Is there no end to this cold weather with constant frosty mornings and frozen windscreens. Wooly hats and gloves remain on. Only now, we don’t have Christmas to look forward to.

But we do have some very good news.

Belvoir Fruit Farms is proud as punch to announce two new additions to our range of pressés. And unlike us Brits – these delicious drinks love to be chilled!

Belvoir Raspberry Lemonade

This tastes as gorgeous as it looks. We’ve created a lip-smacking blend of real raspberry juice and real lemon juice with lightly sparkling Belvoir spring water.

Sip it with your eyes closed and you can almost feel the summer sunshine. Delicious on its own or over ice with a dash of Pimms, Belvoir Raspberry Lemonade is the perfect accompaniment to raspberry ripple ice cream or Cornish clotted cream and scones. Available now in Asda.

Belvoir Organic Orange & Jasmine Pressé

Quench your thirst with this sophisticated zesty blend of real orange juice, lime juice & lemon juice with a hint of fragrant Jasmine.

If you’re planning a summer party, this wonderfully refreshing drink is perfect for your designated drivers. And since it’s your party, why not add a little gin or vodka to your glass of Orange & Jasmine Pressé for an exquisite tipple? It’s great with organic Green & Black’s dark chocolate, too.

Where to buy these new pressés

Both pressés will be available in Belvoir’s unmistakeable 75cl and 25cl bottles. You’ll find them soon in farm shops and supermarkets across the country. They’ll also be available in our online store very soon.

Do let us know which one is your favourite!

Good news – next Tuesday is Pancake Day!

Traditionally, it’s called Shrove Tuesday (or Mardi Gras – literally, Fat Tuesday – if you’re in the carnival mood). And it’s the last day of indulgence before Lent.

But why pancakes? Well, to avoid wastage, households would use up all their sugar, butter, flour, milk and eggs. Pancakes are easily made from these ingredients and provide some final fuel before the fasting period. Eggs would not be eaten thereafter until Easter.

In Iceland, Pancake Day is called Sprengidagur or Bursting Day (which we think is fabulous name). The event is marked by eating salted meat and peas (admittedly less fabulous).

Pancake Day racing

Back in Blighty, pancake races are held in villages and towns across the land. The tradition is said to have originated when a housewife from Olney was so busy making pancakes that she forgot the time until she heard the church bells ringing for the service. She raced out of the house to church while still carrying her frying pan and pancake.

The Olney Pancake Race has been held since 1445. Contestants, traditionally women, carry a frying pan and race to the finishing line, tossing the pancakes as they go. The winner is the first to cross the line having tossed the pancake a certain number of times.

Since 1950 the people of Olney have competed against a small town called Liberal in Kansas, USA. This event is now called the International Pancake Day Race. It all started when a magazine picture of the Olney women racing each other to the church fell into the hands of Liberal’s then President. He contacted the Vicar of St. Peter and St. Paul’s church in Olney, challenging their women to race against women of Liberal. The rest is history. And an awful lot of pancakes.

Loads of lemons

If you need a classic pancake day recipe, try Delia’s with sugar and lemon. There’s quite a few of us on the farm, but thankfully we’ve got plenty of lemon juice. (Not only for our organic lemonade, but it also gives us natural citric acid for our drinks.)

Just for fun, can you guess how many lemons we use every year? Pop your guesses in the comments box below.

If you’re doing anything special for pancake day, send your words and pictures to the usual address. And if you’re not, well, simply dig in and enjoy!

In a quiet and very beautiful corner of Lincolnshire sits the Belvoir Fruit Farm. It’s here we quietly go about mixing and bottling our naturally delicious drinks, and then make sure all our favourite farm shops, delicatessens and supermarkets have enough of them.

But last week, our beloved little bottles were propelled towards the bright lights of the big city on the crest of a wave.

Amidst the throng of London Fashion Week, beautiful people sat on deckchairs and happily quaffed their way through 25cl bottles of Belvoir’s Organic Lemonade, Organic Ginger Beer, Elderflower Pressé and our classic cucumbery Summer Cooler.

It was all part of the ‘chill out’ beach shack created for Swami’s Surf Company at 180 The Strand.

Swami’s – named after the renowned surfing spot in California – is a bespoke surfboard manufacturing company that, according to Vogue, “is fast attracting the cool and hip of the surf world”.

