DavidsTea’s Mini Matcha Maker

Mini Matcha Maker by DavidsTea
Tritan Plastic / 8oz (235mL)
$15.00

First Impressions

I got my Mini Matcha Maker sometime last year (this design is called “Spring Leaves” and is no longer available on the DavidsTea website as it was a seasonal design) – and I actually got it on sale (the price I mentioned above is the regular price for a Mini Matcha Maker if it’s not on sale/clearance due to a seasonal design).

The overall idea of the Mini Matcha Maker is to make it easy to make matcha at home or on the go, and to essentially make what they call “matcha shots” – which is perfect if you’re the type to mix your matcha with something else. For instance, lots of people will put matcha into smoothies or milkshakes, mix it up with sparkling water, lemonade or just mix up that matcha powder and then dilute it with more water because they don’t like it that strong (everyone has a preference, right?).

There are a few components to the Mini Matcha Maker – you have the lid (with the pressure release button), the body (double-walled), the shaker part (see below: the piece with the ball) and then another piece with a mesh (that the shaker part screws onto, and it screws onto the body).

Preparation

I washed all the pieces with warm soapy water and then allowed to air dry. The Mini Matcha Maker is not dishwasher or microwave friendly (there is metal, and it is double-walled).

First Use

Assembling the Mini Matcha Maker is fairly straight forward. The nice part about the Mini Matcha Maker is the ease of use – I utilized the metal mesh of the piece that holds onto the shaker to use to sift the powder as I poured it into the Mini Matcha Maker. Then I poured water (heated to the recommended temperature) to the line, followed by screwing the lid on and holding it (without my finger on the button!) to shake it up. Because the matcha gets sifted through the mesh, I find it doesn’t clump and it shakes up pretty easily. You’re done whenever you’re happy with the way it’s been mixed or with the level of froth (or both), and (aiming away from your face) then hit the button the release the pressure. Once that’s done, just unscrew the lid and pour the matcha into the drink of your choice, over ice, etc.

Clean up is pretty easy (in my opinion) as I just do it in a sink with some warm soapy water and then just rinse everything well. As it’s not dishwasher friendly, my Mini Matcha Maker either lives in the cupboard or on the dish rack when its not in use.

My Overall Impression

I loved DavidsTea’s Mini Matcha Maker. I think it’s definitely a fun way to make matcha without the traditional use of a bowl with bamboo whisk. That said, if you’re really attached to a more traditional matcha preparation method, the Mini Matcha Maker won’t be for you. However, for those are more about the end product and ease of preparation, the Mini Matcha Maker is quite the modern option when it comes to preparing some matcha for a mixed drink. If you’re looking for a method to make matcha for at the office purposes and drink a lot of it, the larger Matcha Maker might be an option for you. I certain enjoy this little device, it’s fun and easy to use (and clean!).

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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!

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DavidsTea’s Flamingo Fresca

Flamingo Fresca by DavidsTea
White Tea / Flavoured
$9.98 for 50g

Flamingo Fresca was available as an online exclusive.

First Impressions

I’m forever a sucker for pretty teas, and even though I know better than to trust how good a tea will taste based on how pretty the dry blend looks, I still want to give it a try. Flamingo Fresca is one of those teas that snuck into my house based on how pretty it looked in photographs. I know, I know, I’m my own worst enemy sometimes. But this is Flamingo Fresca, it comes in a sealed, resealable silver pouch with a pale blue label across the front with all the information you’ll need about this pretty tea blend.

Flamingo Fresca consists of: apple, pineapple, hibiscus blossoms, white tea, sprinkles, carrots, orange peel, lemongrass, strawberry, passion fruit, marigold blossoms, and natural flavouring. Flamingo Fresca basically smells like all the tropical fruits in the world fell into a blender. It has really strong aromas of pineapple, strawberry and passion fruit. I really don’t smell the white tea, but I’m also not surprised based on the other ingredients present in this blend. Plus, look at the cute pink flamingo sprinkles!

Preparation

Davidstea recommends steeping Flamingo Fresca in 90°C (195°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. I followed the steeping instructions and did an initial steep for 4 minutes.

First Taste

Surprise, surprise, Flamingo Fresca steeps to a bright, deep pink. Thank you to the hibiscus in this blend because it has that beautiful, rich pink colour. The aroma is very similar to the dry leaf – pineapple, strawberry, apples. It’s very fruity and quite sweet, but not to the point that I feel like it’s too much. It has a great flavour, there’s the tartness from the hibiscus that makes me think that this really needs to be made as an iced tea (and perhaps with a fresh squeeze of lemon or lime). Good thing that summer is just around the corner!

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Flamingo Fresca, but I was unsurprised to find that the first resteep (second steep of the same leaves) did not render a very good tasting cup of tea. Such is the nature of a fruity blended tea.

My Overall Impression

I liked DavidsTea’s Flamingo Fresca. I think the flavour was good and it’ll be really nice as an iced tea versus having hot. The level of fruitiness is good, but I feel like it really needs more of a citrus punch to make me think of fresca (which has grapefruit), and it would be perfect for patio if prepared with ice, a splash of lemonade, and an extra lemon wedge for that punch of flavour.

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