Tea of the Month: Lapsang Souchong

Can we can tempt you to try something a bit different today?

What is it?
Lapsang Souchong

For those who like a smoke without the dangers…

Lapsang Souchong is as pungent as the finest Cuban cigar which makes it a firm favourite with gentlemen who like port and a good book. It’s also said that Lapsang helps strengthen your immunity, protecting you from the viruses that lead to colds and the flu.

 ‘Lapsang stirs at four, he lights his smoky

Cigarette that tastes of all things slow and smells

Od damp dark woods where pandas go

He lets its earthy fragrance speak for him

He lets the taste of black that’s lingering

Snuff out the bright and crazy of the day

His brand of lazy speaks of time to play’

Why not try this beautiful smoky tea? It accompanies our tasty rarebits and spicy dishes beautifully.

Meet February's Beatons Bod...Robbie!

Each month we dedicate a section of our monthly Bulletin to a new member of staff, our Beatons Bod. We like to do this as it introduces them to you, our customers and we all get to find out a bit more about them. This months Beatons Bod, is Robbie a member of the team in our Blandford location. 

Beatons ‘Bod’ for February
            Robbie

What's your role and what do you like best about your job?
I am a cook here at Beatons Blandford. My favourite part of the job is when we have a really busy lunch period as I get to prove myself in the kitchen and it gives me a sense of achievement when it’s over. It’s also great to see the customers happy.

What's your favourite drink or edible from our menu?  

That's a hard a question because there are so many to choose from, but I don’t think you can go wrong with a classic strong coffee; I certainly need one in the morning!

And how about your favourite book from our shelves?  

Fifty Shades of Chicken by F.L. Fowler. I like this book because chicken is my favourite meat to eat and cook with and it shows it in lots of different ways. It also shows various techniques that I haven't seen before and I like to learn new ways of cooking, this way I can expand my skills.  

Which of the ways we like to go about things at Beatons means the most to you and why?  

Probably how much teamwork and communication is focused on. I think that it is important to have good communication with your team as this avoids mistakes and we can provide high quality food and service. I also like the breakfast menu at Beatons as we put a different, yet delicious twist on the food.      

Finally, if you were an animal, what would you be?  

I would be a hedgehog because I like to hide away in the kitchen. 

For the Love of Tea

February is here, the month of love and what do we love? Tea!

From our traditional English Breakfast to Gunpowder and everything in between, there isn’t an occasion that we can’t find to drink a cup of our favourite tea. To say we Brits have had a long-time love affair with the drink would be far from the truth. Despite the passion we have for it, a lot of us don’t really know much about different the types of tea; when best to drink it and what benefits they have for us.  With the help of Beatons’ Tea Ambassador, Harry, we’ve put together a list of our teas that we recommend you try! 

Morning Teas

Aside from our classics, English Breakfast and Beatons Brew, we recommend trying our Assam and Non-Such Bop. While the Assam has a more malty and jammy-like flavour and Non-Such Bop has a lighter and more orange blossom like flavour, both are full bodied black teas that are best brewed for 5 minutes. As well as this, both teas share a moderate level of caffeine, perfect to give you a kick start to your day.

Afternoon Teas

To accompany your sweet treats in the afternoon, we recommend Darjeeling and our Ceylon teas. Darjeeling is also known as the ‘Champagne of Teas’, as it very much suits the flavours of a Cream Tea. Best served without milk, Darjeeling has a delicate flavour as well as a subtle astringency with classic muscatel character. Ceylon like Darjeeling is a great compliment to sweet cakes. A medium-bodied tea but with a full astringent, refreshing and lively flavour.

Evening Teas

For the evening, when you just want to unwind and relax, we suggest nothing more than a pot of Jasmine Blossom. This green tea has a delicately sweet and fruity taste with a floral scent. With a low caffeine content, it’s perfect to enjoy in the evening without the worry of it keeping you up through the night. Should you like your tea sweet, with Jasmine Blossom we suggest adding honey rather than sugar; it’s also best served without milk!

Many of our teas are high in antioxidants, meaning they provide lots of health benefits to us. Some of the things our teas and teas in general are known to provide aid in and help prevent are heart disease, strokes and cancers. Whether you drink black tea, green tea or white tea determines which benefits you’ll receive. Green tea is notorious for lowing the chance of cognitive impairment, as well as calming digestive issues; while red tea is naturally caffeine free and low in tannins, meaning it doesn’t interfere in the absorption of nutrients such as iron. So not only does tea taste great, it does great things too!

Alongside the teas recommended above, here are some more slightly less known teas we believe you should try.

Dong Ding Oolong - A light bodied Oolong tea with a refreshing and smooth light taste and a slight hint of peach flavour.

White Peony – A light bodied special White Tea, hand made Orthodox style. An exotic, yet light and delicate floral perfume flavour, infamous of Kenyan Teas.

Matcha Genmaicha – A low bodied Green Tea originating in Japan. Matcha has a naturally sweet, toasty flavour with vegetative green freshness and is great for energising you despite the low caffeine content.

Don’t forget that we are also now selling a selection of our teas, some of which we’ve spoken about above. They’re perfect as a gift or to enjoy your favourite Beatons Tea at home, ask a member of the team for more information.

                                                                                                                                                      Emily Hoskins Jones 

                                                                                                                                     Engagement Quartermaster