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Green Tea

Unmatched Love for Matcha Love

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Benjamin Franklin once said that the only certain things in life were death and taxes. I think if he were around today he’d have to add “oh, and at some point today Emily will drink matcha”. When I say I’m obsessed…it’s a big deal. Especially because of my semi-addiction to iced matcha lattes. Put some matcha powder in a shaker and add some form of milk and ice and I’ll forget my own name. BUT, we have a problem, Houston, when the venti iced matcha latte from Starbucks (the only place in my area that makes them and the only size that even comes close to satisfying me) runs over $5. So my daily fix costs me around $35 a week, which *gulp* runs around $140 a month.

Yeah, I can’t be doing that.

Enter the wonderful product above. Each packet can be mixed with milk and thrown over ice and voila, homemade iced matcha latte. Here’s the fun part (what am I saying, it’s green tea, it’s ALL the fun part): I can get a can of 15 packets from Meijer for usually around $10. Thus (do people still say thus? I’m bringing it back.), for the cost of 2 Starbucks lattes, I can make 15 at home.

Now sometimes I’m away from the house all day and need my fix to go. Or sometimes I want to browse Target while getting my fix. And I don’t mind making an exception every now and then. But discovering this delicious and cost-efficient product will *literally* save me hundreds of dollars this year.

And that’s pretty darn precious.

Tea Review: My Green Teapot’s Beautifully Subtle Whole Leaf Green Oolong Teas

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My Green Teapot Strawberry Green Oolong Tea

I love many things about working from home as a web publisher and blogger, but none any more than doing tea reviews. Come on, what Crazy Tea Chick wouldn’t love everything about that?!  Today’s tea review is for My Green Teapot: a tea company with a beautiful name, beautiful packaging, and beautiful tea.

How are you going to top that?!

I was sent small samples of two of their teas to review. First up is a beautiful, subtle green tea, Strawberry Green Oolong. After one taste, my first thoughts were, “Lovely, soft, and very enjoyable.”  My Green Teapot’s Strawberry Green Oolong Teas are all natural whole leaf teas from Taiwan infused with strawberry.

My Green Teapot Tea

The fact that this tea has a small amount of caffeine makes it one you can enjoy throughout the day.

As with all of my tea reviews, I tried it both hot and iced and, while it was exceptional both ways, I think I prefer it iced because you get more of the strawberry flavor that way. Since strawberry is one of my absolute favorite flavors in the world, the more the better!

Steeping instructions:  8 oz cup   –   195°F   –   1-3 min

My Green Teapot

Before I get to the second My Green Teapot tea, I just want to say a little something about the packaging – it is adorable. I love when companies (tea, chocolate, coffee, food…) put a little extra thought into their packaging. It just makes the entire experience sweeter. These adorable little “Chinese Takeout boxes” are as unique as they are cute. I was going to save them for Christmas packaging but couldn’t get the green teapot sticker off cleanly.

Oh well, they served their purpose – setting a special mood for a couple of special teas.

My Green Teapot Orange Green Oolong Tea

In addition to the Strawberry, I was sent a little sample of the Orange Green Oolong tea and it, too, was wonderfully subtle and altogether lovely. While I didn’t have any oranges on hand (which is odd – I usually have a whole bowlful!), it occurs to me that a slice of fresh orange floated in a hot mug or tall glass of this tea would be a beautiful thing.  This tea was equally delicious hot and cold – I honestly couldn’t decide which one I preferred.

Like the Strawberry Green Oolong, Orange Green Oolong teas are all natural whole leaf teas from Taiwan infused with orange.

My Green Teapot Orange Green Oolong Tea

Steeping instructions:  8 oz cup   –   195°F   –   1-3 min 

I hope you’ll check out My Green Teapot and all of their wonderful natural whole leaf teas. I highly recommend the two I’ve reviewed here.

My Green Teapot Orange Green Oolong Tea

Review: TAZO Organic Peachy Green Tea

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TAZO Organic Peachy Green Tea
TAZO Organic Peachy Green Tea
It’s been my experience that all TAZO teas are delicious and the TAZO Organic Peachy Green Tea is certainly no exception.   I buy at least three boxes of TAZO tea each time I go to Target (great selection). If I’m out – or even remotely low – on their Wild Sweet Orange or Passion, I’ll buy those. If I see a new flavor, as long as it isn’t mango (deathly allergic), I’ll also grab a box of it.

