I'm a tea fan. It took my a while to join the club (I think I was 18 before I enjoyed a good cuppa) but I'm a fully paid up member now. The closest I've come to a twist with my tea is the likes of Earl and Lady grey or classic herbal varieties like Peppermint and Camomile. Until now that is!

When I started working with Teapigs for #mythursdaybreaktime I was asked if I'd like to try out some of their iced tea and teashake recipes, something I didn't need to think twice about. They very kindly sent me some boxes of their delectable Tea Temples with a few recipe cards and ideas for refreshing Summer time drinks. They were so so good (better than I'd imagined actually) so I thought I'd share them with you here.

I recently tried to give up caffeine for a little while (pah, I know!) I was stopped in my tracks when my husband bought a coffee machine and back on the wagon I jumped. Anyway, while attempting this semi-detoxification I discovered Super Fruit tea and was hooked. So naturally I picked this box out as the first flavour to try with the iced tea recipe. 

Here's how to make it: 

~ take 1 tea temple per person (4 for a jug)

~ add freshly boiled water- enough to just cover the temples

~ brew for 3-5 minutes

~ top with cold water and ice

~ enjoy

I jazzed my cup up with some frozen berries but you could add anything that tickles your fancy. A little gin or vodka would certainly spice things up if you were making cocktails.

The next one I'm planning to make is Lemon and Ginger, I'm imagining a grown up take on lemonade!

Once I'd got iced tea under my belt there was no holding me back! So on Tuesday afternoon, Wilf and I tried out the other recipe card. I merely had to whisper the word 'milk shake' and he was up for helping me out.

This time I opted for Chocolate and Mint. Why wouldn't I want to test out two of my favourite flavours COMBINED in a little tea temple?!

In case the above instructions don't cut it, here's how:

~ pop 1 tea temple into a cup

~ add 100ml freshly boiled water

~ brew for 6-8 minutes and remove tea temple

~ add liquid to blender with 3 scoops of good quality vanilla icecream

~ add a little milk if it's too thick

~ blend, drink and enjoy!

The above quantities made enough to fill 2 of these miniature bottles but I could easily have tripled the recipe and downed the lot! It was DELICIOUS! Next time I'm planning to throw in some chocolate flakes and whipped cream for a little something extra.

I hope you give these recipes a go, as you can see they're super easy and fun to make too. For another fun twist on tea, why not try making scented playdough (you can find a previous post on how we made it 

here

).

Fancy winning a bundle of Teapigs goodies (6 different boxes of tea and a couple of the tea cups shown above)? Simply join in with my weekly hashtag #mythursdaybreaktime this month. Post your breaktime moments on Instagram using the hashtag and tag in me @littlemaldod and @teapigs. I'll pick a favourite shot for August and announce the winner back here over the bank holiday. 

Before I go, I thought I'd share a few little outtakes. Attempting to take photos for this blog without having them photobombed by little people can be challenging sometimes, especially when food is involved! These shots make me smile though, poor Wilf waited so patiently for his shake that I'm not surprised he slurped it greedily in a matter of seconds.

And this little lady was oblivious, marching around the place in her own little world as usual. She'd just been meddling with the washing machine and disturbing her brother who was on the toilet (out of shot) when this photo was taken.

I'm looking forward to sitting at this table with her one day, putting the world to rights over a good cup of tea. Be it hot, shaken or on the rocks, I really won't mind.

A big thank you to Teapigs for kindly sending these teas and for providing the above recipes. You can find a full range of their teas on their website

 www.teapigs.com