Yao Yao Cha - The new craze in town!

Yes that is right, the new craze comes all the way from Taiwan and it is called Bubble tea! When I was invited along to come and try it out, I jumped at the chance and I am soooo glad I did - here is why!

Yao Yao Cha, literally means ‘shake, shake tea’ in Chinese, and the very first bubble tea shop has just opened at 24 Earlham Street, close to Covent Garden. If you live in London or are visiting, I urge you to go and try it, it might just change your life!

When I visited Yao Yao Cha, the first thing that entered my head was how bright and airy the shop was, everything is brightly coloured which instantly lifts your mood and it is amazingly cool inside, which in the hot weather is most definitely something you need.

I was offered my drink of choice to try and having never ever experienced Bubble Tea I opted for something safe - Salted Caramel, whenever I am in other establishments, this would probably be the flavour I would opt for in any new drink. That drink arrives in a plastic cup and whilst it was being made for me, the mechanics of what would be in it was explained to me in great detail. The salted caramel green tea, which also happens to be tea of the month for June, looks like similar products only at the bottom are these round little black balls, these are tapioca balls which go through a cooking process and add some depth and sweetness to the drink you are having. Now when I heard the word tapioca, I was immediatly thrust back into school with one of my favourite frog spawn puddings, all that was missing was some syrup in the middle. 

 These tapioca balls, which are edible, are actually really delicious and I could have quite happily sat there eating them from a bowl. 

Source

Source

Bubble tea apparently started in Taichun in Taiwan back in the 1980's and Susan, the owner wanted to bring a little bit of home to London and opened her first shop. Susan was absolutely lovely the whole two hours I was in her shop making my way through the menu whilst happily answering all the questions I was throwing her way. I admit that having given up caffeine back in October, I was now obsessed with fruit tea, mainly of the decaffeinated variety, but every now and again if I fancied a brew, I would have one. Whilst at Yao Yao Cha I was more than happy to try everything I could.

The menu itself currently has 24 different options which are within 4 different categories - Jasmine, Matcha, Frappe and Black teas. within each of those options are those 24 options which include:

• Blueberry
• Mango
• Passionfruit
• Cherry tomato - yes really
• Matcha green tea
• Taro
• Lemon
• Salted Caramel
• Chocolate

To name just afew, see HERE for more. Most of these combinations are the cold versions, though I am assured that as winter looms there will be hot varieties (exciting). As well as the main varieties you also have different types of balls which are called fruit pops which are flavoured balls which are full of flavour when you bite into them, cubed jellies such as coconut which I had in my final drink and again they are full of flavour and those tapioca balls which I have already mentioned.

This might not be the first time you have heard of Bubble Tea, apparently in SoHo it is also a popular drink served in many restaurants, but I am assure it just isn't the same and there are three things I picked up from Susan as to why that might be:

1. Those Balls that are soft on the outside and chewy on the inside – There is a strict cooking process of 4 hours with Susan, if you leave them for too long they come harder and sticky when they should be glazed in honey or brown sugar and soft enough to eat with a slight chewiness to them.  Apparently they also differ in size!
2. Well made tea – As there is a skill to making good green and black tea it is all in the brewing. If you leave it for too long it becomes bitter and leaves your mouth feeling strange, almost as though you have burnt the team but on the reverse, if you don't leave it long enough then there is no taste at all – so you should, if the tea has been made correctly, be able to taste the tea even with the flavouring.
3. To check the authenticity, check the Taro Bubble Tea – This fascinated me the most, the Taro tea I had was a beautiful lilac colour and it is quite hard to describe the taste, it wasn't too sweet nor was it too bitter it was perfectly inbetween the two which is the best way I know h0w to describe it.

Whilst I was at Yao Yao tea I made my way through a mango and strawberry frappe, a salted caramel tea of the month, a taro tea and the special tea which has been made just for the world cup, though it is very limited edition and the colour, as you can see below is simply amazing and it tastes just like a Caipirinhas but without the alcohol - it is instantly cooling and refreshing and perfect for this weather, but if you want to try it, I urge you to go there right now, because there are just 24 Virgin Caipirinhas available per day. Once they are gone, they are gone!

How much are they?  Well a regular size tea is just £3.50 and you can go large for just £1 extra.  Frappes are just £4.00.

The only thing I can say Blogger is that if you haven't been - Go, if you haven't tried it - Try it... it was honestly just fabulous and I am so grateful that I had the chance to go, test and drink as well as have Susan on hand to answer all my questions, as well as brainstorm some weird and wonderful flavours that could be introduced - look out for the July special!!

For more information you can find everything you need to know and more on the main website: www.yaoyaocha.com.  There is also Facebook and Twitter

Have you tried Yao Yao Cha yet?

