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Hmmm… You know, out of the four or five new teas I’ve tried lately, I think all but one I’ve had to add? Odd.

Anyway, so guess what. Quick story.

I’m not rich.
Spectacularly not rich.

Because of this, when I get extra money, I tend to get excited and try new things that I normally couldn’t afford. And, long story short, that’s how I ended up buying a bunch of new organic iced tea cans to try!

This is the third one I’ve had, but the first I’ve reviewed. I don’t know why but I didn’t think to review the other two. If I have duplicate cans, I’ll go back and do it, but I’m not trying to do them from memory. I do know that I liked the Gojiberry one and didn’t like the Half n Half one, but besides that, I’m not writing reviews.

So here’s this. This is the “Super Fruit” can that I got, and I’m telling you now, I didn’t realize this had sugar in it. When I grabbed these, I saw the first can said “Zero Calorie” and thought they were all sugar-free and just went wild. So hopefully this doesn’t cause issues with me!

So the smell in can is very tart. You can literally smell the tart. (This should be interesting.) It doesn’t smell bad though so we’ll try it.

Taste is… wow, not as tart as I thought. It’s actually pleasantly balanced. There’s a hint of tart, but it’s nice. The sweetness is right at the edge of too much but doesn’t cross the line. It isn’t what I’d call “Lightly Sweetened” though. The fruitiness, on the other hand, is mild but still very present. The only thing I’m sad about here is the green tea base. Maybe it’s because of how much Matcha I’ve been drinking, but the green tea in this is very subdued. There’s no grass flavor at all. I’d be interested to know what kind of green tea they used, but considering this is a mass-produced product, it’s likely not high or even mid-grade. At least it isn’t bitter, but that could be the sugar.

This is very refreshing. On a hot night like tonight, I welcome the splash of fruit in this. It’s not overpowering and it’s sweet enough for my tastes. All in all good stuff. I’m going to have to try more of these Steaz teas. I think I have at least half a dozen more cans in the fridge of differing flavors. I’ll try to remember to review them all as I go.

Till next time!

Song of the Moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07jWJ5GFHxk

So I’ve been drinking a lot of this lately.

Turns out I love Matcha Lattes. Either that or I’ve been drinking so many that I’ve grown to love them. Either way, the single-serve packets weren’t enough anymore so I graduated to a canister.

Now, I’m going to admit, I have next to ZERO experience with Matcha. I’m very new at this stuff. So I’m going to relate how I make a Matcha Latte… and It is, in fact, all wrong.

1. Fill an empty water bottle with cold milk
2. Measure out 1 tsp of Matcha
3. Add Matcha to Bottle
4. Add 2 Splenda Packets.
5. Shake the bejeezus out of it.

It works well enough.

Anyway, with that preparation in mind, this stuff is pretty much the same as the single-serve packets. I honestly see no difference. I’ve also prepared this in water and it’s pretty strong when made in water. Huge green flavor. But without the milk to temper it, it’s pretty offputting (to me). So I almost always make it with milk.

Now, with milk. I have tried about every type of milk imaginable with this. Every time I have to almost throw my shoulder out shaking it before it dissolves. I don’t have this problem with Water (boom, instant swamp), but with milk, I swear for the first minute of shaking it looks like bubble tea the clumps of matcha are so prevalent. Taste as a latte though is really good. Great froth. Love the froth. Foamy goodness.

I haven’t tried this hot yet, so I can’t give my opinion on that yet. But I will say that between this and the matcha latte’s at Starbucks, this one is more smooth and mild.

Take it as it is. Like I said, I’m new to this realm of tea.

comes out of hiding once more

So, guess what. I just started drinking tea again. COVID has hit me hard, guys. I’m not saying I have or had it personally. I don’t know one way or another on that. I had a possible exposure this past Monday and have been self quarantining ever since, and have taken the chance to dig back into my tea stash!

Anyway, this one here I wish I could give you better info on. All I know is that my darling mother has been leaving me jugs of this at my door (which I then come down and retrieve once she leaves) that she brewed in one of those old 90’s (?) Ice Tea Maker machines. You know, the ones that brew Ice Tea sort of like Coffee? Anyway, I believe her bag allotment is 8 bags per batch, but I don’t know any measurements past that. I do know it’s technically brewed hot, but you brew it into a jug of ice which then cools it down.

Anyway, enough about the method, on to the tea!

