Bluebird Tea Co | Black Magic Matcha

Company: Bluebird Tea Company 

Name: Black Magic 

Tea Type: Matcha

Loose or Bagged: Powdered 

Rating: 4.75* (Sorry, I just couldn't * it higher than Salted Caramel!) 

Best Served: Hot/Latte

Water Temperature: 80° 

Brew For: N/A

Buy: Bluebird Website

Price:  £20.00 for 30g

Description: This antioxidant-rich potion creates a magical black liquid once made up. Essentially flavourless, activated charcoal further boosts the antioxidant properties of our signature pure matcha rich in umami - the Japanese word for the delicious 'fifth taste', after salt, sweet, sour and bitter.

Warning: Activated charcoal can interfere with medication. We recommend that you wait at least 3 hours after taking medication before consuming the matcha. This also applies to the concraceptive pill.

Ingredients: Activated coconut charcoal, cocoa powder, matcha green tea, Kenyan white matcha.

I was quite dubious when I first ordered Black Magic Matcha but did so for the health benefits and in the name of research for my ongoing #MatchaMission which I've been doing for the last few months. Charcoal is really good for your stomach and suffering from IBS it's something that's really greta to add to your diet. So, I ditched the charcoal tablets for a week and swapped it out for Black Magic! 
*I am on the contraceptive pill so I never drank this first thing in a morning. Ensure you always read the warnings! 

I brewed this with hot water, hot milk and then a mix iced of both to see the difference. 

Hot Water Shot: When I tried this with just hot water I tried it as a Matcha shot! The smell of this Matcha is at it's strongest either as the raw powder or a hot shot, it's an earthy smell but with an underlying sweetness something a bit different to your normal Matcha powder. The cocoa powder gives it the sweeter and creamier flavour and outweighs the earthier notes form the Matcha green tea and white Matcha flavours. Although you do still get it!

Long Milk Latte: It is definitely my favourite way to have this Matcha! It's creamy, sweet and full of flavour. It also looks pretty cool too. This was definitely the best way of drinking this but did taste milky, so if that's not to your liking I suggest you try the half/half option. This as nicer as a longer drink, something to enjoy on a Saturday afternoon with a cake. You definitely taste more of the coconut/cocoa flavour when brewed this way. 

Cold Iced Latte: Wow! This was so good iced. I really enjoyed it, I do still prefer the hot milk latte because I prefer my tea hot but this was really good. I think I'd have enjoyed it a lot more if we weren't still in the snowy season! It's cleansing and creamy, if you add a little vanilla syrup this would be the nicest drink on a cold summer day. 

Overall Black Magic Matcha is definitely one of my favourite matcha's and I'm so glad I have a full sized tub of this. It doesn't quite top the Salted Caramel *not yet* but it's definitely going to be my next go to Matcha once my SCM runs out. It has everything you'd need if you're just starting with matcha. The typical matcha tastes, but with added sweetness, creamy texture to allow it to be more palatable if you're not used to going plain! 
Price wise I think £20 for a 30g pot is really good, it's quite a competitive price amongst competitors (of any matcha flavoured or not). But the quality is good and the flavours are strong. I think for the quality of matcha you get, the intense flavours and in coming in an air tight tin is worth every penny. 

We Are Tea | Moroccan Mint

Company: We Are Tea

Name: Moroccan Mint 

Tea Type: Green Tea

Loose or Bagged: Loose Leaf

Rating: 4.5*

Best Served: Hot 

Water Temperature: 80° 

Brew For: 2-4 Minutes 

Buy: We Are Tea

Price:  £2.99 for 15 bags | £2.99 for 75g

Description: With a refreshing balance of hand rolled green tea leaves from China and peppermint leaf, this blend is delicious hot or over ice.

The green tea leaves are hand rolled before drying out to stop the oxidisation process (this is what makes green tea different to black teas and oolong teas). As they have minimal processing (like white teas) they retain all the taste, antioxidants and health benefits within the leaves. Win win!

