First Blush Cabernet White Juice + Tea

A few days ago I reviewed First Blush Chardonnay juice. And while I loved the idea, the juice it's self left a lot to be desired.
Regardless I had a bottle of the Cabernet white juice & tea and I vowed to give it a try. So I despite not liking the first bottle I tried to go into the Cabernet with an open mind.

This bottle is the Cabernet White Tea. Which is exactly what it sounds like. Cabernet grape juice mixed with white tea.

First the smell. I did not take it as a good sign that the drink smelled like a cross between tomato juice and prunes. Both things I like on they're own but not so much together.

Fortunately, the taste was about a 100 times better then the smell. The grape portion reminded me of plump red grapes and the tea adds a nice balance, keeping the grape from being too bitter (there is no added sugar) or too bland. It was clean and refreshing. There was almost a floral aftertaste to it.

I loved this tea. I liked it enough to what to give the other reds in the line a try.

PURCHASED FROM:
Vons

Chuao Chocolatier- Earl Grey Bar

I have to give the shout out for this review to the always fab Cybele of Candy Blog. It was her mouth watering reviews of the Chuao line that made me dream about tasting them myself.
Sometimes it's funny how I come across some of the candies I try. In this case I was actually at a local Vons supermarket hunting down Ciao Bella gelato and since this is not my normal supermarket you all just KNOW I HAD to look at the candy. Well to what did my wondering eyes appear?, since it's too early in the year for rain deer if you guessed a bar of the Chuao Earl Grey then you catch on pretty quick.

Yes, there it was amid some of the more banal offerings. The Earl Grey bar is a milk chocolate based bar that has been infused with Earl Grey tea (hm, might be where they got the name...) once you break into the foil pouch take a nice big wiff. There is a beautiful smokey, slightly floral aroma coming from the bar.
The bar is broken up into small, square segments. Each just the perfect size for allowing to melt on your tongue.

I LOVE the chocolate it's self. It is an excellent quality milk chocolate. A beautiful, smooth melt. Rich, full dairy notes and it is sweet but not so sweet that it is distracting. The tea flavor is very subtle. There is no mistaking that it is there but it is in the far background. The citrus elements of the tea are what come though the strongest.

A terrific bar. It is nice to see another high quality chocolate with interesting flavor combination's out there.

PURCHASED FROM:
Vons Supermarket

Claim Jumper- Green Tea & Ginger Creme Brulee

There are few desserts I love more then Creme Brulee
The thing is I next to never actually order desserts out. When I do it is pretty much always something like creme brulee.

For those of you not familiar with the Claim Jumper chain they are a west coast based chain that is known mostly for they're HUGE portions. The portions are so big they make Cheesecake Factories portions look small. You may have seen they're Mother Load chocolate cake slice for sale in your local grocery store (or Wal*Mart). I don't think I have ever been able to finish even half of whatever I have ordered at any given meal.
The desserts are so big you could invite about 160 of your closest friends to share one and you would still have leftovers. When I saw the Green Tea & Ginger Creme Brulee on the menu I was tempted but figured since I would be eating it alone (and creme brulee is not take out friendly) that I would have to pass. The server however let me know that the brulees (they offer three altogether) are served in smaller portions then the other desserts. I figured this meant I would only be able to share with 80 of my closest friends but I really wanted to try so I ordered it anyway.

I was happily surprised to find that when they said it was a petite serving they meant it! the brulee is served in a small demitasse cup. it is about 4 oz's. Personally I think that's the perfect size for a brulee.

How did it taste?
I had been hoping for a strong green tea flavor. Unfortunatly, I didn't get that at all. If there most be next to no green tea in the brulee because there is just no sense of it. The ginger is bright and clean though. Someone who is less of a ginger fan then I am might find it on the strong side- I loved it!
The brulee was rich and creamy with just the right amount of custard. I hate when creme brulee tastes too eggy. The only thing I would have preferred would have been actually tasting the green tea.

PURCHASED FROM:
Claim Jumper Resturant

Haagen-Dazs Green Tea Ice Cream Limited Edition

Finally a mass marketed Green Tea ice cream!
One of the best parts about going to Japanese places is that if you are lucky they have green tea ice cream on the dessert menu.

Haagen-Dazs version is very rich- this is a big improvement over some of the cheaper versions served at said places above. The flavor is light and slightly sweet but at the same time it has the taste of real green tea (as opposed to green tea flavoring)

I hope they consider making this part of the regular line!

Starbucks Chocolates Chocolate & Tea Tasting Squares

This sampler has a trio of tasting squares all infused with tea!

I will skip the whole I love Starbucks routine. I know that you know that I love them and the longer it takes me to write the superlatives the longer it is until I get to the chocolate.

This box has three adorable rows of small "tasting" chocolates- the pieces are small and thin, kind of like a mini Ghirardelli square.