You Beauty discovery Box - June Edition

For the past few months I have been getting the You Beauty Discovery Box which you can see February,  March , April and May with previous box contents.  This month my fifth box has arrived and I have to admit, this was the first box I wasn't feeling all that bothered about, last months CEW(UK) box was superb and I really struggled to decide which options I wanted, so I wasn't so confident this box would be as good. Then it arrived!

This months box is themed "Beauty Hereos" and when I got my email to let me know my options for selection was now ready, I logged straight in with excitement to make my choices and I wasn't feeling too bothered about any of them, nothing grabbed my interest, but then I decided to pick things I haven't used but would more than likely use, a sort of compromise with myself to try brands ive heard of but don't go out of my way to use.

As I have said before, I love is how the box fits through my letterbox, it is packed really delicately and the box really study

Within the magazine which comes with the box we are told that for June's box they have titled it beauty heroes, those products which stick to their promises and deliver on them and the range features beauty and skincare products. So as a dedicated subscriber, I have been given the opportunity to try some of the following:

Urban Veda Daily Purifying facial wash, Transformulas Face Contour & Tightening Cream, Cowshed Slender Cow Extra Firming Body Butter, Herbacin Hand Cream for Protection and Care, Rituals Zensation Organic Rice Milk & Cherry Blossom Foaming Shower Gel Sensation, Her Haircare 300 Trecento Revitalising Hair Treatment, L'Oreal Infallible 24hr Lip Colour in Timeless Rose or Flawless Fuschia.

Again as with previous boxes, with this subscription you get some extra treats and mine came in the form of an expandable face cloth from YBD and a Montagne Jeunesse Dead Sea Mud Spa Facemask which I cannot wait to try.

So what did I choose?

Urban Veda Daily Purifying Facial Wash which comes in this 20ml tube, perfect for putting in your weekend bag and it is described as follows:

Naturally formulated to cleanse and purify.

In Ayurveda (Indian medicine), Neem is renowned as an excellent antibacterial tonic to help treat blackheads, excess sebum and clear toxins. Neem oil works in synergy with botanical extracts to reduce shine, while naturally astringent herbals & antioxidants help to minimise pores and clear complexion.

I have read quite a few reviews on Urban Veda products and liked the sound of this, so am looking forward to giving it a try.

My second option was the L'Oreal Infallible Lip Colour and I went for Timeless Rose which has an RRP of £9.99 and is described as follows:

L’Oreal Paris Infallible 24H lip Colour in 110 TIMELESS ROSE provides all day colour that lasts up to 24 hours.  A high concentration of pigments combined with Hyaluronic Gel to create an amplified colour that does not fade, bleed or transfer for an unbeatable finish and a renewed feeling of comfort. 3 Lip-Luscious actions:

1. All day long lips feel smooth.
2. All day hydration for endless replenishing comfort.
3. All day just-applied look for colour that does not fade.

I really do like the shade of this, it is so so pretty and I like the balm on the other end, which I wasn't expecting to find, this feels really moisturising when you apply to the lips.

So for a £6.95 subscription, my box has a value of around £14 which is double the cost of what I paid.  I actually do really like this box, all the contents I will use, so for me I think it makes really good value for money.

Next month the attention will be dedicated to Summer Holiday - quite excited already!

What do you think to do this? Do you subscribe to these boxes?  What would you have chosen? If you subscribe, link your post below so I can see what you got.

Organise and Organising

One aspect of my job is to organise events and they can be for a broad spectrum of people both in house which means hiring chairs, projectors, organising catering facilities and in many cases marquees and gazebos to go outside.  Other times it is hiring a venue, finding a suitable restaurant , hotel or banqueting suite depending upon the client and function.

One event that is being organised later this summer is an Annual Barbecue and it is for people from all walks of life, I need a suitable outdoor marquee that fits my requirements as well as chairs, tables and sorting out some of the decorations.  I also organise some conferences and for that I naturally need venues of a much bigger space and sometimes some temporary structures to go with it.

Neptunus Structures  are one of the largest providers of marquees, semi-permanent and temporary accommodation worldwide.  They have a history which spans 75 years and they thankfully supply everything you can think of for all types of events, whether it is a marquee, accommodation for top events or something which is demountable for numerous semi-permanent applications, you name it they supply it.  Everything you need to know is displayed clearly on their website for you to read and it isn't written with lots of jargon, it is straightforward and easy to read.

So organising all of this can be stressful, time consuming not to mention hard work and when you need someone to help you out, I would prefer to go to someone who has a much better understanding of how the organisational side of things work, whom I can give my requirements too and leave them to get on with it.

Written in collaboration with Neptunus Structures

{Giveaway} £100 Cash & £50 Giftcard from Beauté Pacifique

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