I took a visit to the Uppercase Coffee Shop situated to the rear of The Alphabet Gift Shop in Mickleover, Derby the other day.

I have visited the gift shop before but never been to the coffee shop. It is a lovely little haven for tea, coffee and cake lovers and their menu offers a selection of sandwiches, jacket potatoes, toasties, panini's, soup and a breakfast menu. They have a selection of speciality teas, coffee, hot chocolate, cakes, tray bakes and scones and guess what??? They have gluten free options!!! yes they do!!!
Gluten free bread was offered to me for sandwiches and toasties but I plumped for a slice of orange and poppy seed cake which was very delicious. The place has a very cosy atmosphere, a fabulous friendly service and look at that teapot! it's just gorgeous. It is actually one of those teapots that goes on top of the cup, love that!! I just need one that holds about ten cups of tea and I could disappear for an hour.

After I had consumed tea, coffee and cake......what's that you say? I needed the energy for goodness sake!! Outside storm Doris was doing her best to show us what a bad case of wind really meant......she needs some medicine for that I'm sure. It was a miracle that I made it into the place, I was reminded of a scene from 'The Wizard of Oz'. I actually wanted to be Dorothy and for the shop to be whisked away in a massive tornado with all that tea and all those gifts. I just didn't feel as though I had time to find a heart, courage and a brain before the school run but could have quite happily burst into a rendition of 'Over the Rainbow'.

The shop is just wonderful too, a great selection of gifts which can be personalised if you require. There are gifts for the man in your life, babies, children and yes they have bags!!! I purchased a really snazzy case to keep all my chargers in which was just what I was after, looks a lot better than the old tired plastic bag I was stuffing them in. There is something for every occasion and you can pick up a card to go with your gift too. Another added loveliness is that the staff are there for advice, we've all had days where we are just stumped with what to buy someone but they are there to help and give you some ideas. I like that personal service, it's what makes a customer return again in the future. 

Orders can be placed online at
www.thealphabetgiftshop.co.uk .......and they offer a collect in store or next day delivery if you order before 2pm. 

Alphabet Gift shops can be located at:

including : Lowercase Coffee Shop
9-10 Union St.
Burton on Trent
Staffordshire
DE14 1AA
Tel: 01283 749931

and....

including: Uppercase Coffee Shop
44 Station Road,
Mickleover
DE3 9GH
Tel: 01332 513033

So if your in the areas please give them a try.......you won't regret it.

​Catch you tomorrow....

Yes I ordered more tea, I have that much I had to have a tidy up and clear one of my shelves in the kitchen to make room. 
I now have a tea shrine......amazing!!!

My new recruits are a Voluptuous Vanilla, Wondrous White and Appetising Apple & Lemon Infusion. All loose leaf teas which I've really taken too  as I think the taste is just more appealing to that of tea bags. Don't get me wrong I do like the traditional teabag as well and they do come in all sorts of brands and flavours but there is something about loose leaf tea.

Voluptuous Vanilla is a black tea and contains antioxidants but but not as many as green tea. It can be brewed at a high temperature which is the opposite to green tea which becomes bitter if brewed at a high temperature and for too long. The health benefits of black tea are still being researched but it seems to prevent some cancers, beneficial to the gut, preventing ulcers and good for heart disease. The added taste of vanilla is a nice treat. I really like this one, can definitely recommend.

Wondrous White is a white tea which is believed to boast 3 times more antioxidants than green tea. It has also many health benefits including maintaining healthy, youthful skin, help with weight loss, improves oral health, prevent some cancers, associated with a decrease in cardiovascular disease, lowers blood pressure, helps with diabetes and has anti bacterial properties.
I wasn't sure about this one at first but I've tried it a few times now and it is actually growing on me. For all it's health benefits it looks like white tea is worth getting used to.

Appetising Apple and Lemon Infusion is a lovely sweet fruity little number and really refreshing. I was never a big fan at all of fruity teas. I always thought that it was just like drinking warm Ribena but I really have got to like it a lot. This would also be lovely chilled in the summer. I have a thing for lemon in my tea as well. I have quite a lot of tea that involves lemon or if not I do tend to add a slice of fresh lemon to my green tea. It may be because I like a bit of sweetness and lemon just adds that natural sweet taste for me. I am addicted to iced lemon tea in the summer, tend to drink gallons of the stuff.....roll on the hot summer days. 

