Cofftea

Holy cow. Woke up w/ a HORRIBLE cold. Coughing, sore throat, sneezing, sinus congestion. Definitely gonna make my cold soother blend later. But 1st, my morning bowla matcha. Pine matcha today.

40 chopped pine needles steeped in 8oz boiling water for 25 min. Decant and reboil. Add to 1 scoop matcha and whisk. Wow… I’m shocked. The pine is VERY faint. It’s in the very back of the sip, but I don’t think I could identify it if I didn’t know it was there. Oh well. Plain matcha is nothing to complain about. It sooths my throat and lifts my spirits.

My favorite white! 2.25g/6oz water. I’ve been told Adagio’s steeping times for whites are WAY over board so I tried 3 min. WOW… how can this seem stronger than when I steep it for 7? Maybe I just haven’t had it in a while.

Vanilla matcha today. 1 scoop matcha/8oz water/1TB vanilla creamer. Lovely light mint color. Very creamy. Whisks well. Very vanilla-ish but the matcha still comes thru. Maybe only 1tsp of creamer next time.

Since steeping ginseng green w/ Premium Sencha perameters went so well, I decided to try it w/ this. 1/2TB leaves, 2oz water @ 160 degrees, steeped for 90 sec. I like these perameters for steeping because it makes a green tea shot or green tea espresso type drink. Lots of flavor, caffeine, L-theanine, and tannins in very little water.

I just need to smell this to know this serving is different. While there is still a bit of sweetness on the nose, it smells much more savory than my past attempts. The flavor is very much like the the nose- very compact. Strong, but not bitter. Mainly savory, but w/ a hint of sweetness.

OK… this has me curious so since we have a real tree this yr. I’m gonna try it.

30 needles (didn’t chop them)/6oz boiling water.

Hmmm… virtually no liquor, and the liquor that it does have formed almost immediately after the needles were added to the water so I’m thinking it might have been from the stains on my filter. VERY light sent, a lil sweet maybe? There is a very light taste, but it’s a lil sweet so I’m thinking this may also be left over from my prior usage of my ingenuiTEA. Good theory though, if I can get it down I’m making pine matcha. How’s THAT for a holiday drink?;)

A friend gave me some hazelnut syrup and that got me wondering how hazelnut matcha would taste. The only thing that concerned me was that it’d be too sweet. I put 1tsp (1/6 of a serving!) in 6oz of tea yesterday and it was very sweet. Oh well, let’s try it.

1 scoop matcha, 8oz water, 1tsp hazelnut syrup.

Hmmm… A little lighter than normal, maybe because of the syrup? Yep it’s sweet. Flavor is good though- can still taste the matcha. Like with any tea- if you like sweetened tea, you’ll like this.

But I still can’t get the blasted stuff to froth.

Good gosh! My arby’s italian sub and curly fries must have been REALLY salty. I had their blackberry fruiTEA w/ it and a couple cups of tea and a bunch of water after and I’m still dying of thirst.

Didn’t have any iced tea made and I didn’t want to end up w/ a huge amount of wet leaves so I made ginger lemon water using the ginger I used in my matcha and English Breakfast this morning. I call it ginger water and not ginger tisane because ginger tisane has almost no liquor on it’s own lol.:)

1.5oz ginger steeped in 2oz boiling water for 20 min. Placed 2 thin slices of lemon in the bottom of my glass, decanted my tea, and added 14oz refrigerated water. Don’t have fresh lemon? Add 2TB lemon juice. Lemon verbena or lemon grass would definitely work as well.

Found this in my suitcase. Brought this back from vacation, but can’t remember where I got it. Steeped it w/ the ginger I used for my morning matcha. Was shocked it said to only steep it 1-2 min. Eh. Ok. Just not a black tea person.

Mom brought home lunch and I wanted to try this. Based on the name I assumed it was sweetened w/ artificial sweetener and I was right. Teeth rotting sweet, but you could still taste the tea. VERY sad the only real fruit in it is the large slice of lemon.

Holy cuppa tea! I’m not used to 24oz being a serving size! It’s definitely a rooibos tea. Sweet, yet savory. A great alternative to one of my favorites, ginseng green, if you want to go caffeine free.

I’m so proud of myself! I knew I wanted ginger matcha this morning, but I also know that I run late in the morning (one of the blessings of matcha- it’s quick, no steeping time) and wouldn’t have time to make my ginger water so I did it last nite. 1.5g/8oz boiling water steeped for 3 min and refrigerated.

