I have a bit of a reputation for being a caffeine junkie, never far away from a cup of coffee. In a bid to be a bit more healthy I’m trying to step it down a notch though, I’m pretty sure it’s not helping my already erratic sleep pattern among other things.

I’ve always been the kind of person who’ll experiment with herbal teas- I go through phases of loving and hating them and at the moment I’m experimenting with a different flavours and brands trying to find some that don’t just taste of nothing, or worse, taste like dirty swamp water (or what I imagine it to taste like having never actually sampled it).

Enter Hampstead Tea who were kind enough to send me a couple of their new blends- an intriguing sounding Honeybush & Vanilla* blend named “Shangri La as well as a soothing camomile*.

Out of the two blends it was the Honeybush & Vanilla that I was most curious to try. As a rule I love vanilla flavoured things. It was described as being a decadent and smooth blend and I really can’t argue with that description. I’m still not entirely sure what honeybush is meant to taste like, but combined with the camomile and vanilla that make up the rest of this flavour this made for a delicate and relaxing mid-morning alternative to yet another coffee. A good 4 minutes brewing time left this full of flavour and the brand win brownie points for individually wrapping their bags making them ideal for popping in my work bag for a moment of peace during the working day.

The Camomile was equally good. I’ve drunk a lot of Camomile tea over the years, in a bid to relax and unwind before bed more than anything and I’ve mostly been non-plussed. This was up there with one of the best I’ve had. Naturally caffeine free and full of flavour after a 3 minute brew this is a Camomile I’d actively seek to buy again and at £2.30 for 20 sachets of tea I can’t argue with the price.

For anyone looking to meditate their inner spirit, Hampstead Tea have also released a Valerian and Lavender blend, I declined to try this one as I don’t like lavender and can’t take Valerian but it sounds promising- the combination of ingredients are designed to help send you to sleep and essentially soothe the soul.

Hampstead Teas scour the world looking for the best sources of herbs and spices to use in their teas and where possible only use bio-dynamically grown ingredients- this essentially means ingredients grown with the greatest respect for their environment and in total harmony with nature.

Overall a brand I highly recommend, and with many more interesting sounding flavours on their website it is a brand I look forward to getting better acquainted with over the coming months.

What is your favourite relaxing tea blend?