Where to Buy: Where Matcha Mountains Products are sold
Product Description:
Made with real blueberries for an extra dose of antioxidants, this mix has a pleasant piquancy and aroma of fresh blueberries and vanilla. Our secret ingredient makes it irresistible. See if you can guess what it is?
Taster’s Review:
From the moment I opened this package, my kitchen was filled with the scent of fresh blueberries! I knew that this Matcha Latte mix was something special!
It’s very easy to make, just heat 12 ounces of milk (or soy milk, or other milk substitute if you prefer) to steaming and then whisk the milk and latte mix together for a very dreamy, creamy, delicious Matcha Latte! Because the latte mix dissolves completely, you really don’t need special equipment like a Matcha chasen (bamboo whisk) or a frothing device, I find that I like mixing this with my hand-held frothing mixer, because it gives the latte a nice, foamy cap on my latte, and ensures that the last sip will be every bit as flavorful as the first.
I was a little surprised by the color of this, I expected it to be a greenish gray color because of the blueberry flavoring, but, it is actually a light, creamy green color – just like a Matcha latte you might find at the local coffee house. But, I have never found a blueberry flavored Matcha – until now, that is! This is SO DELICIOUS!
The blueberry flavor is strong and fruity. The Matcha is slightly sweet with a hint of bitter in the background (just a barely-there hint!) and vegetative. The vanilla is sweet and creamy. Together, this becomes so incredibly delectable. Berry sweet, smooth, and rich. Yum!
PRODUCT REVIEW: Original Bhakti Chai Concentrate from Bhakti Chai
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black
For more information about this product including how to purchase, visit: Bhakti Chai
Product Description:
Antioxidant-rich black tea, fresh organic ginger, milled spices and a touch of evaporated cane juice.
Taster’s Review:
Oh. My. Goodness! This is SO good. This is so good, that I am on my second cup within a half an hour!
According to the website, Bhakti Chai uses fresh pressed ginger as opposed to dried ginger. The difference this makes can be tasted! The ginger tastes zippier, zingier, and ginger-y-er!
The black tea base here is a smooth tasting tea, but really, the focus of this chai concentrate is the spices. And, that’s quite alright with me, because this is so delicious that I wouldn’t want to change it. It’s absolutely perfect.
The ginger is the dominate flavor, and I can taste the black pepper supporting the flavor of the ginger. The cardamom and cloves are a bit more subtle but can be tasted, providing that familiar background chai flavor. The fennel is also quite subtle, but, I taste a hint of licorice-like sweetness in the distance.
One spice that seems to be “missing” is cinnamon – which is a common chai ingredient. But, even though it isn’t in this chai, I’m not missing it. Don’t get me wrong, I love cinnamon, but, like I said before, this tastes so good that I wouldn’t want to change it.
The ginger provides a lot of warmth (or “agni”) and offers a very warm, comforting sensation starting at the back of the mouth and permeating its way to the belly. This is a perfect cuppa on those cold winter-y days. Like today!
This original concentrate is sweetened, but, I am not finding it too sweet. Bhakti Chai also offers an unsweetened version, which I will review at a later date.
If you like Chai Latte – this is definitely one you should try. I love this stuff!
PRODUCT REVIEW: Chai Matcha Latte from Matcha Mountains
Where to Buy: Where Matcha Mountains Products are sold
Product Description:
Spice up your life this season with our chai matcha latte made from organic freshly ground spices cardamon, cinnamon, cloves… and japanese matcha. Accent our chai with a cinnamon stick or dollop of whip cream and enjoy hot or cold.
Taster’s Review:
THIS IS SO YUMMY!
This is a perfect Matcha Latte … and a perfect Chai Latte for that matter. It is so good.
This is gently spiced – not something I would categorize as spicy. More like warm and soothing. It is sweet but not cloying. It is smooth, rich and creamy. The combination of adding steaming milk and the Matcha make for a very foamy, frothy beverage.
The Matcha base tastes vibrant. It has a light vegetative taste. It isn’t as vegetal as a typical Matcha. Perhaps that is because it’s a latte mix, or perhaps it’s because the spices cancel out some of the grassy tones, or it could be because the milk offsets the vegetative qualities of the Matcha. But if you’ve tried Matcha in the past and found that strong vegetative taste to be a little off-putting, try this!
I absolutely LOVE this Matcha Latte. I love it so much, in fact, that my cup is empty! I don’t usually finish off the cup before I finish writing the review… but, in this case, it tasted so good I couldn’t stop! It’s a yummy treat!
PRODUCT REVIEW: Chai Masala Spice Blend from The Chai Cart
Where to Buy: The Chai Cart on Foodzie
or visit The Chai Cart website for more information
Product Description:
Make any tea into “Masala” tea by adding this magical blend of eight spices known for culinary flavors and therapeutic qualities.
When brewed with black tea and milk, this spice blend makes a bold, fragrant and smooth cup of Masala Chai that will transport you to India in just one sip.
The magical mix of eight spices is perfectly balanced so that no single spice dominates the palate. The boldness of cloves and nutmeg with the spice of ginger are balanced with the fragrance of cardamom and the sweetness of cinnamon. Fennel and white and black pepper add further layers of complexity.
This blend can also be used with green tea or rooibos as well as in soups, stews and countless recipes that need to be spiced up!
Taster’s Review:
This blend of spices is so versatile that it could be used in just about anything. I considered grinding it fine and using it as a rub on a pork loin, but then, remembering that I still had a teeny-tiny bit of my Sweet Caramel O’Mine tea, I decided that I would use my sample of this spice blend as an enhancement for a cup o’ Spiced Sweet Caramel O’Mine.
I used three teaspoons of the spices with three teaspoons of the tea blend. This made a very pleasant 3 cups of bold and spicy tea. I added a dollop of honey and found that it was just perfect served this way. To make a latte, I would have reduced the amount of water that I used to brew (only 2 cups of water) so that the milk wouldn’t dilute the flavors.
And … OH MY GOODNESS. This is good. Somehow the spices bring out the burnt sugar aspect of the caramel, giving this an almost sweet-and-savory kind of taste. I think the nutmeg and the caramel compliment each other so well!
The main spice flavor that I’m tasting is the ginger, which when combined with the white and black peppers give this cup a very peppery kick! The cinnamon comes just after the ginger, and the cardamom and cloves add pleasant dimension. I can’t taste much of the fennel here, and while I do like fennel, perhaps it is a good thing that I can’t taste it too strongly with this tea. I think it might taste a little too funky with the caramel.
I really like this blend. I think I may be buying a tin of this in the near future so that I can use it on my next pork loin roast. If I do this, I’ll be sure to post a review and the recipe on my Foodie Blog!
PRODUCT REVIEW: Lemon Curd from Heavenly Tea Gatherings
Where to Buy: Cupboard of Blessings
Product Description:
In my review of Heavenly Tea Gathering’s Organic Scone Mix, I compared the flaky, tender texture of the prepared scones to my grandmother’s pie crust. Well, this Lemon Curd from Heavenly Tea Gathering is almost (almost!) as good as my gramma’s lemon meringue pie filling! Put the two together, and you have the most delectable tea-time treat imaginable!
This lemon curd is sweet with just the right amount of lemon-y tartness. The lemon flavor is bright and sunny but doesn’t come off as pucker-y. The curd is very custard-like, just like the smooth filling of a lemon meringue pie.
Sweet, silky … perfect!
I have tasted a LOT of lemon curd, but I can honestly say that this one is the best I’ve ever tried. I love the creamy, custard consistency – I could eat it right out of the jar! Yeah – it’s that good!