TeaBox Online, Sheffield

I was kindly sent some samples of fresh leaf tea by the friendly Kirsty (@teaboxonline) who set up an online tea business based in Sheffield, called TeaBox Online. I am a massive fan of tea in any form, at any time of the day. Tea is wonderful. It perks you up, calms you down, warms you, quenches your thirst, makes you feel instantly better and is a great drink to have in a crisis. So I was pretty excited about getting some free tea in the post and then getting to write about the magic of the wonder drink. I can't praise tea enough. It's bloody brilliant.

The first sample I tried was good old English Breakfast. And guess what, I had it for breakfast :) D's birthday breakfast actually- I followed the instructions on the packet (2 spoons per person, add water boiled to 100 degrees) and brewed up a nice big pot in my cat teapot. I love my teapot but am often too lazy to use it- getting loose leaf tea was the perfect excuse to get it out and pretend I was a real lady pouring out cups of tea.

Anyway, the tea was lovely. I drink mine black because milk is the work of the devil (I don't understand how it looks like it should be creamy and thick but actually has the consistency of water...freaky. Yes, I probably do need some kind of therapy) and this tea was one of the best morning cuppas I've had for a very long time. It was slightly more fragrant and delicate than my normal Yorkshire Tea tea bag job, and was really refreshing; the perfect accompaniment to my banana, cereal and yoghurt breakfast. (Yoghurt. Looks thick, IS thick. Not like milk.)



D had milk in his and had it with his special birthday breakfast of bacon and eggs and he also loved his cuppa. It's so worth going to the extra effort of brewing up a pot of loose leaf tea rather than quickly squeezing a tea bag into a mug of water- the flavour is so much lighter and you can taste all the different leaves that go into making it. TeaBox have definitely found the perfect blend for a lovely morning cuppa- highly recommended.



(I now REALLY want a set of vintage china so I can feel like a real lady instead of ruining the delicateness of leaf tea by drinking it out of chunky mugs)

The second lot of tea I tried was a blend called "Fatigue Fighter." I decided to take it to work this week as I was horribly tired after trying to pretend I was still young and hip by going to a student house party and then being kept up all night by D's horrendous coughing (he has man flu- I'm being suitably disdainful of him, no time for man illnesses!) and Delia's nighttime capers. (Chasing plastic bags across the floor with massive crashes into walls? Why not?) Fatigue Fighter is a blend of Chinese white tea, Lemongrass, Ginger, Ginseng, Ginkgo, and Rosemary and promises to give you a little lift and soothe your senses that have been battered by physical fatigue.



I brewed up a pot in a rather nice teapot I found in the work kitchen and offered it around the office. Most people were up for a cup- even the Man Of The Office, who believes that tea should be black, strong and only a bit of milk; true builder's tea. Everyone agreed that the tea smelt lovely- the aroma of ginger really warmed the office. Also all my colleagues were a fan of the flavour of the tea- slightly hot with ginger, yet delicate and floral with the other herbs, and wonderfully light. It certainly did soothe, but did it fight fatigue?

Well I took a second pot into a meeting with the boss, and we both had a couple of cups whilst discussing my upcoming Important Plans for my various little projects- I went into the meeting yawning and came out feeling energised and productive. So that's a yes from me, and the boss was appreciative too.



The Man Of The Office said that although the tea tasted lovely, it didn't provide any more of a lift than a normal cuppa would. Which I guess could be true, but black tea, and coffee, and Red Bull and the like are all loaded with caffeine, whereas this tea just feels a lot purer and a lot better for you, yet does the same job with herbal ingredients. I won't be giving up my black tea any time soon, but will definitely invest in some Fatigue Fighter for those times when I just fancy a delicious tasting lighter brew with a little health kick at the same time. This tea doesn't claim to improve your health in any way, but I certainly felt a little more virtuous drinking it- and didn't notice a slump later on like you usually get after a large injection of caffeine.

I would definitely like to try some more of TeaBox's selection- they've convinced me to invest more time in making the perfect cup of tea from loose leaves instead of a bog standard tea bag, and they have a fairly decent selection of other blends. The ethos behind the company is also something I admire- they really value customer feedback and even invite customers to create their own tea flavours, and they are a small family run independent business committed to quality and good service. Highly recommended.

