Book Reviews
Our recommended tea to accompany Love in Colour: Raspberry Choc Kiss
Love is in the air; it’s February and St Valentine is amongst us. This month it seems only appropriate to choose a book and a brew that gets the pulse racing for Twist Tea’s latest review. Love in Colour is an anthology of love stories, each based on mythology and folklore retold in a contemporary setting by Bolu Babalola. Taking an old idea and giving it a modern twist: now that sounds like a familiar concept at Twist Teas!
First Impression: Is it wrong to admit I chose this book because of its cover?
The front illustration is just gorgeous. It gives a much-needed injection of colour at this sometimes-gloomy time of year.
Short story collections are not usually my first choice, as there often doesn’t seem enough time to form an attachment with any of the characters. The protagonists in Love in Colour possess a god or goddess-like perfection and it is impossible to imagine a stray hair or a pimple among them. With my currently unkempt hair I would normally find it difficult to feel an affinity for such flawlessness. Despite this, I found myself urging them to succeed, to win their battle, to unite with their soulmate and to live happily ever after.
My favourite story was that of Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul. In her version, Bolu transports Psyche 1900 years into the future and reimagines her as an ambitious career woman about to pitch an idea to earn herself promotion. Working for a women’s magazine, modern Psyche has her every idea and effort thwarted by Venus, her jealous and vindictive manager. Fortunately, handsome and loyal Eros has her back as she risks it all professionally.
The verdict: Love in Colour offers the reader a dose of pure escapism. It demands that you switch off the news, Facebook and Instagram and allow yourself to be transported to lush, tropical destinations we can currently only dream of.
The Twist: A book this lavishly written should be complemented by a tea of equal sophistication. In my mind there is only one blend up for the job: a cup of Twist Tea’s Raspberry Choc Kiss. This tea is a heady combination of Sri Lankan and Chinese black tea, with the tartness of raspberry, the fragrance of rose petals and a subtle hint of hot chocolate. And just when you think it can’t get any better, there is also a touch of Damiana in this blend, a herb believed to be an aphrodisiac by some indigenous Central and South American cultures.
Written by Nicky Kavanaugh, Founder and Director of Twist Teas
