Tag: Naked Teas Galore

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Naked Teas Galore’s Ms. Grey

Ms. Grey by Naked Teas Galore
Black Tea / Flavoured
$7.35 for 50g

First Impressions

Ms. Grey was one of my purchases from Naked Teas Galore, and it appealed to me because it’s an Earl Grey-inspired blend. This black tea blend is organic and comes in a matte black bag (sealed and resealable). The aroma is very zesty and beautiful, I can definitely see some cornflower petals.

Ms. Grey consists of organic: ceylon, orange peel, lemon peel, lime peel, lavender, blue cornflowers, and natural flavouring. It definitely has a bright citrus aroma and I get a hint of lavender when I smell the dry leaf.

Preparation

Naked Teas Galore recommends steeping Ms. Grey in 100°C (212°F) water for 3 to 5 minutes. I opted to do an initial steep of 4 minutes.

First Taste

Ms. Grey steeps to a reddish orange colour. There’s a pleasant citrus aroma (reminds me mostly of lime over lemon and bergamot). It is a touch bitter, but I do get the floral notes from the lavender coming through. I find that the black tea base to be a bit astringent at my steeping time of 4 minutes. I also tried Ms. Grey with a touch of honey and milk, and found that it helped to temper the bitterness and made it more palatable.

A Second Cup?

I attempted to resteep Ms. Grey, but found it to be lacking the lavender and citrus notes from the initial steep. I would recommend Ms. Grey for just the initial steep.

My Overall Impression

I liked Naked Teas Galore’s Ms. Grey. I thought that it made an interesting twist on a classic Earl Grey blend by adding the orange, lemon, and lime. It really added a zest quality to the flavour and I thought it was nice. I do wish that there was less bitterness to the .

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Naked Teas Galore’s Earl Grey Matcha

Earl Grey Matcha by Naked Teas Galore
Green Tea (Matcha) / Flavoured
$14.95 for 227g ($3.25 for 25g sampler)

First Impressions

I picked up a sampler of Earl Grey Matcha when I popped into Naked Teas Galore a few months ago. I’m a fan of Earl Grey, and a fan of matcha, so would I be a fan of the combination? The sampler came in a resealable silver foil pouch. the label on the front tells me the name and ingredients, a label on the back provided me with the instructions for preparing it both hot and cold.

Earl Grey Matcha consists of organic sugar cane, organic matcha, organic flavouring and citric acid. The aroma of the powder blend is bright and citrus-y, I can see the cane sugar granules and smell the matcha base. It’s lightly grassy with a strong bergamot aroma.

Preparation

Naked Teas Galore suggests a cold preparation with the matcha in a shaker cup with ice and milk – and to shake it. The hot preparation is matcha with hot milk, and to stir. I opted to do the cold preparation. I don’t have a shaker cup, but  prepared it in a glass with cold, unsweetened soy milk. I opted to blend Earl Grey Matcha with a handheld milk frother.

First Taste

Earl Grey Matcha blends to a pale green colour, the aroma is a mix of bergamot, matcha, and soy. The taste is pleasant, I liked the Earl Grey notes, and there are grassy and vegetal notes from the matcha. I found it to be very pleasant and enjoyed the ease of mixing it up.

A Second Cup?

As this is a matcha preparation, there are no resteeps possible.

My Overall Impression

I loved Naked Teas Galore’s Earl Grey Matcha. I enjoyed the aroma of the powder, and the combined flavours of Earl Grey and matcha that made it quite pleasant to drink. I found it easy to prepare, I’m sure the hot preparation is just as easy as the cold (it certainly sounds like it is!). I loved the flavour and think it’d be a great matcha option for on-the-go or at work since it’s easy to make.

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Naked Teas Galore’s Matcha Latte

Organic Matcha Latte by Naked Teas Galore
Green Tea (Matcha) / Flavoured
$3.25 for 25g sampler or $14.95 for 227g

First Impressions

Organic Matcha Latte was a little packet I picked up when I was at the Naked Teas Galore retail location in Langley, BC some time ago. I really appreciated that their flavoured matcha selection was available in both sample packets as well as much larger bags (25g vs 227g!). I opted for a few 25g packets so I could get a couple cups to try before committing to a larger bag or tin. Organic Matcha Latte comes in a sealed, resealable foiled bag. The front label tells me the name and ingredients, the back provides preparation instructions.

Organic Matcha Latte isn’t as green as I expected, nor bright. The colour reminds me of a shade of green I might find in some moss or something like that. There is a considerable amount of cane sugar granules, so I really wasn’t able to sift the powder when preparing it. Organic Matcha Latte consists of: organic cane sugar, organic matcha, and citric acid. The powder blend smells a bit sweet, I can’t really smell the matcha.

Preparation

Naked Teas Galore provides preparation instructions for making this either hot or cold. For hot, it’s mix with a hot milk of your choice. For cold, it’s to add the powder blend to a shaker cup, and then add ice and milk. I didn’t sift the powder, because the cane sugar granules are so large, and I mixed this with heated unsweetened organic soy milk directly in the cup.

First Taste

Organic Matcha Latte doesn’t really colour the soy milk too much – soy milk is naturally a bit of a cream colour, and the Organic Matcha Latte just gives it a slightly dull green colour. Organic Matcha Latte does taste sweet – I can taste all that cane sugar! I found that the matcha flavour was very mild – I didn’t note any grassy or umami flavour notes in the profile of the drink, with just a hint of matcha flavour at the tail end of each sip.

A Second Cup?

As always, matcha cannot be ‘resteeped’ because you drink everything all up.

My Overall Impression

I didn’t like Naked Teas Galore’s Organic Matcha Latte. I think this blend was just disappointing to me from the get-go. From the lack of green in the powder, to the colour of the drink after mixing it – it just wasn’t what I was expecting it to smell, look, or taste like because it lacked the flavour profile of matcha for me.

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