Tea Pigs Mao Feng Green Tea

Mao Feng, or Huangshan Maofeng to give it its full name, is a Chinese green tea with claimed health properties. It is one of the most famous China teas.  Generally the same leaves can be used several times over, but to do that the leaves need to be removed from the hot water after a few minutes rather than left in. Tea Pigs don't mention that, but it is common with this particular tea, as explained here.

We like this tea. It is very green tasting and refreshing. When hot it has a mild savoury flavour - a little salty perhaps, or smoky, and is a bit like seaweed, particularly lava bread - a Swansea delicacy I love. When cold it is sweeter and has delicate fruit flavour.

Nice.

Date: Dec 2018  Score: 8

Ahmad Magical Tea Bauble Pear & Cinnamon

Golly this is gorgeous. I know Ahmad are a respected tea company, but often it's all name and style and no substance. But this is the real deal.

It's a blend of Ceylon and Assam black teas with pear and cinnamon. It can be drunk with or without milk. I prefer my strong black teas (such as Ceylon and Assam) with milk, but if flavoured (usually, as here, with fruit), then I drink it without. I found this to be a well balanced blend - it wasn't just a black tea, nor was it just a spiced fruit tea, it was a little of both, hovering nicely between the two. Surprisingly delicate for such robust black teas.  This is simply quite beautiful.

It was a gift. These baubles can be bought for £5 from Amazon, or  £4 from Ahmad direct.  You only get eight tea bags, but you do get to keep the metal bauble which can be used as a Christmas tree decoration. Cute.


Date: Dec 2018   Score: 10

Thompson's Irish Breakfast Tea

Founded in 1896, Thompson's are a family tea firm based in Belfast who have recently started marketing their tea outside of Ireland. Their Irish Breakfast Tea is based on the traditional English breakfast tea, which is a blend of teas based on Assam tea from Northern India, Kenyan tea, and often one or more others. This blend just uses Assam and Kenyan, and as such lacks character. It's probably done to save money. We found the tea to lack brightness and flavour, no matter how we brewed it. If brewed stronger or longer instead of getting more flavour, we simply got tannic bitterness and cardboard.

Not a successful blend for us.


Date: Dec 2018    Score: 3


I've had this tea before:

Thompson's Family Teas
Irish Breakfast Blend

Nescafe Azera Latte

The pack says "made with espresso", but that's of course nonsense as espresso is a method of making coffee, not a type of coffee bean. What this pack contains is a hint of ground coffee (0.7%). Can it be detected? Well, yes, possibly, there is a slightly more authentic taste of coffee to this than there is in most creamy instant coffees. But the overall flavour is quite sombre and dull, and that's generally not why I want an instant creamy. There's powdered milk in this for Crissakes - it's clearly not a serious coffee.  Now, its each to their own, and if people really want to pretend they're having a serious coffee when drinking this mix of instant coffee powder and milk powder and all the other junk they throw in, plus the 0.7% ground coffee, then go ahead, kid yourself. But all I want when I have one of these creamy instants is a bit of harmless fun that doesn't contain as much caffeine as fresh coffee. This ups the caffeine content and lowers the fun, and doesn't taste that great. So, thanks Nescafe, but on the whole, no thanks.

Date: Dec 2018  Score: 3

***

Frothy coffee

Tesco Skinny Latte Sachets

This is the last of the three Tesco sachets we've tried. It's on a par with the Macchiato, and it'sdifficult to tell which is the worse. Very dry and plain. Bitter powdered coffee is the main flavour. It leaves a nasty taste of instant coffee bitterness in the mouth.

Try all three side by side puts them in context. The main difference is the sweetness. The sweetest is the Cappuccino (which has over 22% sugar - it doesn't say exactly how much, 21% milk powder, and 13% instant coffee). There's not a lot between the Macchiato and the Skinny. Trying them again and again, I think I'm edging in favour of the Skinny as being the least offensive. It carries more milk powder, and while the Macchiato contains more milk sugar, that's all it carries, while the Skinny uses both sugar and milk sugar. That extra milk and direct sugar, is probably what gives it a bit more body and smoothness. Both have 11% coffee powder.

