92 Tasting Notes
Had a Vanilla Rooibos Tea Latte at Starbucks tonight. It was pretty tasty. I told them to leave out the sugar syrup that they usually add. So it was just the tea and steamed milk. Think next time I’ll just go with the tea because the milk muddles the flavor a bit I think- and they charge extra just to put steamed milk in there!
I never understood why they give you real tea bags in the vanilla rooibos and black tea lattes, but look at you like you have 17 heads when you ask for them in a chai or green tea latte.
I didn’t know about the green tea lattes- that sounds good!
Make them at home w/ real matcha- they’re so much better. Their green tea “powder” or “mix” or whatever they call it is probably the lowest grade matcha w/ a bunch of fillers and they automatically put classic syrup in it if you don’t specify otherwise. If you make them at home you can control the quality of ingredients and exactly what those ingredients are.
I don’t like the matcha lattes at Starbucks, but I will admit that their green tea frappucinos were not only an addiction but my introduction to matcha. I drank them almost every day during my pregnancy, and it got to the point where they’d start making it when they saw me waddling my big baby-belly through the door. Cofftea’s right about the syrup, though, and what I order (still, though not nearly as frequently!) is this: Venti green tea frappucino, no syrup, no whipped cream, and TRIPLE THE MATCHA POWDER. Yep. 12 scoops in a venti.
(We all joked that the baby was going to be born green, I drank so much of this.)
That’s a lot of caffeine…
It was, and while it didn’t seem to ultimately have any ill effect on the baby or on me, I’m doing things a little differently this time. My big preggo months with him were all int he summer and fall, which is still really warm here, so it was like an ice cream milkshake every day!
Oh I bet! That’s where decaf white iced tea (or regular just not using the 1st infusion) would come in really handy! I wish I would have known that white tea lowers body temp when I was in Tucson in June of ’08.
Tried this today for the first time. Two cups, first steeped 5 minutes, second 4 minutes. Tasted good. Think tomorrow I’ll try 3 minutes and see how that goes. Foggy this am since I stayed up for New Year’s Eve, so probably not the best morning to assess tea :)
Finally tried this tea yesterday! It was good, but a little too close to coffee for my taste. To be honest, when I tasted it straight up it reminded me of Celestial Seasonings Morning Thunder. I had the guy add sugar and milk and that helped. Wasn’t sure what to expect as far as the effect of mate, but this left me feeling like I needed some good strong black tea, LOL! Got home, had some earl grey and felt much better :) Oh well, glad I got to try it- it’s all about the experience!
Made Stash and Twinings Earl Grey to compare side by side since I was on my last bag of Twinings. Both with boiling water and steeped for 3 minutes. The first thing I notice upon comparing tastes is that the Twinings tastes more flat than the Stash. Stash seems a bit more complex and I’m not sure why. Could be the blend of teas used and/or where the Bergamot was sourced? Stash tells me their bergamot oil is from Italy, but Twinings doesn’t say. I guess I would consider the Twinings as fulfilling a more traditional expectation of Earl Grey while the Stash is brighter and has a citrus note. I will say again that the Stash Earl Grey reminds me a little of Twinings Lady Grey because of that citrus. Both are good, but as I have been writing this I am drinking the Stash more than the Twinings.
Real matcha doesn’t taste anything like this. Poorly executed in my opinion. At least they stopped putting melon syrup in it.
Really? What does it taste like- I’m curious now and really want to try the “real thing”. Is it hard to make yourself? I obviously have no clue about matcha and welcome any pointers :)
Yes, Matcha pointers welcome :)
Rabbysmom, actully matcha is probably the easiest, fool poof tea. At least in my opinion:) 1.) Sift the desired amount of matcha (to get rid of clumps and make whisking easier) into your desired drinking vessle (I strongly suggest a matcha bowl, but that’s just me), Heat the desired amount of water and pour over your match. Whisk and enjoy! In my opinion, a matcha scoop makes measuring the matcha easier and the whisk makes it easier to whisk.
Other than how I’ve already described it in my tasting notes, it’s something I can’t really describe other than wonderful!" It is sweet, but more like other green teas can be sweet and not an artificial sweet. I’m still trying to wrap my head around its sweeTEAness myself!
Sounds lovely! This will have to be something I try soon. Where do you like to get your matcha?
52teas!!! I suggest getting that one and just a regular, unflavored matcha. In addition to the 3 in my cupboard, I’ve also had Rishi’s but I haven’t prepared that one on my own. I won’t buy it myself because I hate the packaging.