Review | Russtea's

Review of PureChimp Ceremonial Grade Matcha

10th November 2016

Hey!

Today I’ll be reviewing PureChimp’s ceremonial grade matcha, which they were awesome enough to send me. I’m always on the look out for new matcha to try, so I was thrilled to receive this a couple of weeks ago! 🙂 Now I’ve spent some time with it and tried it extensively I think it’s time to get my thoughts written up for you guys!

The first thing I noticed about their matcha is that the price is really reasonable at only £6.95 for a 30g pouch at the time of writing, this is especially impressive given the quality of the matcha. There’s also a 50g pouch and a 100g pouch that are equally well priced.

It’s a nice bright green colour, a quality I always like to see from my matcha, with a clean crisp smell. I feel that it definitely deserves it’s ceremonial grade, which isn’t always the case with some other brands.

Another quality I’m always keen to judge is how frothy the matcha is once prepared and also how well the matcha blends. Purechimp’s ceremonial grade match is insanely frothy, I tested it with my chasen and a mini electric whisk and both were able to whip up a nice amount of foam! It also blends well so I didn’t have that overly powdery last mouthful that settles at the bottom with lesser quality matcha.

Before I tried their ceremonial grade matcha I purchased their lemon flavoured matcha and although I enjoyed the lemon flavour I was a bit disappointed that PureChimp chose to add stevia to sweeten it, so I was really glad that they didn’t go down that route with this as well. I found that their ceremonial grade matcha has a really nice natural sweetness to it with an enjoyable aftertaste, which made me I wonder if the stevia was added to the lemon flavoured matcha to counteract the sourness of the lemon.

Another thing I always judge a matcha on is how easy it is on the throat, I was pleased to find very little bitterness with PureChimp’s ceremonial grade matcha and a pleasant smoothness.

Overall I’ve really enjoyed my time with PureChimp’s matcha as my ‘go to’ matcha the last couple of weeks. It comes highly recommended on Amazon and I have to agree that it’s a really good option for ceremonial matcha at a really reasonable price point.

If you’d like to try PureChimp matcha for yourself you can find it in 30g, 50g or 100g pack sizes, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed! There’s also a really nice PureChimp gift set which includes three 50g jars with mint, lemon and their original matcha which would make the perfect gift someone special or a starter set if you’re new to the wonderful world of matcha.

That pretty much covers my thoughts on this awesome ceremonial grade matcha. Thanks for reading my review, I hope you’ve enjoyed it and it’s helped your buying decision. Also a huge thanks to PureChimp for sending me their matcha to review!

Bye for now! xXx

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Matcha Rooibos Tea Reviews

Bluebird Tea Co. New Flavoured Matchas Reviewed!

25th October 2016

Hey guys!

Recently Bluebird Tea Co. released an amazing collection of Autumn products and they sent me a load of them to review 😀 it was an exciting surprise when it turned up at my house, even if they did slightly hint on Twitter that something might be on it’s way to me! 😉

I reviewed their new teas first which included an amazing Rooibos blend, chocolate blend and chai tea, you can check that review out here.

Alongside the tea Bluebird also unveiled three amazing new flavoured matchas as part of their Autumn lineup, there’s Cocoa Matcha, Golden Matcha and Gingernut Matcha AND they sent me all three! :O

After a long summer break from my studies it’s time to begin them again, one last time! Matcha always keeps me sane when I’ve got a heavy work load so these couldn’t of come at a better time 😃

On to the review!

Gingernut Matcha

This matcha is limited edition and the flavour is inspired by the well known gingernut biscuits. I bought a ginger matcha from another company a couple of months ago and it was shockingly bad, we’re talking burning throat, coughing profusely bad (I won’t name names!). Needless to say I was slightly hesitant to try another ginger matcha but I was pretty confident that Bluebird would pull it off, and they really did!

The other ginger matcha I tried was spicy, herby and almost medicinal but Bluebird’s is completely different, it’s the kind of ginger flavouring that reminds me of gingerbread men and of course, gingernut biscuits.

The matcha is good quality with nice bright green colouring and froths amazingly. You can feel a slight spice from the ginger but it’s overall sweet and actually is biscuity, as you’d hope for in a Gingernut Matcha.

Golden Matcha

Bluebird’s golden matcha is a twist on their decaffeinated rooibos matcha with some added ingredients.