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Creamy instant coffees

Tesco Latte Macchiato Sachets

The subtleties of the various milky coffee drinks is fairly lost on me (and I think most people). The Wikipedia article goes to pains to point out that latte macciato is very different to caffè latte but doesn't go on to explain that it is similar to flat white, and is not hugely different to a cappuccino. What they all are is espresso and milk. If I drink a coffee made with Brazilian beans that will taste very different to one made with African beans, yet they are both coffee. And adding milk or cream or sugar, and how much, is individual choice and preference, but not a completely fucking different style of coffee. It's the coffee beans and how they are treated that defines your coffee, not the layers of milk and coffee or the pretty patterns of foam on top. Get real people!

Of course when it comes to instant coffees, none of this nonsense applies anyway. It's all the same fucking thing. It's instant coffee powder and instant milk powder in a sachet.

This Tesco Latte Macchiato is quite dry with a powdery coffee/chocolate flavour. It's not hugely different to the Cappuccino, and neither are much fun. If we're to have these instant creamy coffees, let them be fun - let them be creamy and reasonably sweet. After all, if we wanted a proper coffee we'd make one.


Date: Nov 2018    Score: 3

***

Tesco tea and coffee

Creamy instant coffees

Tesco Cappuccino Sachets

Tesco have introduced a new range of instant creamy coffees in attractive packets. I have a bunch of them, and this is the first I have tried. The sachets are foil, and are a little hard to tear as there appears to be no pre-prepared slot. I was about to get out the scissors when I did manage it, but it didn't tear easily or cleanly, and I can see the potential for things to go wrong, and for milk and coffee powder to end up all over the place!

The drink is pleasantly coffee flavoured. Not too sweet, and not too creamy. Quite likeable, though not as much fun as some of the highly flavoured ones that Nescafe do.



Date: Nov 2018    Score: 4

***

Tesco tea and coffee

Frothy coffee

Pukka Lemon, Ginger & Manuka Honey

All the Pukka teas I've had I have enjoyed, yet I'm still put off by the price. This was half price at £1.50 so a bargain for Pukka teas.

Manuka honey has claims of health properties which are disputed - though 1 in 5 jars sold as manuka honey is fake due to the high demand (and prices) for the honey.

I love it. Refreshing, spicy, sweet, and hugely attractive. It's damn gorgeous.


Date: Oct 2018   Score: 9

Pukka teas

Kenco Iced Latte Salted Caramel

The idea behind this instant creamy coffee is that it can be drunk cold - add either cold water or cold milk, plus some ice cubes if you wish. But it can also be made with hot water, and it provides a very luscious creamy coffee.

Yeah, very yummy. There's some awareness of coffee in the background, but mostly it's a sweet milky drink. I really like it!


Score: 7

Creamy instant coffees

Lidl Knightsbridge Apple & Pear

This is going to become a regular in our house. This is gently sweet, clean and refreshing. It's a lively flavour which brings joy with it.


Date: Jan 2019   Score: 8

This is very tasty. Cool and refreshing with distinct flavours of sweet pear and crisp apple.


Date: Sept 2018    Score: 7

Lidl Tea & Coffee

Kenco Barista Edition Cappuccino Unsweetened taste

This one is quite drinkable. It's a standard creamy instant coffee, but it's not as sweet as most, and there's some awareness of the coffee flavour. It's not fussy or fancy - it just does a job. I'd be OK drinking this again. Not excited, but OK.


Score: 5

Kenco 2 in 1

This tastes like a weak instant coffee made with powdered milk. It's less fun than the other creamy instant coffees - though the stated aim is to provide a convenient manner for people to make an instant coffee, so fun isn't really part of the equation. There are suggestions for taking a pack to work or on holiday. It's fairly pointless to use this to make coffee at home as there's little difference between spooning in some instant coffee and adding a dash of fresh milk as there is in opening up a pouch. You're hardly saving that much time and effort for the extra cost.

This is not an epic fail so much as a weary flounce.


Date: Sept 2018   Score: 3

Kenco Mocha

This works for me. Not too sweet and creamy, and with a solid chocolate flavour giving it some bite and bitterness. Nicely balanced and quite satisfying. It's not a proper coffee, and there's little actual coffee flavour, but as an instant milky drink this works well.

Score: 6

Creamy instant coffees

Camp Coffee

Camp Coffee is a British icon. It has been continually made since 1876, originally for the troops in India, then for anyone who wanted an easy coffee substitute. It is the world's first instant coffee. There is very little coffee in it (just 4% instant coffee essence), the bulk of it is chicory (a popular coffee substitute) and sugar. The image on the label is very compelling. It is generally accepted (though has never been confirmed) that the Highland soldier is "Fighting Mac" - Major General Sir Hector Archibald MacDonald, a common soldier who through his courage, leadership, and military skills rose through the ranks to become a general.  His death by suicide after being accused of homosexuality still attracts discussion.

