Nescafe Gold Almond Latte

Yeah I like this. Because it has the almond milk substitute it's not as soft and creamy as the usual instant frothy coffees, and this actually works to its advantage for me. There is more of a coffee flavour, and the almond flavour of the almond milk substitute adds a subtle nutty character to the taste which I find intriguing and satisfying. I like this, and can see myself buying it again if the price remains low enough.


Date: Oct 2019  Score: 6

Instant frothy coffees

Nescafe Gold Coconut Latte

Nescafe have brought out a series of non-dairy instant creamy coffees. Useful for those who are lactic intolerant, have IBS, are vegan, or prefer not to consume cow's milk. It doesn't look great (no white frothy head), bit it tastes OK - quite creamy and sweet. It's mostly sugar and syrup (only 15% of the ingredients is coffee, and only 1% is actual ground coffee) so it's not surprising it is so sweet and creamy. There is faintly some awareness of coffee, but there's also fainty some coconut flavour as well.  Not a huge triumph, but as long as you are not expecting either a proper coffee or a proper latte, this is worth experimenting with.


Date: Sept 2019    Score: 3 1/2

Instant frothy coffees

Mokate Gold Premium Caffe Latte

This is very watery and thin. Like drinking warm powdered milk that has used too much water. There's also a thin chemical sweetness that is not particularly attractive. I'm not aware of much coffee flavour. It's drinkable, but not exactly enjoyable.

And look - a mince pie! It's September, and the shops are already selling mince pies!!


Date: Sept 2019   Score: 3 1/2

Instant frothy coffees

Pukka Turmeric Active

There's a gentle spicy warmth to this. I kinda like these gently spicy teas. This feels warming and cleansing. Some sweet notes mingled amongst the coriander-type flavours adds interest and offers contrast and relief from the otherwise dry spice.

This is an OK tea, and it could grow on me if I had more, but this was a sample given in the goody bag at the end of the New Forest 5K.


Date: Sept 2019   Score: 6 1/2

Pukka teas

Vivid Matcha Ceremonial Grade

This is beautiful. It tastes very fresh and green, and is the flavour I really most associate with matcha. I wasn't sure how to make it so I just poured on water just off the boil. The temperature is right, but then, apparently, I should whisk it. Tastes very jummy without whisking, but I might give it a go with whisking next time.

Except. As I'm drinking I feel the effects of caffeine poisoning. So I check. Doh! Matcha tea has over twice the amount of caffeine in normal tea, and is almost the same as coffee. So I have to stop drinking. What a shame, as this tastes lovely, and I thought it would be doing me some good. While there are some benefits from caffeine, it is, on the whole, a substance that we shouldn't be putting into our bodies. And I am particularly susceptible to the negative effects of caffeine. Raised heart rate, dizziness, nausea, etc.

I wonder if there is a caffeine free matcha?


Date: Aug 2019    Score: 8

Pukka Herbal Collection Elderberry & Echinacea

I can taste licorice and aniseed. And a hint of blackcurrant. The rest is a little vague. Softly red fruitish with some twiggy bits and a generally sort of earthy woodland feel. It's OK, but it is predominantly licorice. Echinacea is a flower in the daisy family (a bit like camomile) which has some medicinal uses rather similar to camomile.

I like this. And I think it could grow on me.


Date: July 2019   Score: 6

Pukka teas

Lidl Knightsbridge Jasmine

We found this to be a little crude and more earthy than floral.



Date: June 2019   Score: 4

***

Lidl Tea & Coffee

Nescafe Gold Caramelised Honey Latte

This is very yummy. A frothy, sweet milky drink with flavours of honey.  It's probably about as far away from coffee as you can get and yet still be called coffee. But it's harmless fun.


Date: June 2019  Score: 4

It's not coffee, it's a honey flavoured hot milk drink. Not a great hot milk drink, but tasty enough for something quick and instant.