This is all, of course, on top of the TAZO Chai Tea Concentrate I can’t possibly live without.

After loading up on the “regulars” last week, I grabbed a box of the TAZO Organic Peachy Green Tea to try. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen it, to be honest. It had been tempting me for quite a while. The problem is, though, I’ve been jilted by so many “peach” flavored teas that… well… I’m having to learn to trust again.

{Review continued below….}

TAZO Organic Peachy Green Tea
TAZO Organic Peachy Green is Great Hot and Iced
Since TAZO is one of the names I trust the most, I actually accepted its invitation this time and brought it home with me.  Somehow, between leaving Target and getting home with my tea stash, my hopes began to soar so high that the first thing I did was make a cup.

Then another.

It was phenomenal and, honestly, made me forget every peach flavored tea that’d ever broken my heart before.

Peach is one of my favorite flavors in the world, so it frustrates me when teas don’t do right by it. Nine times out of ten, the flavor they call “peach” isn’t even close to the peach I know and love. With TAZO Organic Peachy Green Tea, however, I literally knew it was going to be special the second I opened the tea bag. My nose knew even before my taste buds.

The flavor is 110 percent peach… not just a flavor that’s in the neighborhood. What’s more, TAZO did a perfect job of distributing just the right amount. It doesn’t taste like you’re drinking a peach – it tastes like you’re drinking a great cup of green tea that happens to have peach on its mind.

Trust me, it’s a beautiful thing.

This tea is also fantastic iced. A clear indication in my house of how much I love a tea is how fast the box disappears. TAZO Organic Peachy Green Tea  has become an “instant legend” in our home – the box was completely empty within 4 days.

Do you have any idea how many cups and glasses of tea that is?!?!

Look for TAZO Organic Peachy Green Tea in your local grocery store or Target. You can also find it on Amazon:  TAZO Organic Peachy Green Tea.

It’s now joined the ranks of TAZO’s Passion, Sweet Wild Orange, Zen Green Tea, and Chai Tea Concentrate on my trips to Target… If TAZO keeps this up, I’m going to need two carts.

TAZO Organic Peachy Green Tea

Starbucks Green Tea Frappuccino With Whipped Topping and Raspberry Syrup on Top

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Starbucks Green Tea Frappuccino
 

I am as big a fan of Starbucks as you’ll ever find. In fact, every member of my family know the “right” thing to get me for Christmas, Mother’s Day, or my birthday is a Starbucks gift card.  One Christmas I racked up 5 and I was in caffeinated bliss for weeks.

The crazy thing is, I never… seriously, never…. order coffee at Starbucks. In the cooler months, I always get a Chai Tea Latte or hot black tea and in the warmer months, my Baristas know exactly what’s coming out of my mouth, “Grande Green Tea Frappuccino with Whipped Topping and Raspberry Syrup on Top.”

It’s absolute perfection and I’m as associated with this drink as Cookie Monster is cookies.  I, admittedly, get as worked up as he does for the object of my affection to.

Years ago, I began ordering the Green Tea Frappe “straight up,” without whipped topping or anything. Honestly, it’s absolutely delicious like that too and sometimes I still order it without the frills. However, I’ve found that a little whipped topping, followed by raspberry syrup on top creates such an incredible work of delicious art that I even dream about it.

Honest.

When you order this masterpiece, you have to be sure to specify, “raspberry syrup on top” plainly or you’ll get it mixed in with the green tea frappe, itself. That’s happened to me before and, while it’s still delicious, it’s just not the same magical drink as you see pictured here.  Without the whipped topping and Raspberry syrup, it’s more like a delicious green tea smootie… add the other two and what you have is Heaven in a plastic cup.

This one’s a real head-turner and tastes even better than it looks.

 

Starbucks Green Tea Frappuccino 2

Green Tea Review: Triple Leaf Tea’s Ginkgo & Decaf Green Tea

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Triple Leaf Tea Ginkgo and Decaf Green Tea

As you’d expect from someone who runs a tea blog, I drink tea all day long. From the first glass of iced green tea in the morning (as odd as it may sound to some people, I drink iced green tea along with my cups of coffee each morning) to my last cup of hot tea in the evening, there’s a steady stream of tea bags and flowing tea leaves in my kitchen.