Manjit's Kitchen, LS8, Leeds

I have been meaning to write this blog post for weeks, but what with many changes in my life (new job, woop!) I have been mad busy and have only just got round to it now. So sorry- but hope it's worth the wait!

Manjit's Kitchen is a home delivery service preparing and delivering fresh, home cooked Indian food on Friday and Saturday evenings in Leeds. There are tons and tons of takeaway companies in Leeds- many cooking what they claim to be traditional Indian food and many delivering on weekends to houses in Leeds. So what makes Manjit's Kitchen so unique and special? And why does it receive such amazingly positive reviews?

Well, unlike many traditional "takeaway" services, Manjit's Kitchen is not part of a restaurant, or indeed any kind of professional kitchen setup. All dishes are cooked in a secret location in LS8 in Leeds, in Manjit's very own house. No huge teams of chefs or industrial sized vats of "one sauce fits all dishes" curries- just Manjit herself and fresh, locally sourced ingredients cooked in a home kitchen and sent out with a driver to the customers. (And don't worry, the kitchen is EHO registered so your curries haven't been prepared in a dirty student kitchen somewhere with loads of rats running around!!)

Manjit's menu changes weekly- there is usually only a choice of three main dishes (all vegetarian) plus sides and extras- this week you can order kheer, which is traditional Indian rice pudding, or onion bhajis, plus rice and chapatis. Manjit also sells award winning Indian kulfi from Indie Ices- great to see small local businesses working together. In fact, the whole operation has a great local feel to it- vegetables come from an allotment in Harehills and Manjit has also sourced some ingredients from Oakwood Farmers Market.

Another thing that makes Manjit's Kitchen so unique and different from other home delivery services is that almost all of the publicity and ordering is done via Twitter (@manjitskitchen) No menus through the door, no listings in the Yellow Pages etc- this is pretty much Leeds's first Twitter based foodie enterprise! (If I have actually got this wrong and someone else out there is doing something similar, please do feel free to correct me!) But for me anyway, this innovative way of drumming up business and taking orders only adds to the friendly, local feel of the business- people hear about it through people they follow on Twitter, Manjit DMs (direct messages for those not in the twitterati!) confirmation of the order and lets you know when the driver has left with your food. Even her review page on the website is all comments taken from Twitter! There is a phone number and email address as well so don't despair if you're one of those people who hasn't even got the hang of Facebook yet, there is still a way of ordering.

Anyway, food review, that's what I'm here for right?! I decided to order from Manjit a few weeks ago, sent her a message via Twitter, received confirmation that my order had been received and would be delivered at the time I wanted and at 8pm there was a knock on the door and a delicious smell awaiting me in the kitchen!



Me and D had ordered Chana Masala (chickpeas, onion, tomatoes and spices) and Tarka Daal (lentils, onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, spices) with chapatis and cumin rice as a side to share. Apologies for the photo- apparently blue is a really bad background for food photography and we just kind of bunged it all on the plate- the photo definitely does not do the food justice. It was absolutely delicious. Just the right spice level, packed with flavour- each mouthful filled your mouth with such a wonderful combination of heat and spices, and the chickpeas and lentils were perfectly cooked. The rice was fluffy, light and delicately flavoured with cumin and the chapatis were to die for- I prefer them to naan in any case so was glad they were an option on the menu.

Below is a better picture provided by Manjit of her Chana Masala- and yes it does taste as good as it looks in this one! Unlike some Indian takeaways, the curries weren't greasy or oily and it really did feel like I was eating decent home cooked food prepared with care and even a bit of love!



Manjit's Kitchen comes highly recommended from me, and from various others on Twitter. The food is delicious, authentic and full of flavour; the ethos behind the service is one I fully support- buying locally and collaborating with other local businesses, and the service is impeccable. I'd get in there soon if I were you because I think this service is one which will grow and grow- I'd imagine there will be a waiting list soon!

By the way, I am interviewing Manjit herself for the Culture Vulture blog this week, so keep checking that site to find out more.