This tea is… well it’s not the best. It’s not even what I would call good. But it is passable. Once upon a time I would have relished this tea, but my tastes have grown more complex since then. First of all, I have to add 2 splenda packets per glass to make it drinkable (for me). Once that’s accomplished, it is refreshing, but only bears a passing resemblance to tea. I can almost taste a ting bit of green there, and the lemon… well, I know the lemon is there but it’s more like an essence of lemon than any actual lemon flavor. Like there’s the tiniest bit of tart on your tongue, but it’s only a whisp, and you can’t quite pin it down as actual lemon. I personally like a bold Citrus Green, but this ain’t it.

All that said, I’ve had worse Bigelows. The Pomegranate Green that my father chugs is far worse than this, but I adore their EG. It seems that you have to judge each of these teas individually. None of them are remarkable, I’d have to say. But each has it’s merits. The Pom Green’s biggest merit is it’s liquid. This one is that it’s actually refreshing.

I’ll keep drinking it as long as I can. Someday, I’ll get the patience and resources to cold brew my own tea. But for now, this works.

delurks in the middle of the night so nobody notices

Um, yes, so I’m still here. Sorta. I’ve been… well, since Miss Rona came around, I’ve been drinking next to no actual tea. In fact, zero is a pretty accurate number if you don’t count K-Cup or Starbucks chai lattes. So imagine my surprise when tonight I had a whim of “hey, I want tea!”

So this is one I bought as part of that leap year order and never reviewed. I’m warning now, I just eyeballed the leaf amount as the little tin it came in isn’t conducive to scooping. So we’ll go with 2 teaspoons to 12 oz of water. I’m certain I overleafed it but, eh, what can you do.

Taste plain is…meh. It’s bitter, which is to be expected. It is an adagio black after all. And the addition of the Tiger Eye doesn’t help until sweetened. So, I added two splendas (my usual for tiger eye)

Much better. I’m getting a nice play of the caramel (and a teeeeny touch of cocoa) off of the Ceylon base. The tea smells similar – like someone took a Mars bar and melted it in a mug of black tea. Actually, I doubt that combo would smell this good. Scratch that. But it’s nice. I must admit, I don’t see what the fruit brings to this? I don’t really taste anything fruity here. Maybe the passion fruit as a late late aftertaste. As in, so late it shows up a full minute after having a sip. It’s really weird, but that’s how it is. Because of this, I really think this would have been better without the passion fruit. That pungent leftover flavor is offputting.

Yeah. The pineapple and passionfruit flavors build at the back of your throat after you swallow and they aren’t the best. They certainly don’t go with the caramel creamy smoothness of the tea itself.

Overall, what do I think? Well, it’s ok.I really wish they hadn’t tried to add fruit to this, and especially not tropical fruit. It doesn’t work well. The primary flavors of the tea – the chocolate, Ceylon, caramel, and cream, are a wonderful match, and I bet if it were more noticeable, the strawberry would fit in there as well. But the tropical fruit is harsh and doesn’t blend with the rich dessert flavors. Maybe it’s a statement on how the Brig himself could often be harsh and unforgiving.

But personally? Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart should have something much smoother.

(Copied and pasted because I realized I was in the wrong place)

Well, this is my second try with this, and while the consistency is better, I can’t say much for the flavor.

The first time I mixed this up, I tried to make a latte. I heated some milk and mixed in one packet. Unfortunately, it clumped and balled like mad and I ended up with a metric ton of green goo at the bottom of my mug, while the “latte” just tasted like milk.

So, today, I got a bottle of ice-cold water and tried to do it just like it said – one packet to one bottle. Then I shook the crap out of it. Well, it blended much better, but the taste isn’t the best. It is pretty bitter and blech, and while I have come to appreciate a strong grassy flavor, I found myself needing to add something to this to make it drinkable. I will say that one Splenda in the bottle made a world of difference as it tempered the bitterness but left the grass flavor. But at this point, I don’t know how much of the blech is my not being a pure matcha fan, how much is I don’t like cold matcha (my previous experiences were with hot matcha lattes) or how much is this brand is just bad. It’s frustrating because I really wanted to like this.

Oh well. More research is needed.

Well, I’m back. Again. I’d like to thank whomever’s idea it was to give me a boatload of SNAP because it allowed me the chance to indulge in a couple luxuries I could never afford previously.

This was one of those luxuries.

I’ll start by saying this is a beautiful tea. The presentation in the window top tin, with wooden serving spoon on the side is just divine. I love it. So kudos to Justea for that.

