Product Information:

Product:  Chai Cola – a bottled, micro-brewed soft drink from Natural Brew.

Where to Buy:  New Seasons Market or where Natural Brew products are sold.

Product Description:

Product Information:

Product:  black tea – instant chai tea mix

Where to Buy:  Jaipur Avenue

Product Description:

An escapade into sensuous notes, floral fragrances and romantic sweetness.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Oh my goodness!  This is so good!

Having already tried Jaipur Avenue’s other chai blends, I knew I was in for a treat with this one, but I really wasn’t prepared for what the saffron would add to the mix.  Of the five mixes that I’ve tasted … this one is definitely my favorite!

Unlike the Ginger Chai Mix or even the Cardamom, which had a spicier profile, this Saffron Chai Mix is more subdued, but in a very enchanting way.  The flavor is smoother and well-rounded, as the saffron brings a gratifying sweetness to the cup that enhances the flavors without amplifying the spicy tones.  It brings out the more exotic and savory side of the spices in this blend, giving the overall cup a very indulgent, satisfying flavor.

Like the other chai mixes from Jaipur Avenue, this is incredibly rich and creamy.  It is indeed sweet, and while I don’t think I could drink more than one of these at a time, I don’t find the one cup to be too overwhelmingly sweet.  Instead, it has a really excellent balance between sweet and spice, with a pleasing earthiness that grounds the cup so that it doesn’t become too confectionery.

I have really enjoyed these chai mixes from Jaipur Avenue.  I like them because not only are they delicious but they are also very easy to make:  just add hot water and stir!  I used my frothing tool which gave it a light froth on top, but if you don’t have a frothing tool, this still tastes wonderful without the froth.  This mix gives you the tasty results of a chai that’s been simmered in milk on the stovetop without all the mess, and that’s a win-win in my book!

Product Information:

Product:  black tea – instant spiced chai mix

Where to Buy:  Jaipur Avenue

Product Description:

A retreat into green/woodsy undertones, refreshing aromas and natural sweetness.

Learn more about this product here.

Taster’s Review:

Nice!

In some chai blends, I have a difficult time discerning the cardamom because of the stronger flavors of cinnamon and ginger.  Yes, cardamom on its own can be a strong spice, but when united with cinnamon and ginger, these two warmer spices can be very aggressive and often overpower some of the subtle complexities of the cardamom.

I’m loving that this chai mix focuses on the cardamom!

With this chai mix, I can taste the light citrus-y tone of the cardamom, and that sun-kissed fruit note gives this chai a brightness that I seldom experience with a spiced chai.  This citrus-y flavor weaves its way throughout the sip, and is most prominent in the aftertaste where I can taste a light, orange-y kind of flavor.  This tastes lighter and more refreshing while still maintaining that warm spiciness that I love about chai.

I can taste the other spice flavors:  most notably, I can taste notes of ginger and cinnamon.  But these spices that often dominate a chai have taken a back seat with this chai, allowing the cardamom to drive for a change.  The black tea is also there, peaking its way through every now and then.  This chai mix also has the latte already mixed in – giving it a smooth, rich, creamy flavor that is absolutely luxurious.

This chai mix has been sweetened, and while this is a little sweeter than I would have made for myself, my sweet tooth doesn’t seem to mind.

I’ve really enjoyed this … my only complaint?  It’s all gone now, and I want more!

Tea Information:

Leaf Type:  Black

Where to Buy:  Jaipur Avenue

Tea Description:

A celebration with delicate fragrances, luxurious cream and soft spice.

Learn more about this chai here.

Taster’s Review:

Oh my goodness … this is like comfort food in liquid form!  It is so creamy and delicious.

This Vanilla Chai mix is different from the Original Masala Chai mix in a couple of ways, most notably that this chai is very vanilla-y.  I’ve tried several different vanilla chai blends in the past, but, this one takes vanilla to a whole new level.

The spices are more of an accent to the vanilla.  In most cases, I’d be disappointed by that, but with this particular chai, it’s hard to be disappointed because it is so good.  SO GOOD!

The black tea is noticeable, but, it is somewhat masked by the creaminess of the vanilla and the milky notes.  I will say that I found the black tea flavors to develop as I continued to sip, and despite the fact that the flavor was somewhat obscured, this chai definitely has the energizing factor of a black tea.

