Sencha at Waterloo Tea Gardens – Cardiff

Nothing will replace my desire for a strong cup of coffee in the morning, but there are times when I am in the mood for something a bit more refreshing, clarifying... soothing. I got into herbal teas a few years ago while at university. Having never understood the hype over regular black tea, I was surprised that I actually loved all other kinds. There's something so relaxing about drinking tea, and finding a cafe that offers a whole range of flavours was lovely. There are only so many coffee shops a girl can take.

I visited Waterloo Tea Gardens in Cardiff with my brother and his girlfriend one Saturday before a day of shopping, eating and work's Christmas party. We walked into an inviting, open space with the friendliest staff, and were seated at one of the 'sharing tables'. 

I'm not sure about this style of dining, particularly when drinking tea or coffee connotes relaxation – and to me, that doesn't involve sitting with strangers. But it wasn't a huge issue – there was more than enough space and it didn't feel like the people sitting with us were actually with us.

The menu offered seemingly hundreds of options, but my eyes went straight to the Japanese greens. Having heard numerous rave reviews about matcha - the health benefits being the main appeal - I told the waiter that was what I wanted, very willing indeed to pay £5 for a single pot. But he quickly warned me that matcha tastes like crushed paracetomal. I found his honesty charming, especially when he recommended I try the slightly cheaper sencha.

While we waited, my brother, Craig, got his sketchbook out and I couldn't help but take a few photos of his bizarre drawings. He's a strange creature, but very creative, and he has a YouTube channel which you should check out if you have a few minutes. If he wasn't my brother I might find him mildly more amusing than I already do.

It wasn't long before our drinks arrived, with different coloured hourglasses for different brewing times. Of course I had to order something to eat, and toast was just what I fancied. Two thick doorstop slices of soft white bread arrived, toasted to golden perfection and served with a generous helping of unsalted butter (it's generally better, but I do prefer Lurpak slightly salted). I asked if I could have some jam to go with it, to which the waiter happily obliged (seriously, very nice staff).

Although I love my hot drinks hot, the fact that my sencha was verging on warm didn't bother me so much. The taste – and colour – more than made up for its cooler temperature. It was honestly the nicest cup of green tea I have ever tried and I'm sure I could have drank another pot immediately after I had drained the first. 

Have you ever seen such vibrant green tea? It was so delicious – sweet, and not at all bitter like many green teas are – and served in a fantastic grey teapot and cup with a cute saucer (although I'm not sure what that was for).

Visiting Waterloo Tea Gardens reignited my love for tea and gave me that warm feeling of wanting to buy lots of new infusions, tea pots, strainers and cups and hide away in a little cottage with a stack of books, with just a crackling fire and an animal – dog, cat or rabbit – to keep me company, as winter wind whips its way through the day and night outside. Isn't that what everyone dreams of once in a while?

Lemon Iced Green Tea

Fresh, cold iced tea is at the top of my list of go-to beverages these days. While I used to dislike the hot weather (bit weird, I know) I think working full time in an office has allowed me to truly appreciate the outdoors, especially when the sun is out. 

Now, when it is hot and sunny, even when I get home from work, there's nothing I love more than lying in the hammock with a good book and a glass of homemade iced tea to sip. This time it's green and lemony, probably my 'healthiest' homemade iced tea yet.

You can use black tea if you'd prefer - or any tea for that matter. A caffeine-free berry tea would be my next choice.

Recipe for lemon iced green tea

Serves 4

Ingredients to make one jug:

• One lemon
• Three green tea bags (use lemon green tea bags for an extra lemony flavour)
• Sweet freedom/sugar to taste 

1. While you're waiting for the kettle to boil, slice up half of your lemon and pop the pieces into a jug along with the tea bags.

2. Fill the jug almost all the way to the top with boiling water. Squeeze the juice of the other half of the lemon into the jug.

Enter my favourite food discovery of the year - Sweet Freedom. I've used this to bake blueberry muffins, iced coffee, lime and mint iced tea and as a topping for my pancakes and it.is.amazing. It is a syrup made entirely from fruit, which makes it slightly better for you than refined sugar. You don't need to use as much Sweet Freedom as you would with sugar as it's naturally sweeter, so even though the bottle is quite small, you can get quite a lot out of it.

Anyway, I use this to sweeten my iced tea as it makes me feel like I'm drinking something that's good for me. I added about two tablespoons to the jug and gave it a good stir - it can sink to the bottom if you don't stir properly and get it all dissolved.

3. Pour the tea into a big bowl and add a load of ice. Stick it in the fridge to chill. This is the worst bit for me. I get so impatient.