I don’t really like to have much caffeine late in the evening, though, so I’ve been experimenting with a few different decafs. One I’ve fallen particularly in love with is shown above, Triple Leaf Tea, Tea Bags, Ginkgo & Decaf Green Tea with Panax Ginsengs & Chinese Herbs, 1.4-Ounce Bags, 20-Count Boxes (Pack of 6).

Healthy and delicious? That’s something I can get behind.

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Herbal dietary supplement. Supports mental alertness & memory. Helps maintain a healthy immune system. Supports natural vitality. Naturally decaffeinated tea to maintain antioxidants. Ancient Chinese medicinals. Now you can enjoy the benefits of ginkgo, green tea and Chinese herbs without the caffeine! Our green tea is naturally decaffeinated using a carbon dioxide process that maintains green tea’s beneficial antioxidants. Research indicates that ginkgo helps promote healthy circulation and oxygen supply to the brain and extremities, and helps support normal mental alertness, concentration and memory. Gingko, Asian and American Panax ginsengs, eleuthero, astragalus, poria, fo-ti and eucommia are traditional Chinese longevity herbs, used to tonify the liver and kidney. They were used to help maintain the healthy function of the immune system, and to help build the body’s vitality, strength and resistance to mental and physical stress. Experts recommend drinking three or more cups of green tea a day. Drink this delicious tea anytime of day, hot or iced, as is, or try adding lemon and your favorite sweetener. Traditional Chinese medicine began in approximately 2500 B.C. Recently, here in the West, people have discovered the value of this ancient system which focuses on aiding the body’s own healing mechanisms through restoring harmony and balance. The Chinese system of herbology has been recorded in ancient texts which are studied and employed even today. This time tested knowledge has been passed on from generation to generation over the centuries. Triple Leaf Tea comes from such a tradition. It is made in the U.S.A. by a Chinese American family-owned business. The company owner can remember stories of his own grandfather selling herbs and teas in his village in China. Today, these traditional Chinese herbal formulas are available to you. We wish you harmony and balance! We use oxygen bleached tea bags. (These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.) Made in U.S.A.

All Triple Leaf Tea is excellent AND nutritious.  I’m beginning to feel like a complete expert on this brand because we’ve tried just about everything they make!

I love my Ginkgo & Decaf Green Tea with honey and a spritz of lemon but it’s actually a great tasting cup of tea without anything added. It’s also great on ice, but I prefer it hot.  Truth be told, even though I had it in mind for drinking in the evening, I often make a cup during the day simply because I’m hooked on the taste. In fact, it’s 10:40 am as I’m writing this review and I’m enjoying a cup right now.

A big, big cup.

Click either picture or the following link for more information about this flavorful, comforting, and ridiculously delicious tea: Triple Leaf Tea, Tea Bags, Ginkgo & Decaf Green Tea with Panax Ginsengs & Chinese Herbs, 1.4-Ounce Bags, 20-Count Boxes (Pack of 6).

Cup of Tea

Inspiring Green Tea: Smooth, Delicious, and Very Aptly Named

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Inspiring Green Tea

Buy Delicious Inspiring Green Tea Online

A few days ago I was scouring a few Dollar-Friendly stores in Owensboro, Kentucky: Big Lots, Dollar General Store, Deal$…  You never know what goodies you’ll find at these incredibly underrated stores. I can’t tell you how many times someone will ask me where I came up with something in particular – only to find out that it was all of $2.50. Really, when it comes to fun little party favors, off beat decorations, and even gift bags – these stores are hard to beat.

I also love to see what they have in the way of tea bags. You’d be surprised by the brands they carry that you simply can’t find anywhere else in town.

On a recent excursion, I found the green tea bags you see pictured above, Inspiring Green Tea: A Refreshing Blend of Antioxidant Rich Chinese Green Tea Leaves, 30 Bags (Tea).

I must have looked like a kid in a candy store when I spotted a brand I wasn’t familiar with on the shelf. I quickly threw two boxes into my cart – one for me and one, of course, for my oldest daughter, the Crazy Tea Chick herself. Usually, I just call her Emily. Or if she’s done something remarkably shocking, Emily Erin.

