Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Third Street Chai
Product Description:
Ingredients: Filtered Water, Organic Green Tea with Mint Concentrate, Malic Acid
Taster’s Review:
For my husband’s Superbowl party this year, I prepared a gallon of this tea – and it was gone when I returned home after the game! Apparently it was a big hit!
And for good reason – it’s not only tasty but very refreshing too. It has a clean, crisp minty taste that quenches the thirst without tasting overdone (not too minty) or too sweet. In fact, this concentrate is unsweetened, which I like! It allows me to decide just how sweet I’d like the tea to be. And I find it to be really delicious without any sweetener whatsoever. For the aforementioned party, I did add some agave nectar, and after a quick taste I found that a small amount of sweetener brings out some of the mint notes of the tea. But it tastes great with or without sweetener, and I like that Third Street Chai leaves it up to the tea drinker whether they’d like it sweet or not.
The green tea is a very light taste here, but it isn’t overwhelmed by the mint. It has a delicate vegetative taste – this is a very light grassy taste and I don’t think it’s enough to be off-putting to even the most sensitive palate. This is a green tea that even those who don’t care for green tea can appreciate.
It is super convenient too! Just mix 1 part concentrate to 7 parts cold water. I actually use a little less water because I add ice which dilutes it – however, since this is so easy to make, it would be equally as easy to make tea cubes to chill the tea.
This would be perfect for your next BBQ!
PRODUCT REVIEW: Original Matcha Latte from Matcha Mountains
Where to Buy: Where Matcha Mountains Products Are Sold.
Product Description:
Our original mix is ideal for getting you going in the morning or as an afternoon “pick me up”. Our original mix is for people who like the taste of green tea, although a few drops of vanilla extract or syrup is great. Simply mix with hot water and add your favourite frothed milk product. This product has the highest portion of matcha per serving and has a thick creamy texture.
Taster’s Review:
Yum!
I love Matcha and have been drinking it for years (although I will say that in the last year or two I have been drinking more than I had in the previous years), but I must admit that Matcha Latte drinks are a bit new to me, having only tried my first Matcha Latte in the last year or so. But, since that time, I’ve been hooked!
This Matcha Latte mix has a sweetness to it, but it isn’t too sweet nor does it overwhelm the natural flavor of the green tea. I can taste the distinct bittersweet taste of the Matcha, which I really enjoy. This is incredibly creamy and energizing.
I love that this product is organic, and I also like that I can choose just how creamy I want this Matcha Latte to be by choosing my own milk – I can go with skim milk for less creaminess or I can really go for it and use half & half for an out of this world creamy experience. Or if I prefer a non-dairy option, I can use almond milk or rice milk, or even coconut milk!
This is a versatile, delicious treat! This product may be a little difficult to find since Matcha Mountains does not seem to sell it retail, however, it appears that it is sold in various Cafes and it is well worth the effort to find this latte mix because it’s outstanding!
PRODUCT REVIEW: Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff Tea-riffic Digital Stamps
About the picture to the left: This is a Valentine Card that I made for a Valentine Card Swap in which I’m participating. It includes a top pocket so I can include a package of tea for the recipient. I used the Tea-riffic Digital Stamps from Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff to create this card. (Please see inside of the card below)
Where to Buy: Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff on Shop Handmade
Product Description:
you get 9 teariffic digital stamps in this set perfect for tea parties or just beacuse, you have animated sugar cubes, 2 tea cups, 2 pretty flourishes and more whimsical deisgns! As a bonus you get a printable tea bag envelope template and SVG file to cut with your Cricut!
Artist’s Review:
OK, I have to be honest, when it comes to art, I’m totally “old-school.” Before today, I have never used digital stamps, so this is all very new to me. I don’t know if I’m even using them right! haha!
That being said, it was a lot of fun – and SO EASY – to use these digital stamps from Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff! And now that I have gotten a taste for using digital stamps, I do think I am going to utilize them more in my art work. It is a lot easier to keep them (no bulky wood blocks cluttering up the art studio!) and as long as I have ink in the printer, I’m good to go!
I printed these on pink vellum because I thought it would work best with my color scheme, and I adhered the vellum to the scrapbook paper using vellum tape. I have learned from experience that you should definitely use vellum tape when you’re adhering vellum, unless you like that “tape can be seen through the vellum” look.
The scrapbook paper I used was from g-c-d studios (item #205 – Rose Circles) and I selected this particular pattern because it was a simple, small pattern that would work well with the teacup. I felt that a more complicated design (or larger design) would have not been as adaptable to the teacup shaped card.
I am very happy with the way these turned out, and these “Tea-riffic” digital stamps are something that I can use again and again – not just for this particular occasion. There are several very cute designs with this set too, not just the teabag tag and sentiment that I used. There is even a Teabag holder with this set that I intend on using at some point in the future to send out teabags to friends.