Alongside the decaf rooibos base is cinnamon, ginger, black pepper and the main ingredient; turmeric! The health benefits of turmeric have been celebrated for thousands of years, it’s believed that turmeric could be good for digestion, depression, pain, diabetes, arthritis and more! It’s not really an ingredient that I could imagine myself easily being able to work in to my everyday diet so Bluebird’s Golden Matcha is a great way to do this.

Bluebird’s recipe for making ‘Golden Milk’ is to add a teaspoon of Golden Matcha to a mug of coconut milk (I use rice milk) and a teaspoon of honey. I actually found that the sweeter taste of the rice milk meant I didn’t need to add any sweetener and I find the flavour more enjoyable without the coconut element.

I initially thought that drinking one of the main ingredients of curry with rice milk would be worth it for the health benefits but not for the taste but I’m actually amazed how incredible it tastes! It has a definite spicyness to it which gives it a chai-like vibe but the milkyness and sweetness of the rooibos really make it a unique and delicious drink!

As this is decaf I was thrilled to finally have a matcha I can drink at night, I often struggle to get to sleep so a hit of matcha isn’t what I’m looking for but this is perfect and really has a cuddly feel to it 😊

Cocoa Matcha

Last up is Bluebird’s cocoa matcha! I say fairly often in my reviews that I love chocolate more than any food, there’s nothing better! So when Bluebird announced cocoa matcha I was thrilled, I have one other chocolate matcha which I adore so I had high hopes for Bluebird’s and it didn’t disappoint.

I could smell the cocoa before I even opened it! Upon opening the tin the first thing I noticed is this matcha is a browny colour, which is because it literally has cocoa powder in it, no icky fake flavourings here! When you add the water it takes on a new fragrant drinking chocolate style smell that I knew was gonna taste good.

The matcha element of the mix tastes good and high quality. I enjoy that this matcha is genuinely chocolatey and the flavour isn’t drowned out by the matcha, perfect if you’re a chocolate addict! If you enjoy chocolate (who doesn’t?) and you like matcha, then this definitely needs to be added to your shopping list 🙂

That’s my round up of the new flavoured matchas from Bluebird Tea Co., they were the first to develop flavoured matcha in the UK and these are awesome additions to their line up. If you’d like to try their flavoured matcha you can find it here.

Thanks to the amazing girls and guys at the Bluebird HQ for sending me these amazing products to try, it’s very much appreciated!
A big thanks to my readers for checking out this review, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Keep a look out for some awesome new favoured matcha posts I’ve got coming up! 😉

Bye for now! xXx

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Black Tea Chai Green Tea Rooibos Tea Reviews

Bluebird Tea Co. Autumn Tea Haul Reviewed!

2nd October 2016

I LOVE Bluebird Tea! If you read my blog on a regular basis you’ll have seen that I review their tea more than any other brand. Why? Because it’s simply awesome!

Bluebird were lovely enough to send me their new Autumn products! With three new matchas and Autumn teas all dropping at once it’s an exciting time for any Bluebird fan! I’ll be reviewing the tea now and follow up shortly with the matcha review, just because it’s a big bundle worthy of two posts 🙂

The four blends Bluebird sent me are Rooibos Earl Grey, Choco Pops, Lapsang Chai and Spiced Pumpkin Pie.

Review Time!

Rooibos Early Grey

I’m excited by this blend! Earl Grey is awesome and rooibos is my drink of choice at night when I can’t sleep (happens A LOT), so this is perfect!

I received this tea as teabags, as always you get high quality pyramid teabags from Bluebird, with a generous serving of tea. This means multiple mugs from one teabag, perfect if you have company or just need something to binge drink 😉

The flavour is really unique, I love the sweet floral flavour from the bergamot as it dances with the sweet and slightly nutty rooibos. It’s a really soothing blend that’s perfect for the colder months ahead 🙂

Spiced Pumpkin Pie

I was a bit unsure about this initially, pumpkin isn’t really something I’m amazingly fond of but after one sip, my view of the Jack-O-Lantern vegetable had been changed, drastically!

This blend is so warm but without being spicy or burning your throat at all and it screams Autumn! With Halloween and Bonfire night coming, this tea is perfectly timed and sure to go down well with anyone you share it with. It has just a gentle warming feel but is overall a sweet blend, with a slightly spicy tickle after every mouthful.

