.

All the names were added to the Raffleking.

And the winner is ....

HAPPYSOULS

Big well done! I am getting in touch with you on Twitter, and once I have your details, I will pass them on Pukka. I will post the chocolate separately.

The Natural Goodness of Pukka teas (review)

After discovering a new herbal tea from Pukka (see my review here), I decided to explore their range further.

Refresh tea is a unique blend of uplifting herbs: organic peppermint, fennel and rose. Peppermint is a great refresher but could be a bit strong. This blend is deliciously sweet thanks to the fennel seed and coriander seed. Rose adds an aromatic note to the blend but it does not taste perfumey like some rose petal blends do (and believe me, I tried many). As it is a caffeine free tea, you can drink it any time of the day. The colour is beautifully golden. I have tried this tea both hot and cold, and it works either way.

Three Mint tea is not just your usual mint tea, it is a combination of three different varieties of mint - organic peppermint, spearmint and fieldmint tea. There are many varieties of mint, and many gardeners probably grow the most popular variety which is Mentha spicata or a spearmint. Spearmint is milder in taste and aroma than peppermint. Mint's cooling and stimulating effect makes it very effective in relieving digestive problems.
For the purposes of comparison I prepared two cups of mint tea, using a Pukka Three mint sachet and a standard mint tea from Waitrose. The standard tea was darker in colour and had a stronger taste, more reminiscent of the chewing gum or even the toothpaste. When you compare two teas, you can taste the difference. Three Mint is much more delicate, gentle and soothing - definitely a winner.

Love tea is another unique combination of fragrant herbs: organic rose, chamomile and lavender flower as the main notes with the added goodness of limeflower, elderflower, marigold petal and licorice root. The herbal infusion is nicely balanced, none of the herbs is overpowering. The taste is delicate and sweet. The motto on the box is "to warm your heart". And while I would not go that far and claim that it made me feel cherished, it is a very pleasant herbal drink, and would probably convert the most stubborn herbal tea haters.

Disclosure: All teas were bought by me.

Always tea o'clock (Pukka Morning Time Tea: review)

As a rule I don't believe in the new year's resolutions, but if I have to pick one it would be cutting down the amount of caffeine intake. I tend to drink lots of tea, and my kitchen looks a bit like a tea shop, there are boxes of tea everywhere (I can probably compete with the local branch of Whittard's).

You have probably seen boxes of Pukka tea in the supermarkets and health food shops. They stand out on the shelves as they have a pure clean design, in light pretty colours and patterns.
I was pleased to be offered to test a Pukka Morning Time Tea.

Pukka Morning Time Tea is a blend of rooibos, honeybush and red ginseng.

Morning Time tea is a naturally caffeine-free, deliciously sweet and full-bodied blend of uplifting herbs which can be enjoyed with or without milk to help kick start your day.

• Rooibos and honeybush enliven and refresh
• Red ginseng and roasted maca are a perfect natural pick me up

100% organically grown and fairly traded, we hope this is the best rooibos blend you will ever taste.

I had it both in the morning and in the afternoon. It is a very refreshing drink, with the honeybush enhancing the flavour of rooibos.

As you can see from the photos, the colour is intense without being too dark or too pale. The taste is slightly sweet, light but flavourful. I was a bit worried that the licorice flavour would be overwhelming but it is hardly noticeable (which is great for me, as I am not keen on licorice).

All in all, a well balanced taste.

As I was passing by the local health food shop, I popped in and bought a few different Pukka teabags to try (Pukka teas come in little individually wrapped paper sachets). A great idea for those who want to try without buying a whole new box, and a bargain at that, they were 10p each. One of the teas is called Harmonise (the description of the contents: organic rose, sweet vanilla & chamomile tea with shatavari: balancing for women - sounds like a poem).

If you reach for a pack of tea,

Let it be a Pukka tea.