Now boarding · The test kitchen crew
Cook with us. Become a recipe tester.
We're writing the Chakra Teas cookbook, and every recipe gets cooked in real home kitchens before it goes in the book. Choose a recipe, make it with one of our teas, send us your photos and tell us honestly how it went. Every complete report earns a thank-you from us.
Before you cook
Pack for the trip
- Cook the recipe exactly as written the first time, even if you'd usually change it.
- Measure the tea level, and weigh it if you have a kitchen scale.
- Note your times: how long each step really took, and your oven if you baked.
- Take a photo of the finished dish (and of anything that went wrong).
- Check the tea's cautions on the label. Several of our teas aren't recommended during pregnancy, and some contain caffeine.
How it works
Four legs to the finish
- Choose a recipePick any recipe from our recipes page, or one we've sent you. We especially need tests of the ones nobody has made yet.
- Cook it as writtenUse the amounts, times and temperatures on the page. If you have to change something, that's fine. Just tell us what.
- Photograph and tasteTake photos as you go (see below). Was the tea flavour too light, just right or too strong? Was anything unclear? Would you make it again?
- Send your reportFill in the form below. It opens an email to us; attach your photos, and we'll send your thank-you once we've read it.
Your thank-you
A gift for every report
For each recipe you test and report on, with photos, we'll send you a thank-you once we've read it. You choose which one.
Photos we need
Snap the journey, not just the arrival
Your photos help us write clearer steps and may appear in the book. Take a few as you go. At least one step photo and one of the finished dish are needed for your thank-you.
All the ingredients before you start, with the tea bag or tin in the shot.
The tea measured on the spoon, and the brew or infusion so we can see its colour.
Mixing, shaping, pouring or anything tricky. Show what it should look like when it's ready.
A sunken middle or a curdled sauce helps us fix the recipe more than a perfect photo.
The whole dish, then a close-up: a slice, a scoop, a glass held up to the light.
On the table or in a hand, as you'd serve it to guests. Only include people who agree to be shown.
- Shoot near a window in daylight. Turn off the flash and overhead lights.
- Hold the phone steady and tap the screen to focus on the food.
- Take each shot both upright and sideways.
- Clear the counter behind the food.
- Send the original full-size photos, not screenshots, and keep them unfiltered.
- Big files? Send them in more than one email, or share a Google Drive or Dropbox link.