It’s one of those flavours you really want to savour and swirl round your mouth, the only way I can describe it is a cuddle in a mug. You need this tea in your life!

I’ve seen a lot of talk about a famous Bluebird Pumpkin Spiced Latte that can be made with this tea so I just had to give it a try! OMG it was amazing, the most Autumnal drink ever! This tea is really great all round and the Pumpkin Spiced Latte adds to it’s greatness, get some of this tea while it’s still available! 🙂

Lapsang Chai

This is a combo between Lapsang Souchong, Assam and chai, the result is a beautifully unique and perfectly blended cuppa! I usually find that the smoked flavours of Lapsang Souchong are exciting but often overpowering, this blend keeps the smokey excitement but with a flavour that isn’t at all overpowering.

I like the addition of the chai flavours, it adds a slight warmth to the experience, while diluting the smoked taste. The tea is so pretty loose, with it’s warm fiery flecks of red against the dark black tea. Overall I found this blend highly enjoyable, I love that it’s not a flavour you’ll find anywhere else and the result is a complex and thoroughly enjoyable.

Choco Pops

I’ve been holding out on you a little bit and decided to save this one until last, basically because it’s incredible! The smell when I opened the packet blew me away, I’ve never smelt tea this good before. It’s so good it might actually be my favourite Bluebird blend, possibly ever! 😮

It smells like a packet of melted chocolate and isn’t like other teas that claim they’re chocolate and then the flavour disappoints, it really is chocolatey, thanks to cacao bean, chocolate chips, fat reduced cocoa powder AND chocolate sprinkles 😀 When the water is added the chocolate smell takes on a slightly herbal scent from the tea leaves but the flavour is so good! I like that this tea is made up from a blend of Sri Lankan black tea and sencha green tea, it gives the tea a lighter flavour than if it was all black.

I really love Coco Pops, especially the chocolate milk that’s left at the end and you really do get that same chocolatey taste from Bluebird’s latest blend. The toasted rice adds a genmaicha twist to the brew, which works amazingly to create a cereal-like vibe alongside the chocolate. I love this tea!

Closing Words

That’s my review of the latest blends from the Bluebird HQ, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.

A big thank you to Bluebird for being so awesome and sending these fantastic new products to me!

If you’d like to check out the new Autumn blends from Bluebird you can find them here.

Make sure you join my mailing list below and follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to get more from my blog, including my upcoming review of the new Bluebird flavoured Matchas!

Bye for now! xXx

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Pu-erh Tea Reviews

Denong Premium Pu-erh Teas Review

18th September 2016

I was contacted a while back by Denong to see if I would like to review some of their tea, I was really flattered and swiftly agreed!

I haven’t had much Pu-erh tea before so I’ve really enjoyed this experience. Denong sent me 4 different teas to review and although they were all really different, they were all fantastic and have some of the most imaginative names I’ve seen! Read on to find out what I thought.

Enchanting Beauty – 2015 Spring Harvest

This tea has a nice delicate flavour with sweet floral undertones that are followed by quite a dry, slightly bitter taste which blend well with each other. The slight dryness was much appreciated as it made this tea thoroughly refreshing, it was actually really hot here when I was drinking this tea so this worked out well!

I particularly enjoyed the smell of this tea, perfect to get lost in and to forget about the stresses of life, quite enchanting as the name suggests😛 The second and third steeping of this tea caused it to lose it’s bitterness leaving just a delicate sweetness that lightly danced on my tongue.

Ginseng Scent Ripe Pu-erh – 2005 Spring Harvest

This tea was the most fragrant of the four teas but the smell very very slightly reminded me of fish before I prepared the tea but this was completely removed once it had been rinsed. Ginseng Scent Ripe Pu-erh produces a beautiful amber liquid when prepared and was the most economical of these Denong teas.

The flavour was deep and complex with a hint of sweetness and a pleasing zing, which I found perfect for curling up with for a Netflix session!

Denong Ripe Pu-erh – 2004 Unknown Harvest

Denong Ripe Pu-erh has the darkest appearance of the four teas and was the one that had the most intact pressed tea from the cake.

The tea produces a dark orangey brown liquid with an equally deep malty flavour. The most enjoyable aspect of this tea occurs when you’ve swallowed, as an addictive sweetness flows round your mouth, this is one quality that really separated this from other Pu-erh tea I’ve tried.

