PerfectTed Sparkling Matcha Strawberry Energy Drink (Ocado) by @cinabar

Gosh there is a lot to unpack with this PerfectTed Sparkling Matcha Strawberry Energy Drink from Ocado. It is a tea,  a matcha tea, a fizzy matcha drink, strawberry flavoured, sugar free, with added vitamins and extra caffeine. Basically it feels like an energy drink trying to be everything at once, I'm thinking this is basically an energy drink for Gen Z.

Fun fact, I have never had an energy drink before and I didn’t really know what I was buying. Not that surprising really, this is exactly the kind of product that is trying to tick a lot of boxes. I do drink coffee though, so I do have caffeine in my life. I checked the can and it has 80mg of caffeine, while a mug of coffee is around 100mg depending on how it is made, so I figured I was still in familiar territory. It is actually less than most energy drinks anyway. There are still the usual health warnings on the can though, which you don’t tend to see on coffee.

I gave it a try and the flavour is pleasant enough. I could definitely pick up a sort of strawberry taste, it is there but it is not very sweet. The matcha is quite subtle too, which surprised me a bit because that is really meant to be the main thing. It all feels quite light and a bit understated rather than bold.

It is not a bad flavour by any means, and it was quite refreshing. I have saved another can for Sunday night, which is a 1am kick off for the England game, so I’ll be half asleep at half time and probably questioning all my choices, but we’ll see if it actually does the job or if I just end up watching it half asleep with a drink in my hand.

Jasmine Tea - Luxury Version [@NLi10]

 It seems that my usual Jasmine Teabags are not in the Uk at the moment as everywhere has run out!  I have resorted to buying the loose stuff and seeing what it's like

It comes in a pretty cylinder, very similar to the family-imported teas I have that are not Jasmine.

It's only 2% Jasmine, maybe I could have made this myself! Only 5g, and cover it to brew? Exotic.

All sealed to transport

Doesn't look like dust

And turns into proper leaves! I did wait for it to brew properly too - and it was decent, but not as easy as the teabags.  The hunt continues.

Green Chocolate! Torrons Vicens Elaboracio Tradicional - Turron de te Matcha [@NLi10]

 Spain has lots of festive treats and traditions and while my sister was in Barcelona she spotted this huge bar of Matcha Green sweet stuff and brought it home for me.

                                                

While the translation calls it Nougat it's more of a fondant praline- with a crystaline sugar inner

It's a new nougat concept, with a common denominator! It's mostly white chocolate, but wow is it green in person.

I figured these lines meant portions and chopped us one each

You can see the lovely crystaline jaffa orange filling here - such sweetness!

The chocolate itself is a lovely blend - smooth but with a strong matcha flavour.  I could have had it stronger, but my partner was less keen than I so only had a taste of her bit so I had a double portion.

This turned out to be a little much matcha for a Thursday afternoon and so a nap was required.

Great luxurious flavours and gift experience, and a perfect after dinner treat.  Not something I'd recommend you sit and snack on while working though!

Bubbleology - Milk Tea Mixology Kit - Taro Flavour [@NLi10]

 I got this bubble tea kit for Christmas, but had been saving it til the weather was a bit warmer as it's nicer as a cold drink (the bubbles in warm drinks are a little too unnerving). 

It has everything you need - except the milk, and ice - in the box and is enough to make 4 decently sized drinks.

The instructions tell you how to mix all the bits together, but the QR code also links you to a video that says slightly different things.

It says you can use plant based things too so I used almond milk

It does worry me that they keep saying that it's science

Impressive little kit!

For the Taro version you pop the powder & milk in the blender and give it a zap, and then microwave the little tadpoles

Unfortunately I put it on for a few seconds too long and it popped.  Three seconds less and I'd have likely been fine.

I managed to get them all into the pepsi glass

I then added the blended milk mix (with a little blended ice too) and gave it a swirl.

