Posted by Nicole on January 28, 2009
I know a few people who prefer to drink decaf coffee in the evenings. They order decaf after dinner in restaurants and brew it at home after dinner parties. These people might be a little bit concerned to hear that Starbucks is planning to stop automatically brewing fresh decaf in the afternoons. But not to worry, decaf-drinkers. If you want decaf coffee, the baristas will brew a fresh pot for you. Your coffee will not only be decaf, it will be extra-fresh in about 4 minutes. You’ll still be able to get decaf espresso, as the shots are always pulled fresh. If the 4-minute wait for brewing is off-putting, you can always order a decaf americano.
The change – which may not be done at stores where there is an unusally high demand for decaf drip in general – is a cost- and labor-saving measure. Ordinarily, Starbucks brews fresh pots of coffee every 30 minutes. They end up throwing away lots of decaf – far more than regular drip – because it is ordered less frequently.
Posted by Nicole on January 19, 2009
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.
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Filed Under: Tea
Posted by Nicole on January 6, 2009
The vanilla rooibos tea I have at home is Adagio’s Vanilla Rooibos. It’s an herbal tea made by blending vanilla beans in with rooibos – and the vanilla flavor comes through wonderfully, giving the tea an impressive natural sweetness. Since the tea has a bold flavor and is a bit sweet to begin with, it’s a great choice for a tea latte, where added sweetness will only bring out the natural sweetness of the tea and the flavor of the vanilla will still stand out over the addition of milk.
The tea latte is easy to make by brewing strong tea – use twice as much as you normally would – and adding in some hot milk. Steamed milk is ideal, but if you use a small whisk to froth up regular milk you’ll get a good result, too. I usually sweeten tea lattes with vanilla syrup if I have some on hand, but regular sugar works out just fine, too.
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Posted by Nicole on December 31, 2008
Tea with milk in it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Many tea drinkers feel that milk gives the tea a watery flavor, while others find that it is a creamier, richer drink. The best of all worlds comes in a tea latte.
A tea latte is not just tea with milk in it. It’s extra strong tea with hot steamed milk added to it. Most I’ve had use a bit more tea than milk, although half and half provides a pretty good ratio, similar to cafe au lait. Tea lattes made by using roughly twice as much tea as you would normally use for any particular size cup, so the tea has a strong – but not bitter – flavor that can stand up to the addition of all that milk.
Any kind of tea can be used to a tea latte – black teas, herbal teas, green teas – and so can any type of milk. Most coffee shops that offer these drinks serve them lightly sweetened. Vanilla complements a lot of teas, but just as you can use any type of tea, you can also use any flavor sweetener that will suit your tea.
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Filed Under: Tea
Posted by Nicole on December 19, 2008
Lipton’s Green Tea with Mandarin Orange is not a new release, but the holidays really get me in the mood for citrusy flavors, so I couldn’t resist giving it a mention. This tea has a wonderful orange flavor to it, in fact, it is so orangy that you can’t really taste the flavor of the green tea base much at all. This may be a bad thing in some cases, but not here. The orange flavor is smooth and not too sweet on its own (if you add sugar to your tea, that’s a different story!). It doesn’t have the bitterness that is the result of overusing orange zest, and it also doesn’t taste artificial, even though the flavor is strong. I suppose that means there is something to be said for the use of “pieces of real fruit” in with the tea.
I like this tea as a light, orange flavored drink. I think it would be a huge hit with anyone who wants to try out green tea but isn’t a fan of the grassy flavor that can accompany the tea sometimes. I also want to applaud Lipton on their packaging. Their pyramidal nylon tea bags are packed neatly into a small box that doesn’t compress the tea leaves or waste space with a box that is excessively large, like the TJ’s Cranberry Green Tea I tried recently.