The one I tried first was the:
Passion Dark Chocolate.
When I am in the mood for a cold drink at Starbucks my choice is almost always the Passion Tea/Lemonade blend. In fact the Passion Tazo is one of the few teas I buy to drink hot so I had high hopes for this one.
Once the wrapper is opened the chocolate smells EXACTLY like a fresh cup of the passion tea. It's sort of floral and citrusy at the same time.

The first notes that hit your tongue are all about the tea. So much so that you could almost recreate the flavor of the square by drinking some of the iced version of the tea while holding a few chocolate chips in your mouth. That sounds weird but it actually was an interesting effect.
The chocolate it's self is just sort of there. It's not bad- but it's not good. It's grainy (although that may be the tea it's self), it melts reasonably fast. It's sort of a middle of the road dark. It's not dark enough that it has much bite of it's own (or that it refuses to melt). But it is also not milky enough to be smooth, sweet or have much of a dairy component. What I think I was most disappointed in is that it had no snap to it. Biting or breaking the square just yields a pretty wimpy bend.
Even with the so-so chocolate the Passion tea just tastes so good I would have this square again.

Onto the next square.

Citron Dark Chocolate:
I loved the smell of this square instantly. It smells exactly like freshly grated lemon zest and deep smokey chocolate.

The lemon has a stronger aroma then taste and while the smell is amazing the taste is... well it's not. Furniture polish is what immediately came to mind.
Again the texture is gritty, which in the case I think I can without a doubt attribute to the tea leaves. I love that they used the dark chocolate with lemon (it is one of my favorite combo's) Everything I said about the chocolate with the Passion square stands true here.

This square I will be avoiding in the future... unless I suddenly get the overwhelming craving for edible Pledge.

And last but not least.

Chai Milk Chocolate:
Let's remember that I LOVED the Chai Truffles. I was expecting these squares to be little flat versions of the truffles. While it is clear they are related the squares are not exactly the Mini-Me's of the truffles.

The scent is just as good. Warm, inviting and on the spicy side.
The Chai in the case of the square overpowers the chocolate. It's like there are to many competing flavors fighting each other in the piece. With the truffles it's easy to pick out the individual notes, in the square everything is just sort of mushed together and it ends up tasting more like black pepper then anything else.
Combine that with a slightly grainy texture (although less so thanks to the milk chocolate) and a mediocre milk chocolate, it's just disappointing after how high the truffles set the bar.


The stand out here is definitely the Passion Squares.
Is it worth the $5.00+ price tag for one decent set of squares, honestly? not really but should you see them at steep discount or the Passion squares alone then they are well worth a try.

PURCHASED FROM:
Kroger (Ralph's depending on your location)

Starbucks Chocolates Chai Truffles

A new way to take my Starbucks addiction to the next level!!
As if I really needed another reason. Starbucks has launched a new line of premium chocolate.

I started out with the Chai Truffles as my first taste/review. I love that chai spice has been so popular recently- this is what the third chai product review I have done.

I don't say this often but these candies are so cute!, they look like little upside down tea cups! The chocolate is a glossy milk. The truffles also smell terrific. Warm and spicy, the cinnamon and a hint of black pepper come right through.

Biting through the truffle the chocolate shell is thick and has a good snap to it. It's a sweet milk chocolate that has a nice melt.
The chai center is outstanding. Smooth, the spice plays off of the chocolate perfectly- you can taste the clove and anise. There seems to be some citrus notes. The cardamom is clean and deep.

I hope that the rest of the line is as good as these truffles because they did an excellent job with these.


PURCHASED FROM:
Walgreens

Pocky- Marble Green Tea

It's Macchariffic!
I loved this Pocky!
The green tea flavor is a crisp, clean taste. Exactly like unsweetened green tea. The chocolate that is swirled lightly throughout isn't terribly noticeable to be honest. It looks cool but it doesn't bring a lot to the party. What I do taste a little of is a malted note- although as far as I can tell there is no malted milk in the mix.

What I also liked about the green tea Pocky is that the candy coating seems to be a little thicker on this one then it is on the regular chocolate ones.

I can see getting more of this in the future.

PURCHASED FROM:
Kam Man Market NYC

Lipton Brisk Green Apple Green Tea

Seeing this on the shelf I couldn't resist trying it- it's bright green! who could resist something bright green?!

It has occurred to me after the fact that in nature there is a reason why things that are dangerous are brightly colored as a warning sign... And yet I chose to ignore it anyway.

About the only way to describe this is to imagine drinking a liquid sour apple Jolly Rancher- and oddly enough that is not a good thing. I can see this being a big hit with teens or even younger kids but I don't see it having a broad enough appeal to get hugely popular. Worth a try but it can't hold a candle to Snapples Apple White Tea.

Snapple Out Of The Blueberry Tea

I know what your thinking- Blueberry tea? BLACH!

The blueberry manages to avoid the two biggest problems most blueberry flavored items have. One being the sic kingly sweet fake blueberry pie flavor and the other the extremely sour pucker that gives the consumer a serious case of CBF.

The blueberry here is a perfect balance of sweet/tart with just a hint of a mellow tea in the background. excellent and refreshing.