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May 2017

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Bluebird Tea Co. Exam & Summer Blends Reviewed

23rd May 2017

The last couple of weeks I’ve been finishing my final assignment for the year. This week my focus is shifting to revising for my last exam of the year, it’s been massively stressful!

Luckily, a surprise delivery arrived from Bluebird with limited edition exam blends and suddenly my revision looks a whole lot more exciting! 😊

Review Time!


One In A Melon

First up is a gorgeous green and melon blend! This tea smells incredibly fruity and sweet, I could smell it through the packaging and recently went to Bristol with it in my case and it left my clothes smelling super fruity 😃

Once the water hits the smell is magical, the whole kitchen smells of juicy watermelon. The green tea flavour is lush as you can always expect from Bluebird and the strength of the watermelon flavour is perfect. This is a tea that will clearly be AMAZING iced, I’ll definitely be drinking this iced over the summer once my exams are out of the way😃


Hocus Focus

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this tea and couldn’t imagine what it would taste like after smelling it but I was pleasantly surprised.

The tea produces a deep chocolate coloured brew with extremely satisfying toffee notes. There’s a slight chilli hit that adds a much appreciated element of excitement. An all round good blend but don’t be put off by the smell or you’ll miss a unique and exciting tea!


Summer of Love

This is a blend I was instantly excited about, I love the name and it’s one of the most colourful blends I’ve ever seen! The tea gives off an incredible fruity smell that smells super summery. Bluebird sent me this tea in a 50g pouch which is generously filled as always and is sure to fuel a lot of happy tea sessions 😊

The taste of the green tea element of this blend is fantastic and the fruity flavour is sweet but doesn’t overpower the drier vegetal flavour of the green tea. Another blend I’m sure will be awesome iced and super refreshing on the warmer days of the summer ahead.


Ginger Beer

Ginger beer isn’t a drink I’ve ever really drunk so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this blend but I was definitely intrigued!

The tea is a rooibos based blend which Bluebird are particularly good at making. There’s a really refreshing lime scent which creates a nice lime aftertaste, which is accompanied by a hint of caramel. The ginger flavour is the most noticeable alongside the nutty rooibos goodness, with the combination of lime and ginger creating an almost fizzy mouth feel.

An overall awesome blend from Bluebird which I know I’ll be enjoying regularly 😃


Pineapple Sorbet

As soon as I opened my Bluebird delivery and saw Pineapple Sorbet I couldn’t wait to try it. It literally smells like a sweet shop with a smell that reminds me of pear drops.

It’s another blend that instantly makes you think of summer and the tea itself looks really pretty 😍Pineapple sorbet’s sweetness is perfect to serve iced without needing to add any sugar or honey. I received this blend in pyramid teabags which are generously filled and easily make tea for two. This is one of my favourites from these new Bluebird blends!


All Nighter

All nighter is one of the teas I was most excited to try, due to it being a tea and coffee combo. I really don’t like coffee and wouldn’t ever choose it over tea but it’s a combination I’ve never tried before which is always exciting. It actually smells incredible with a nice roasted coffee scent with green tea and an enticing chocolate hint.

The flavour is real good, definitely better than I expected! The tea flavour takes centre stage and the slight coffee flavour really works, the addition of chocolate is sheer perfection! I also love the name of this blend and I’ve been drinking a ton of it while I’ve been revising 😃


Relax

One thing that I struggle to do when my workload is huge is relax so I was pleased to see a Bluebird blend to help me take a break. Chamomile tea is always welcome in my tea cupboard but I find it’s one of those blends that when it’s bad, it’s really bad! As expected Bluebird’s twist on chamomile tea is one of the best I’ve tried.

It smells mind blowing, with a candy apple sweetness alongside a delicate aroma of white tea. I sometimes receive chamomile tea to review that is really overly floral and not very sweet but the addition of apple and white tea brings the chamomile flavour down a notch. There’s also an addictive honey aftertaste that keeps me coming back for more!

Final Thoughts

All round this is a fantastic delivery from Bluebird with some of my all time favourite Bluebird blends. These teas have been much appreciated during my revision and I know I’ll be drinking the summer blends all through the summer months ahead.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review, if you’d like more from my blog be sure to come find me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram (or all three! 😜).

If you’d like to try these new blends yourself you can find them on Bluebird’s website.