Elegant Tranquility – 2015 Spring Harvest

I’ve saved the best until last with this one! Elegant Tranquility not only has the most awesome name, but also the most awesome flavour! It has a deep naturally sweet flavour to it, which was really moreish and has kept me going through many busy work days since it arrived!

This tea is crazily economical, as most Pu-erh tea is but you really do get a lot of infusions from this. The first steeping is by far the sweetest of the bunch but the array of flavours with each subsequent steeping is amazing and it really takes you on a flavourful journey. The sweetness fades with each steeping but the tea is never lacking in character. If you decide to venture in to the world of Pu-erh tea with Denong I definitely recommend including this tea in your order 😊

Closing Words

Overall I’ve loved my time with these Pu-erh teas from Denong and I’m amazingly grateful they sent them all this way for me to try 😊 I hope they’ve enjoyed reading my review and all my readers have too!

You can find Denong here, they also have an incredibly informative blog that’s well worth a read, especially if you’re new to Pu-erh.I highly recommend checking out their Pu-erh tea, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. They have a Pu-erh tea sampler which is a perfect place to start if you’re new to Pu-erh and would like to try a collection of different Pu-erh.

As always you can find me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook if you have any questions or you love tea as much I do and would like to chat! 😊

I’d love to hear any recommendations for tea I should try in the comments below!

Bye for now! xXx

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Black Tea Fruit Tea Reviews

T2 Tea Black Forest Bliss & Terrific Toffee Review

2nd September 2016

I’m a huuuge fan of T2 Tea, I’ve been in love with their tea ever since I wandered past one of their stores in London. They have an incredible range of tea but I particularly enjoy their fruit teas, especially in these summer months when I’m getting my cold brew on!

I was thrilled when they sent me some of their flavoured matcha to review and equally delighted when they sent me some of their best summer teas as well! Read on to find out what I thought of Black Forest Bliss & Terrific Toffee from T2 Tea.

I often enjoy using tea as a replacement for naughty calorific food (mainly chocolate), so I was particularly excited to try these dessert-like teas 🙂

Terrific Toffee

I absolutely adore toffee flavoured tea! Black tea and toffee are a match made in heaven, they pair so well and this tea is a fine example of this. It smells so so good, it’s sweet and really has a cosy feeling to it. I could imagine just curling up with a mug of this as the colder nights drift in here in the UK. I like that this tea isn’t overly sweet but still has a deep satisfying flavour, one I’ll be enjoying for a long time!

Terrific Toffee is EXCELLENT for pudding replacement, I can skip the calories and have something sweet and delicious after dinner or pretty much all the time, as it’s been since this tea arrived. A little bit of this tea goes a real long way, especially in a tea bottle of some kind where it has longer to steep, for more on tea bottles check out my Top 10 Tea Bottles post 🙂

Black Forest Bliss

This is technically a tisane as it contains no tea and is primarily made up of cocoa husks with some fruity ingredients too. The packaging is fantastic, T2 really know how to make their customers feel special! They steered away from their trademark orange boxes and went with a super pretty red, white and black box, just like the colours of Black Forest Gateaux!

Before I’d even opened the sealed plastic packaging I could already smell the chocolatey, “cherryey” fragrance, which only increased once I’d opened the packet. This tea really does smell so good once it’s been prepared, and the taste is equally exciting. It starts with a mainly chocolate flavour and then a slight fruity zing from the cherries kicks in, the two flavours are paired perfectly. Amazingly this tea really does taste of Black Forest Gateaux, minus the cream which is probably a good thing!

T2’s Black Forest Bliss is also great iced or cold brewed but as it’s so strongly flavoured less is more! 😉

Merrier Tea Infuser

I also received one of T2’s Merrier Tea Infusers with my tea, which I’m really thrilled with. It has bright green rubberised handles, with a matching lid to hold the flavours in when infusing. A really nice touch is the pattern the holes on the infuser make up, super cute! The lid also doubles as a drip tray making this perfect for getting your tea fix when you’re at work, without making a mess. It’s also available in a load of colours so there’s one for everyone!

I have various infusers but I always come back to my infusers that are this kinda style, they’re easy to wash and allow the leaves to really open up and release their flavour. This will definitely be one of my most used infusers, my old one was a tad trashed so this is a welcome replacement! You can take a closer look at the Merrier infuser here.

