Madame Flavour Giveaway

I do love a good cup of tea during the day - for me, a nice cuppa can make the world of difference when I want to relax and read a book on the weekend.. the week's stress just melts away.. Ahhhhh :)

A little while ago I received some lovely teas to sample from Madame Flavour. Madame Flavour is an Australian tea company that focuses on quality teas produced with a lot of care.

I am more of a herbal tea drinker, so I really enjoyed the Green Jasmine Pear Blend, as well as the White Rose. Both beautifully delicate and easy to drink.

Some friends and I also tried the black tea varieties with interesting combinations such as Earl Grey with Australian Lemon Myrtle. Although the black teas were not as robust as many other black teas on the market, it is great to see the inclusion of native Australian flavours.

These teas aren't your ordinary tea that come in the form of tea bags - these come in a ladylike purse, which is 100% biodegradable (as is the packaging). Madame Flavour tea is also 70% certified organic at present, and is all sourced through fair trade.

Thanks to Madame Flavour, one lucky reader has the chance to win a gift pack of Madame Flavour teas including 5 of the signature blends. All you have to do is leave comment on this post and tell me when and where you love to enjoy a nice cup of tea.

Entries close at midnight AEST on November 30.
This giveaway is restricted to Australian residents only sorry.

*** Congratulations to Shannon of Stepford Secrets ***

To find out more about Madame Flavour teas, check out her gorgeous website: http://www.madameflavour.com/

High Tea at The Loft (and a Giveaway!)

This afternoon I had the pleasure of experiencing my first high tea! A while back I asked Sharon (of Wee Love Baking) would she be keen to go for high tea somewhere and she suggested we try out The Loft at the King Street Wharf.

It had a great ambience and it was great to enjoy something slightly old-world in a modern day setting. Rather than having the usual sort of high tea, Sharon and I opted for the high tea with a twist. For $45 this included a tea infused cocktail, savouries and sweets, as well as our choice of tea or coffee.

After some much needed cold water, we started with our cocktails. As it was such a hot day today, we couldn't wait to get our hands on them! I chose the Strawberry Pash - Vodka and creme de fraise shaken with homemade apple puree, basil, strawberries and T2's "Mardi Gras". Sharon had the Sencha Quince Fizz - Lilet shaken with a hint of vanilla, fresh passionfruit pulp, pink grapefruit and T2's "Sencha Quince" tea. Both were tasty and refreshing, and we loved the unusual flavour combinations.

 Strawberry Pash & Sencha Quince Fizz

We were seated quite close to the bar, so we had a great view of all of the beautiful cocktails being created.

This bevy of beautiful beverages was prepared for a group of ladies at The Loft for a hen's afternoon tea...

Turkish Delight - Plymouth gin and a touch of Tuaca shaken with homemade rubharb puree, pear cheek, fresh lemon and chilled T2 "Turkish Apple" tea

Soon after our high tea stand arrived - 3 plates of  yummy goodies! It included sandwiches (vego ones for me - hurrah!), mini leek and guyrere quiches, scones, brownies, mini pavlovas and lemon meringue tarts.

Before moving onto our sweets we order our teas - 'Strawberries and Cream' for Sharon and 'Blue Mountain' for me.

While neither of us are big pavlova fans we thoroughly enjoyed the mini pav - it was not too sweet and was just delicious. The brownie was fudgy and chocolatey dotted with lovely walnuts.

 The lemon meringue was gorgeous.. what more can I say?!

And of course the scones... the litmus test of a good afternoon tea. These were freshly baked and still warm inside (joy!).

So, overall? Great food and drinks, good service and a wonderful ambience.. The Loft was a great place to catch up with a friend and I thoroughly enjoyed my first high tea -can't wait to do it again soon!

The Loft
3 Lime St
King St Wharf, Sydney
ph (02) 9299 4770
http://www.theloftsydney.com/

To celebrate my first high tea, I am giving away two of these adorable necklaces with tiny teacup and teaspoon pendants.

To enter all you have to do is leave a comment and tell me about your best high tea experience in 50 words or less. The competition is open to Australian residents only (sorry!) and closes on January 31st - good luck!

Ladybird x

Congratulations to Lorraine and Kristy - you are the two lucky giveaway winners!