Advantages: price, staff, atmosphere, quality.
Disadvantages: none, its too lovely

...impressive collection of fine china and teapots including the largest teapot in the world. The second part of the museum area is of course dedicated to coffee which I didn’t find as interesting since I don’t drink coffee but it was still good to learn a few things such as why a coffee pot is taller than a teapot!. As with the tea area you could learn about the history of coffee and the different types of beans. There section dedicated to the evolution of the coffee and espresso machines from the 1920’s to the modern day ones that are now used in cafes. This part of the museum also has its own area dedicated to china, mugs and coffee pots. **SHOP** There is a small shop situated near the back of the tearoom. Here you can buy teas, coffees, cake, postcards and condiments to name a few things. There are also some speciality books... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Cheap, easy to use, compact
Disadvantages: No automatic pump stop

...I'd been thinking about getting an espresso machine when I saw the Krups Espresso Vivo on offer in Tesco last week, reduced from £79 to £69. You can pay anything up to £400 for 'the full monty' of coffee makers, so I thought it looked pretty good value. It is a neat, compact, easy-to-use espresso and cappuccino maker, predominantly in matte black plastic. It has a large, removeable water tank which is easy to fill either at the tap or on the machine itself using, say, a Brita jug. There are two switches on the top, one which turns the machine on to heat the water, and one which starts the espresso pump. There are two lights, a red one to indicate it is switched on, and a yellow one which goes out when the water gets up to temperature. It has a 15 bar pump pressure, which helps give a richer taste and a creamy 'head' on the espresso... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Beginning to make the very best coffee in the world
Disadvantages: Instructions & pathetic warming plate

...an espresso without any of this fuss at all. You can buy coffee-pods. They are a bit like tea bags, with a tight little puck of coffee inside. Stick one in, pass water through the machine, milk and sugar to taste – quick, good pragmatic coffee as fast as instant. Sling the pod in the bin and you are done. However, they will only fit certain machines – often with an ESE logo on them for Easy Serving Espresso. Some machines need an adaptor in order to use them. Some just won’t take them at all. This Novo model allegedly does not (though some do). I have no logo. I emailed Krups customer service and they wrote back promptly to confirm that this machine is not designed to use them. In Tesco I saw a tin of Illy Coffee Pods winking at me suggestively. I bought them. They have a perforation around part of the puck and I pulled away... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Strong and wakes you up
Disadvantages: Relatively expensive

...I’d never tried an Espresso before I tried this. I suppose I was a bit scared of the ‘short and very strong’ type flavours that surrounds the coffee. I’m someone who likes a creamy coffee, with quite a bit of milk, and I’m a sucker for a cappuccino. But after giving Nescafe Espresso a go, I was pleasantly surprised and will probably be drinking a lot more of Espressos from now on! Nescafe host a wide range of different coffee’s, from their Original to coffees such as Costa Rican and others. Espresso is just one of their ‘Black Jar’ range. The coffee in the black jars are the ‘better’ coffee’s. or another way to put it, the more specialist coffees which are drunk less than the normal instant coffees. So what’s it like? Well as any coffee lover will tell you, all coffees taste different. I was expecting a watery black coffee... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Delicious, yummy tea.
Disadvantages: None.

...accoutrements of superb quality. You can find Whittard's shops in most towns and cities and also purchase their products via their website; www.whittard.co.uk. Their ceramics are simply divine and I must admit to owning more espresso cups than I strictly need! *Ceylon Tea and Sri Lanka* Ceylon tea is a black tea grown in Sri Lanka, (known as Ceylon until 1972). Until the 1860s the main crop of Ceylon, (Sri Lanka), was coffee. In 1869 there was a devastating case of the coffee-rust fungus, Hemileia Vastatrix, which wiped out most of Ceylon's coffee plants. The owners and workers were facing ruin so they had to look for a new crop to survive and they found Ceylon tea. Ceylon tea bushes flush every seven or eight days and are gathered all year long. The best Ceylon teas are gathered from late June to the late August in eastern districts of Sri... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Refreshing and mellow.
Disadvantages: Occasional floaty bits from bag, but this may be my tea making mess-ups!