Final Words

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my review of T2’s Black Forest Bliss & Terrific Toffee teas, I really recommend trying them or basically any of T2’s tea! 🙂 Black Forest Bliss is out of stock online at the moment so I can’t link directly to it but it’s available in T2’s UK shops and will be back in stock online soon!

I’m really grateful T2 sent me these teas to review, I’ve enjoyed reviewing them and photographing them so much!

If you’d like to read more of my tea reviews and other tea related posts you can subscribe to my newsletter below or find me on social media (Twitter, Instagram or Facebook).

If you haven’t already entered my competition to win over 260 teabags head over and enter here 🙂

Bye for now! xXx

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Green Tea Tea Reviews

Heard of Kukicha?! Check Out My Adagio Teas Review

25th July 2016

A while back I was sent some flavoured matcha by Adagio Teas for me to include in a flavoured matcha comparison that I’ve been writing, which I will eventually have finished! Adagio were also awesome enough to send me some of their tea to review.

I’ve been a fan of Adagio for a long while now, they were one of the first companies to reach out to me when my blog first got going so I’ve had a soft spot for their tea ever since.

I reviewed their Green Rooibos Bonita a few weeks back which was AMAZING and now I’ll be reviewing Kukicha, which is something new for me.

Kukicha is basically a blend of the stems, stalks and twigs of the tea plant that aren’t used, usually when sencha or matcha is produced, which results in a deep green loose tea. The first thing I noticed when I smelt the tea in it’s packet is it has a really green vegetal aroma with a lighter fragrance than traditional green tea.

When I prepared the tea I was pleased by how economical it is, a little goes a long way and it’s good for multiple infusions. When the water’s added it produces a very light golden tea that has a fragrance that I can only describe as smelling healthy, it does have a slightly sweet nutty aroma too.

I was eager to try this tea as it’s something new which is always exciting to find. The main thing I noticed is how light the flavour is, it doesn’t have any bitterness and is overall quite sweet and nutty. It’s really nice to drink on warm summer evenings, especially when it cools slightly as it’s really refreshing. I’ve been drinking this tea in big amounts, I fill my Adagio IngenuiTEA at the beginning of the evening and I’m good to go!

Kukicha is naturally low in caffeine so if that’s something you look for in a tea then this is one for you 🙂

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my review of Adagio’s Kukicha, if you’d like to try the unique flavour of Kukicha yourself you can find it here and they even do a wallet friendly sample size 😀

Thanks to Adagio for sending me this tea to review and thanks so much to everyone reading this!

As always you can find me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook if you have any questions or love tea as much as me and would like to talk tea 🙂

Bye for now! xXx

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Matcha Tea Reviews

T2 Cinammon Flavoured Matcha & Teaware Review

11th July 2016

I’ve become obsessed with flavoured matcha over the last few months and watched it go from one or two flavours being available in the UK to a ton of flavours being available.

I decided I’d put together a comparison post for all the flavoured matcha I can find, there’s even a couple from Barcelona thrown in. I haven’t quite finished the comparison yet but in my search I was excited to discover that T2 now do a few flavoured matchas. I reached out to them to see if they fancied being included in my comparison post and they were kind enough to send me their Cinammon matcha and a hella fancy glass mug to go with it.

As they were generous enough to send me these I thought I’d write a post up just about their products to begin with and then add them to the comparison post too. Read on to find out what I thought!

Cinammon Flavoured Matcha

The first thing I always notice about T2 products is how phenomenally presented they are, if you haven’t been to one of their stores yet I urge you to do so. I particularly like their Regent Street and Tottenham Court Road stores in London, their staff are always more than happy to make up a batch of any of their teas for you to try and they’re super knowledgable. The quality of the packaging is instantly obvious with their flavoured matcha as you can always expect from T2.

This is THE spoon to measure perfect matcha servings! http://amzn.to/29O56ZY

It comes in beautiful black tins with vibrant colours that are always in pristine condition. Inside the lid of the canister there’s a second lid that really helps to keep the matcha fresh, not that it’ll hang around for long once you’ve tasted it 😉 Inside the canister you’ll find a totally sealed foil packet so you know your matcha is perfect from day one.

