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Iced Lavender Matcha Latte

There’s just something nice about having a nice cup of iced tea in the summer time, especially when it’s sweltering hot outside and you’re trying to find some relief in the shade. I’m all for pairing some matcha with something floral, especially if it winds up tasting good and the lavender and matcha combination did not disappoint!

Iced Lavender Matcha Latte – Serves 1

2 teaspoons matcha
100ml warm water
1 tablespoon Lavender Simple Syrup (see recipe below)
200ml milk
Ice

In the matcha preparing vessel of your choice, prepare the matcha powder with water.
Once mixed, stir in Lavender Simple Syrup.
In a glass, add ice cubes, followed by sweetened matcha.
Top with milk product of your choice (I use unsweetened organic soy milk).
Garnish with lavender buds.

It takes a bit of effort to make that Lavender Simple Syrup – but it’s so worth it to get that floral flavour into your drinks! I use the same Lavender Simple Syrup in my London Fog (Earl Grey Latte) recipe.

Lavender Simple Syrup Recipe & Directions

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons lavender buds

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat.
Allow mixture to come to a simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Turn off heat and allow the simple syrup to cool.
Pour simple syrup into a jar or container, use a sieve to strain out lavender buds.

Store Lavender Simple Syrup in your fridge for up to 2 weeks.

If you make this Iced Lavender Matcha Latte, I’d love to see your photos! Be sure to tag me on Instagram (@onemoresteep #onemoresteep) or comment below with a link to the photo!

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DavidsTea’s Double Walled Glass Nordic Mug

Double Walled Glass Nordic Mug by DavidsTea
Glass
$19.00 each

DavidsTea sent me the Double Walled Glass Nordic Mug, a review was not requested.

First Impressions

I was pleasantly surprised to receive the Double Walled Glass Nordic Mug. I own several other Nordic Mugs, so it’s a lovely addition to my mug collection. The double-walled glass nature of the mug makes it nice for either iced or hot drinks, as it allows for ease of use and less likelihood of condensation to collect on the outside of the mug.

The mug itself comes with a lid, which is lovely. The Double Walled Glass Nordic Mug doesn’t come with an infuser, but the lid doubles as a saucer for an infuser if you have one to use. The lid feels delicate compared to the mug itself. As per the bottom of the mug, it is microwave and dishwasher safe. I tend to hand wash my teaware though, as I often need it in circulation a bit more frequently. This mug holds up to 16oz (473mL).

First Use

As with all of my teaware, I washed the Double Walled Glass Nordic Mug with warm soapy water and allowed it to air dry in a dish rack. The mug itself is lovely to use, I’m able to easily have an iced drink or hot drink in it and not worry about condensation on my hands. It also makes for some lovely photographs with the nature of the double-walled structure of the mug. The large size means that it can hold a lot of tea (or coffee, if you’re into that), and makes for a nice mug for a study session (which I used it for a lot over the last few months).

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Double Walled Nordic Glass Mug. I love the functionality of this mug and how pretty it is to be able to fully view my tea as I drink it. It’s nice to hold as I don’t burn my hands on a hot drink, nor does the mug sweat with condensation with an iced drink. While my Glass Nordic Mug has stayed intact through some fairly regular usage, I did check out some of the reviews of this mug on the DavidsTea website, and it seems like it’s quite delicate with a lot of people mentioning how easily the mug cracks and breaks. So far, so good for me though!

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

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Dessert by Deb’s Hojicha Chocolate Cream Pie

Hojicha Chocolate Cream Pie by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea / Flavoured
$6.00 for 25g

First Impressions

Hojicha Chocolate Cream Pie came to me as part of my Dessert by Deb subscription box. It came in a purple-pink metallic pouch that’s clear on one side with information about ingredients and suggestions to drink as a latte (don’t mind if I do…). When I first saw it, I didn’t see the words ‘hojicha’ and I thought it was a rooibos blend at first. But you know what they say about first impressions and judging a book by it’s cover…

Hojicha Chocolate Cream Pie consists of organic: roasted green tea, cacao nibs, coconut, and cocoa powder. The aroma of the dry leaf to me is strictly chocolate and coconut. It smells like candy and I’m pretty excited about that. I think that the coconut got pretty covered in the cocoa powder, because I don’t see it present at all.

Preparation

While there were no steeping instructions on the sample packaging, I was able to find steeping instructions on the Dessert by Deb website.

Dessert by Deb recommends steeping Hojicha Chocolate Cream Pie in 205°F (96°C) water for 5 to 6 minutes.

First Taste

Steeping Hojicha Chocolate Cream Pie was… interesting. There’s an obvious oil slick across the top – thanks in part to the cacao nibs and coconut. The oils themselves are not harmful, if not a bit aesthetically unpleasing. Hojicha Chocolate Cream Pie steeps to a deep brown, it’s a bit murky, which I attribute to the cocoa powder and cocoa nibs. The aroma is strongly chocolatey with hints of coconut. I don’t smell the hojicha too much, as I think the cocoa just has a stronger aroma. The flavour is interesting – there’s some roasted notes, chocolate, and hints of coconut in the background. I’m not fond of it on its own.

As Dessert by Deb did recommend having Hojicha Chocolate Cream Pie as a latte, I opted to do that because that’s how it’s intended to be consumed. I heated up, and frothed soy milk and turned my cup of Hojicha Chocolate Cream Pie into a tea latte. It certainly adds a nice level of creaminess to it, the addition of soy milk turns it into a liquid dessert. The level of chocolate flavour comes out really well and is more like a milk chocolate flavour as a tea latte. The roasted notes from the hojicha do come through nicely, and adds a nutty flavour to it.

A Second Cup?

I resteeped Hojicha Chocolate Cream Pie once, adding an additional 30 seconds for the resteep. I found that the flavour wasn’t quite up to snuff in comparison to the initial steep, especially on the chocolate front. Although, check out the coconut that’s visible after the initial steep and the cocoa powder is washed off of it!

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Hojicha Chocolate Cream Pie as a tea latte. I unfortunately didn’t enjoy it straight, but it was great as a tea latte and definitely made for a nice chocolate treat with the roasted notes from the hojicha. It had a nice flavour, and I do like a nice dessert tea from time to time.

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