And it worked surprisingly well!  The smells were those of the bubble tea shop, and the taro tasted pretty authentic too.  Using the non-dairy milk seemed to have not changed a thing and worked really well too.

My complaint with these has always been that it's more of a posh milkshake than a novelty tea - but behold - they say you can add 1/4 of pre-made tea to the mix for a more tea based drink - so for the next set I'll do that and see if it makes a difference.

I'll probably add another review for the tiger stripes one.

Chaibibi's Green Apple (tea?) {@NLi10]

 I sometimes buy things and then don't get around to trying them for ages.  over NY I decided to crack into a few of them. 

Here is a see-through can of bright green liquid that is kind of Chai?  Seems unlikely that it's milky or spicy.

Apple tea is a thing so I assumed it'd be like that.

Essentially it's a flat apple tango style drink,  a little sour but not too bad, and doesn't have any of the odd stimulants in it.  A fairly sophisticated little drink - but more pop than tea.  Great for cocktails!

As this has been a short one here is Flo in the fort at the top of the stairs that is supposed to stop the cats from murdering each other quite as often.

0Kcal Drinks - AliENergy Lychee & Dong Feng Shu Ye Jasmine Tea [@NLi10]

We are truly in the confusing era of the 0 Calorie drink.  Tap water is 0 Calories and mostly free, but when you are out it's nice to have a similar experience and a cool healthy drink.  So I picked a few up and then drank them at home anyway! 

This one - I mostly liked the portmanteau of Alien and Energy - I'd not seen that before. It's very 90s and pretty cool. I'd forgive them if the drink was bad.

No calories and a bunch of sprayed on vitamins, it's basically PRIME.

Only this is based around water and sweeteners (boo) but with a lovely fruity taste.  This is unmistakably Lychee, and really refreshing.  Even though I dislike the sweeteners this is very subtle and suitable for most people's tastes.  A win.

And here we have a drink that is usually zero calorie - tea!  Putting milk in (as I usually do) or sugar (as I did in my twenties) makes it less of a healthy proposition - but the natural botanicals of the jasmine tea remove the need for this - IF it's done properly.

They put in some things to keep it fresh, but otherwise this is tea and water - result!  Sure - we haven't quite got to fortified vitamin teas yet, but without the negative parts you can literally drink as much of this as you like and not need to worry.

And it's a good one too - very basey flavour, deep and earthy teas.  The jasmine is very subtle, but does rise towards the end making this a very easy tea to drink.  I'd certainly have this again (even though I do default to the Mr Kong version which is a lot closer to American Pop than this serious adult tea!)

While bottled water is a bit of a menace in nations that have clean and safe municipal supplies (just stick it in the fridge!) it's nice to have flavoured alternatives that are neither too expensive or bland and can give you a little shot of vitamins or cafiene to get through the shopping experience.

Mochi Cookies with Choc Chips & Artificial Matcha (by @NLi10)

Ah - cookies - wonderful American things. But wait - these are clearly international - Taiwanese to be precise.  But for the American Audience it seems.

It's in Oz! So American.

Pie Cookies also sounds very American - lets hope these taste at least a little international.

Look at these lovely little lumps, joyous little cookies that they are.

And they are just about gooey enough in the middle to match the pictures - so that's not so bad.

And the cookie part is quite like an American cookie with the odd aftertaste and everything. The green tea is fairly authentic - although it really makes me want a proper tea.

But...

A lead warning?  That's ... not something I want to see on my food.  Is this an Americanism like the 'please chew' warning? What on earth is going on over there?

Anyway - these are nice - not 'must buy' and something I'm happy to share with others.  The flavour is decent, and the Matcha buzz is there, but those warnings make me a little scared to have these again.

Teapigs Kombucha - Original & Peach/Mango by @NLi10

 Kombucha is great - and Teapigs make some of the best quality big-brand tea there is - lets see what happens when you combine the two!

Here is the original version Kombucha.