Straight away I was impressed with the bright vivid green of T2’s matcha and the cinnamon fragrance explosion that took place as soon as I snipped the top of the packet. I did wonder if the cinnamon would be too spicy and overpower the matcha but I could tell from the sweet cinnamony scent that this wouldn’t be the case.

T2’s cinnamon matcha blends amazingly with the water and the froth it produces is really incredible, you literally get about a centermetre of frothy joy on top of each batch. The cinnamon flavour is as the fragrance promised, sweet and puddingy! It reminds me of cinnamon buns but not quite as sweet and the balance of cinnamon and matcha is superb.

Another thing worth mentioning is I recently bought a pack of T2’s unflavoured matcha sachets so I can get a matcha hit while I’m on the move (my matcha addiction has got pretty serious in recent weeks 😛) and I love the vibrant green goodness that bursts out of each sachet. It seems T2’s matcha is top quality whether it’s flavoured or not, some other flavoured matcha I’ve had has clearly been lesser quality matcha hiding behind a flavour but this totally isn’t the case with T2.

T2 Glass Mug

When I opened my much awaited T2 delivery I was thrilled to find that they’d also included one of their glass mugs. Another reason to visit a T2 store is their teaware, it’s simply divine! It is quite expensive but their quality is one of the highest I’ve seen, from their teapots to their glassware, it’s all fantastic.

I’ve always particularly liked their glass teaware, I have a double walled glass of theirs that you may of seen on my Instagram and it’s always been one of my favs. The glass mug I received is clear glass with a black glass handle, it’s super smart and perfect for displaying their matcha in 😃

The black glass handle really works alongside the bright green hues of the matcha. It’s really a joy to use and adds an extra element of sophistication to any matcha session. I’ve really enjoyed my time with T2’s cinnamon matcha and cannot wait to try their other flavours once they’re back in stock in their London stores. If you’d like to buy their flavoured matcha too you can find them on their website, there’s a choice of Cinnamon, Chocolate or Mint.

A massive thank you goes to T2 for being awesome enough to send me their wonderful products to review.

Another huge thanks goes to you guys for reading my review, it means so much to me! 😃 Remember to come find me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, I’m always happy to talk with any fellow matcha lovers!

Bye for now! xXx

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Matcha Tea Reviews

Review of Azuma Chocolate, Ginger or Yuzu Flavoured Matcha Latte Mixes from Yunomi

26th June 2016

The last few months I’ve been loving flavoured matcha and really excited how it’s blown up in the UK this year, so I’ve been on a mission to find all the flavoured matcha I can and put together a big comparison. I’ll cover these again in my comparison post but I wanted to give them their own post as well as Yunomi were generous enough to send me them.

After posting a photo of my matcha collection on Instagram I was messaged by Yunomi, offering me the chance to try some flavoured matcha latte mixes 😀 obviously I jumped at the chance and I’m really excited to share my experience with you.

Yunomi sent me chocolate, ginger and Yuzu (Japanese Citrus). These mixes are a combination of matcha, sweetener and powdered milk with a couple other ingredients. They basically allow you to make a quick matcha latte like the ones slowly popping up at all the good tea shops at the moment but easily in your own home.

The Review

The parcel from Yunomi arrived which was super exciting, tea all the way from Japan is pretty special 🙂 All three mixes arrived in such beautiful vibrant packaging, the packaging is heat sealed for freshness. You get a good amount in one packet, for around the $10 mark, which is pretty reasonable compared to the price of a matcha latte when out and about in London! 😮

I found all three latte’s had the right amount of sweetener, I did worry if they might be too sweet like they sometimes are in tea shops but they’re not at all. It’s really never been easier to make a matcha latte at home, you simply heat the water, then you add a few teaspoons of the mix and stir. It’s really impressive how milky the latte actually ends up being, without any extra milk being added.

The powder blends well and doesn’t have any lumpy issues or sink to the bottom like a lot of hot chocolate powders do. A little also goes a long way so you’ll get a lot of lattes from each packet.

On to the flavours!

Yuzu (Japanese Citrus)

I hadn’t heard of Yuzu before so I did a little reading and found that Yuzu is a citrus plant originating in east asia. I kind of assumed it would be more of an orange flavour but it’s most similar to a grapefruit taste. It is a little less bitter than grapefruit and not crazily strong in the matcha latte mix but it does have a tart flavour.

