2977 Tasting Notes
was looking for moderate body, low caffeine, and no overpowering sweetness in my tea this afternoon. Found it in this blend from a Revolution sampler pack (bagged). Not sure how or why it smelled like mint chocolate when dry, but it resolved into a safflower peachy oolong smell as it brewed. Tastes slightly sweet, slightly smoky, and with the faint peach/apricot hint in the background like other notes describe. Very natural and clean tasting. I would drink it again. Also, I think it would be good with asian food (some people mentioned having it at PF changs). Now I wish I’d waited to make this cup with my planned beef & edamame stir fry for dinner :( alas I only have one bag. Silly sampler!
ps – lost track of time and majorly oversteeped (should be 4-5 min) but it doesn’t seem to be a problem! Yay!
Preparation
It tastes like exactly what it is – rooibos with almond flavoring and sugar (in the form of candy hearts). I haven’t had rooibos in a while and I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with the stuff. Can’t really decide how I feel about this one personally…
On a more objective note, it brews a dark red-orange like all good rooibos should, and the almond & sugar are strongly present, followed by the more earthy sweetness of the rooibos. Adding any more sugar to this after brewing would be a very bad idea, I think, as it is already about as sweet as a southern sweet tea.
I do think this blend would make a nice romantic gift for valentine’s day or otherwise, since it is red and has little pink sugar hearts in it. I also think the sweetness of this blend would make it a good dessert tea, esp. for evenings since rooibos is caffeine free (as long as you don’t get a sugar rush!).
Preparation
I am pleasantly surprised. (I’m sure the matcha purists will be horrified!)
The first couple sips I definitely got a bit of the grassy/raw matcha flavor (I think some powder was hiding in the foam). It was also way too hot. As it cools and I get deeper into the cup I am getting a lot of honey sweetness. Must be in the mix as I did not add anything. The mix of matcha (or whatever they use) and honey and frothed milk is a nice combo. It’s not overly heavy or sweet, it feels somewhat healthy compared to a whipped cream and chocolate covered mocha or similar.
I don’t go to starbucks but once or twice a year, but next time I find myself there I will get this or try another of their tea lattes.
Preparation
I’ve tried this once. Back when they put melon syrup in it and didn’t list it in the ingredients. Since then, even though they discontinued the syrup, I’m just too scared to try it again in fear of wasting my money, their product, and their time making me something else. I’ve also heard their matcha has fillers… possibly presweetened like Rishi’s as well? Love the idea though, and I love their full leaf tea lattes… although after trying 52teas Mayan Chocolate Chai, I think I’ll be bringing that w/ me the next time I go to SBUX.
I accidentally created an entry for this under “Starbucks” before I found it in “Tazo.” So the other one needs to be deleted. I tried to send it via Feedback, no idea if that worked.
@ Cofftea – I don’t think that Rishi sweetens their matcha. Their website openly lists all the ingredients of their teas as well as the Nutritional Facts. Sweetener is NOT added from what I’ve read.
LENA, they used to have one w/ ginger (and maybe another one, I seem to remember 2) that said it was sweetened… but I’ve searched their site for “ginger”, “sweetened”, and “matcha”, but didn’t find it so maybe they use something else. I didn’t know SBUX uses Rishi brand matcha.
Starbucks sells “Matcha Green Tea Latte with Honeydew Concentrate by Tazo Tea” on their web store. Tazo also makes a plain “Tazo Matcha Green Tea Latte Concentrate.” I assume they use one of these in their drinks. I can’t be certain that the honeylike sweetness I tasted was honeydew, but it didn’t taste melon-y to me. I wish now that I had paid more attention when they were making my drink today to see what they used (or just asked!)
Rishi used to/maybe still makes a sweetened macha that is half sugar half tea. It’s NOT supposed to be drank like straight matcha, though, it’s for flavoring food and drinks.
I don’t know if Starbucks uses Rishi brand matcha. I recently bought Rishi’s matcha and didn’t notice any added sweetener. Then, I double checked their site to confirm after reading your comment.
Janefan, Please find out and inform me!:) If it’s a concentrate, I’ll pass. I don’t even use concentrate for chai lattes.
Whoops, cut off my comment. I meant to add that I read a really funny entry online about a guy who prepared the Rishi matcha like normal matcha, with yucky results. :)
Also, yes the Starbucks matcha powder is pre-sweetened with sugar, so if you want a sugar-free green tea latte, you can’t really get one. You can ask for one without sugar syrup though, to cut down the sugar a little bit.