It's made with Mao Feng green tea which is my favourite Teapig for home (the only one I buy in boxes of 50 for dreamy afternoons)

It aslo has all the right words like SCOBY and gives 5p to charity

Unfortunately it's really unexciting.  Good Kombucha sings with the memories of all the things that went into it, this was just odd pop.  Disapointing.

I also bought a Peach & Mango one - no picture of it in the glass - but this one was really nice!

The extra flavours have been added to balance out the bits I didn't like about the Original version, and while you couldn't identify it as TeaPigs it just tasted like decent Kombucha.

I'll have to look in Holland & Barrett to see if there are other flavours (and if they are still on the special offer!)

Too Hot - Drink cooling Jasmine Tea (@NLi10)

Britain is currently Too Hot.  To this end I bought and carried a couple of litres of ice-cold tea for bumbling around the shops (which was silly - should just buy one at a time).  Only one was *new* to me and of interest.

We mostly spent the day in the Custard Factory looking at the cool new market area on Floodgate Street and hanging in Wayland's Forge.  Here I am hiding in the shade and guzzling tea.

It's a relatively simple affair - and I was warned before buying it - there is no sugar in this!

There isn't much of anything - what a swizz!  Well, actually an unsweetened Jasmine tea is just what I fancied.  I'd have preferred a deeper flavour (this is from powder - oops) but it was too grassy for my sister so it's probably just my taste buds.  It was refreshing, icy, watery, fragrant Jasmine tea.  And I felt very refreshed afterwards.

Tenzing - Original Flavour - Natural Energy Drink Purely From Plants (but basically nicer Vegan RedBull) @NLi10

 I like unusual 'sports' drinks in fact I was one of the first people to get massively behind RedBull that I know of (we had to buy it from the vending machine in the sports section of the union and then take it to the bar ourselves for the first term).  1997 was a very long time ago though, and we've moved past pouring isostar dust into vodka to get our kicks.

In a rare occurrence we had something on TV that contained adverts (possibly Taskmaster) and this popped up.  I hurridly took a picture and then completely forgot about it.

Carbon negative? Named after the first person to conquer Everest and full of plants?  Sounds fantastic!

Energy drinks have been 'Monstered' a lot recently and frankly that's not my scene anymore.  I don't want to game all night anymore (unlike 10 years ago) - I just want to get on and have a little bit more swing in my step.

And they showed up in the Co-op in Bearwood so I couldn't resist.

It's got tea in it (like Kombucha), it's got green coffee in it (which I'd not heard of but want), and a few of the usual stimulants (but from plant sources).  At only 48 calories it doesn't actually have much energy, but it does have a lot of motivation.  I guess it's like Sherpa Tenzing encouraging you to get to the summit.

Electrolyte drinks have a habit of looking the same coming in as going out - this one is no exception - but the fruity scents and sparkling water taste are really refreshing and welcoming on a hot day.

Unlike the RedBull style drinks there is no chemical aftertaste - although it could maybe be a little more botanical in taste for me (but then I love intense flavours).  I don't think it's one I'd actively seek out, but if I was in the market for a drink while out at didn't want the full Kombucha style hit, and needed a little oomph to get me back to base then I think this is a very suitable companion.

Finally Making Those Matcha Green Scones (@NLi10)

What is this, powder upon more powder?  What kind of snack food is this?!

Well the green is easy to explain - that's my Matcha powder that I got send to review ages ago.

It's great stuff and while I drank most of it I reserved the last half a pack for baking.  And while it's taken 2 years for my health and procrastination to do that baking - here it is!

This green sausage is a half dozen of Delia's scones.  With a table spoon of matcha.

They don't look that green now

They bake up nicely

And they compare well to the normal batch I did for comparison

Tea scones with more tea is maybe a little much, but they worked really well (as expected) and the flavours still came through.  I definitely used less sugar than the recipe needed (or the wrong grade) but generally it worked as expected.  I needed the clotted cream and jam in stock before I did this!

So all in all the baking grade matcha was a success - now to do a chocolate cake - but with matcha instead of chocolate - the possibilities are endless!!