This would make a good chai mix for someone who likes their chai on the mild side (rather than the spicy), although, I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who dislikes sweet drinks.  That’s because this is sweet.  It could easily replace a dessert.  It has a decadent creaminess to it, like a warm, liquified vanilla spiced custard.

As for me, I absolutely love this.  It is incredibly decadent and rich and oh-so-yummy.  My sweet tooth highly recommends this one!

 HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

Product Information:

Where to Buy:  52Teas

Product Description:

They say life is like a box of chocolate teas; you never know what you’re going to get.

Here’s an assortment of eight different hand-crafted chocolate teas, each in a keepsake tin with a clear window, all bundled together in an elegant gift box. There are a few of our bestselling chocolate teas and some created just for this sampler. Each tin contains enough tea for a 5-6 cup pot of tea: enough to share–if you feel like sharing.

All of the teas in this collection are vegan-friendly, and make a perfect gift for your sweet-toothed sweetheart, or yourself. Quantities are limited, so don’t delay, order yours today.

Review:

This is my kind of Valentine’s Day present!  A beautiful little box filled with an assortment of chocolate flavored teas … I mean, seriously, what could be better than that for this chocoholic tea addict?

The box is gorgeous.  It measures 4 inches long by 4 inches wide by 2 1/2 inches tall.  The base is a deep, chocolate brown color, and the top has the same brown color with pale pink polka dots.  The box is then accented with bright pink grosgrain ribbon with cute white stitching along with a coordinating pink and white polka dot ribbon.  It’s so adorable!

Tucked inside are eight tins of 1 inch tall round tins with clear tops.  Each of the tins is filled with approximately .25 ounces of tea … just enough for about 4 cups of tea.

The assortment includes a few favorite chocolate teas from 52Teas collection, including Chocolate Mint Black Tea and Malted ChocoMaté, and SIX (count ‘em, six!) chocolate teas that I have not yet tried!  Yippee!  The only thing better than having chocolate tea that I have tried and enjoyed is having a new chocolate tea to taste!  These new teas are:

• Cherry Cordial Black Tea
• Almond Happiness Black Tea
• Smoky Chocolate Black Tea
• Chocolate Caramel Black Tea
• White Chocolate Strawberry Black Tea
• Chocolate Raspberry Honeybush

While I have previously reviewed the other two teas (click on them to check out those reviews), I will be reviewing each of the new teas separately, starting with the White Chocolate Strawberry, and that review will be published this evening at midnight (or 9 pm for those of us who are on the West Coast).

This Box of Chocolate Teas was offered from 52Teas several weeks before Valentine’s Day and a limited supply is still available.  If you didn’t get what you wanted for Valentine’s Day, now is the chance to treat yourself!  You deserve it!

Information:

Dark Chocolate Bar

Where to Buy:  The Meadow and other locations where Dolfin Chocolates are sold.

Chocolate Bar Description:

A perfect mix of contrasts: the refreshing sweetness of the bergamot blends perfectly with the strong taste of the chocolate. For afternoon tea, a chocolate with a British accent.

Learn more about Dolfin here.

Taster’s Review:

Recently, I visited the North Portland location of Little Big Burger, and as I walked toward Little Big Burger, I couldn’t help but notice this little shop called The Meadow.  They sell flowers, an array of finishing salts, bitters and chocolate.  Yes, I said CHOCOLATE!  How could I ignore this little shop?  It begged me to stop in and at least take a look around.

But, of course, if I am around chocolate, I can hardly just “look around.”  I must have chocolate!  They have an entire wall dedicated to high quality chocolates from around the world.  I can feel myself start to drool just thinking about it!

While it was difficult to settle upon just one (or two) chocolate bars, I knew my husband was waiting for me so I needed to hurry!  Finally, I settled upon this Dark Chocolate Bar with Earl Grey Tea!  This is a 52% Belgian dark chocolate bar with crushed Earl Grey Tea leaves.  Not an “infused” chocolate, but, a chocolate bar with real bits of tea leaves.

The first thing I notice about this bar is the packaging.  Very impressive!  The package is a double folded “envelope” that keeps the left over chocolate (it’s quite a large bar!) fresh until you’re ready to eat more.  I really like the package, it is clear that Dolfin is committed to maintaining their product’s integrity even after the package has been opened!

