Red Leaf Eggnog Matcha Green Tea Review + Giveaway

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Green tea is a lot like wine. You take in the aroma, you look at the color, you enjoy the tannins and complexity of flavor.  There's a ritual that engages the senses.

When Red Leaf Tea sent me a sample of their eggnog matcha to try, I was intrigued. Because along with my love of wine, I also love some boozy eggnog.

Now that I think about it, this review might have been better recieved before the holidays.  No worry, turns out this eggnog flavored green tea has more uses than just spreading some Eastern style holiday cheer.

Upon first opening the package, I was overwhelmed with the smell of vanilla cupcakes.  This makes sense as that's what eggnog often smells like to me.  But, that smell isn't characteristic to green tea.  I was worried that it might be too sweet.

The color, however, was a gorgeous shade of green.  Matcha is ground up green tea leaves so when the tea is consumed, the antioxidant power of the tea is superior to regular brewed and strained tea leaves.  The vibrant green color is a good indication that this wouldn't be some artificially manufactured powder with  green tea flavoring.

I went about my green tea ritual of scooping the powder into a bowl and whisking it with below boiling water to create bubbles and introduce the air into the tea.

Though the whisked tea maintained the vanilla based aroma, there was no sweetener or overwhelming vanilla flavor.  There was a smoothness on the tongue that contrasted with the tannins in the tea well but this was definitely no artificial powder.

Truth be told, I didn't like this as a tea.  I like the green tea aroma and covering it up with the vanilla scent simply detracted from my experience.  Though the smooth aspect on the tongue was interesting, it isn't worth the trade in aroma.

BUT not all is lost.  This particular matcha would be amazing in a green tea macaron shells just in time for the Lunar New Year!

Lemons & Anchovies has a great recipe for Green Tea Macaron Shells on her blog.

She uses a classic matcha powder but I think the vanilla scent of this green tea would kick up the flavor of a macaron to the next level.

Lucky for you, my small but wonderful group of readers, Red Tea is going to give one of you a package of green tea perfectly sized to try out this recipe on your own with enough leftover to sample a cup of tea for yourself.

Just enter the giveaway below. It closes January 22nd.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck friends!
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Red Leaf Caramel Matchaccino Recipe and Review

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Red Leaf Tea sent me two of their varieties of matcha green tea to try.  I was excited to try the Caramel Matchaccino as green tea frappucinos are very popular around my neck of the woods since  coffee based frappuccinos are so passé. We're never really comfortable leaving well enough alone in Southern California. 

Many conversations go like this:

"I'm having a Starbucks frappucino," says someone who proudly frequents Starbucks.

"Don't you know green tea is better for you?  I'm having a green tea frappucino from my local independent coffee shop," says someone who thinks they're better than someone who regularly spends $5 on a blended coffee beverage from a *chain* everyday.

Now I can come in and say, "I make my own vegan green tea frappucinos at home with all natural ingredients and organic coconut milk."

I assume this conversation devolves into someone coming in and saying that they grow their own green tea leaves in their home composted garden.

It's really a battle to see who can make getting the exact same amazing frappucino the most unobtainable to someone else.

And I'm currently a caramel fiend.  I've made sea salt caramels, caramel sauce, caramel apple cider caramel puffcorn.  Yes, I will post recipes one day soon when I get the chance. You know, once I'm done making everything in my life as difficultly unobtainable as possible.

Back to the caramel green tea.  Upon first opening, the package smelled of caramel. As in so caramel scented that I ended up whipping up a chocolate caramel brownie in a mug.  Delicious.

And when classically prepared, the green tea is slightly sweet with this mouth feel that actually mimics the mouth feel of silky caramel. 

Now, I prepared this two ways.  One, straight up as a matcha green tea and as a blended drink. 

As a matcha green tea, this is fantastic.  I really enjoyed the caramel scent layered over the smell of green tea leaves.  The tea that results is lightly sweet while keeping with a robust green tea flavor.  This is fantastic for an all natural product as many of these Frappe/Latte based products tend to be artificial. 

