Janefan

Added about 1/4 tsp matcha powder to a packet of dark hot chocolate. Made with 8oz water and 1 oz milk, plus strawberry flavored marshmallows. Weird combo, I know, but it’s working for me today. I’m sure someone somewhere has made a matcha/strawberry/dark chocolate dessert before.

I thought I had 2 bags of this but apparently I only have one (rec’d in a swap-bot swap). So I guess I’m making it half strength. Still, 1 bag (1.5 grams) steeped in 8oz boiling water for 10 min looks and smells pretty strong.

To be honest the flavor is a bit watery but of course that’s my fault – I didn’t want a 4oz cup of tea. I’m not going to rate it since I didn’t prepare it properly. Suffice to say, it is exactly what it advertises to be – chamomile and lavender. It tastes very “clean” and I do find the scent relaxing.

Smells like rooibos with a hint of honey and burnt sugar. Tastes much sweeter than I expected (nothing added). The rooibos overpowers. For a blend that doesn’t even mention rooibos in the name, that’s not good. I think I’d rather have an actual caramel honeybush blend, sans rooibos. I can’t really identify the caramel, or rather I can’t tell where the honeybush ends and caramel begins. They are in there somewhere, sweetening things up. I’m getting a bit of a burnt flavor – not sure if it’s overdone caramel or the woodiness of the rooibos. sigh Three’s a crowd when it comes to this tea.

A light, cheerful morning cup that looks, tastes, and feels like sunshine. Bring on the Spring!

in other news, I think my Copco eco-first acadia mug just arrived (it’s the one that looks like a take-out cup). I’ll have to try it out and review later this week. Of course it would arrive after my morning cuppa is already drained. Guess I’ll just have to make more tea!

sweet upfront with a bit on tannin on the finish, just like a nice glass of wine. Only warm, and alcohol-free! Great with cold pizza for breakfast :-)

(drank at a cafe) | I had mine w/ honey, and added some nutmeg on top. Nice, especially since I hadn’t had one in a while. Only prob is it’s hard to tell how hot the drink is under the foam. Burned my tongue a bit :(

I got a well-blended spoonful this time so I can taste the chocolate! It’s not overwhelming, but balances out the stronger banana flavor. No sweetener needed, but a spoonful of half&half made it rich and creamy.

made a double (16oz), added 1.5oz bacardi gold rum and 1 tsp half & half. think I’ll stick to 1oz rum next time as the taste is a bit overpowering. Also need to try it iced still.

the cream taste is a bit artificial, so I added a tsp of half & half. Would be great if I had not over-sugared it. For some dumb reason i put in about 2.5 tsp. 1-1.5 would suffice.

I like the almond flavoring, but the sugar overpowers it. I think next time I’m going to pick most if not all of the sugar hearts out of my teaspoon before I brew it…

No notes yet.

the lavender is lighter than I remembered, but I may have drowned it with milk and raw sugar. anyway, a good morning cup and nice change.

The lemongrass and spearmint smells predominate when dry. Then I can small both, plus sweetness of plum and zing of passionfruit in the brewed tea. I smell something different each time I take a whiff. What an odd blend of ingredients!

It’s a surprisingly smooth blend. The green tea, mint and lemongrass are primary, but I am getting a sweeter aftertaste, and a funny foamy mouthfeel at the end – maybe that’s the kombucha? I’ve heard that some cold versions are sparkly or bubbly due to the fermentation…

I expected to hate it based on the ingredient list, but actually I kind of like it. I was quite curious about kombucha, although I suspect drinking it bagged & flavored is not the way to get the full experience/effect. Anyway, I’m enjoying this tea with a plate of potstickers. I wouldn’t rush out to buy a box (this was a free sample), but I would have it again if offered.

great as usual. added sugar and milk/half&half. Having for breakfast with a pecan pastry. :)

made a half cup of tea, steeped about 9 min, iced it down, and stirred in about 3 scoops vanilla ice cream (too lazy to bother with blender). MMMM tastes very chocolatey and malty – I think the vanilla is bringing both out nicely.

found a very old bag hidden away, too shameless to resist. Obviously it tastes less fresh than before – in fact the lavender and lemon are barely there, overpowered my the mint. However it brings back memories of one of the first teas I fell in love with, because of the strange yet successful combination of herbs. I am buying a box as soon as I can…

Very nice light flavored green tea with the slightly spicy overlay of dried lavender. Without sweetener, lavender is more savory (a bit like rosemary) than sweet or floral. Brews up a lovely bright yellow. A delicate, cheerful morning cup. Would go nicely with a pastry.

made some of my chilled brew into an iced chai latte at lunchtime. Wish I’d thought to sweeten the tea before chilling! Tried adding agave after the fact but didn’t add enough. Still good, just not as sweet as I’d like.

still felt like a zombie at 9am, hoping this will help wake me up…

I LOVE the way this tea looks, rolled into tight corkscrews. I expected it to unfurl dramatically like dragon pearl, but instead it was very subtle.

Slight grassiness in aroma and flavor, but overall it is a very “clean” taste. There is some substance to it – mouthfeel is not as thin and watery as I feared from a white tea. I’m not getting any of the “jaminess” promised in the description though…

I brewed a strong batch of chai and used 3/4 cup to replace some of the milk in a tapioca pudding recipe (also replaced some of the milk with half & half to make up for the thinness of the tea).

Turned out nice – a good amount of flavor and spice without being overpowering. Goes well with the creamy vanilla flavor of tapioca. Would also be good in rice pudding I’m sure.

Dry tea is crinkly green and light yellow-brown leaves. Liquor is by turns malty, earthy, and ever-so-slightly vegetal. Aroma is what I’d call swampy (wet vegetation) – not in a bad way, really – it just smells like what it is – wet leaves.

Adding sugar and half&half seems to bring the malty aspects to the fore.

Lighter, but more complex, than pretty much any black I’ve ever had (I usually drink British style/flavored blacks if at all, so this is new territory). I don’t think it’s my new favorite by any stretch, but I can appreciate it.

VERY sweet, distinct melon flavor, maybe a hint of citrus. No discernable green tea taste. This is basically southern sweet tea in green (or maybe a slightly more whole version of Lipton’s bottled citrus green tea). It’s wet and sweet and that’s about it… Next time I’ll get my usual hot RoT honey green ginseng, I just wanted something cold today.

easy breezy cuppa tea to get me through the mid-afternoon monday slump.

added 1.5 tsp sugar and a splash of half & half. May need to brew longer of add less h&h next time, as my (big) mug is a bit weak.