Breaking off a piece of the chocolate, I notice the snap of dark chocolate.  Allowing the flavors to melt on my tongue, I can taste the smooth, rich flavor of bittersweet dark chocolate meld with the tangy citrus notes of bergamot.  As I eat this chocolate, I can feel the tiny bits of tea leaf in the chocolate.  The leaves add a little bit of crunch without feeling gritty and because the tea has been finely ground, it won’t leave leaf particles stuck in between the teeth!

While I don’t taste a lot of black tea flavor (there is some, just not a lot), I definitely taste the bergamot, and when it comes to Earl Grey tea, I want to taste BERGAMOT.  The black tea becomes more distinct as I continue to enjoy the chocolate bar, and it is more prominent when I allow the chocolate to melt on the tongue as opposed to biting into it.

This chocolate bar from Dolfin provides an amazing chocolate experience for the tea lover!  And if your Valentine loves chocolate and Earl Grey … you should consider adding this to their gift.  (How about a Chocolate and Earl Grey Gift Basket?)  They’ll LOVE you for it!

Product Description:

Ready to Drink Tisane from Argo Tea.

Ingredients:  fresh brewed green tea (water, green tea), pure cane sugar, ginger root, lemon juice concentrate, natural vanilla flavor. 

Learn more about this product here.

Taster’s Review:

After not being completely disappointed with my sampling of Mojitea, I decided to give another Ready-to-Drink tea beverage from Argo Tea a try.  This time, though, I made sure that there was actual Camellia Sinensis in the blend!

And I have to say that I like this quite a bit better than the aforementioned Mojitea.  There is a lot of ginger in this one though, so if you’re not keen on ginger, this is not the tea for you.

I can also taste the lemon in this, it isn’t an abundant flavor, but, it adds a nice touch of acidic taste to offset the peppery taste of the ginger.  The green tea seems a little lost in the blend, but, I can taste it back there … somewhere!   It would be nice to have a little more green tea flavor, but on the plus side, I like that this isn’t overwhelmingly sweet.  In fact, I find that the sweetness is balanced nicely with the spicy note from the ginger and the bit of lemon flavor.

There is also just a hint of vanilla to this, and I notice that particularly in the aftertaste which is a little sweet and creamy tasting.

Quite nice for a RTD.  I would definitely be happy to drink this one again.

Product Description:

Ready to Drink Tisane from Argo Tea.

Ingredients:  fresh brewed mint tea (water, peppermint), pure cane sugar, lime juice concentrate, natural mint flavor. 

Contains 7% juice.

Learn more about this product here.

Taster’s Review:

As I’ve said before, I don’t purchase many ready-to-drink teas.  In fact, according to my husband, I point my nose up at them, inferring that I’m a tea snob.  And while I accept this label, I don’t really think this particular action has earned it.  Most ready-to-drink teas are over-sugared and overly saturated with flavorings to hide the flavor of the tea.  Why would anyone do that to a tea?  It seems as though it should be a criminal act.

And while this ready-to-drink “tea” has done very little to assuage my opinion of most ready-to-drink tea products (here is an exception), the fault really isn’t with this particular product but with me, as I didn’t take the time to read the label properly.  This is actually an herbal tisane, and not a tea (as it contains no Camellia Sinensis leaves), so there is no tea to actually be tasted.

That being said, this is actually quite a tasty tisane.  I am not finding it to be overly sweet … sweet, yes, perhaps a bit sweeter than I would have liked, but, not so sweet that I’m put off by it.  And I like that what I taste is peppermint and lime over the sweetness.  I like that it is made with pure cane sugar, and not some syrup.  Yeah, yeah, I saw the commercial and I know that “sugar is sugar,” and the body doesn’t know the difference between cane sugar and corn syrup, but, I’d like to think that my palate does.

Truth be told, what lead me to this purchase was the pretty glass bottle.  Yeah, I’m a sucker for neat packaging.  But it was enjoyable enough for me to pick up another bottle of it if I happen to be out and about and in need of hydration.  Not something that I’ll keep stocked in my fridge, but I am now interested to try the other flavors that Argo Tea offers, and that fact alone makes this a better product than most of the ready-to-drink tea offerings out there.

Product Information:

Where to Buy:  Squeezmo

Product Description:

Squeezmo™ is the modern solution to an old problem: soggy, drippy, unsightly tea bags.

Rather than allowing a mucky brown tea bag to spoil that nice saucer or throw it away after a single use, place a bag of your favorite variety in Squeezmo, press and pour the excess back into the cup.