...I don't run out of tea bags very often (except when my tea mad parents are visiting!), but today I found just a few left at the bottom of the caddy, so I put 'tea bags' on my shopping list, and looked for good old 'Tetley's' in the shop. Today's purchase was a bag of 160 teabags from Safeway supermarket at the price of £2.67. Oh, and it also had a free decaffeinated tea bag sample attached to the top! ************* Why the Tetley brand is the brand for me ******* I do not buy any other tea brand now, because I have become very fond of the lovely smooth and mellow flavour that Tetley provides. My particular taste in tea is for a refreshing drink. I can not stand strong tea. Some brands I find leave a bitter aftertaste in the back of the throat, whereas Tetley is much milder. *********** Why tea bags... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Unique taste; plethora of health benefits; multiple uses
Disadvantages: Some may find the taste too unusual

...Redbush tea, or rooibos as it is more commonly known, is an age old drink from South Africa, which is revered for its unique flavour and plethora of health benefits. It is an ideal beverage for the modern health conscious world. Although it is just beginning to catch on here, in its native South Africa rooibos tea holds 40% of the hot drinks market, and the average South African is reputed to drink around 5-6 cups per day. WHAT IS REDBUSH TEA? The hardy redbush shrub, Aspalathus linearis, grows only in the scenic Cederberg Mountains in the Western Cape of South Africa. The species has specially adapted to the unique conditions of this arid and nutrient devoid region, and attempts to grow it anywhere else have been unsuccessful. Due to the harsh conditions, the average redbush plant only produces three or four crops in its... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Women are like tea bags they never realise their strengths until in hot water
Disadvantages: Revolutions

..., and decided to drink the water leaves and all. Apparently, he didnt keel over and die but had just discovered tea. Some people are just born lucky. Soon drinking tea became the next big thing in China even the Buddist Monks joined in, in fact they were so inamoured with this drink they took it too Japan declaring it helped with meditation. The Japanese decided to create a whole ceremony out of making tea and turned it into an art form. Rather slow on the uptake, Europe learned of this new craze in the early 17th century. England finally got hold of some samples in 1652 and didn't let go. Tea became the most popular drink in England knocking Ale off the top spot and into second place. Around the early part of the 19th century the Duchess Of Bedford was getting rather bored of having hefty meals in the late afternoon and no doubt conversing... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: organic, fairtrade, tasty, good value
Disadvantages: none

...Not green in the colour sense, you may be glad to hear... I hesitated before buying this again last week rather than Co-op's own-brand organic, as the latter is cheaper. The Clipper website (http://www.clipper-teas.com) lists an Arabica version as well - which I think I had bought on a previous occasion - but it was not available. The Clipper one looked darker than the Co-op one, as on prior occasions when I had found that Clipper tasted better than Co-op, so I decided to buy Clipper again. I am glad that I did. Although slightly dearer than the Co-op brand, it was only £2.42 for 100g - a bargain for an organic, Fairtrade product. In the jar this coffee has a rich, sweet, aromatic, almost chocolaty smell with only a hint of bitterness. I drink coffee black with a slightly-heaped teaspoonful of sugar. Drinking... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: refreshing, tasty!
Disadvantages: Not everyone's cup of tea

...INTRODUCTION ----------------------- I first heard of ice tea in America. It was sold in huge litre sized paper cups and was very popular. I tried some and was very impressed. I was only 7 at the time and wasn't keen on real tea but thought this was great. I never tasted Ice Tea again until 2002 at a conference. The conference had provided Lipton Ice Tea goodies such as cool bags, T-Shirts and bottles of Lipton Ice. Remembering my experience in America I opened the bottle and started to swig away. I stopped in disgust the taste was sweet and my throat felt dry. No amount of ice tea could quench my thirst, I was very disappointed. Near the end of the weekend I had a glass of ice tea with ice and lemon and started to fall in love with it. Not only was it free but I found a refreshing way to drink it. WHAT IS ICE TEA... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful