Matcha Matsu and Banana Shake

My fantastic mum got me a blender for my birthday... And since my birthday, I have made myself a good dozen of these shakes to enjoy. I have also make other, more fruity smoothies, and the matcha can go in ALL of them. But this particular mix really utilizes the flavour of the matcha and doesn't just use it as an accent.

What do you need? Well, the ingredients can vary as you like them, but I am going to tell you how I make mine.


 
Vanilla ice cream ~ 6-10 generous scoops

Banana ~ The WHOLE banana, trust me

Vanilla yogurt ~ around 1/4 cup

Milk ~ 1/4 cup

Ice cubes ~ 4-6, depending on how thick you want it to be or how hot it is.

Matcha Matsu ~ 1 tsp

NOW BLEND THAT BITCH

Et voilà!

Creme Caramel Rooibos

Ah, Creme Caramel Rooibos by DavidsTea! This tea smells amazing. Like Creme Brulee but with a much more potent caramel punch.

I've only had this tea once before, and I can't remember what I thought. So, this is basically a play by play.

I love caramel. Like adore it. So I'm really excited!

I used once scoop using my David's Perfect Spoon. I set my kettle to the "herbal" setting and, steeped it for roughly 5 minutes, then let it sit for a few minutes under Stanley (the tea cozy) until I was ready.


Since this is being done during renos, I've had to turn my bedside table into a mini kitchen, and I am also making Ichiban at the exact same time.

I do like how there are actual caramel cubes in the leaf. Even if it doesn't affect the flavor (which, since as of this paragraph I still haven't had any tea) then it's still a cute idea.

It's a little darker than Creme Brulee and a even steeped smells a lot more like caramel.

Now for the taste!


It tastes a lot like Creme Brulee. Like...a lot. It's not bad at all, in fact it's rather good! But, it tastes like Creme Brulee, just less creamy tasting. And for a tea with CREME in the NAME (creme being French for cream) you'd think it be like drinking a caramel custard or something.


But it's not. It's the slightly more boring twin of Creme Brulee.
So, this is not a hate speech, but I am certainly not going to buy more.

Laura

Birthday Cake

Ingredients: red and green rooibos, honeybush, sprinkles, ice cream bits, natural and artificial flavouring.

Well, it is still less than a week after my birthday... Not sure why I didn't think of this for last week, when Friday's post was only one day before my birthday.
Twenty-three. yyaaa-- eh, I feel absolutely no different.


Birthday Cake is not just a tea for birthday celebrations. It is for every type of celebration! Got a promotion? Birthday Cake. Got engaged? Birthday Cake! Hell, you just had a pretty awesome day? Birthday Cake!
It's even great for when you need a sweet pick-me-up on those not-so-pleasant days.
IT HAS FUCKING SPRINKLES, YOU GUYS. SPRINKLES AND ICE CREAM!!!



The best way to describe the flavour is if they made a rooibos and vanilla icecream. That is this tea. I don't really see the association with birthday cake. Maybe an ice cream cake. Ice cream cake with a side of rooibos tea. 
Holy shit, why have I never done this for my birthday?! 

Smooth and creamy rooibos that is the ultimate way to cheer yourself up or celebrate without this "guilt" I hear people talk about in regards to eating cake - apparently that exists? 

Have your... sort-of-cake and... drink it too....
Eh, metaphores aren't my bag.

This tea is DELICIOUS. Get some. For yourself and everyone you know.
Happy Birthday



Happy Steeping,

~K

Jessie's Tea

Notice it looks different than the website

Let me start out with what I did to brew this tea. I feel kinda gross so this is going to be short and sweet.

Jessie's tea by DavidsTea

I used one scoop using David's Perfect Spoon. I set it to the "herbal" setting on my kettle (200F), steeped it for like...5 minutes, then let it sit for a few minutes under Stanley the tea cozy

More fucking coconut. DavidsTea, please calm your shit with the coconut.

This tea is okay. Just okay. It smells kinda funny. The mix of lavender and rooibos AND the coconut just smells funny. Not a BAD funny...just funny.

I dunno, it also tastes how it smells.

I don't like it enough to buy any more, but I do like it enough to have a glass.

Now, to wait for the renos to be over to make a good cuppa,

-L

Kiwi's Big Adventure

Kiwi's Big Adventure
From DavidsTea

Ingredients: Green tea, apple, kiwi, lemongrass, lemon peel, artificial flavouring


Laura made me want to try this tea forever ago, but since I was in the midst of penny pinching... it took me a while to finally order this tea.

It smells SO good. As soon as I took a whiff I was glad that I was giving this tea a go.
Only one problem....

HOT OR COLD?!?

Why not both?
Hot: maybe it's just the warm weather, but I was just not feeling this hot today. It still tastes amazing, but I definitely needed to ice it.
Cold: so good. So much kiwi and apple goodness. This is something I think kids would really love. (And bonus for parents: it's actually HEALTHY - yay!)

This is a pretty awesome tea and I can definitely see why it has stuck around so long.
The apple, kiwi, and green tea are just so perfectly balanced here. I love it!!


Give it a try both ways. It doesn't matter the mood you're in; Kiwi's Big Adventure will bring a smile to the hearts of the lovers of sweet green teas.


Happy Steeping,

~K

 

Three Wishes

I know Kayla reviewed this back in 2013, SO NOW IT IS MY TURN.

This tea is lovely.

L.O.V.E.L.Y

My one qualm with the tea, is the artificial flavoring. It doesn't elaborate as to what the flavoring is flavored as, so it's not 100% positive what belongs to what. Honestly though, the tea still tastes great so fuck it.



My qualm with DavidsTea is that they have it in JUST the Black Tea section, instead of both the Green and Black. Considering it has both green and black tea in it, it just seems unfair and misleading! I'M BEING PETTY. DON'T JUDGE.

A little tip with this tea, I've brewed it at both a full boil, like you would normally do for a black, and then at the lower temperature that tends to suit greens better, and SURPRISINGLY brewing it as if it were JUST a black tea is what works best. That may be why it is in the black tea section

It smells kind of pineapple-y, kind of mango-y. Basically really refreshing. I have tried it iced. It get's this weird bitter after bite, and loses the fruity qualities. 2/10. Would not do again.

Flavor wise you can absolutely taste both the green and the black tea, with a hint of that pineapple-y and mango-y taste.  This is one of those teas from DavidsTea that makes me keep coming back. Lately there are fewer and fewer of those, which makes me sad.

But, this tea rocks. Go buy it. Like, right now. But don't ice it, you'll feel bitter and disappointed.

-Laura

Mind Over Matcha

The Mind Over Matcha smoothie from Booster Juice!
Yes, I'm being lazy. I am still not in the mood to write and I'm drinking one right now.

Chris and I absolutely love this booster juice smoothie. Though he gets the original and I substitute the blueberries for bananas (WAY better!), you really can't go wrong either way.

A generous helping of matcha, soy milk, frozen vanilla yogurt, blueberries (Seriously, get bananas instead), whey protein powder, ice.


It's the only thing we ever get there. Last time we went and they told us that they were out of matcha, I had a mini panic attack because I had to choose something else. Chris said I turned to him with a blank expression and said "There's nothing I can get". NEWSFLASH, I am a drama queen!


Super delicious and incredibly good for you!
The matcha is a perfect flavour and it really helps get rid of that nasty aftertaste that soy tends to have (that's not just me, right?)

This is a must try.


Things will be back to normal next week, I promise.
Thanks for putting up with me.


~K

Late Friday Post

I am feeling super under the weather tonight and I am in no mood to try something new and write about it.

I am probably just going to have a cup of oolong and take a bath to bring myself back down to earth.

I will write this week's post after work tomorrow.

Sorry

~K

.
Maybe this will teach me to get off my ass and have posts done up in advance.

Mother's Little Helper

Tonight I feel gross.

As I'm sure you know by now, I'm fairly candid. So, fair warning.
I feel gross because I have cramps and I'm tired and just a little moody. I have all three of these because I'm on my period.

Mother's Little Helper by DavidsTea can help. I would be using the menstrual tea I made, but 1) my cramps aren't bad enough to warrant using it, 2) it's mainly for daytime use and 3) I want to sleep really well tonight. Not to mention the fact it tastes like shit without honey. And I have no honey. Buckley's of the tea world



Mother's Little Helper is a strange tea color wise when it brews, and beautiful BEFORE you even steep it. Seriously though, it's so pretty. It basically always tastes the same, but some steeps it's more brown, others it's more pink, and other's it's more yellow. Each scoop is a little different percentage of hibiscus wise, and it's really the hibiscus that gives it it's bright pink color.

This tea is also VERY versatile. Too hot out of a hot mug of tea? No problem. Make in concentrate, add cold water and store in a jug in the fridge. It's just as delicious and refreshing and relaxing and sedating as when it's hot!
Did I forget to mention the fact this tea is basically a sedative? It has valerian root in it. Valerian is a natural sedative. For some people, it basically knocks them out after they drink it, for others like myself, we just get relaxed enough to sleep, but it keeps us asleep throughout the entire night.

How I steep it to drink it cold:

I start with 5-6 tbsp of loose leaf and steep it with 4 cups boiling water, or near boiling. This tea steeps well at basically any temperature. And then I steep it for 10 minutes, sometimes more. Then I add about 3 cups cold water and put it all in a jug in the fridge. Perfect for summer! Then, I just had a cup or two before bed.


How I steep it to drink it hot:

I start with two heaping scoops of tea using David's Perfect Spoon, then steep it until the pot is finished being drank, or for at least 5 minutes. I use boiling or near boiling water. Honestly both the 'black' and 'herbal' setting on my kettle work perfectly with this tea.



Honestly, this tea is just all around yummy. It and Creme Brulee are what started my tea addiction, so it will always have a special spot in my soul. It's fresh and sweet. Minty and just a little bit fruity. It's just so good and good for you that I literally recommend this tea to EVERYONE. I've gone through over 200g of this tea (basically by myself) since I first started buying it.

Buy it. Drink it. Sleep.

LONG AND RAMBLING POST IS FINALLY DONE.

-L

PS. I premade little bags of this so I could just throw it in a pot before bed and not have to worry about any clean up. That's what's shown in the first picture.