A huge thanks to Bluebird for sending me this awesome delivery 😘

Bye for now! xXx

Fruit Tea Green Tea Herbal Tea Tea Reviews

TeaTourist Subscription Box Review

12th May 2017

One of my favourite parts of the month is always when I wake up to find my monthly TeaTourist subscription box on the doormat! I always rush to open it, excited to see what tea adventures I’ll be going on this month 😀

April’s box has a lot of caffeine free blends which suits me perfectly as a lot of my tea drinking occurs in the middle of the night (student life/insomnia!). Be sure to read on to find a voucher code for 30% off your first TeaTourist subscription box! 😀

Time for the review!

Hibiscus Flowers – Tugboat Brews

First up is a special hibiscus blend that I really adore. The tea is a deep purpley red colour with huge big hibiscus flowers, it looks really special in nice glass teaware with the flowers dancing in the deep red liquid.

The flavour is equally as fantastic! I love the deep floral flavour but it’s accompanied by addictive fruity notes. I always enjoy the zingy aftertaste of hibiscus tea but it can sometimes be too sharp, especially in cheaper tea but the zing is perfectly balanced with the sweeter flavour. All round this might be the best hibiscus blend I’ve ever tried! 😮

 



Pumpkins Go Bananas – Leaves of the World

This is one of those blends that I literally could not imagine tasting nice, especially as I hate bananas! Adding pumpkin to the mix could only be a bad thing, at least that’s what I thought before I tried it.

It’s always interesting to read the TeaTourist notes that accompany every tea in their subscription boxes, they have all the info about steeping time, temperature etc. This blend was described as being similar to banana milkshake, despite my bananaphobia I’ve always loved McDonald’s banana milkshakes.

Crazily the banana-pumpkin combo really works, the banana is a sweet banana flavour and doesn’t taste like fresh bananas, it really does taste of banana milkshake (with a fraction of the calories). The tea is really fragrant when it’s steeped and gives off a cake-like aroma, another awesome tea!

 



Shades of Grey – MDTEA

I think I might be the only tea lover that doesn’t love earl grey, I just can’t understand what the fuss is about! 😳 I like the malty tea flavour but the citrusy flavour really isn’t my favourite at all but obv I had to try it! 🙂

The floral notes of the rose petals are a really nice addition and definitely help to sweeten the flavour. I liked that the citrus flavours were a tad more refined in this blend and the black tea flavours were more evident. I’m not sure what a good or a bad Earl Grey is as I’m not a huge fan in general but this is one of the better ones I’ve tried and I’m sure you’ll love it if Earl Grey is your thing 🙂

 



Peppermint Tea – Maiservas

Although I don’t get particularly excited by mint tea it is always quite enjoyable and great for an upset stomach! This mint tea is made up of large nice quality leaves, with a fresh scent. It’s fantastic to wake you up in the morning, as soon as the water hits the leaves a minty aroma breathes a breath of fresh air in to the room.

This blend has a really nice sweetness to it, it’s not the overpowering menthol type of mint tea and has no bitterness. An all round good mint tea 🙂

 


Thieves’ Brew – Bev’s Tea Company

Thieves is the perfect tea for people who enjoy a more traditional cuppa! I adore flavoured tea, I love exciting blends with cool names but sometimes it’s nice to have a good quality natural tasting tea.

Thieves’ Brew has a deep dry malty flavour with a comforting fragrance that produces a nice golden liquid. I always invite my mum to try the more traditional blends as she’s in to natural tea with milk and she definitely enjoys this one!

 



Chocolate Ginger – Shibui Tea

I was really excited to try this tea as I love Shibui Tea and it’s not flavours I’ve seen combined before. I love finding new and exciting tea, it’s all part of being a TeaTourist! 😎

I knew this tea would be special as soon as I began steeping it. The chocolatey aroma with the warmth of the ginger smelt fantastic. Upon tasting it I was glad to find that chocolate was the dominant flavour and the ginger was a nice sweet cake-like ginger, I hate ginger teas that have more of a medicinal flavour which this doesn’t at all. This is without a doubt one of my favourites this month!

 


Conclusions

This month’s TeaTourist box has been another fantastic selection of tea with something for everyone. Banana Pumpkin was the biggest surprise for me and Chocolate Ginger and hibiscus were AMAZING.

If you’d like to try a TeaTourist subscription box for yourself you can get 30% off your first box using the code RUSSTEAS30 on their website. You really won’t regret it!

Thanks for taking the time to read this post and thanks to TeaTourist for making it possible! ❤️

Come find me on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook for more tea related fun! 😀

Join my newsletter below to keep up to date with all my posts, competitions and news.

