A good matcha can really start your day off right. But matcha is something that has to be done just right with the right amount of finesse. I have overscooped and under scooped so many times when I’m trying to make matcha or a matcha latte. But Buddha Teas as created the coolest product to avoid any mess or figuring out how much matcha you need.
Their new Matcha Now bottles are a convenient water bottle with matcha in the lid. Once you are ready to enjoy, all you do is twist off the top and shake. The matcha is then released into the water bottle and you have yourself the perfect and easy way to enjoy matcha conveniently and really effortlessly. Buddha Teas offers this awesome product in two different flavors-Pure and Sweet. I picked the pure one.
So one day at work, I had myself a craving for matcha. I grabbed my Matcha Now bottle, twisted the lid, and shook the bottle. Took my first sip and I was instantly in love with how easy this product is to use. A wonderful way to enjoy your matcha whenever you go. The matcha turned out perfectly-vegetal and smooth-just the way I like it. I even added a touch of honey in one of the bottles to add a touch of sweetness.
Such a great way to enjoy your matcha! I’m enthralled with this product!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type:Matcha
Where to Buy: Buddha Teas
Description
Matcha NOW™ offers you fresh, pure matcha whenever you want it. Our premium organic matcha is stored dry in the cap. With a twist of the cap, the matcha powder drops into water for a fresh matcha drink – anytime.
Available in two options:
“100% Pure” is pure matcha green tea with nothing added.
“Lightly Sweet” is fresh matcha perfectly accented with 1.6 grams of organic sugar.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Asobu Ice Tea Infuser Glass Water Bottle To-Go
Tea Ware:
Where to Buy: Amazon
Tea Description:
- 14-Ounce Iced Tea Infuser Glass Water Bottle
- Made of heat resistant, insulated glass
- Removable top and bottom lids for easy use with loose tea leaf
- A great Tea thermos and mug
- Dishwasher safe 100% BPA free
Taster’s Review:
Sometimes we get so excited about the tea we drink that we don’t chat about the amazing pieces of tea ware that are out there. Recently I picked up a few and some of them have really impressed me. As a tea enthusiasts who has to constantly re-organize her kitchen and desk at work because of all the tea ware she gets, I always love hearing what others pick up that help me brew up my favorite beverage. This particular bottle is one of those pieces.
This cold brewing bottle is fantastic. Easy to use, easy to clean, as far as I’ve experienced-leak proof, and most important of all- the easiest way to cold brew tea that I’ve come across so far. I love cold brew tea but I didn’t have a great way to do it. I came across this bottle and instantly bought it.
The bottle itself is super easy to put into action. This bottle comes in a few pieces, a top lid, a bottom infuser, and a lid for the bottom of the bottom, plus the bottle itself. All you need to do to create delicious cold brew tea is unscrew the infuser bottom basket, add in your loose leaf tea (more than you would for brewing your typical hot tea), put the infuser into the bottom of the basket with the opening facing out, screw on the lid, flip the bottle over (make sure that bottom lid is screwed on tight), and screw the lid on. Place the bottle in your fridge overnight. When you wake up, you’ll have fresh cold brew tea. Simple and easy without having to have several pieces of tea ware to get the desired effect. What is even better is that the bottle is a nice size and it fits perfectly into the side of my laptop bag or in my purse. It can also double as a fruit infuser if you are in the mood for more of just a plain fruit flavored water.
Such a great tool and I’m so glad to have it. Cold brewing tea can sometimes draw out hidden flavors in your tea that you couldn’t pick up brewed hot. It is also a great way to use up any extra tea that is hanging out in your tea stash since you have to use more tea than when you brew hot.
I’ve been using this bottle for cold brew for about 2 weeks now and have found that I have been reaching for the bottle to make iced or cold brew tea more than my tea pots. Just a fun piece to have!
Product Review: 24 oz. BPA Free Plastic Bottle from Fit Life Tea Company
Product Information:
Where to Buy: Fit Life Tea Co.