Also, what do you mean by full leaf tea lattes? For the chai latte, they use a liquid mix and add hot water, vanilla syrup, and steamed milk.
LENA, you’re right, SBUX doesn’t use Rishi brand matcha. I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was saying that. I thought Cofftea had asked about Rishi and I was just agreeing. :)
Shanti, you can get it w/ tea bags instead of the concentrate. I always do and it’s sooo much better. I suggest 2 in a tall. Don’t get another size because the flavor ratio is messed up then.
No wonder it was gross! I was hoping it was just the melon syrup and now that it’s gone it would be better. :(
Cofftea, Ah, I see what you mean. I think technically that’s called “tea misto”…and ugh, why do I know so much about starbucks! I don’t even like coffee. :)
No a tea misto would be 1/2 tea and 1/2 milk just like a coffee misto would be 1/2 coffee and 1/2 milk.
Which is different from your tea latte how? (Sorry I’m not trying to be snarky or anything, just wondering). I’ve asked my ex-boyfriend about this before, and he said that the tea-bag chai “latte” is really a misto. The new “tea lattes” like the London Fog, etc, are per the manual tea mistos with additional syrup…
Shanti, a tea latte is 1/3 water and 2/3 milk unless it’s a dirty latte, then it’s 1/3 espresso like a regular latte, w/ tea bags or concentrate. The sweeten their tea lattes? Ugh. That makes no sense because if you order a “tall latte” it isn’t presweetened. The only tea latte I’d dare presweeten is a chai.
Oh, I get it. Thanks for explaining. :)
This discussion confirms that Starbucks is way too complicated to understand.
Just like w/ anything you need to know what questions to ask. I’ve gone in there several times and between me and the barista, the one that was more confused was the barista.
The light lemony scent is present in the dry leaves, but when brewed is sweet and nutty.
The liquor is a beautiful amber. I was also thrilled to discover that what I thought was just a twig in my leaves was two leaves and a bud, which opened on steeping.
The taste is sweet and nutty like the scent, with a bright edge from the bergamot but no noticeable citrus flavor.
I added about 1.5 tsp white sugar and a healthy splash of milk (I’m a heathen I know). To me, most flavored black are better with sugar and cream/milk. I find them comforting.
Overall impression – I bought a tin of this tea because I enjoyed it so much at the tea house. I’m not disappointed!
Preparation
I don’t normally like mint tea but the verbena keeps it more herbal and adds an interesting dimension. Usually I drink hot tea to be relaxed but this one is downright refreshing! I bet it would be good iced too.
Preparation
Just found out that about Harney sachets – “Each sachet brews a 12oz cup of tea”
There’s nothing on the wrapper to indicate this – NO brewing info at all! No suggested temperature or steeping time or amount of water. Presumably you get that info if you buy the whole box, but these were singles/samples from a tea shop.
This is one of my go-to teabags for when I want and quick, easy, soothing cup. Add a tiny bit of orange blossom honey and it’s perfectly sweet. The green tea is barely there as a faint sweet grassiness. I think it’s also a fairly forgiving tea since I know Panera Bread (where I was first introduced to it) makes it scalding hot.
Preparation
Tried mixing with sodium free club soda – in short it didn’t work. It fizzed like crazy, the tea didn’t dissolve well at all, and it tasted like salty seaweed water. What was I thinking? I dumped it out. Next time I’ll try making a strong cup in 5-6 oz water, then add a splash or two of club soda for a hint of sparkle. Maybe I’ll add a drop of agave if it needs sweetener to balance the club soda.
Note to self – 7:30/8pm is WAY to late to drink this. Got a burst of mental energy about an hour later, then couldn’t sleep til 11… I knew better (Cofftea has warned me), I just lost track of time and didn’t think about how late it was!
This was a thin matcha latte (About 3/4 tsp in 6-7 oz water with 1 tsp sugar and 1-2 oz milk (I eyeballed everything so not quite sure). It was a bit too thin and not well mixed since I used a spoon not a whisk, in a tall mug not a bowl. Lesson learned – take the time to do it right! It’s not worth wasting expensive tea by making a bad cup. I drank it but it wasn’t as enjoyable as previously, simply due to my laziness. I should have just made a regular cup of (decaf!) tea!
I love this tea!
Y’know – I had a really fantastic tea at Pei Wei (PF Chang’s poor cousin) and I bet this was it!!!