I hope you’ll have as much fun with these as I did!
Product Review: Super Natural Energy from Dragon Pearl
Product Information:
Where to Buy: Dragon Pearl
Product Description:
If you drink energy shots, try theine instead of caffeine for an energy lift without jitters or anxiety.
Dragon Pearl’s Super Natural Energy tea shots are made from potent organic Taimu Mountain Mao Feng whole leaves, brewed into a super-powerful fresh green tea concentrate. The equalavent of three big, strong cups of fresh green tea is in each 2-ounce green tea energy shot.
Feel better and stronger every day.
Highly concentrated natural Theine provides healthy, jitter-free energy without anxiety that comes with chemical caffeine or too much coffee.
Directions:
- Shake
- Twist Hard (or tear the strip)
- Sip to savor the flavors
- Clean the garage
Taster’s Review:
I think that the writers for the Dragon Pearl website must have seen my garage!
I have to admit that I really had my doubts about this energy shot. I haven’t tried those other energy shots because I feared the nervous, jittery feeling that some have reported after use. I also feared the crash that would come in a few hours!
But, so far… so good! I consumed this shot about an hour ago – just before walking to my daughter’s school to pick her up from choir practice. It’s quite a hike – while the school is only a mile away, the hills between our house and my daughter’s school are quite steep! Usually, after I get home after this little jaunt, I am wiped out for about a half an hour or so, but, I’m not feeling that way at all today! I feel like I am at the same energy level that I was before the walk!
Awesome! Of course, I will have to complete this review in a few hours to see if I “crash.”
These 2 ounce shots of energy are quite tasty. They taste a lot like grape juice! There is a little bit of berry taste in the finish that lingers well into the aftertaste. It’s quite good.
That being said, there really isn’t a lot of green tea flavor to this shot. I have a feeling that this was created for those who may not find green tea particularly enjoyable but wish to enjoy the beneficial (and energizing) properties of green tea.
There are other benefits to this shot as well because the fruit juices used here are superfruits: pomegranate, Concord grape juice, blueberry juice and Acai juice. As I said before, the dominate flavor is the grape, but I can also taste notes from the pomegranate and the berries, especially at the tail.
So not only is it a delicious and energizing drink, but the ingredients are actually good for you! Let’s see how I feel in a few hours …
Seven and a half hours later…
Well, I had planned on coming back six hours later, but, I got busy doing other things. (Sorry!) Anyway, I am here to tell you that I did not experience any “crash-like” feelings. Not that I would really know what they were like, having not ever experienced the crash from those other energy drinks. But, I didn’t feel completely drained, if anything, I feel more energetic than I usually do at about this time in the evening!
KUDOS to Dragon Pearl – this Super Natural Energy shot is a winner in my book!
Product Review: Fruit Punch from GreenTeaHP/Green Tea Pros
Buy From: Green Tea Pros
Product Description:
GreenTeaHP is the only green tea made from fresh, not dried, green tea leaves. It uses a patented water extraction process, which provides all the health benefits of green tea. These benefits include polyphenols (flavonoids), vitamins, amino acids, minerals, fibers, and more. The proprietary extraction process-no chemicals, alcohol or organic solvents used. Each pixie serving provides 1000 mg of green tea extract. Great natural fresh taste and color-no artificial colors or preservatives. Sugar-free and low calorie. 100% of the daily value of Vitamin C in each serving. Instant green tea powder tastes great, cold or hot, -just add water. We prefer cold. Most importantly, GreenTeaHP tastes great!
Taster’s Review:
I think I am liking these flavorful green tea mixes more each time I try them.
Today, I am enjoying the Fruit Punch flavor. It tastes more like fruit punch than it does a tea – and I’ve come to expect that with these little pixie tubes of tea! This is a drink mix that is – I think – created more for the people who want to drink more green tea because it’s good for them, but, don’t really care for the taste of green tea. I get that. Green tea can be a bit of an acquired taste. And while I have acquired a taste for green tea, it doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy this as well!
This has a sweet taste and reminds me of fruit punch – like the kind from a juice box. But one significant difference between the two – this doesn’t taste overly sweet the way the juice box can. It has a much more pleasant sweet taste to me than a sugar-sweetened fruit drink.
Unlike the Apple Cider flavored pixie that I recently reviewed, I am finding this more enjoyable as a cold beverage than a warm one. I guess that’s because I prefer my fruit punch cold! Just empty the pixie into your favorite glass, add 8 – 16 ounces (I added closer to the 16 ounces and it came out perfect), and stir vigorously to dissolve. That’s it! If you’re on the go, just grab a water bottle and empty the pixie directly into the water bottle, screw on the cap and give it a good shake. YUM!
This is fruity, sweet, and delicious. And in tasting this, it’s hard to believe that this is a HEALTHY beverage. It doesn’t taste healthy… it just tastes good.