Good girlfriends, good food and good tea do a good afternoon make ...

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I wouldn?t call myself a girly girl.

Sure, I like to wear nice clothes and slap on a bit of lippy every day but I don?t surround myself with pretty, frothy stuff. I?m more of a design aesthetic girl.

Besides, just quietly, I?m positive Mr SY would not cope should I suddenly turn our entire house into a sea of pastel-gelato-coloured loveliness.

But something comes over me like a whitewash of shabby chic any time someone happens to mention High Tea.

I become THAT girly girl.

I become the girl who happily makes two batches of cupcakes because the first batch was more muffin like on account of not being able to correctly calculate how to double a recipe.

I become the girl who goes out and buys pink roses, musk sticks and raspberry bullets.

And I become the girl who?s happy to stick out her pinky for the occasion.

This High Tea occasion?

Not that my girlfriends and I ever need much of an excuse for an occasion?(just a semi-clear schedule)?but I was asked to trial the new Twinings Assam Bold tea ? the strongest blend ever available in Australia.

I didn?t need to be asked twice because once my morning coffee is done and dusted I?m a tea nut. I always have a pot of something on the go.

So, I started the email chain between us and within a few hours we had a date, a venue and the loan of some pretty special china from which to sample the Assam Bold.

One girlfriend is a collector of three-piece cup, plate and saucer sets. Another ? wait for this ? has her Nana?s Royal Albert set from the UK. Her Nana used to share stories with my girlfriend about the Twinings tea van coming around to sell tea to the people in their village.

It was meant to be.

And just up to me to come up with a menu befitting a bold, malty tea.

?

Twinings Assam Bold High Tea menu

Gluten-free chicken salad sandwiches

Salmon and cucumber crudites

Gluten-free vanilla cupcakes

Macarons

Assorted lollies

Fancy cupcake holders were called for ? yes they were

I?d love to tell you I baked the macarons but I?d be lying. The pink ones were raspberry dark chocolate and the white, filled with lemon curd ? from Elliotts Fine Food

How good are raspberry white chocolate bullets?

It wasn?t all about the sugar high ?

But it kind of was

The Assam Bold got a big thumbs up from the girls. It had guts but with a smooth caramel-malt kind of kick. I drink my tea straight up ? no milk or sugar ? and could sip on this all day.

But I got to thinking.

The kind of bold kick in this tea would be perfectly matched to a special kind of drink. A summer tea drink, if you like. A summer tea drink with a kick of its own. And iced tea cocktail blend of loveliness.

Are you getting my drift?

So as the balmy afternoon sun started to dip on to my girlfriends? deck, we indulged and imagined for a couple of hours that we didn?t have to go home and make dinner or run kids? baths.

We sipped on our glasses of Assam Bold Ginger Fling and solved the problems of the first world. As you do.

Twinings Assam Bold Ginger Fling

Ingredients

1l of ice cold Assam Bold tea

1l organic ginger beer

1/2 cup gin (can leave out for a non-alcoholic version)

One lime, thinly sliced

Crushed ice

1. Brew up 1 litre of Twinings Assam Bold tea. One bag will suffice. Allow to cool in fridge.

2. Into a large glass jug, pour the iced tea, ginger beer, gin and lime slices.

3. Pour over ice into tumblers and serve.

I think I?ll be whipping up a jug of Ginger Fling quite regularly this summer. How about you?

WIN

Now, see that wooden Twinings tea chest pictured above next to the Ginger Fling? It?s a bit special, isn?t it? Well, thanks to Twinings, I?ve got one to give away (filled with tea of course and valued at $115) to one Styling You reader. To enter, leave a comment below telling me what you would serve up with a pot of Assam Bold Tea. The competition opens October 9, 2012 and closes October 19, 2012. Australian entries only, sorry. Entries will be judged on creativity and originality. The winner will be notified by email and details will be published here.?For full terms and conditions, visit here.

Source: http://www.stylingyou.com.au/2012/10/girlfriends-good-food-and-good-tea/

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