Ingredients: Each box contains 75g of loose leaf tea. Green tea, peppermint leaf. 

I mentioned in my We Are Tea Pick n Mix Box review, that I really enjoyed their Moroccan Mint tea. I didn't delve too much because I wanted to shout about it in a full length review. 

Firstly the scent of this tea. This tea smells amazing. It has a strong earthy notes from the hand rolled green tea, and fresh crispness from the dried Peppermint. It smells fresh, which is to me the most important part of defining a good quality, great tasting tea. It brews to a lovely clear golden colour. If you brew it for up to 4 minutes at only 80 degree water. I use filtered water too. 

The flavour is where it's all at with this tea. It's insane, a few years back I spent 2 weeks in Marrakech and had the best time, drinking more Moroccan Mint tea than I had before. The freshest mint, and the greatest green tea you've tasted and nothing has lived up to that until now. 

We Are Tea have created an incredibly great tasting Moroccan Mint tea which near as damn it resembles the real deal. There really are no other words for this tea than it's really something special. It might not have an eclectic name or any 'out-there' flavours but when you come across something that's a standard brew as Mint Green Tea and it's done so well, it stands head and shoulders above the other brews on your shelf. Simple done right, is brilliant, there is nothing else. It's clean, refreshing and beautifully cleansing. Perfect for an afternoon pick me up or a tummy tonic. It really is Marrakech in a cup. 

The Moroccan Mint comes in both whole leaf tea bags and loose leaf pouches. Making it great for anyone who wants this on the go, or in a teapot. I drink tonnes of Mint Tea and Mint Green Tea so I'll definitely be ordering this in bulk and probably on a few occasions too! Also, how cool is it that this tea is actually hand rolled! 

There is only one teeny tiny downfall for this tea, the bag inside isn't resealable which I would love, or for them to start selling this tea in tins. 

Second City Coffee | Signature Blend

Company:  Second City Coffee

Name: Signature Blend

Grind: French Press 

Roast: Medium to Dark

Rating: 5*

Best Served: Hot/Latte

Buy: Second City Coffee

Price:  £7.00 for 250g (Grind options)

Description: Our Signature Blend is a Peruvian joy to the taste buds! From Lambayeque, Peru our Signature Blend has dark chocolate notes and a fine body that you will be hard pressed not to fall head over heels over.

I really love Second City Coffee, I have reviewed quite a few of their blends and the Mancunian Blend, is my favourite coffee. But 2018 is my year of branching out! So I decided to give the Signature Blend a try instead. 

I bought both French press Grind and some whole beans. The smell is just insane, I adore the smell of coffee. As much as I love tea, coffee is the best thing, and the smell is just YES! It has a strong coffee cent with a rich depth of flavours. 

I brewed the coffee in a French Press and let it brew for around 4/5 minutes possibly? I don't time it, ball parking it! Signature Blend brews to dark in colour with a nice cream on top (which I hate in a French Press because you ALWAYS lose it!). 

Black: I drink my coffee white, no sugar. But with every new coffee comes a new black brew. In the interest of research and all. The flavour of Signature Blend untouched, is at it's strongest as is with most blends. But it's a nice medium to dark roast, more on the medium side I think, without a bitter flavour. It's slightly more bitter back than it is white but enjoyable nonetheless. The underlying notes of chocolate is at it's strongest drank like this, it gives it a slightly creamier flavour and with the fruity notes the coffee is something quite special. 

White: The coffees flavour is weakened with the addition of milk, as is always the way of white coffee! But as my favourite way to drink coffee, I still preferred it this way. The fruitier notes disappear when you add milk, but it does lift the chocolate-y notes of the coffee and give you a very nice cup of coffee. 

Best Served: Brew two shots of coffee (I use it my Nespresso), and top with hot frothy milk and a tsp of Vanilla Syrup. The nicest latte you will ever drink.