When I gave her a box, I recognized the same excited expression I’d worn while throwing the boxes into the cart. The tea bag didn’t fall far from the tree in this family.

Inspiring Green Tea is a knock out. It’s very refreshing, delicious, and undeniably “green.”

Product Features

  • 100% Natural Tea Leaves
  • 30 Servings Per Box, Net Wt. 1.58 oz (45 g)
  • A Healthful Blend of Antioxidant Rich Chinese Green Tea Leaves
  • Microwaveable

This wonderful, yet surprisingly inexpensive tea is available on Amazon. Click through any of the links (or the picture of my own box) for more information.

Experimenting with a Knock-off of Smoothie King’s Green Tea Tango

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Hey, don’t hate on my Quagmire glass. Inside is my knock-off version of Smoothie King’s to-die-for Green Tea Tango smoothie, which turned out very, very close to the original. I think I get extra points for having no matcha on hand to use…and no clue what I was doing.

So the other night I decided that nothing would make me happier at that exact moment in time than a green tea smoothie. However my Smoothie King is on the other side of town, it was late at night, and I was in my pajamas. And lazy. I really wanted to make my own version, but at first thought that seemed impossible since I don’t currently have any Matcha powder. Then (*brainstorm!*), I decided to brew up 2 cups of green tea and experiment. I didn’t write down my steps or measurements as I went along because, quite frankly, I didn’t expect it to be even close to edible, so I’ll try my best to remember exactly how I made the smoothie. I used 2 green tea bags and brewed them in one of my largest mugs. I then poured the tea in a blender and added 4-5 ice cubes.  I know that yogurt is a staple of any good smoothie recipe, so I added about 1/4 cup of plain fat-free yogurt, then added a little bit of soy milk. Technically, you probably shouldn’t even mess with the soy milk, because once I made my drink I instantly decided to add between 1/3-1/2 cup 2% dairy milk, so just stick with that: about a cup of dairy milk. The ice cubes I had added melted almost instantly due to the hot tea, so I had to add 3-4 more ice cubes. The drink was close to perfect, but was just too bitter, so I added sugar. How much you add is up to you, and I really didn’t want to add any because I hate sugar in my drinks, but trust me – this concoction is way too bitter without sugar. I added about 1/4 cup, and since this all brewed up between 2-3 actual smoothie servings, your per-cup sugar serving isn’t THAT bad. Not bodybuilder-healthy, but not horrendous. Now, I’ve tried the Smoothie King Green Tea Tango with fruit added (like the company recommends), and I was very disappointed to realize that all you taste is the fruit – no hint of matcha at all. Now when I order my smoothie, I tell the worker that I don’t want fruit because I want to only taste the matcha/yogurt, and they’re always VERY friendly and happy to oblige – they just usually add a little extra powder to make the texture just right or whatever. Anyway, if you like fruit in your smoothie, feel free to throw that in the blender too, and I’m sure it will taste fine.

Final verdict: Although my mixture isn’t all that green (due to the lack of actual matcha), and it took some tweaking and experimenting to get it right, it was actually DELICIOUS and tasted almost identical to the Smoothie King version. Next time I get a late-night smoothie urge – or feel too lazy to drive 15 minutes – I’ll be doing this again. Yum! 🙂

My 5 favorite hot teas this month…

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As you may know (scratch that, you better know), January is National Hot Tea Month. I’m not sure how that works in other countries – I would recommend that they celebrate hot tea this month as well, but no one’s asked my opinion. Yet.

Anyway, as a way of celebrating hot tea, I’ve listed my current favorite hot teas below…obviously I’m pretty much crazy about most hot teas, but these are the ones that I just…can’t…stop….DRINKING. 🙂

White Coconut Creme by Tea Gallerie (official website): I cannot, with my great talent at words and description, even begin to describe how good this tea is. It seriously is amazing, and decadent, and reminiscent of a moist coconut cake that my mom makes that is out of this world. Make 2012 the year that you do nice things for yourself, and start by buying some of this tea.

 

Mint Chocolate Delight by Boston Tea Company (official website): Another tea that is delicious beyond words. Reminds me of those tasty after-dinner chocolates you get at Olive Garden when you’re ready to pay. Seriously one of the best teas I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking.