I brewed this up western style, 2tsp/190F/4min/12oz

Taste is… MMM that’s fruity. I never thought I’d see the day when someone did hibi right, but here we are. I didn’t add sweetener to this, and it’s tart. But not overpoweringly tart. It’s just the right balance of tart and sweet, without additives. Also, the liquor is a lovely majenta/purple color from the hibi and I love it in my white mug.

This stuff is just so good and balanced. That’s the key word here – balanced. Hibiscus teas are usually wretched because they come out unbearably sour. This, however, is lovely. I’m glad the tin is pretty decently sized because I can see me going back to this one, and who knows how long they will be handing out extra money.

All in all, great tea.
Now, if I can just figure out how to properly make the matcha I bought, I’ll be golden.

So I’m back. For today at least. I hadn’t had a proper cuppa in weeks and tonight I was like “You know what. It’s Tea Time Thursday!” So thus, here we are.

Without any sweetener, this tastes like a leafy oolong with a hint of maple. With the additional a single splenda however, it now tastes like a lovely pancake breakfast. However, on top of that maple pancake flavor is a bit of bitey-ness not present in other pancake blends. I like it a lot and I sort of wish I had more of this. It’s different.

Overall, I think this is a tasty maple blend. I wouldn’t necessarily say it tastes like cheesecake, but it isn’t a straight maple flavor either. It’s definitely tasty though. I recommend.

Hey, guess who’s having a cuppa? This girl!

Anyway, this is a sample from the lovely derk, and I had to google the brewing instructions. I was shocked to find it says one tablespoon per 8oz, so that meant the entire sample was going in one cup. Oh well…

I was shocked a second time when I added the brew basket to the water and immediately the water turned brown. I guess there is straight up cocoa powder in this? Weird. Does that make it hot cocoa, instead of tea? Or a hybrid of both? Don’t know.

Anywho, taste is… there. Like, it doesn’t taste like plain water, but, it also doesn’t come anywhere near in the vicinity of “Pop”. I’ll try adding a splenda.

Well, either there wasn’t enough leaf in that sample for the size of mug I own (12 oz) or this is just really poop tea. It tastes like if you put a quarter teaspoon of mint hot cocoa in a gallon jug of hot water, and shook it. There’s next to nothing to it. I’m getting a sharp mouth tingle from the mint, but I can’t really taste the mint itself. I can’t really taste anything, actually. Maybe I’m getting sick? Do I…? I dunno, they say that one of the symptoms is losing your sense of taste and for as strong as the tingle is from this, you’d think I’d be able to taste the mint properly.

I used the entire sample in one go, so I guess we’ll never know.

Another sample from the lovely derk!

So, I’ve been having umm, issues with Rooibos lately. Don’t get me wrong, I love rooibos when done right. But I keep having trouble with brewing times. Since this was a sample, and Teavana has gone POOF, I couldn’t exactly look up brewing instructions or times anywhere but here. So I went with about what it listed here: 205F/6min/2tsp/12oz.

The problem is it still isn’t as strong a cuppa as I would like. I certainly get the tropical vibe that it presents. And the rooibos isn’t too woody, which I’m not sure is a plus or minus (for me anyway). Primary flavor notes are pineapple, citrus, and I swear I taste a touch of passion fruit. But it’s hard to pick out individual notes because the flavor is so weak. If it were up to me, I’d have this same cuppa, with the flavor turned up about three or four notches. I wouldn’t want to make it too strong – these kinds of teas can get super artificial fast. But I would love to have a stronger flavor in general.

Overall? It’s decent. Maybe even above average. I still have half a pouch of this from the sample, so I’m pretty sure I can make another brew. When I do, I’m just going to have to remember to steep it a bit longer than 6 minutes. Maybe 8 or 9 would be better. But I would gladly drink this again.

B-

Ok, just a quickie review of this.

This is… not good. Like, really not good. I love rooibos and I love EG, but this tastes nothing like either. For starters, the rooibos base is less of that wood flavor I enjoy and more… um moss? Lichen? Whatever it is it’s not a fresh wood taste, it tastes like wood that’s been allowed to decay for a while. And the Earl Grey is drowned out by the rooibos here. If there’s any bergamot present, I can’t taste it. Basically, to make this drinkable I drowned it in sweetener. Now it just tastes like straight Splenda, so I guess I don’t have to dump it.

Just… bad. Probably the worst EG I’ve tried yet. Sorry, Adagio.