The Matchaccino is only 58 calories so if you're looking for a drink that gives you a healthy energy boost with a dose of antioxidants while staying away from high calorie sugary coffee drinks, this is a good option.

I made the cold latte based on Red Leaf's instructions with the aforementioned vegan twist: coconut milk instead of cow's milk. You can use whatever milk you want but obviously if you're in Southern California, it needs to be as unobtainable as possible.  Next time, I might try some homemade organic hazelnut milk. 

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
1 tablespoon of latte mix
8 oz of organic coconut milk
1 cup of ice cubes

Instructions
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend.  Pour into a cup and dollop with whipped cream if desired.

Again, this is only lightly sweet so adding some actual caramel would up the sweetness to a more classic caramel frappuccino flavor. But only homemade Hawaiian pink sea salt caramel sauce of course.

I enjoy it lightly sweet because in my family the greatest compliment you can give a dessert is "it's not too sweet" but for the average palate, you will need to add some additional sugar using whatever sweetener you prefer. Like blue agave nectar grown in the backyard of Brad Pitt's desert home.

I think where this would really shine, however, is in a green tea ice cream with chocolate fudge.  Because I really want some ice cream. Made from the finest valrhona noir of course. Or something harder to pronounce.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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Gourmet Marshmallow Giveaway!

This is not my giveaway but it is my friend Staci's over at Luker Family Tales.  Free marshmallows for my hot cocoa while gathered with my family and friend around the Christmas tree sounds amazing.  And I'm entering.  You can too. 

But just so you know, I'm rooting for myself.

Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Product Review: Ricola Extra Strength with Natural Menthol



Compare the size of the box to a 3 month old baby.

I came home to what looked like the biggest box of Ricola I had ever seen.  I could only hope it was just one big block of the herby cough drop that I could chip and gnaw at during the cold flu ridden months of winter.  I would know that spring had come when the brick was completely consumed.

Sadly, when I picked up the box, it was so light there's no way I could have been a Ricola brick.

But when I opened it, I was greeted with the Ricola yodel, a big Ricola wrapped candy and my nosy cat trying to get all up in the box.  You can see the video on instagram. (Follow me while you're there.)




Could it be the Ricola brick of my dreams?

When I unwrapped the box, there was two bags of Ricola.  The Original and the new Extra Strength with Natural Menthol. 




That blue makes it look extra mentholy.

I should preface this whole review by saying that my husband gets sick a few times a year and inevitably he asks me to get him cough drops.  Except what he really means in to get him Ricola, the Original flavor.

Early in our relationship, he asked me for cough drops and I foolishly brought home Halls and was met with a deeply disappointed sick boyfriend. Lesson learned.



Wait, that's not Ricola brown.

Naturally, when he saw the blue bag, he immediately said, "I don't think I'm going to like this.  I like the mild menthol flavor of the original."

That packaging really makes the Extra Strength Menthol point.  And the candy is not Ricola's characteristic brown color.  This did not bode well.

But the Hosh is nothing if not an adventurer.  He was willing to try anyway.

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Birchbox, Sample Society and IPSY Bag Review

Ipsy Bag - December

Last Christmas, I gave the gift of Birchbox and Sample Society to my cousins and an Ipsy subscription for myself.  We were all very excited.

Then, as the items started to arrive, I found myself extremely happy with my Ipsy bag while being somewhat embarassed about the less than stellar offerings from Birchbox and Sample Society.

Let me explain.

Birchbox - $10/month.

Birchbox offers a combination of high end and low end products, mainly samples of high end products and full size items of lower end products. And the samples are usually of the in a paper package that could be in a magazine fold variety. 

Sample products include face masks, chapstick, glosses, skin toner, etc.

Unfortunately, the Birchbox often comes with more samples than full size products making the box seem more like a goodie bag you can get for free during a fruitful trip through the beauty aisle at the local department store.  Not something I would like to give as a gift.

