Violin in C Sharp

STASH is one of my trusty, go-to, easy to find, off the shelf brands. So you can see in the ingredient list that instead of whole cloves in the mix, this blend uses clove oil. So yes, that makes the flavor come out stronger without the astringency that whole clove can add- HOWEVER, it makes cleaning up after a cup of this more like cleaning up after a cup of Earl Grey. What I mean by that is that the oil leaves a residue on your cup/ pot that can be hard to get off if you don’t wash it while fresh AND the oil can make the tea staining worse on your ceramics if you don’t clean it promptly. A water soak won’t fully help as it will just draw the oil to the surface and create a ring/line of the stain. With the flash here, you can somewhat see the oil on the surface of the tea that makes it more difficult to clean up. All that having been said, this IS one of my favorite easy to find everyday bagged chai blends. It can take sugar and cream well, but is also quite tasty on its own. I do...

I've previously reviewed another pre-mixed milk tea by this same company - the Jasmine Green milk tea.  Of that flavor, I was NOT a fan.  The vanilla powder was far too prominent a flavor. The vanilla powder is used in this Black Milk Tea as well - but thankfully, it's not as prominent. I'm learning very quickly that I just don't like vanilla powder in my tea - it dominates the last note/ aftertaste and makes me feel like I've just eaten a cookie that's gone slightly off. As far as milk teas go, this was.... ok.  It curbed my milk tea craving and was definitely a more affordable and more convenient option than going to a milk tea place.  However, in flavor quality, it very much tasted like a knock of version of a tasty milk tea place milk tea. On the side of the bottle it says to "shake well" - they aren't kidding.  A sip of this before shaking is watery and flavourless drivel.  SHAKE THE HELL out of this if you want any flavor. Verdict:  It's ...

  Tea Review: Matcha Au Lait by Nitto A nice level of cream in the flavour - but be careful, if you serve it too hot the main note on the tongue is a grassy one. Thankfully, the grass flavour mellows as the tea cools. There's JUST enough sweetness in the mix that it can be drunk without the need of sweet treats along side so it's a good stand alone sipping drink. Verdict: Very pleasant.

  Tea Review: Kinako Black Sesame Milk Powder by Nittoh This was a sensory head trip for me. The smell and the visual led me to think of creamy sweetness.... but the flavor was savory soy and sesame. I thoroughly enjoyed both the scent and flavor, it was just that my brain couldn’t seem to make the two go together until I told myself I was drinking black sesame ice cream base before the sugar got added and then the cognitive dissonance vanished.