You can buy these teas and many more online at www.tranquili-tea.co.uk and also many accessories such as diffusers and they do sell little bags if you can't quite break away from the tea bag. These are great if you are travelling or for a lunch box as you can fill one up with your favourite loose leaf tea and pop it in for your break time. 

Go on give it a try, then you can have a dedicated tea shelf like mine.
Have fun and catch you tomorrow.....

Heath & Heather Organic Green Tea with Coconut - Aldi £1.49 Box 20 bags

I know.....coconut! It's more associated with cocktails, ice cream and milk I suppose but never had it in my tea! Very tropical, I felt as if I closed my eyes I could be in the Caribbean......erm maybe not it was too chilly, might have to re try that one in the summer. At first I thought just from the smell that it might taste like tea obviously but as if I had left my cuppa on the side while applying a spray on sunscreen and some had landed in my brew. I'm not that keen on coconut products, never been one to chomp on a Bounty bar but I do have to say I was really pleasantly surprised. I've stuck with the green tea again this week because it has so many health benefits I think it needs more exposure. You should have seen me in Aldi though this morning, I kept walking past this, going back to stare like a tea stalker and couldn't get over anyone putting coconut in tea bags but it does work. I bet they are quite refreshing cooled down on ice in the summer but I'll keep you posted on that one.

Heath & Heather also produce the same organic tea bags with Manuka which is a lovely flavour too and although I don't have one at the moment, I can imagine it would be an added soothing relief to a cold or sore throat, it oozes a medicinal use and tastes a lot nicer than lemsip, just sup it with a paracetamol, job done. Manuka has added health benefits and is considered an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and an anti fungal so what have you got to lose, it will help with the old acid reflux, ulcers and general skin care. Suck it up buttercups. it is priced the same as the coconut flavour at £1.49 for 20 from Aldi

I decided to add a couple of cool teas, no that's not tea that thinks it's just fabulous although these really are. These little treats are just ready from the bottle and which I actually prefer as a soft drink allowing me to still drink my tea. Very refreshing favours, I think the bottle refers to as an infusion (that's posh for a mix) of peach, camomile and green tea and watermelon, coconut and white tea. Coconut again! I'm getting the taste now, I'll be off to Barbados before you know it, and if you ever catch eating a Bounty chocolate bar well that's it......I will have become a coconut addict.
So Rio Doro Infusion Teas are in Aldi for just 69p each.

Enjoy and embrace the coconut my friends.......catch you tomorrow.

Twinings Fudge Melts GreenTea

For those who haven't tried green tea and are not sure about how it will taste or you may have tried it and thought 'oh no not for me' it really is very tasty mixed with some of the flavours now available on the market.
This is just one variety and it really is very nice, the flavour of fudge and vanilla is a treat and takes away from the original bitter taste from green tea if not used to it.
Green tea alone has many health benefits such as help with diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimers, Parkinson's, tooth decay, blood pressure, depression, skin care, some cancers and only containing 4 calories a cup of fudge melts it can play a massive part in weight loss. It's a slimmers best friend, it increases metabolism and the polyphenol found in green tea works to intensify levels of fat oxidation and the rate at which your body turns food into calories (www,lifehack.org).
There are many flavours in this Twinings range which I will review during this Tuesday feature at some point. I love it though, it is the nearest I'm going to get to a fudge frenzy without absorbing a bucket full of sugar and a fudge alert from the syn police at Slimming World.
I made a cup of this tea by following the expert brewing instructions by Twinings themselves at www.twinings.co.uk which are:

- Use freshly drawn cold water
- Boil water and allow to cool for about 3 or 4 minutes to 80 degrees C.
- Use one teabag per cup or one teabag per person in a teapot.
- Brew for one to three minutes (or to your taste) be careful though as over-brewing can make it taste bitter.
- Always without milk and adding a slice of lemon (to plain tea) can add to the taste.

So give it a try and leave a comment below to let me know how you went on......thumbs up or down, keep it? or bin it?

Will catch up with you next Tuesday for another brew.