Category: Review

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Buddha Leaf’s Ceremonial Grade Matcha

Ceremonial Grade Matcha by Buddha Leaf
Green Tea (Matcha) / Straight
$17.99 for 40g

First Impressions

I picked up Buddha Leaf’s Ceremonial Grade Matcha at a local grocery store in the coffee & tea aisle… because it was on sale. At first I thought the powder would come preportioned because it said “20 serving portions” on the packaging itself. So the packaging of Matcha is a resealable pouch and inside of that pouch is a sealed (non-resealable) silver packet with the matcha inside of that. I do feel like it’s double packaging, and needlessly so. The outer packaging could have been heat sealed and it would have been okay.

Ceremonial Grade Matcha is a light spring green colour. The aroma is grassy primarily, with a hint of saltiness in the background. I’m curious about how well this will taste since it’s described as being “ceremonial grade”. Ceremonial Grade Matcha consists of organic Japanese matcha.

Preparation

There were no preparation instructions on the packaging that I could find, so I relied on my matcha knowledge. I sifted the powder into my matcha bowl, and then used 175°F (79°C) water and whisked it until it produced a thin layer of bubbles across the top. It was easy to whisk up.

First Taste

Ceremonial Grade Matcha has some bright spring green bubbles across the top, and a dark green tea. The aroma is grassy. I found when I drank it, that it was quite astringent and bitter. There’s some grassy notes, as well as umami flavour. But I did find the astringency to off-putting. The back of the packaging suggests that it could be used in smoothies or lattes, which I think it might be a good idea. I think it’d be great for baking with as well, or at least adding some sweetener to it to make it more palatable.

A Second Cup?

No second steepings with matcha.

My Overall Impression

I thought that Buddha Leaf’s Ceremonial Grade Matcha was just okay. While I think the grassy notes were pleasant, I found it to be quite bitter and not very pleasant when it was drank straight. But with a little bit of sweetener and milk, it makes for a nice latte so I would recommend using it mixed with something if you’re not a fan of the bitterness.

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Adagio Teas’s Tea Advent Calendar

Tea Advent Calendar by Adagio Teas
Black Tea, Fruit Infusion, Green Tea, Herbal Infusion, Oolong Tea, Rooibos, White Tea / Straight & Flavoured
$29USD for 24 assorted teas

Adagio Teas has provided me with Tea Advent Calendar for the purposes of writing an honest review.

First Impressions

Adagio Teas asked me if I wanted to give their annual Tea Advent Calendar a try – and of course my answer was yes! This is going to be a bit of a different review as I’m not going to be giving any spoilers to the advent calendar and talking about the general product itself. It came quite nicely packaged in a sturdy shipping carton – there was an appropriate level of padding for the calendar box itself.

Each door for the calendar is perforated for easy opening, and all numbered so you drink in order. According to the product page, each day consists of an individually wrapped tea bag. There are no repeats, with 24 teas (and tisanes) in total. A nice little countdown to Christmas, if you ask me! The total weight of the tea isn’t listed on the packaging, and I couldn’t find it online. However, Adagio Teas’s tea bag products tend to be ~2.5g of tea per pyramid sachet, and while there are 24 tea bags in the whole calendar, I believe there should be approximately 60g of tea in there.

Now, Adagio Teas did include a tea list card that also lists the ingredients. However, the tea list is in alphabetical order rather than chronological order (so there is a bit of a spoiler, but not entirely). I will tell you that the assortment of teas and tisanes includes: black tea, fruit infusion, green tea, herbal infusion, oolong tea, rooibos, and white tea. There are both traditional teas as well as blends. Some of them are regularly stocked teas by Adagio Teas, while others definitely have more of a seasonal flair. The assortment honestly sound really good and is a great primer for the Adagio Teas product lineup.

Preparation

My plan for the Tea Advent Calendar is to drink each one daily throughout the month of December. I don’t want to inadvertently spoil anyone’s advent fun, so I won’t be publishing any posts early. I will be sharing each day on the corresponding day on my Instagram Stories (@onemoresteep) regardless of if I’m at home or work, I’ll be making it happen!  Hopefully you’ll be playing along at home with your own Adagio Teas Advent Calendar.

My Overall Impression

I love the Adagio Teas’s Tea Advent Calendar. I’m really looking forward to drinking through all 24 teas and tisanes this December! I’ve been in a busy-mode lately with the balancing of full-time work, school, and everything else that it’s made it hard to really plan anything. While I did do a DIY calendar last year, I don’t think I would have had the time to prepare my own advent calendar again this year, which is why I’m thankful for the opportunity to have Adagio Teas’s Advent Calendar for next month. And if you’re looking to buy your own Tea Advent Calendar, Adagio Teas has it up on their website (it shipped pretty quick from them to me in British Columbia, Canada).

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

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DavidsTea’s Maple Chai

Maple Chai by DavidsTea
Black Tea / Flavoured
$8.98 for 50g

First Impressions

I got Maple Chai samples from my local DavidsTea locations as part of their sneak peek to promote the new chai blends (I might have made a few purchases…). So I decided I should probably give them a try especially since so many people were talking about this blend online. Each sample is 5g and good for one cup. There’s no mention on the packaging directly that I can find about it being compostable or recyclable, which is unfortunate.

Maple Chai has a great aroma to it. I can pick out the ginger, cinnamon, apple, brown sugar, and cardamom. It’s really inviting with all the warm spices in it. It’s a pretty dry leaf, but I don’t really smell the maple in it which I find to be disappointing given the name of the blend. Maple Chai consists of: black tea, apple, ginger, brown sugar, roasted chicory root, orange peel, cinnamon, maple sugar, cloves, cardamom, black pepper, natural and artificial flavourings.

Preparation

DavidsTea recommends steeping Maple Chai in 95°C (200°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. I opted to do a 4 minute steep.

First Taste

Maple Chai steeps to a golden orange colour. There’s a pleasant aroma, but I don’t smell the maple. I do smell the warm spices in the blend – primarily ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. It has a nice sweetness, a nice robust flavour behind it that I believe to be from the black tea. The brown sugar comes through nicely, and goes well with the spices. It’s a smooth tea, no bitterness when steeped for 4 minutes.

I did attempt Maple Chai as a latte, and found that it was greatly improved – I also used maple syrup as sweetener to get some maple flavouring in there.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Maple Chai twice, adding an additional 30 seconds for each subsequent steep. I found that the flavour didn’t really improve, resulting in a weaker tea each time. I would suggest steeping Maple Chai for just the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I  thought that DavidsTea’s Maple Chai was just okay. There was a lot of hype about this black tea blend, so I was quite eager to try it – it was great that it was available to shoppers in the retail shops. I do hope that DavidsTea continues to give out sneak peek samples, because it’s a great way to create hype about a new blend that they’re proud of. While I liked Maple Chai as a chai, I was disappointed that there wasn’t more maple flavouring in the tea because that was the part of the name that I thought should have been better reflected in the flavour. Definitely try this one as a latte though, and maybe use maple syrup as a sweetener, as it works nicely as a latte despite not having a lot of maple syrup by itself.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.