Bye for now! xXx

Matcha Reviews Tea Reviews Top 10's

Ultimate Flavoured Matcha Comparison, Find Out Which Are The Best!

4th May 2017

I love matcha! it’s the best breakfast boost I’ve ever found, there’s nothing better to get you through that groggy morning feeling.
I’ve noticed flavoured matcha popping up more and more, my collection keeps on growingso I thought I’d do a flavoured matcha comparison post!

I won’t actually rank them or anything, don’t wanna be mean! 😛  I’ll just give you a general run down of my thoughts about each one and they’ll be in no particular order.

I made sure I used my matcha measuring spoon to ensure all the flavours were made with an equal amount of matcha. I really recommend it if you want to enjoy your matcha at it’s best, it’s really good quality and still looks great after a couple of years use!

 

T2 Tea Cinnamon Matcha

T2’s unflavoured matcha is really good, I find T2 products always deliver! I was excited to find that they’d made flavoured matcha and I reached out to them to see if they would like to be included in my comparison. First impressions were good, amazingly presented and smells awesome. The flavour was just as good as the smell, with a perfect blend of matcha and lusciously sweet cinnamon. Also incredibly frothy which is something I always enjoy in my matcha! Read my full review of T2’s Cinnamon Matcha. Can’t wait to try some of their other flavours and add them to this comparison! 😀

 

 

Bluebird Tea Co. Orange Matcha
The first thing I noticed upon opening the tin is the smell, it’s mind-blowing, like freshly squeezed orange juice. This must be because it actually has orange peal and orange oil in it, which gives it an intensely refreshing zesty flavour. It’s good because it’s not over flavoured, you still know it’s matcha but it just has the lush addition of the orange flavour.

It’s really really frothy, I mainly use an electric milk frother rather than a traditional whisk and the froth is wonderful. It’s very reasonably priced at £15 for 30g (at the time of writing), making it one of the cheaper options and you do get a lot of drinking for that £15.
It’s a good choice for anybody that wants the health benefits of matcha (you must of heard about them by now!), but aren’t fond of the natural taste of it.

 

 

Tea Shop Strawberry Matcha

I found this while travelling when I stumbled in to a tea shop we randomly found in Barcelona. It has a really nice strawberry flavour that is just right, it’s not so sweet that it overpowers the matcha flavour but it’s definitely strawberry flavoured. It has a bit of a pink hue to the froth, which I assume is from whatever they use to flavour it. This is possibly the one that still has the natural matcha flavour the most which could be a good or bad thing depending on your preference.

It’s got a slightly powdery feeling to it, I’m not really sure why, it possibly doesn’t blend as easily as others.  Tea Shop make pineapple, cherry and caramel as well as a couple others that are included below!

 

 

Adagio Teas Raspberry Matcha

Adagio were awesome enough to send me their raspberry matcha and their chocolate matcha (more on the chocolate further down! ;). This is the first Raspberry flavoured matcha I’ve found and I sure was glad to find it! It smells amazing and the tins Adagio use for their flavoured matchas are stunning.
The raspberry scent explodes from the tin before the lid is even removed and multiplies as you fully open it. What I liked most is that the raspberry flavour doesn’t taste artificial at all, it’s really impressive how genuine the succulent raspberry flavour has been captured in this matcha’s dry powder form. Full review here.

 

 

Yunomi – Azuma Chocolate Flavoured Matcha Latte

This isn’t technically flavoured matcha, it’s a flavoured instant matcha latte mix. I love matcha lattes but I find them hard to get when I’m out and about and I’m a bit too lazy to make them at home much. This is where these matcha latte mixes from Yunomi come in, simply add water and you have a matcha latte!

I’ve been a fan of the unflavoured matcha latte mix that Yunomi have for a while now so I was super excited to try the flavoured ones. The chocolate one is definitely my favourite, it smells simply amazing and really does add a nice milk chocolate sweetness to the latte and the convenience of these mixes is amazing! Full review of chocolate, ginger and yuzu matcha latte mixes here.

 

 

Pure Chimp Lemon Matcha

This is one of the most reasonably priced flavoured matchas I found as you get 50g which is more than most others. The smell is crazy strong, I was expecting a zingy lemon scent but it’s actually a really nice sweet lemon fragrance.