Date: March 2020   Score: 4

***

Frothy coffee

Pukka Herbal Collection Lemon, Ginger & Manuka Honey

I like lemon & ginger tea - it is bold, lively and refreshing. This is the best one I've yet tried because it has that delicious sweetness of the manuka honey. Nice one.


Date: June 2019   Score:  8

Pukka teas

Pukka Wild Apple & Cinnamon

"A sunlit orchard of organic warmth & sweet spice".  OK. There's a little more of the spice than the orchard for me, and this weighs heavy on liquorice and rather light on apple. And on the whole feels dirtier and grubbier than the light and refreshing apple tea I was expecting. OK, if you're going to market this as a Moroccan spiced tea or something, but not as a fruit tea.

It's OK, but it's a bit watery - like drinking warm water with spices. It's as though the actual fruit tea part has been left out. Meh - I can't see me rushing to get this one again. There are better spiced apple teas around.


Date: June 2019    Score: 4

Pukka teas

Pukka Herbal Collection Detox

"A clean fusion of organic aniseed, fennel & cardamon". I do like fennel. It's a traditional herbal drink, and goes well with nettle. Modern versions use mint and liquorice, which is as nice, though has a cleaner  taste, less earthy and rustic and reminiscent of hedgerows. Each to their own on that. This tea mainly tastes of the fennel, though the aniseed and cardamom do add their piece. 

Fennel is good for digestion, and is helpful for those who suffer from IBS. Cardamom is also helpful for those with IBS, and has several other health benefits as well. Aniseed also helps with IBS and other digestive problems. 

So it has positive health benefits, and it tastes good!


Date: June 2019   Score: 7

Pukka teas

Sainsbury's Red Label

A decent cup of tea.


Date: May 2019  Score: 7

Char Teas Irish Breakfast

Oooh this is lovely. Picked up my friend Myles to go out for our weekly pub lunch, when he showed me some tea he had bought from Char Teas in Winchester.  I had a sniff of this Irish Breakfast tea and was totally absorbed by the malty, fruity, spicy aroma, so he immediately gave me some bags to try.

The claim is that this is a strong tea, but I'm not finding it strong so much as full of character. It does need a bit of long brew to bring out the character. Get the time right (around five minutes) and this tastes deep and rounded and with a malt and fruit flavour.

O dear. Because I made two brews of this in a short period of time I ended up suffering from a caffeine overdose which laid me out for three days, and took a week to fully recover. Ouch! Despite that, I did like the tea. I'm just unlikely to drink it again! 

Date: May 2019  Score: 8

Nescafe Gold Salted Toffee & Macadamia

The usual stuff. A fun frothy coffee. There's the sweetness. There's the suggestion of coffee. And there's the toffee notes. It'll do.


Date: May 2019  Score: 4

***

Frothy coffee

Lidl Knightsbridge Earl Grey

A decent cup of tea. No problems.


Date: May 2019   Score: 5

***

Lidl Tea & Coffee

Taylor's Yorkshire Gold

This is a milder tea than the regular Yorkshire. I use these basic blends just as everyday drinking, usually with fish and chips, so what we're after is a robust tea to be drunk with milk. This ended up rather wishy washy. I suppose it could have been drunk without milk, like a Darjeeling, but I never considered that, as it was labelled Yorkshire, and it was used as our fish & chips tea.

Anyway, we didn't get on with this, and are unlikely to buy it again. It wasn't horrid, just too mild for our purpose.


Date: May 2019  Score: 3

***

Taylors of Harrogate

Twinings Lady Grey

We always have Lady Grey in the house - it's my wife's favourite tea. She drinks it with milk, I drink it without. For me any tea that is flavoured is best without milk, and it seems to me to be as odd to have a tea with both milk and a slice of lemon as it is to have milk with Lady Grey. But, each to their own, and it can be drunk either way, and there have been times when I have drunk Lady Grey with milk, and I haven't died.