Subscribers can expect a value of about 1-3 times the cost of the box.  

Ipsy Bag - November

Sample Society - $15/month.

Sample Society offers a mix of high end to mid size sample products.  The sample packaging is a step up from Birchbox's in that more of their products come in smaller versions of their full size bottles.  The products, however, are not as well matched.  They might send something pigmented that doesn't match the end user's skin tone. 

The resulting gift is ok as a gift.  It's a combination of products that seems a little higher end that Birchbox's offerings but aren't always as usable. Each month is curated with a theme. So one month might be skincare and another month Fall Favorites.

Subscribers can expect a value of 2-9 times the cost of each bag.

Ipsy - $11/month

Every  month, I am more and more thrilled with the Ipsy bag offerings.  Not only do the products come in an adorable cosmetics bag every month (which I usually pass on to my little sister or use to hold gift cards), most of the products are full sized! I rarely get an item that's in a paper sample pack.

The bag contains a mix of middle and lower end products but they're typically very usable.  For instance, in my never ending quest for the best mascara, I've been able to try 3 different types.  Currently, I really like em. by Michelle Phan (who is also a partner at Ipsy).

A particular plus of Ipsy is that it often comes with nail polish so I get to try brands I colors I might not usually even give a second thought.

Subscribers can expect to get a value of 2-5 times the cost of each bag most reliably on the 5 times end.

My favorite box is Ipsy followed by Sample Society and then Birchbox.

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DIY Chevron Chinese Zodiac Nursery Decor

When we were designing the nursery, I wanted a grey chevron striped wall to which the Hosh said "I'm not doing that." Normally, I would have said, well I'll do it myself but I was pregnant and you know how that goes.

I remembered that I had a roll of chevron wrapping paper from TPT Home (great store if you're ever in Costa Mesa, CA) and decided instead, I would make my own chevron artwork with a nod to my Chinese roots.

The color theme in our nursery is red, yellow, green and grey chevron stripes.  Here's my mood board: Unisex Nursery Decor.  I decided that adding wall decor with the Chinese zodiac animals of Baby Buckshot's grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles would be a nice way to incorporate family into the space.

Here's a rundown of the process, if it weren't already obvious from the pictures.



Supplies:

A NYTTJA frame from IKEA. (They are plastic fronted instead of glass making them better in a nursery.)

A sheet of chevron striped paper large enough to fit the frame. (Available here.)


A sheet of paper in the color of choice.

A print out of the animal or shape of choice. (Here is a website to look up Chinese zodiac signs. Google images is full of usable art.)

Resticking Adhesive. (This is useful so for reusing the frames for another purpose as baby grows up.)

Scissors



Directions:

1. Adhere the print out of the animal or shape to the colored sheet of paper.

2. Cut the image out of the two sheets of paper that are glued together.

3. Use the cardboard backing of the picture frame to cut the chevron paper to size.

4. Adhere the cut chevron paper to the cardboard backing of the frame.

5. Adhere the cut image to the center of the chevron covered backing of the frame.

6. Place the backing back on the frame.

7. Place on the wall.

This definitely looks better as a triptych.  We have two sets of these with 6 different animals represented.

Baby Buckshot loves these pictures as they are sitting above the feeding area and changing table in the nursery.  They were the first thing on the walls of the house that he was obviously focusing on. Now, he even looks at them, smiles and laughs.


But even better, BB's grandparents and aunts loved that they were represented in his room.

It's like having them look over him and that makes me feel good too. 

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Solvang in November

Ranch and Reata Roadhouse

DH and I go to Solvang a few times a year because his mom and stepdad have a part time residence in the area. Usually, we hang out at the house, go for a walk in the neighborhood and watch the deer as they stroll through the backyard.  Maybe stop at a cute store or restaurant they've found and just enjoy life. 

This past weekend, we were lucky enough to be in town during the Santa Ynez Vaquero Days and Sherry Musgrove's Holiday boutique. We also found a cute little wine lounge called Viking Garden Cellars.

