Rooibos tea is an herbal tea made from a South African plant, a member of the legume family, called rooibos. The name means “red bush” in Afrikaans and comes from the fact that the stems and leaves of the plant turn a reddish color when they are dried. The color actually comes through when rooibos is used to brew tea, turning the water a reddish brown color that is lighter than your typical black tea.
Rooibos, pronounced “roy-boss,” is referred to as an herbal tea, or tisane, because it contains no actual tea but is brewed in a similar manner. This also means that it contains no caffeine. Rooibos has a naturally sweet flavor, almost as though honey has been added to it, but contains no sugar.
Posted by Nicole on January 19, 2009
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Filed Under: Tea
Starbuck’s Organic Serena Blend is one of the mainstays of the Starbucks coffee lineup – which is to say that it isn’t a limited edition blend – and one of the few certified organic coffees that Starbucks has on its menu. I say certified organic because there are many coffees out there that are produced organically (several from Kona, just off the top of my head) that don’t gt the certification for price reasons but still hold up the standards.
Serena is a medium roast blend of beans from Africa and Latin America. It has a very complex flavor that isn’t too dark or heavy, thanks to the fact that it is a lighter roast. The coffee has a nutty, smooth flavor and a bright, but not too acidic, finish with a few citrusy orange notes thrown in. It has a lot of flavor and is a good “everyday” sort of coffee that could be paired with just about anything, from breakfast to dessert.
Posted by Nicole on January 17, 2009
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To celebrate the launch of their new “lighter” drink options, Peet’s Coffee and Tea put out a coupon that allows you to buy one “light” drink, get another drink (of your choice) for free! The coupon can be found here and is good through January 18th.
The lighter drinks are made with sugar free syrups, which are a new addition to the regular lineup of flavor options at the West Coast coffee chain. The syrups are available in Chocolate and Vanilla flavors. While I tend to prefer the full-sugar syrups when I’m having a flavored drink, it’s great that they’re offering these because I hear lots of requests for them from customers. That being said, I’ve only had bad experiences with sugar free chocolate syrups in the past and a free coupon is perfect way to try one and see if Peet’s new drinks stand up to the rest of their strong coffee lineup.
Posted by Nicole on January 14, 2009
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Ritter Sport is a brand of German candy bars that is great for those who like a lot of variety in their chocolate, as their bars are consistently excellent and come in all kinds of flavors.
The Ritter Sport Cappuccino, like their other chocolates, is a square milk chocolate bar made up of smaller squares., each of which has a cappuccino-flavored filling. The filling is like a very dense mousse, light on the tongue but easy to bite into. It has a great coffee flavor, very much like a real cappuccino with notes of fresh coffee and milk. The milk chocolate is very creamy and the whole thing just melts smoothly into your mouth, coming very close to the flavor of a very well-made mocha latte in the end. This is a very rich bar that is definitely satisfying on the chocolate end and the coffee side of things.
Posted by Nicole on January 12, 2009
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I don’t mind having someone else make my coffee or tea for me, partially because I’m grateful not to have to do the work myself, but primarily because I generally take my coffee and tea black. It’s hard to make coffee or tea when someone simply says they want “milk and sugar.” There really aren’t any guidelines to go buy, and when these drinkers prepare their own, they go by sight – in other words, they know it’s right when they see it.
Now, you can see it too. My Cuppa Tea and My Cuppa Coffee are color-matching mugs that help you determine exactly how much milk is enough when you’re making coffee or tea. Each mug has paint swatch-like color stripes around the inside, so you can simply pour milk (or add sugar) until your drink matches the color that coordinates with how you (or whoever you’re preparing a drink for) take it. The tea cup is lighter than the coffee one, naturally. All you need to do is give it a trial run and you’ll be set up for a perfect cuppa every time.
Posted by Nicole on January 10, 2009
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