Motto: Sparkling Matcha Tea

I chose to purchase this beverage because I was looking for affordable matcha alternatives. However I found it to be less affordable than the high quality Breakaway Matcha I already own. Additionally it tastes a bit strange. Although the second ingredient listed is matcha, this did not taste very much like the the matcha I am familiar with. This might be due to the addition of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar.

While Motto may not be a good matcha equivalent, its label boasts that it is worth the caffeine of twelve cups of green tea of a third of a cup of coffee. Looking at it in that light I would strongly prefer the Motto drink to other energy drinks. It is surprisingly pleasing if one can resist comparing it to more traditional matcha.

Homemade Chai (Recipe From www.gimmesomeoven.com)

I've been known to complain about coffee shops using Oregon Chai instead of creating their own unique chai blends. To prove that I am serious about this complaint, I decided to make my own chai. While I admit that gathering the ingredients was a bit challenging, once gathered, the process was quite simple and took a mere 30 minutes.

The recipe I choose made a chai concentrate rather than a something one could put in a tea bag. To use this chai concentrate one must only mix one part concentrate with one part water or one part milk. I decided to go in this direction because I tend to be a cantankerous lump of a morning creature and if I'm going to consume anything during those wee hours it had better be simple.

The only alteration I made to the recipe is I added coriander, my favorite spice. Additionally, I might choose to use a bit less cinnamon next time. I found the amount of cinnamon a tad excessive, however my sister was quite pleased with it.

My biggest mistake was making the chai the day before I moved into my new dwelling for this year. Under those circumstances, I only got to taste the chai briefly on my way to the airport. It was quite splendid, regardless of the fact that I lacked the time to savor it. I plan to recreated this recipe in the near future so I can write more in depth about the final product.

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/homemade-chai-tea-recipe/

Tea Fever

I am fully cognizant of the fact that in this picture my sister and I look less than enthused about our tea fever milk teas. I would like it to be known that we are in actuality quite pleased. We are just trying to be goth. Tea Fever is a place of the upmost importance to me, because it was my favorite bubble tea venue throughout high school. That was not saying much at the time considering it were only two bubble tea places in downtown Berkeley. Yet, even now when bubble tea shops have a tendency to  pop up like gophers, Tea Fever continues to produce some of the best bubble tea in Berkeley.

I have never gotten a drink that I was not pleased with at Tea Fever. Even when I go for some more extravagant combinations like Magic Mocha milk tea with coffee jelly and boba I still end up quite content. Additionally their matcha milk tea, while not quite as fantastic as the matcha at Asha Tea House, is superb. Their ice teas are splendid as well. Then there is Tea Fever's wonderful variety of waffles and crepes. My favorite of which is a dessert crepe that includes pieces of strawberries and mangos topped with whipped cream. Overall Tea Fever is a lovely place to fulfill all of ones bubble tea and snack needs.