There’s no waste and no mess. Now, one tea bag can brew multiple cups.

Product Review:

I was apprehensive about reviewing this product, mostly because I prefer to drink loose leaf tea as opposed to tea brewed from tea bags.  In addition, the flexible Squeezmo looks and feels a lot like plastic and I don’t generally like to use plastic items when brewing tea.   However, it isn’t plastic, it’s silicone.  Although to be perfectly honest, I couldn’t really tell you what the difference between silicone and plastic is (or even if there IS a difference).

Additionally, I am not particularly fond of tea gadgets, I prefer to keep it as simple as possible.  Generally, I don’t see the use of gadgetry to add to the simplicity of tea; rather, I see it as added complication.

BUT… this gadget is an exception!  Yes, despite my original misgivings about this device and my reservations about gadgets, I am finding this particular gadget – the Squeezmo – to be quite useful, helpful and enhancing to the pleasure of a simple cup of tea!  Who’dathunkit?

On the occasions when I brew tea from a teabag (I’d estimate that I brew 1 teabag every other day, with loose leaf tea filling in the rest of my daily tea consumption), I do not squeeze the teabag.  I know that tea drinkers are somewhat divided on this issue:  some choose to give their teabags a squeeze in an effort to extract all the liquid and additional flavor from the teabag, while others (and I) believe that in so doing, additional tannins are also extracted and bitterness can result.

So, even though I’ve now this nifty gadget that promotes the squeezing of the teabag, I don’t use it for that purpose.  What I do use it for is placement of the teabag after I’ve finished steeping my tea.  That’s always been a troublesome issue for me.  I can’t toss it directly into the garbage because it’s hot and it is likely to melt the trash bag … and what a mess that would be.  So, it ends up being placed on a saucer or in a bowl, making more mess in my kitchen (which really doesn’t NEED more mess).  Not to mention the mess that is made from the trail of tea drips from cup to aforementioned saucer.  Mess, mess, mess.

But this flexible, bright orange Squeezmo helps me with the mess!  I can place my hot teabag into the Squeezmo without dripping tea all over my counter and without having an unsightly teabag on a saucer or bowl.  After the teabag cools, I simply drop it into the trashcan and empty the additional tea that’s accumulated at the bottom of the Squeezmo into my teacup.

This is a no mess, no fuss kind of gadget that I don’t mind using!

Where to Buy:  Tea Forté

Product Description:

Slimming matcha, with a tingle of cinnamon
to aid in keeping you fit and feeling fab.

Ingredients:  sorbitol, xylitol, organic matcha green tea, Fair Trade Certified™ organic white tea, natural flavors, calcium stearate

Taster’s Review:

Like the Ginger Pear (Regroup) Minteas that I tasted and reviewed previously, I’m liking these Matcha Chai Minteas.  They remind me a bit of a cinnamon mint with an invigorating burst of cinnamon flavor that is somewhat reminiscent of “Big Red” chewing gum (do they still even make that?  I can’t recall seeing it for a long time … but then, I haven’t really been looking.)

Unless I’m really focusing on the flavors, I don’t discern much of a Matcha flavor or a white tea flavor in these, nor do I notice many other chai-like flavors other than a strong, spicy cinnamon note.  The flavors are there, they are just less noticeable than the cinnamon.  The other flavors become much more apparent after I’ve allowed the Mintea to dissolve for a few minutes on my tongue, and then bite into the undissolved portion.  Then I can really notice more of the chai flavors as well as the Matcha.  Yum!

However, what I’m enjoying most about these is not only the flavors but also the texture of them (they remind me of my gramma’s Certs that she used to keep in her purse whenever the grandkids wanted some “candy”).  They have a strong, slick surface that once dissolved slightly feels a little less slick, but still very fine and a bit like granular powder.  Once I bite into one, it becomes a smooth, powdery candy-like texture (but not a sugary texture).  And despite the candy-like texture of these, I like that they don’t taste too sweet.  There is a mild sweetness to them which keeps them palatable, but it never becomes cloying or sickly sweet.

As for the fitness/slimming aspect, I think I would need to have more of these on a regular basis before I actually noticed “Results.”  However, these are tasty enough that I certainly wouldn’t mind keeping these on hand and enjoying them on a regular basis… whenever I need something tasty to help freshen the breath and cleanse the palate.  Plus the tin is pretty cute too.