I was kinda leary about this one because, by weight, there’s more ginger in here than matcha but it actually turned out wonderful. Smooth, grassy, w/ a bit of bite.

Waiting for the leaves of my strawberry shortcake to dry so I can pick them out of my teapot cover and resteep… ugh… I also needed something w/ a quick steep time because I didn’t want to be away from steepster too long:) so I went w/ one of my Den’s Tea’s samples.

Serving size: 1tsp/8oz water

There were a few ginseng green leaves left that contributed to the liquor but I’m still shocked at how dark brown and coffeeish it is after only 15sec. The aroma is much like genmai cha except darker. Yes, an aroma can be dark lol. The taste is much the same- roasty, toasty, deep, slightly coffee ish even, and gentlemently. Looks like a black tea though, not a green…

2.25g/6oz. Since I’m flavoring everything (namely matcha) lately I decided to flavor this. 1 teaspoon of spiced rum creamer added. The creamer does not cover the strawberry, although it does cover up the white tea taste quite a bit. It tastes like a steamer now. Allbeit a LOVELY steamer. There’s a wonderful, slightly syrupy, strawberry texture and the creamer brings out the shortcake component of this tea. The only thing I don’t like about this tea is that the leaves look like they’ve been put thru a spice mill which not only lead me to believe that the quality isn’t very good, but the leaves get caught in the cover of my teapot when I pour it.

Ok Sara… BREATHE! I need something to calm me down after all this excitement so I’m going back to the very thing that all this excitement kept me from, my morning bowla. I loved the creamy texture of my matcha latte yesterday but wasn’t thrilled w/ the strong milk taste so I decided to use a bit of coffee creamer. For a half bowl: 1 scoop matcha, 8oz boiling water, 1TB spiced rum creamer. Now they suggest 1 TB for every 6oz of coffee (or in this case matcha), so if you want to add an extra teaspoon to increase the creamy texture and the flavor go a head.

I love the pretty mint color that adding creamers and milk gives it, I think it’s even better than it tastes. Not to mention that it’s easier to whisk. It’s creamy like yesterday, but w/o the undesirable milk taste. That’s replaced w/ a hint of spice and rum that balances w/ the matcha instead of competing w/ it. If the flavor appeals to you but you don’t want the milky texture, add a bit of rum extract. Or the real thing if you desire. I’ll still be stalking the holiday contest thread- probably so much I won’t be drinking a lot of tea, but at least now I’m calm enough I won’t be having a heart attack.=D

Needed energy (yes even after my matcha LOL) but didn’t want to take up a lot of space in my bladder so I made a green tea shot by steeping it the way premium sencha is prepared. 1/2TB tea leaves, 2oz water heated to 160 degrees, steeped for 1.5 min.

Backlogging from this morning.

Made a matcha latte by swapping the water for milk. It whisked up easily and formed a pretty mint green color. It was smooth on my tongue w/ a creamy matcha taste. The milk taste was quite strong (not that the matcha was by any means weak), but maybe that was just me- I only like milk in lattes and after trying matcha lattes I think I’ll stick w/ espresso ones. I think I’m going to try a mixture of water and milk next time. Any ratio suggestions?

So I wanted to try a matcha latte today. But… Milk went bad. Oh well, it was mom’s 1% anyway and I drink skim. So plan B. I have instant cappuccino mix! Irish creme flavored. Due to the fact that it does have instant coffee in it, I’m DEFINTELY only gonna make a half bowla. If you want a whole bowl, double my recipe.

Boiled 8oz of water. While that boiled I added 1 scoop of matcha to the bottom of my bowl and 3TB cappuccino mix (They say 3TB for 6oz, but I was afraid I’d never taste the matcha, but if you want feel free to add an extra TB) and wisked together. What a pretty mint green color! When the water came to a boil I whisked it. It seemed to whisk better this time. Of course I couldn’t tell you if I was able to get it to froth or not because of the mix. Instant cappuccino mix doesn’t form a foam on top like normal cappucinos so it looks much more like a blended latte. Looks like a coffee shop’s version only in a bowl. Good idea- email Starbucks and tell them to serve them in bowls, or at least those large cups they use for caramel macchiatos- and while I’m at it I’ll tell them to use real matcha lol. Anyway… OH MY GOSH! WOW! I think even when I don’t add matcha I’m gonna drink my lattes and cappuccinos from this bowl! It’s just too much fun! It tastes much like it does w/ water. The matcha isn’t very strong, but increases slowly w/ every sip. Thank GOD the instant coffee doesn’t clash w/ it. I was worried about that. I also noticed that not only did it whisk easier, it didn’t separate as fast. Matcha is a relaxing and indulging daily experience for me so the only thing I don’t like about drinking it is I have to drink it rather quickly. This allowed me to savor it more. This would be a fun idea for holiday parties (maybe use a vanilla or chocolate flavored mix and steep peppermint leaves in the water before adding the mix and matcha) or for St. Patrick’s day due to the color.