I do like Lady Grey - it is a bright, zesty tea, full of light citric flavours that enhance and excite the tea. It works well. The name is Twinings own and is trademarked, though the flavourings used (bergamont, lemon and orange) are not, so there have been imitations, such as Sainsbury's Citrus Grey. It was developed in 1992 as a variation of Earl Grey tea, initially just for the Nordic market, but in 1994 it was introduced to the UK.


Date: May 2019  Score: 7

***

Twinings

Pukka Herbal Collection Three Mint

This is lovely and bright. Love it. Probably the best mint tea I've had.


Date: May 2019    Score: 8

***

Mint tea

Pukka teas

Kusmi Tea Prince Vladimir

Brought back from Paris by Chrissie, this is my first experience of Kusmi Tea, and I'm impressed.  They are an established French tea company, though they were started in 1867 in Saint Petersburg by Pavel Kousmichoff, and moved to Paris in 1907 at the onset of the Russian Revolution.

This Prince Vladimir was created in 1888, and is a variation on Earl Grey.  It says "spices", and I detect cloves. Though it has  bergamot, lemon, and grapefruit, it is blackcurrant that finds its way onto my palate. The fruit and spice tend to overshadow the black China teas that are in here.

I like it, I find it interesting, quite warming and wintery, with elements of Christmas. I think I may explore some more of Kusmi's teas. Nice one.


Date: March 2019     Score: 7

Nescafe Gold Latte

There's not a lot of difference between this Nescafe Gold Latte and Nescafe Azera latte - both contain the same ingredients - dried milk powder, syrup, lactose, coconut oil, instant coffee and a pinch of ground coffee. The difference is in the amount of ingredients and how they are blended. I haven't drunk them side by side, but this reminds me of the Azera. It's dry, dull, and lacking in the sweet, creamy fun I want from a frothy coffee.


Date: Feb 2019  Score: 3

***

Frothy coffee

Scottish Blend

A modest tea. 

Date: Feb 2019    Score: 3

Pukka Supreme Matcha Green (Green Collection)

This is the best of the Pukka Green Collection - this is pure green teas. A blend of Sencha, Pin Ho Wild Jade, and Indian green teas, plus a sprinkling (2%) of Jeju Island Emerald Matcha powder. It's bright and refreshing with a delightful seaweed flavour combined with an attractive and natural sweetness.  I really like this.


Date: Feb 2019  Score: 9

Pukka Clean Matcha Green (Green Collection)

This is an attractive blend. It's kind of like the traditional nettle and fennel or the modern version of mint and licorice. There's the dark sweetness of the fennel, combined with light citric almost minty notes. The whole is gently informed by an earthy green tea flavour. This is a subtle, tasty, and relaxing tea. We like it.


Date: Feb 2019  Score: 7

This is very tasty. A little too subtle at times, but well balanced, tasty and interesting. 

Date: Jan 2010   Score: 8

Pukka teas

Pukka Mint Matcha Green (Green Collection)

A calm mint tea. A little bland. Nothing much of interest here flavour wise.


Date: Jan 2019  Score: 4

Mint tea

Pukka Ginseng Matcha Green (Green Collection)

Oooh, this works for me. Though ginseng is good for you, and I like the idea of drinking it, I often find it just a bit too earthy for my taste, but here it is used to bring a gentle warmth into the flavour matching and enhancing the ginger and the sweetness of the licorice. Sometimes Pukka really do blend ingredients very well. This is lovely.


Date: Jan 2019  Score: 9

Pukka teas

Pukka Wonder Berry Green (Green Collection)

Wonder Berry Green is one of the selections inside the Pukka Green Collection box. It has a bewildering array of ingredients, including the ubiquitous rosehip.  I think there's probably too many as the result, for me, is a bit of a muddle. There's some sweetness from the licorice, some sort of mildly sharp raspberry fruitiness from the assorted fruits, and a consistent soft heat from the ginger, and a general earthiness from the green tea. On the whole the ingredients don't meld together, and not necessarily accompany or contrast each other. It feels a bit messy at times.

Ingredients

Date: Jan 2019   Score: 4