I found this was refreshing and I really enjoyed the opportunity to try a flavour I’ve never tried before but I did find the grapefruit-like bitterness slightly too strong but that’s probably just me.

This was a really good breakfast drink, which I guess is kinda like people having grapefruit for breakfast. It’s a refreshing flavour that’s good for an early morning wake up and again the matcha taste is still the dominant flavour, which is definitely a good thing.

Chocolate

I was really excited about the chocolate, two of my top 5 favourite foods combined! 😀 The first thing I noticed when I opened the packet is a smell very similar to powdered hot chocolate but with a matcha hit. When you add the water the smell goes from great to outstanding, literally smells of melting chocolate!

I wondered how well the chocolate and matcha flavours would go together but I have to say I needn’t of worried. The chocolate and matcha are there in equal amounts without one being too strong. The sweetener in the latte helps the flavours to blend, without it the sweet chocolate taste and vegetal matcha flavour might not of been such a good match. This was by far my favourite of the three, I just adore chocolate!

Ginger

This is one I was a little apprehensive about trying but it turned out to be really good. It’s not a sweet gingerbread-like flavour, it’s more of a spicy ginger which goes well with the matcha. I did it slightly too gingery for me but if ginger’s your thing I’m sure you’d love it. Again it’s very economical and made a really good thick milky drink with a lot of froth.

I found this latte smelt really great and the fresh gingery aroma really clears your airwaves when you take a sip. I’m sure if you also found the ginger a little too strong you could sweeten it, especially if you prefer a less natural, sweeter matcha.

So that’s my review of these fantastic matcha latte mixes from Yunomi, I really hope you enjoyed reading it and that you choose to try the chocolate, ginger or Yuzu matcha latte mixes for yourself 🙂

A big thanks to Yunomi for sending me these products to review, it’s such an honour to be sent products all the way from Japan so I really appreciate it 😀

As always, please share if you know anyone that will enjoy this review, join my mailing list below and find me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Thanks for reading!

Bye for now xXx

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Matcha Tea Reviews Teaphernalia

Review of NEW Adagio Teas Chocolate Matcha & Raspberry Matcha

13th June 2016

A little while ago I decided to start working on a post comparing flavoured matcha from different brands. Adagio Teas were awesome enough to send me a couple of theirs to try so I figured I’d write a review dedicated to the Adagio Teas flavoured matcha and add them to the comparison as well (which I’ll be publishing soon!).

Adagio sent me a 57g tin of their new raspberry flavoured matcha as well as a 57g tin of their new chocolate flavoured matcha.

The first thing I noticed was how incredible they smell, they really do smell beyond words. I also love the tins, they’re really decorative and a really beautiful touch if the pictures on the inside of the lids, raspberries on one and a chocolatey brown design on the other. A small issue I had with the tins is the matcha had managed to escape a bit and the outside of the tins were a bit covered, this could quite easily just be a one off though.

What’s really good about these flavoured matchas is they’re really good value for money, for just £14 in the UK and $29 in the USA you get a 57g tin of matcha, this is especially cheap and the matcha is still really high quality. Both flavours are a beautiful vivid green colour that’s always nice to see and they froth up really excellently too.

Still loving my perfect serving matcha spoon!

Raspberry Flavoured Matcha

I decided to try the raspberry flavoured matcha first as it was more similar to other flavours I’d tried, which were all fruity, so I felt I’d be able to compare them better. As soon as the matcha hit the water the smell erupted in to the kitchen, what surprised me is the smell is so fresh and doesn’t smell artificial in any way.

The flavour is equally as amazing as the scent, the raspberry flavour is very definitely there but without overpowering the matcha flavour. I love unflavoured matcha so I always want my flavoured matcha to still be primarily matcha flavoured and not sweetened in any way so this is perfect on both fronts. The fresh raspberry flavour compliments the drier flavours of the matcha perfectly and the smell as you inhale with each sip is heavenly!

Chocolate Flavoured Matcha

Chocolate is probably my favourite food in the world, I literally adore it! So chocolate was the flavour I was most excited about trying, all the other flavoured matchas I have are all fruit flavours so this one really stood out for me. Upon opening the tin or even as you pick it up before you open it, you can smell this sweet chocolate smell, it kinda smells just like Nesquik milkshake powder!