When your tea is cold (woohoo) pour it back into the jug and add more ice. Give it another stir, pour into glasses and enjoy your tasty, homemade, healthy-ish lemon iced green tea. 

Will you be making iced tea this summer? What's your favourite iced tea flavour? I'm hooked on the stuff - I even poured some of this into a bottle to take to work. I don't know what I'll do when winter comes around...

I got Instagram!

I resisted downloading Instagram for a VERY long time. I did not seeing the point of it when I have and use Twitter, but I finally succumbed last night after realising every blogger and their mother has the app, and felt I was seriously missing out.

Also, last weekend I left my camera in Cheltenham and won't be getting it back until mid July(!) I was (still am) distraught about this as I had taken some gorgeous photos, but they will not be appearing on WNW until next month I'm afraid :( so for now, I'll be using my phone with the Instagram app and a digital camera my Dad is lending me. Let's see if I can get any decent shots without DSLR quality.

Have you got Instagram? Leave your handle below and I'll check out your page. I'll be using my account for blog purposes mainly - a little like how I use Pinterest. You can follow me on Instagram here @wnwrote

A Trip to Whole Foods - Cheltenham

On Friday, my mum, dad and I traveled to Cheltenham for the weekend for the Literature Festival. On the way in I asked if we could stop at Whole Foods - they didn't need much persuading. I absolutely love Whole Foods. Its products may be slightly above my budget but it's worth just having a wander around the store for the experience. There are lots of freebies and unique products.

Upon arrival we were met with our first free tasters - hot & spicy quinoa chips. I thought they were quite tasty - very light and definitely spicy. My parents weren't that impressed but I grabbed a handful... or two.

Then - oh gosh - THEN, we spotted this table where there was a basket of bread and two types of nut butters to try. Needless to say, my sweet free day went out the window.

The brown one was a hazelnut and chocolate spread - basically Nutella - but so much better because it was made in store, with a better quality chocolate, and nothing extra added. The other butter was salted peanut. Yummaaaay.

I just think this nut butter station is so cool and I would be making my own peanut butter every week if I lived near a Whole Foods. You can choose from unsalted peanuts, salted peanuts, cashews and hazelnut & chocolate. All so tempting, but I went for the salted peanut butter. All you have to do is grab an empty tub, hold is under the machine of your choice and press the green button. It will stop when it's full - so clever.

 

A nut-lover's haven - and this was just one section of a whole row:

Chocolate pearls - yummy, but expensive.

The aisle of tea. Look at all that green tea.

 Just. Yes.

And my favourite - the nut butter aisle:

Where to look first?!

I'm thinking of writing a whole post about nut butters. I'm a little bit obsessed.

I found my dad eyeing up the fruit juices. He settled on the Superberries juice - a combination of blueberries, grape, acai and blackberry. I tried a little bit and it was a bit too sweet for me, but a refreshing alternative to water.

I didn't buy any of these appealing San Pellegrino cans but they looked seriously good I had to take a snap. I absolutely love the orange flavour so I think the blood orange would go down well. Grapefruit looks interesting, although I'm not sure why it's in green packaging?!

I did, however, buy some coconut water. This stuff has been hyped up for about a year now and I've been wondering what all the fuss is about.

I chose the peach and mango flavour - the ingredients said that the drink was purely coconut water, mango puree and peach puree so I had high hopes.

However, after one sip of it I was utterly repulsed and left incredibly disappointed. It didn't taste like peach, mango or coconut at all. It had a savoury taste to it, and it reminded me of what I can only imagine raw chicken juice would taste like. Just, nasty.

Mmmmm sweets. Here, my mum and I tried some chocolate biscotti and chocolate brownie. The brownies were delicious but the biscotti was not to either of our tastes.

But look at the array of cakes and macaroons

Loved the burger cake.

We decided to get some of Mrs Tilly's tablet after eyeing up all the confectionery. Tablet is the Scottish name for fudge, and the texture is crumbly and melt in the mouth - unlike regular fudge. It is really bad for your teeth but so moreish and too good to pass up.

Oh, so many crisps. We picked up a few bags - and I have to say my favourite was the Mackie's crispy bacon. They were so smoky, so bacony. So good.

We decided we had picked up enough stuff to last all weekend and headed to the checkout. The staff were friendly and relaxed, and it was nice to see that they weren't made to wear ugly office-like uniform, but jeans, tshirt and a Whole Foods apron.

There was a cafe area which I did not visit this time, but would recommend it for breakfast or lunch. Their croissants, coffee and soup are all so delicious and there are lots of fresh sandwiches, sushi, pizzas and more made in store. Have you visited Whole Foods?