I recently entered a Twitter competition with Howkapow and Teapigs, I was lucky enough to win and received a set of four Janson Co mugs in gorgeous pink hues, and a selection of delicious teas.

The combination of the postman being really early and Andy leaving for work slightly later than usual meant that Andy hand delivered these to me in bed, which made it all the more exciting. Nothing feels more like Christmas than opening presents sat up in bed.


My first brew of the day was an obvious choice. It was the energy brew Yerba Mate, the packaging tells me that it's origins are in South America where it's been drunk for general health and wellbeing for centuries. I liked the mild taste, it's described as a smokey green tea. In fact I liked this so much I had three more cups before lunch. The whole packet lasted only four days.


The second tea I tried was the sweet treat Liquorice and Peppermint. I love peppermint tea anyway and liquorice is a frequent indulgence, so this intrigued me. At first I noticed the liquorice and the peppermint came as quite a sweet aftertaste, which I rather liked. I also inadvertently matched my nails, mug and teabags. How's that for accessorising?


A serving suggestion was to add lemon and lime which was really nice, the citrus tang took away a little of the sweetness - great if you don't want such a sweet aftertaste and really nice after a meal.


After lunch I tried the Chocolate Flake Tea which was lovely, it felt a little creamy in texture, even when made with just water. It wasn't overly chocolatey but was comforting in a way I can't quite put my finger on. It's very nice for a pre-bedtime drink.


The Popcorn Tea was also a hit! It's a green tea with popcorn pieces, the taste and smell was very much like popcorn. I gulped this down without taking much notice, but having realised that I really enjoyed it, I made another myself cup. This time it was accompanied by a pack of my favourite Propercorn popcorn - afternoon tea-break perfection.


The Janson Co mugs are a little smaller than normal sized mugs but I have to say I quite like them - they're enough to be refreshing but not too filling. I drink a lot of tea so I'm no stranger to that stomach-full-of-liquid 'sloshing' feeling but these help me to avoid that. They also feel delicate to drink from, like a cup and saucer (only without the saucer).

Next up was the Rooibos Creme Caramel tea. This is the only one I made with milk (not being a fan of red bush tea normally I thought that this would soften the flavour - it did) which made it perfect for my last cuppa of the day. These teabags (or temples as they're affectionately known) can contain chunks of caramel but they can't guarantee a chunk in each teabag, so I was chuffed to find two in one of mine. Caramel jackpot!

The only one I didn't try was the Chilli Chai, on the back it said that it wasn't for the person who orders korma and plain naan in their local curry house, which is, erm, me. Maybe I'll try it another day, but for now I have plenty of tempting teas to keep me occupied. And I might have just spied a few more varieties on the website that tickle my fancy...

Have you discovered Teapigs yet? I'm well and truly converted, I haven't had a normal tea in six days.

Love