Vegan Vox Reviews...The London Tea Company

A few weeks ago the lovely people behind The London Tea Company sent me a huge box of teas to try out and to review for my blog.

This is an ethical tea company which has a fully certified Fair Trade policy which covers the entire range. They have quirky modern packaging, bright colours and a huge range of teas from classics to the more unusual.

As well as the Fair Trade certification, they have robust environmental policies including reducing water usage and carbon footprint and are certified by Viva and The Vegetarian Society. They use no GMO products or by products and even distribute short dated stock to food banks and homeless charities. This is a brand which really wears its heart on its sleeve, which we love at Vegan Vox Blog!

The teas themselves are flavourful and there really is a tea for every mood. They have black teas, green teas, white teas, herbal teas and Rooibos teas. 

These were our favourites, the London Breakfast is a classic breakfast tea, perfect with almond milk. For a refreshing summery tea, try chilled Peach & Rhubarb over ice.

Mr Vox particularly enjoyed this Sencha Green Tea, which he enjoyed with a twist of lemon. Other favourites are the fragrant Vanilla Chai and fruity Lemon & Ginger.

If you haven't tried The London Tea Company products yet, you can purchase directly from their website here. The London Breakfast is currently on sale too.

A huge thanks to The London Tea Company for sending lovely samples and for being a refreshingly (pun intended) ethical company who genuinely care about their tea, their workers, the environment and their brand.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

I was not paid to review this product, however I did receive free samples. All views and opinions are my own.

Vegan Vox Reviews...Out of This World - Leeds

I recently travelled to Leeds for a wedding, and whilst I was there I stumbled upon this gem of a food store, right in the centre of the city, opposite the Corn Exchange. 

Out of the World, has a huge selection of goods on offer - mainly organic, ethically traded, whole foods and produce. They are not entirely vegan but more than half of the stock is vegan-friendly and includes a huge range of nuts, seeds, pulses, fruit, vegetables, crisps, chocolates, drinks, vegan cheeses, mock meats, ready meals, snacks and so much more. They have a lovely range of cruelty-free cosmetics and toiletries, cleaning products and non-food items too. 

One of the things which I enjoyed was the hot/cold food counter selling Sos-Rolls, sandwiches, cakes, muffins, pasties etc - loads of vegan choices.

A Sun-Dried Tomato Sos-Roll

The drinks range is huge, from organic fairly traded teas and coffees to wines, beers, juices and soft drinks.

The prices are average for this type of store and the range is better than many other independent heath food shops I have visited.

Here are some of the goodies I purchased:

Equinox Kombucha

Whole Earth Cola

Tyrrell's Sweet Chilli & Red Pepper Crisps

Organic Rooibos Caffeine-Free Tea

If you are ever in the Leeds area, it is definitely worth paying a visit to Out of This World. I will be returning.

Where are your favourite vegan-friendly food shops? Let me know in the comments below.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Vox Reviews...Tall Poppy Foods, Birmingham

*****UPDATE****** Tall Poppy's kiosk is temporary closed but you can still order cakes and food via their website for collection or delivery. They are also found at local farmers' markets and events - details of which can be found on their facebook and twitter pages above.************************

Back in October, I was lucky enough to be invited to visit Tall Poppy Foods in Birmingham, grab a drink and a chat with one of the co-owners and sample some of their amazing home-cooked vegan food!

Tall Poppy Foods is based in Selly Oak, Birmingham and is a take-away vegan food kiosk. Tall Poppy is owned by husband and wife team Erin and Joe, and they run the kiosk with the help of local student staff who are all vegetarian or vegan.

Joe and Erin have been vegan for around eight years and have worked and lived all over the world before settling in Birmingham where they are raising their family. As well as the kiosk, they supply food to events, weddings, birthdays and take mail order and cake orders through their website.

The unique aspect to Tall Poppy Foods, is that they do not have any processed food, all of their products are home-made from the bread and cakes, to the coleslaw, mayo, butters and sauces. They take great pride in their products and are very passionate about where their food comes from and the health benefits of freshly-made organic produce.

Tall Poppy don't just cater for vegans either, they have Paleo options, gluten free options, soy free options, healthy choices and treats.

Some of the products they had for sale when I visited were:

Organic fairtrade coffee

Almond and soy milk options for espresso based drinks

A range of teas

Lemoncurd, Boston Creme and Earl Grey Cupcakes

Muffins

Brownies

Ginger Cake

Sausage rolls with an almond sausage filling

Fajitas

Wraps

Falafel

Paninis

BBQ Jackfruit Burger

Quite a range as you can see! I got to sample the BBQ Jackfruit Burger, which was amazing!! The jackfruit from Thailand is slow cooked all day in a home-made barbecue sauce and served in a home-made bread roll with coleslaw. It was the first time I had tried jackfruit and it was so good, it is worth the journey to Tall Poppy for this alone! Then Joe gave me some of his cakes to taste. They were moist, full of flavour, tasted freshly baked and so moreish.

A couple of weeks after my visit to Tall Poppy Foods, I caught up with them again at the West Midlands Vegan Festival in Wolverhampton, where I purchased a New York Panini, with Fentimans Cherry Tree Cola and Tyrrells Crisps as a meal deal. The panini was so good, me and Mr Vox went back and bought another!

Tally Poppy can be found at 492 Bristol Road, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 6BD and if you pop over and say hello, let them know you found out about them from Vegan Vox! They are also found at many of the vegan and veggie festivals around the country.

You can follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by clicking these links.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

*****UPDATE****** Tall Poppy's kiosk is temporary closed but you can still order cakes and food via their website for collection or delivery. They are also found at local farmers' markets and events - details of which can be found on their facebook and twitter pages above.************************