Tea Description:
For the health and safety of you and your loved ones, insist on using containers made only with materials approved by the U.S. FDA as safe for carrying foods and liquids.
Our premium BPA-free drinking bottle has a convenient flip-top handle and a built-in straw. Its slender design makes it easy to always keep plenty of water or Fit Life Tea on hand wherever you are. It measures 9” tall x 2.5“ in diameter, so you can stow it anywhere and hydrate often.
You owe it to your cells to do everything you can to keep unwanted plastic residues from migrating into your fresh food, water and tea. Keep your water and Fit Life Tea tasting pure and delicious with this smart and stylish BPA-free bottle.
Learn more about this product here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m not one to get all excited over a plastic bottle. I try to avoid all that is plastic when it comes to tea. My iced tea pitcher is glass and I went through quite a lengthy search to find the one that suited my needs to a T(ea) and when I broke the handle on that pitcher, I went out and got another one just like it.
So a plastic bottle for drinking iced tea? Not really something I would have been in the market for or bought for myself. But when Fit Life sent me one of their 24 oz. BPA Free Plastic Bottles, I decided I’d try it. So, I brewed a couple of Fit Life teas and let them cool completely before pouring them into the bottle and chilling.
And something about that bottle enchanted me.
I don’t know why I love this bottle so much, but it rarely leaves my side now. This is what I drink my iced tea out of (and not just the teas from Fit Life!) and I also drink my favorite drink – Matcha infused Maple Water – out of this bottle too. Like I said, my newest favorite cold drink drinking vessel.
I won’t pour hot liquid into this – I still don’t trust the act of ‘heating’ plastic even if it is BPA free. But I think I can use this for iced tea and water and be OK with that! In fact, I think I’m very OK with that! I really love this bottle!
Product Review: Lime Zero Unsweetened Guayusa from Runa
Product Information:
Step into the limelight – experience bright and refreshing flavor with zero calories.
Learn more about this product here.
Taster’s Review:
I don’t often buy RTD teas/tisanes. But usually when I’m in the supermarket, I do look over the varieties of teas and tisanes that are available in the ready to drink section.
My biggest issue with RTD teas/tisanes is that they’re usually so loaded with some type of sweetener and often more than one type of sweetener that I can’t taste the tea. Then it begs the question for me – what’s the difference between this and a soda? Nothing really, except that the soda has bubbles. So really, the sweetener has changed the tea into a soda that is more expensive than the typical commercial soda … an expensive soda without bubbles.
So, last week when I was in Chuck’s Produce, this ready to drink Guayusa caught my attention.
The first thing that caught my attention was the price. It was a featured item that was priced competitively ($ .99 for a bottle, not bad.) The second thing that caught my attention was the word unsweetened on the top of the label. This isn’t zero calories because it’s made with stevia or an artificial sweetener that will make me feel queasy. This has zero calories because there is NO SWEETENER in it at all.
In fact, here is the ingredient list:
INGREDIENTS:
Brewed organic guayusa (purified water and organic guayusa leaves**), organic lime juice concentrate, organic lime extract, natural flavors, Vitamin C (ascorbic acid).
Now that’s my kind of ingredient list. OK, I’d like a little more details on what the “natural flavors” are, but, I like that this is has no sugar, no cane syrup, no corn syrup, no stevia, no aspartame, no saccharine, no nothing to make this taste like some sticky, sickeningly sweet, syrupy soda without bubbles.
And what I’m tasting is lime and Guayusa. The Guayusa has that smooth, slightly earthy and coffee-esque taste that I’ve come to recognize as Guayusa. The lime is strong in this, but it tastes like real lime juice. It’s bright and refreshing. The drink is cool and energizing and it feels clean on the palate, not heavy or inundated with too much sweetener.
I’m really happy that there are some companies out there who are willing to celebrate the flavor of the leaf – even if the leaf in this instance happens to be the leaf of Guayusa and not Camellia Sinensis – my point is that this is the way RTD teas/tisanes should be. They should be about the leaf and not the sugar!