 

Chocolate Hazelnut Decaf Tea by Stash Premium Teas (official website): This tea is so, so decadent. It’s like you’re drinking a fancy chocolate Starbucks latte, but without the calories or caffeine. There have been times when I’ve wanted something sweet to eat, but I’ve just brewed some of this tea instead. Less calories, and all of the taste.

 

Wild Sweet Orange Herbal Infusion by Tazo Teas (official website): This is one of my 5 favorite teas of ALL TIME, not just for the month. It’s also the only tea that I’ve been able to convince Dill (my soda-guzzling spouse) to drink, and he loves it. As in, drinks about 2 cups of it each night. Success!

 

Mint Medley Herb Tea by Bigelow Tea (official website): I’m a hussy for anything with mint in it, and this tea is no exception to my rule. It’s delicious and tastes wonderful hot. We all know how good the herb mint is for us, and it goes without saying that tea does a body good, so do the math, people…drink this tea. 🙂

Boston Tea Company’s Mint Chocolate Delight. Delightful, indeed.

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Houston, we have a new favorite tea.

Let’s face it, I’m pretty fan-girly when it comes to tea, especially green tea. In my completely unbiased opinion, it’s the greatest and most delicious thing in the galaxy. Well, it and cheesecake.

I have to confess, however, that at the moment one tea ranks above all others as my current favorite: Boston Tea Company’s Mint Chocolate Delight. It’s an amazing combination of premium Chinese green tea, mint flavor, and natural cocoa. If you’re a frequent Olive Garden diner like yours truly, you’ve probably tried their delicious afterdinner chocolate mints. This tea actually smells a little like those mints, but the flavor is still predominately “green tea with the subtle taste of chocolate”, not “hot chocolate tea”.

The company recommends using one teaspoon of leaves for every 8 oz. of hot water, but I use a little more because the tea doesn’t steep very strongly, and one teaspoon is a little thin for me. The company also suggests adding milk or lemon as desired, but I kind of forbid you from doing that…messing up this tea with anything extra would be downright criminal.

To purchase this tea for yourself or some other lucky person, visit Boston Tea Company’s official website here or follow them on Twitter here. You won’t be sorry. Enjoy!

Adagio Tea’s Organic Citrus Green Tea: Smooth, Flavorful, and Get Me Another Cup!

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Adagio Teas Organic Citrus Green Tea

I recently tried, and loved, a bag of Adagio Tea Organic Citrus Green Tea. I’m a tea fanatic and I have a special place in my heart for green tea. When I see a new tea or tea blend I haven’t tried, I throw it in the cart. If it happens to be green tea, I do a little happy dance THEN throw it into the cart.

The most recent happy dance (and believe me, it’s something to behold) was spurred by the beautiful bag of tea bags you see at the top of the post. I love it when a tea company takes such pride in their tea that they package it as beautifully as Adagio does their teas. Everything is always first class – the packaging, the tea bags, the flavor. You name it, if it has Adagio on the front, you’re in for a first class experience.

As is the case most of the time, I saved my first cup of tea for the evening. This is my favorite time to try a new tea. After supper’s been made and eaten and order in the kitchen has been restored. Then it’s just me, my cat, and (hopefully) a very special cup of tea. Adagio Tea Organic Citrus Green Tea did not disappoint. I knew, from the aroma alone, that I was in for a special evening. As I walked, cup in hand, to the sofa, you could practically see a beautifully aromatic trail following me through the air. If there’s a better smell than citrus, I haven’t found it.

This tea is absolutely Heavenly and would be a great fit for anyone unsure about green tea. I tried my first cup without honey and it outstanding. I added just a bit of honey to my next cup and found it to be EVEN better. Yes, I’m one of those green tea drinkers…. hooked on honey! I’ve also made this tea with a little honey AND a floating slice of lemon /or orange. The orange slice and honey combination is otherworldly.

Adagio Tea Organic Citrus Green Tea also passed the iced green tea test. It as wonderful iced as it is hot.

Trust me, you have to try this tea! If your grocery store is on its game (really, really on its game), you can find some Adagio teas in the tea aisle. If they’re a little off their game, Amazon will come through for you like a champ. Click any of the links in this post to order from Amazon.


Adagio Tea Organic Citrus Green, 0.9-Ounce (Pack of 3)