Combined 3g of this w/ my 2nd infusion of orange mint. Hadda bump up the amount of white cucumber and water from my normal 2.25g/6oz ratio because of the amount of orange mint I used. Steeped for only 3min instead of a normal 2nd infusion time of 4 min because I’ve read that’s a good 1st infusion time for whites and Adagio kills theirs. Mint is still VERY strong, but the cucumber is pushing thru the more I sip it. Would be GREAT cold!

Another attempt at flavored matcha. I saw someone log spearmint yesterday and that gave me an idea to use orange mint this morning.

1.5g of dried orange mint steeped in 8oz just shy of boiling water for 3 min. Brought it up to a boil and poured it in my matcha bowl that already had 1 scoop (1g) matcha in the bottom. Whisked.

Mmmm… love the smell! The orange mint tisane turns it a weird dark yellowish green, but I don’t mind. And the taste! Oh my gosh. The mint is strong, but you can still taste the matcha. The orange gives it a slight sweetness. It’s weird, but this is another smoother matcha than using just plain water… infact, I have no desire to cleanse my palate today. Remember when I said I didn’t care for mint flavored teas anymore except for cocomint green? Well this is definitely one exception! Now I just need to figure out how to incorporate the chocolate component. Chocolate milk maybe? If you can handle the caffeine, this would be great when you’re under the weather!- Especially if your life’s responsibilities don’t leave you time to be sick.

1.5g/8oz water. Used this to flavor my matcha this morning. Check out my Matcha Kaze from Den’s Tea tasting note to see how I did it.:)

Used it to flavor my matcha this morning. 9min 20sec in 8oz boiling water. Check out my tasting note for Den’s Tea Matcha Kaze to see how I did it!:)

Try 2 for flavored matcha. Hmmm… what to flavor it w/? I sure don’t need anymore caffeine so a 1st infusion of true tea is out. I have a few herbals! I have spearmint, orange mint, lemon verbena, and ROT’s Get Relaxed! Matcha is a comforting experience for me so I think I’ll use that.

Boiled 8oz of water instead of my normal 6 for Get Relaxed! and steeped it longer as well, 9 min and 20 sec. It resulted in a dark browny orange liquor and smelled of light rose. Reboiled it, added a scoop (yes only ONE this time lol) of matcha to my bowl, poured the tisane over the matcha, and whisked.

SUCCESS! This is a WONDERFUL use of herbals which I don’t drink solo. The result was a light rose flavored comforty goodness. I know the texture of the matcha comes from the matcha itself, but it seemed to be smoother today. Maybe because of the rooibos? If anyone has other ideas of how to flavor matcha, PLEASE post them in the flavored matcha forum thread.:)

Another tea from Lena F. So this is the tea that has all the weight loss hype… Kinda ironic since that’s the very reason I got into loose leaf and am just now trying it over 2 years later.

I love the look and feel of the raw leaf. Most twisted tea is very thin- this reminded me more of a small gnarled twig. There’s almost no scent, but what scent is there is a light and slightly sweet one.

2.25g/6oz. Gosh after all my excitement over Japanese greens, it seems odd to use my tea scale. I missed it!

I wasn’t sure how long to steep it so I decided to go on the light side. The liquor is a light copper, the aroma sweet but with depth and complexity. The taste is smooth and much like the aroma- sweet but not fruity, sugary, or desserty and a touch, but only a touch, earthy. It’s deep and complex w/ being strong or bitter. I don’t care that it doesn’t live up to the hype of being a miracle tea. I’ll still be drinking a lot of this!

I can’t believe the brewing perameters on this! The info they sent me clearly states 1/2TB (1.5tsp) steeped in 4oz boiling water for 1min for senchas, but the bag says 1tsp/6oz in 190 degree water for 3 min. I’m sticking w/ the sheet.