The chocolate flavour is quite subtle and not overpowering, which I feel is a positive thing. After trying it and thinking about it, I thought that a strong chocolate flavour wouldn’t actually be that great with the vegetal flavours of matcha so it’s subtlety is probably it’s strong point. It’s very obviously matcha but that slightly naughty chocolate flavour is noticeable alongside it, which is a pretty heavenly combo!

So if you’d be wanting this to be crazily chocolatey this probably isn’t for you but I kinda feel that crazily chocolatey isn’t really what you want from your matcha, give me matcha with a chocolatey undertone instead any day! 🙂 It’s really great to be able to enjoy something so healthy and get a chocolate hit at the same time!

Final words

The new flavoured matcha range from Adagio is really exciting and well worth checking out if you like matcha and want something a bit different. These matchas are flavoured to just the right amount, while still retaining the flavour matcha lovers adore.

You can check out the new flavoured matcha’s from Adagio Teas here, other flavours in the range are Cinnamon Apple, Mocha and Peach. I’ll probably end up buying the Cinnamon Apple and Peach as well as I love matcha from Adagio Teas and the chocolate and raspberry didn’t disappoint at all!

Adagio also included some of their tea for me to review as well which I’ll be doing in a separate post so keep a look out for that if you love tea as well! 🙂

Thanks to Adagio for sending me these new flavoured matchas to review, I’m so grateful!

A while back I reviewed Adagio’s IngenuiTEA gravity tea infuser which will seriously change the way you drink tea! You can find the review here.

Thanks for reading! Bye for now 🙂 xXx

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Green Tea Iced Tea Rooibos Tea Reviews

New Bluebird Tea Co. Summer Blends Reviewed!

1st June 2016

Not much beats waking up to a surprise delivery from Bluebird! They’ve launched their new summer blends this week and were nice enough to drop some in the post for me 😃

So the first thing I wanted to do, apart from drink them, was get a review written up for you guys!

Strawberry Split

First up is strawberry split, a wonderfully fruity, pretty pink blend. It’s green tea that’s absolutely packed with freeze dried strawberries with a fruity but slightly floral scent, it’s literally summer in a packet!

The tea is so pretty to look at before it’s even steeped, it’s full of floral summer colours that will wow your guests. Once the tea’s steeped it produces an equally pretty pink liquid that also smells fantastic, another plus for entertaining with this tea.

It’s incredible iced with a little bit of honey or agave to sweeten it. I find a lot of teas aren’t that great iced, they always seem not sweet enough and I feel like I want to put way too much sugar in. This is the place this tea really excels beyond it’s competition, it so damn good iced! 😃

Jelly & Ice Cream

This is a rooibos based blend which is great for night time drinking and just avoiding caffeine in general, if that’s your thing 😉 The smell is really sweet and took me right back to jelly when I was a kid, I actually always hated adding the ice cream so I’d just eat the jelly but with this tea I welcome both flavours 😊

One of the things I love about Bluebird Tea Co. is their ability to capture a non-tea flavour in their tea. You’d think jelly and ice cream tea would be a fad and you’d get it and find it tastes nothing like it pretends to, but this is different. It really does taste of jelly and ice cream, the sweet flavours combine with the rooibos base perfectly.

This is another blend that’s great iced and will probably be my drinking buddy on the rare days it’s too hot in the UK to drink tea.

Review Complete!

So that’s my review of these two new teas from Bluebird Tea Co. There are another two summer blends from Bluebird; Red Velvet and Sangria. Both look fantastic but Red Velvet is definitely on my list of teas I need in my life!

You can find these summer blends on the Bluebird Tea Co. website here, or roll in to one of their stores in Brighton, Tunbridge Wells or their new Bristol store!

I’d like to say a big thanks to Bluebird Tea Co. for sending me these teas, it was an awesome surprise to wake up to and very much appreciated😊

Bye for now xXx

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Hi there, welcome to my blog about my biggest passion, tea!

My name’s Russell, my lifetime nickname has always been Rusty or Russtea as my friends now call me (my surname even begins with T!).

Not much beats the feeling of taking a moment at the end of a busy day and relaxing with your favourite mug, filled with sweet fruit tea, or waking up with black tea infused with vanilla shortbread.

Why not take a moment now, make your favourite tea and join me as I share my tea related experiences?