Santa Ynez, CA

Ranch & Reata Roadhouse
3569 Sagunto St.
Santa Ynez, CA 93460
(805) 691-9663

This adorable little restaurant was home to the first full service restaurant the Hosh (DH, a new nickname I'm trying out) and I have been to since Baby Buckshot was born. They were pretty busy because of the Vaquero Show but they got the food out pretty quickly.  The restaurant was loud enough that a crying baby that was quickly removed from the dining room wouldn't bother too many people.

The restaurant is updated Western, obviously made for the nightlife.  There's a stage setup for musical performances.  I was also told that a radio show used to be broadcasted out of a recording room in the corner of the space. 

Gorgeous Tiled and Hided Ceiling at R&R

Our table ordered pulled pork nachos, burgers and I had a Wyoming elk burger.  It is the only restaurant I've ever been to that perfectly cooked elk so that it was better than beef!  The nachos were big enough for 3 people and the pulled pork was delicious. They also make a mean truffled french fry with Figueroa Danish Red on the draft menu.  


Santa Ynez Vaquero Days
3596 Sagunto St.
Santa Ynez, CA 93460
(805) 688-7889

We didn't actually see the Vaquero show but I felt the need to mention it because it's a big deal in Santa Ynez which is basically set up to look like a Western town.  

Thanksgiving Goods at the Holiday Boutique

It lasts the whole weekend and includes a sale of cowboy goods, a Gala dinner with live auction to raise funds for the Historical Museum, lots of demonstrations and live musical entertainment. They've been presenting Vaquero Days for 29 years! 

The perfect weekend for cowboy fanatics. 


Sherry Musgrove's Holiday Boutique

3992 Roblar Ave. 
Santa Ynez, CA 93460

Christmas Goodies at Sherry's

This Holiday is one of the main reasons we came to Solvang this weekend.  Located in Santa Ynez, Sherry Musgrove opens her home to the public to showcase handmade crafts, culinary delights, ranch style wares and a variety of Thanksgiving and Holiday crafts.  Some items are made by Sherry herself, while other items are made by local crafters and vendors.

The real star of the show is Sherry Musgrove's amazing house.  It's what you would imagine Walt Disney creating if he wanted a California Ranch Home.  From the adobe clay style kitchen made for entertaining to the native California themed architecture, this property is simply amazing.

We picked up a boot spur door knocker for the Hosh's parents and had some delicious homemade gingersnaps.  Great pricing for a craft fair.

Viking Garden Cellars (VGC)

Viking Garden Cellars

448 Alisal Rd.Ste E
Solvang, CA 93463
(805) 688-2670

The Hosh and I passed at sign on the way from Vinhus to our car that said "Wine Lounge" in front of a path that led to a well hidden storefront.   High off the first outing sans Baby Buckshot since his birth, I said "Let's stop in and see if we can pick up some Christmas gifts."

This space is fairly large with indoor and outdoor seating.  The bar has both beer and wine offerings.  It's important to note that they flush their beer lines regularly, something most bars and restaurants do not do, according to Brad the resident Wine Guy.  The Hosh had a red wine flight while I ordered a pint of the Figueroa Danish Red.  I keep mentioning this beer because it is SO good. I had it for the first time at Ranch & Reata and couldn't pass it up when I saw it at VGC.  Review is coming.

Beer List includes Figueroa Danish Red

They work in collaboration with local restaurants to do beer paired dinners.  They host local entertainment nights that include BBQ dinners.  Seemingly part of the local night scene which was previously on the quiet side.

The wine flights are $12, a deal comparable to the tasting rooms along the same street.  The highlight was a 2009 Prodigal Close Pepe Pinot Noir at the phenomenal bottle price. Christmas gifts were purchased.

Brad, the eccentric barkeep, was also extremely entertaining and has an obvious love of the crushed grape.  This place is a great laid back lounge spot with a more modern feel amongst a street of more stuffy and traditional taste-and-go wine rooms.

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