The flavour is also very sweet lemon and the matcha flavour is lost quite a bit as a result, the reason for the sweetness is Pure Chimp’s lemon matcha contains stevia to sweeten it. I’m a bit undecided about the stevia that’s been added, it does make the lemon flavour sweet and very different to the other flavoured matchas.
Personally I’d prefer it to not contain any sweetener so I could add it if I wanted, plus I LOVE the flavour of matcha which is lost a bit. The addition of stevia makes this the perfect matcha for people who aren’t accustomed to the natural taste of matcha, a great way to get the health benefits in a sweeter form. This matcha is insanely frothy, one of the frothiest I’ve found and blends really quickly which is always good.

Pure Chimp donate 5% of all profit to charity which is absolutely fantastic and really admirable. So if you prefer your matcha sweetened, love it frothy and would like to donate to charity this is the one for you. You can buy a jar here or a smaller pouch to try.

 

 

Bloom Teas Tropical Matcha
The first thing I noticed about the tropical matcha from Bloom is how nicely presented it is. A glass pot and a little mini spatula attached to the side are a welcome addition. This matcha smells heavenly, it’s like fresh cut mango, I love it! It seems to have little tiny white balls in it which I assume is flavouring, they dissolve completely and I only noticed them because I sieve my matcha so no biggy. Overall this is definitely in my top three, it might even be my favourite, I’m on my third jar now so it must be good, you really won’t be disappointed with this one! 😀

 

 

Adagio Teas Peach Matcha

I’m not really that much of a fan of peach as a flavour but it does seem to be a flavour that blends well with tea and the other Adagio flavoured matchas are so good I decided to give it a try. The smell explodes from the tin before you even open it (largely because the tins leak a bit in the post :p), it’s a mouthwatering sweet peachy fragrance that I really enjoy waking up to. Adagio’s matcha is always a bright vivid green and this is true for all of the flavours of theirs that I’ve tried.

On to preparation! It froths up really well and the smell gets stronger when water is added, I found myself excited about a flavour I usually don’t enjoy all that much which has to be a good sign! I have to say it really does taste fantastic, it has a stronger flavour than a lot of the matcha I’ve featured here but it works really well with the green tea flavour. This is definitely one to try if you like peach and/or prefer your matcha to be more strongly flavoured 🙂

 

 

Bluebird Tea Co. Blueberry Super Matcha

Next up is Bluebird’s super matcha, I heard so many good things about this so I had to give it a try. It’s a little bit more expensive than the orange matcha from Bluebird but you do get the added health benefits of Blueberry and Acai, which add even more antioxidants to the mix!

It’s a beautiful bright green colour and is clearly very good quality. It’s just so fruity and tastes fantastic hot or cold so will definitely be enjoying this all summer!

 

 

Adagio Teas Chocolate Matcha

Chocolate is without a doubt my favourite food and matcha is easily one of my favourite drinks so I was overjoyed to find that the amazing people at Adagio Teas have combined the two! I must admit I did wonder at first how the two flavours would be blended together and which flavour would take centre stage, so I was thrilled when I found that the two flavours happily share the stage!

This blend isn’t too chocolatey and is still clearly matcha but the chocolate flavour floats alongside the vegetal matcha goodness! Full review here 🙂

 

 

Tea Shop Mango Matcha

This is another flavour I found in Barcelona along with the strawberry flavour above. I loved the strawberry matcha but its downfall was it didn’t blend very well and tasted slightly powdery. Luckily their mango matcha isn’t powdery at all and is really addictive!

The mango flavour isn’t as strong in this matcha as the Bloom tropical matcha so I have to say I prefer the Bloom matcha but if you like a more natural flavour in your matcha this is for you.

 

 

Bluebird Tea Co. Cocoa Matcha

One of my more most exciting finds is Bluebird’s cocoa matcha, I loved Adagio’s chocolate matcha so I was excited to see how Bluebird’s compared. I have to say it’s really awesome! Although the chocolatey flavour in Bliebird’s cocoa matcha isn’t as sweet as in the Adagio chocolate matcha it does have more of a natural flavour to it, which is equally as enjoyable.Bluebird’s is flavoured with raw cocoa powder so it does have a brown tint to it, like anything chocolate should! 😀

I really love both approaches to chocolate matcha so it really depends whether you’re more in to a natural approach to flavouring or a sweeter flavour. Chocolate has to be my favourite food so I’ll definitely be devouring this Bluebird cocoa matcha!

 

Thanks for reading!

I’ll add to this post as I find more flavoured matcha, I have a few lined up and have had a few companies contact me so this post will surely grow! 😀

Comment below with any flavoured matcha I’ve missed or email me if you’d like your flavoured matcha included in the list, I’d love to add it!

Bye for now! xXx