Giles, founder of Swami’s, told us after the event:

London Fashion Week finished yesterday and what a great week we had – huge response to our surfboards and beachwear line.

We found that the cucumber was a particular hit for the more refined palate and people loved the spicy ginger hit, so I think it’s official that the fashionistas love to quaff Belvoir!

Thank you so much for supplying them, we’re even bigger fans of yours now than we already were.

We were glad to be of assistance. Although don’t expect to see our MD, Pev Manners, in a pair of Bermuda shorts any time soon.

Shining brightly at the Great Taste Awards

Have you entered our Bright Star competition yet? We’re just about to top 500 entries. If your name isn’t in the hat already, click here to enter. Remember: you could be the lucky winner who bags a stay at the exquisite Maison Talbooth in Constable Country. How very delightful.

Speaking of winning, Belvoir Fruit Farms is very proud to the be the recipient of two Great Taste 2009 Awards from The Guild of Fine Food.

Our brand new Elderflower, Gooseberry and Muscat Grape cordial grabbed a gold star just months after hitting the shelves. And Belvoir’s Lime & Lemongrass Pressé was also awarded a gold star by the panel of fine food retailers, chefs, restaurant critics, food writers and other industry experts.

The team at Belvoir Fruit Farms works tirelessly to bring you our range of delicious drinks, so it’s great to be officially considered “close to perfect”. Pats on the back all round then.

Such is our success, we’ll be sharing our drinks with royalty soon.

An evening with Queen

On Friday 4th September, the Belvoir Fruit Farms trailer (pictured above) will roll into the grounds of Harewood House in Leeds, home to the Queen’s cousin, the Earl of Harewood, for what promises to be a magnifico (oh oh oh oh) night of music. Come and visit us, speak to the team and try our award-winning cordials and pressés.

The evening’s entertainment, The Music Of Queen – A Rock & Symphonic Spectacular, presents you and your family with an opportunity to hear the classic songs of Mercury, May, Taylor and Deacon sung by stars from the West End smash hit musical We Will Rock You with the backing of a 60-piece symphony orchestra and full rock band. It should be fantastic – let’s just hope the stage is big enough for all those performers!

This open air concert is a great chance for a final picnic this summer. So why not bring your cheese and crackers, Victoria sponge and bottle of Belvoir in one of these wonderful wicker picnic hampers available at Swings & Pretty Things?

It sounds like a perfect evening to us. And if you can’t make it to Leeds, why not take your family and friends for a picnic in one of Britain’s best spots?

Have fun!

Happy Thursday, followers!

Firstly, congratulations to Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool. (We’re glossing over the cricket.) All four British teams reaching the quarter finals of the Champions League is a splendid achievement. We can only assume that supporters and players alike are ‘over the moon’.

As are we, readers! Over the moon because we can now tell you all about our delicious new drinks. As you’ll recall, in our previous post we promised to unscrew the lid and give you the mouthwatering details. And a promise is a promise. So here goes:

(drumroll, fanfare, pyrotechnics…)

Belvoir Fruit Farms is pleased to announce the arrival of a delicious new cordial – Gooseberry, Elderflower and Muscat Grape.

Made to a family recipe that’s older than the hills, this delightful new addition to the Belvoir Cordials range blends freshly-picked delicately-scented elderflowers with the crisp, zippy taste of farm pressed gooseberries, all topped-off with sweet Muscat grape juice. So tasty is this cordial, you’ll have glasses of water knocking at your door begging to be a part of it. Frankly, we wouldn’t blame them.

But that’s not all. No no. This is a big reveal of two halves (sorry, no more football clichés).

There’s another new addition to our ever-growing range: Pear & Elderflower Pressé. This little beauty combines sweet pressed pear juice and the delicate scented taste of elderflowers with lightly sparkling Belvoir spring water. And believe us, it tastes every bit as exquisite as it sounds.

They’re available now from all good farm shops and supermarkets. And if you’re struggling to find them on the shelves, you can buy a couple of boxes from our online store to keep you quaffing throughout the spring.

So go forth and taste! These two new twists are a welcome take on our beloved original elderflower cordial. We’re sure you’ll agree. Please tell us what your taste buds say in the comments below.

Thanks for being eager Belvoir drinkers and readers.