Tea Tasting

Benefits

What you need

A variety of teas (loose is better as you can see the leaves, fruit and herbs but bags are OK, too). You could include:

Peppermint
Mango & strawberry
Camomile
Green tea
Lemon
Ginger
Echinacea
Jasmine

2. Jug of water and glasses
3. A few light, mild-tasting snacks to accompany the tasting, such as cucumber sandwiches

Intro

Ooh, a lovely cup of tea. It warms you in the winter, refreshes you in the summer and perks you up in the morning – every day of the year.

There are so many varieties of tea – from fruit and herb, to green and black – so why not spend a morning or afternoon sampling some new flavours? It’s a lovely, sensory activity that hydrates people in a fun way.

The Activity

Invite the person or group to first smell and feel the dry tea leaves
Encourage them to guess the flavour
Brew the tea and pour each person a small cup, but don’t fill it up, as there will be lots to try!
Encourage them to smell the tea and describe the scent, and then taste it and describe that too
Ask them if the smell and flavour sparks any memories, perhaps of travels to far-flung lands
Move onto the next tea, having a sip of water and maybe a bite of a sandwich in between
Repeat the process of smelling the tea before tasting, and then sharing memories
At the end, chat about everyone’s favourite tea