Coconut London Fog

 I love myself a good cup of tea and today I am taking Tetly’s Earl Grey vanilla flavour and making a London fog. I like this tea personally and I think since it already has a hint of vanilla flavour in it I won’t need to add the vanilla extract to my London fog so we’re gonna just try this out with some steamed coconut milk. 

first review of the tea itself dry the tea has a very strong black tea smell with a subtle vanilla undertone. To me the smell is quite pleasant. Once Brew the smell has tone down quite a bit but it still has that rich black tea aroma. 

As for taste before I add milk it has a pleasant rich flavour of A black tea with a very subtle vanilla undertone personally I do not add sweetener when I drink this tea I don’t feel it’s necessary as there’s no bitterness to it even once it’s cooled off I still do not taste the bitterness.  I would definitely recommend this tea is a good morning tea without even having to add sweetener or milk. 

Today were going to do both instead of adding sugar I’m embracing my Canadian side and my sweetener today will be maple syrup. And my son is lactose intolerant and he loves to steal my tea so I will be making my latte with coconut milk. I do not have a milk steamer, so I’m simply just heating my coconut milk up to a low simmer in a sauce pa. Then pouring it over the strongly brewed tea: which I have let brew for 8 minutes. I did not measure my maple syrup as I just poured in about 2 teaspoons. I also did not measure the water or the milk but I filled my 16 oz tea cup approximately 2/3 of the way up with hot water when I steep the tea and filled it the rest of the way with the steamed coconut milk.

so how did it taste? It was pleasant the earl gray tea comes through but the taste of the coconut milk is pretty strong. I do not think the maple syrup as a sweetener is the best idea. With all the flavours already in this latte, I feel like the maple syrup does not add to the enjoyment. I love maple syrup but I think regular cane sugar would’ve been better. 

Final thoughts: I really enjoyed this tea and I like the idea of a London fog. However, I don’t think the coconut milk and maple syrup were a good combination. I think it would taste better with just regular sugar or honey or maple syrup’s robust taste distracts from the other flavours. Will probably make us again another day with regular sugar.

With all that being said I do like this tea so I think I will turn it into ice cream this weekend. Stay tune for that I really actually use measurements so you can repeat it. Best of all it will be a no churn ice cream the only equipment you will need is an electric whisk such as I stand mixer or hand-mixer.

Canmore Tea Company Berry Blend Oolong

 I love oolong tea it is one of my favorite types of teas.  I spent a few days in Canmore Alberta and I had to visit the local tea shop. I figure I should start linking the teas I'm reviewing with where to buy them except this tea isn't on their site. However you can buy other teas from this company here. I do not get anything from you using that link so order or don't order teas freely. The bag of this tea doesn't boast anything it simply tells you the ingredients and that's all. I suppose I should start the review part by saying this is loose leaf tea that I brewed in a David's Tea steeper.

Ingredients: Oolong, raspberry pieces, strawberry pieces, cornflower, natural flavours

Steep Time: 5 mins (they recommend 3 minutes but I like a strong tea)

Amount: approx. 1.5 teaspoons in approx. 16oz of hot water.

Colour: orange

Smell: The smell of the dry tea is a strong punch of berries. However once steeped the smell become a mild oolong tea smell with subtle berry undertones.

Sweeteners: none no need in my opinion.

Stars: 4/5

Taste: This tea does not have a super strong berry taste. The oolong comes through nicely with little to no bitterness even when cold. In my opinion oolong has the just right flavour between green tea and black tea. I drank the first half warm and because you know I'm a mom the second half got cold when life decided to interrupt my morning unwind, haha. When warm the berry undertone comes through much better, but there is not much of a difference between the warm and cold tea.

Bottomline: I would buy this again but the berry flavour is not as strong as I would expect a "Berry Blend" to be. 

This post is not sponsored or affiliated with any company.

David's Tea Mom's Apple Pie

 Ok let's start with something I am sad about. I used to love how David's Tea was all natural and used no sweeteners in their blends. What happened? It is so hard to find a tea now without artificial flavoring or stevia added. On to this specific tea, they say this tea will "bring you back to your childhood", but will it really? Let's find out

Ingredients: Green tea, Apple, Cinnamon, Artificial Flavoring (apple, cinnamon)

Steep Time: 5 mins (they recommend 3-4 minutes but I like a strong tea)
Amount: 1 "perfect teaspoon" (approx. 1.5 teaspoons) in approximately 16oz of hot water.
Colour: green
Smell: pleasant smell of an apple pie with a green tea undertone
Sweeteners: none 
Stars: 3.5/5

Taste: This tea has a strong flavor of cinnamon and apple. However there is a clear artificial taste to it, it isn't completely off putting but I don't like it. Once it gets cold (because I'm a mom and we get distracted) it is bitter and gross. Once cold the artificial flavor is more obvious and the teas begins to taste like a burnt apple pie. Honestly I feel they should have added more fruit and cinnamon pieces and just left out the artificial nastiness.

Bottomline: this is an okay tea. I won't be buying it again but I don't entirely feel like I wasted my money. Did it bring me back to my childhood? The smell did but the flavor did not.

Celestial Seasonings Citrus Sunrise

I've been on a slight hiatus lately, but today I'll be reviewing Celestial Seasonings Citrus Sunrise tea. They boast 200% of your daily value of vitamin c pee serving while being caffeine free.

Ingredients: rosehips, orange peel, natural flavors of tangerine, orange and blood orange, with other natural flavors, hawthorn, hibiscus, blackberry leaves and ascorbic acid (vitamin c)

Steep Time: 7 mins 
Amount: 1 teabag in approximately 14 oz.
Colr: reddish orange
Smell: medium orange smell 
Sweeteners: none 
Stars: 4/5

Taste: This tea has a mild flavor of orange with the very mild tartness of hibiscus. Drinking it sends a warmth through you. I'm sure it would be just as pleasant iced. I don't think sweeteners are needed but honey will definitely heighten the flavors.

Bottomline: this is a pleasant way to get your daily dose of vitamin c.

Great Value Earl Grey

So life has gotten in the way of blogging, and so I haven't posted in a while. Anyways on to today's entry.
This tea was on a close out sale so it was a steal.
Amount: 1 tea bag in 16 oz
Sweetener: None
Steep Time: 5 minutes
Smell: It has a slightly citrus auroma.
Taste: From the smell I expected it to taste bitter, but it was not. The flavor was not overwhelming and required no added sugar.
Stars: 4/5
Bottom line: This is a pleasant tea even without sweeteners. I hope the close out sale is because of a new box or size not a discontinued tea.

Seattle's Best Portside blend

Brewing this cup brought me back to being a kid. It smelled just like my dad's coffee brewing. This is a basic coffee not great but not bad, it isn't pricey making it a good everyday coffee. This is a cup that tastes great no matter how you drink it, black it has a slight bitterness but it isn't overpowering. Adding sugar enhances the coffee flavor in the best way possible. Creamer tames the bitterness making it a good chuggable cup. I used the drip coffee maker.
Bottomline this is a good everyday kind of coffee.

Just Black- Black Rifle Coffee Co

This is a cup I can enjoy Just Black, like it's name suggests. There is no bitter after taste and it has a nice smooth taste with a strong aroma. I brewed this cup in a drip pot freshly ground bean to a medium coarseness.
Bottom line i would suggest this cup to anyone who loves coffee black or with sugar.