 The coffee has been advertised with evocative images of the British Empire in its days of racist domination and military brutality. There is a glamour about such images that sit uncomfortably with us in more liberal and enlightened times.

The label has changed. The label I remember is the Gordon Highlander sitting down in a military camp being served by an Indian servant.

Original image

But over time the image has altered, so that today the Sikh is a fellow solder sitting with the Highlander as they drink the coffee together.

The changing face of Camp Coffee

So what's it like to drink? Actually quite pleasant. It's not coffee, but does have a coffee flavour. It's a bit weak, so best to put in more coffee than than suggested. And it is better with water than milk, but it's each to their own really.


Score: 5

Sainsbury's Taste The Difference Double Mint & Lemon Verbena Infusion

It's drinkable. There's a green mint flavour, and it's acceptable. But it's not as good as a straightforward mint tea.


Date: June 2018    Score: 4

***

Mint tea

Sainsbury's own label tea and coffee

Twinings Buttermint

Yes, very soothing. Mostly a peppermint taste, gentle zing, with the very soft, delicate sweetness of vanilla. There is a vague awareness of toffee.  Very decent little brew.

Date: Sept 2019    Score: 7.5

This works for me. Pleasantly sweet and minty with notes of caramel toffee and vanilla. Refreshing and satisfying.

Date: June 2018   Score: 7

***

Twinings

Kenco Latte (Barista Edition)

This is as nice as the Kenco Flat White I had yesterday. I can't really decide between them. The Flat White might just edge it, but by Jiminy it's close.


Score: 6

Creamy instant coffees

Kenco Flat White (Barista Edition)

The milky flat white  (which has less milk than a latte, and less froth than a cappuccino, though is very similar to both) is very trendy at the moment, and I think Kenco are the first of the creamy instant coffee producers to get one on the market.

This has slightly more coffee taste than other milky coffee drinks, and is also less sweet. I actually like it. There's isn't much coffee flavour (and I wish Kenco would do what Nescafe  do in their Gold series, and add a bit of ground coffee, as that really lifts these creamy instants).

I like this. This is the nearest yet to a serious coffee. Yes, it's milky and I'm not one for milk in my coffee (unless it's nasty), but for a milky coffee it's not bad. I doubt if it's possible to make a decent instant black coffee, but for a milky coffee this is the best I've had so far. As I'm currently staying away from coffee, this could well be a reasonable alternative now and again to tea.


Score: 6

Creamy instant coffees

Nescafe Gold White Choc & Pistachio Mocha

Sounds promising, but tastes of warm watery powdered milk. Very little coffee taste gets through. And white chocolate is not a good choice for such a milky drink, as it doesn't stand out. And where the pistachio is, I have no idea!

Score: 2

I normally like the Nescafe Gold creamy instant coffees - they are light, fun, sweet and creamy. But this one is too cloying. It needs a bit of coffee flavour in there to cut through. Dark chocolate would at least have the bitter edge it needs, but white chocolate is just not right.

Score: 2

***

Creamy instant coffees

Nescafe Gold Vanilla Latte

There's ground coffee in this - only a teeny bit (0.5%), but it does give the finished taste a lift. There is a hint of real coffee flavour in this - along with the sweet creamy milk! And a touch of vanilla. Cool. I like this. If you're after a sweet milky coffee-flavoured drink, this one will do the job! Ha. Nice.

Score: 5

Creamy instant coffees

Douwe Egberts Zwarte Kat / Chat Noir

A dark roast Douwe Egberts coffee brought back from Brussels by Chrissie. I wasn't expecting much from such an old fashioned coffee, and from such an obviously simple roast of mixed beans, but I am pleasantly surprised at how drinkable it is.

Douwe Egberts

Nescafe Gold Toffee Nut Latte

Attractive milky sweetness with a toffee accent. Lacks coffee flavour, so I put some Camp coffee in mine. Hmmmm. That perks it up a bit.


Date: April 2019   Score: 4 1/2

This is a pleasant drink with soft toffee flavours and a little bite of decent quality instant coffee flavour. It's not a coffee by any means, but it is a drinkable and reasonably attractive warm beverage. There is a note beside the Latte part of the name which says "flavour" - making it clear that his is not a latte, but has the flavour of a latte. Somebody must have objected.

Date: March  2018   Score: 4

***

Creamy instant coffees