S A M S H I M I: Non-Alcoholic Drinks

Showing posts with label Non-Alcoholic Drinks. Show all posts

Friday, 7 November 2014

Gong Cha :: First Time with Joey

Gong Cha Foam Milk Green Tea

Milk Tea with Pearl

Despite hearing all disappointing reviews on Yelp, I've been wanting to try Gong Cha for quite some time now. I finally got a chance to go today with Joey - and I'm really glad I did!

I'm a fan of Green Grotto's Iced Japanese Green Tea Latte, but this is way better. The flavours are more unique and tasty (you can actually taste the notes of green tea), plus the experience of drinking through the foam is pretty fun! I found in comparison to Green Grotto, the Gong Cha Foam Milk Green Tea was a better quality. It tastes as though more attention was paid to the tea brewing process and the overall product came out better.

My friends and I always revered Chatime as having the best Milk Tea and the best tapioca in the city. Similar to Chatime, Gong Cha also allows for customization for sugar/sweetness level and ice. I got the Foam Milk Green Tea with 30% sugar and less ice. It was perfect for me, but it can still a little sweet for some as the sweetness was embedded in the milk foam. One of the staff members was kind enough to stop me from stabbing the bubble tea straw through the drink lid and tell me that I should drink the tea through the foam first and when the drink level gets low enough then use the straw. I'm glad they told me to do so because the taste is very different. Surprisingly, between Chatime and Gong Cha, I prefer Gong Cha's milk tea! Joey still prefers Chatime's but I felt the milk tea taste at Gong Cha was more 'pure' and slightly better quality. However, the tapioca at Chatime is by far superior. Next time I visit Gong Cha, I would probably get the same Foam Milk Green Tea but without the tapioca.

PS: Gong Cha also takes the Vicinity Card so if you frequent Chatime, you don't have to carry around another stamp/loyalty card!

Gong Cha

3636 Steeles Ave E

Markham, ON L3R 1K9

905.604.9323

website

Saturday, 5 July 2014

Cora's :: Brunch with Gordon

Daily Fruit Cocktail

strawberry, peach, pineapple, and orange

Breakfast Poutine

Smoked Salmon Ben et Dictine

Cora's

10909 Yonge Street

Richmond Hill, ON

905.508.3500

website

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Lettieri Espresso Bar Cafe :: Breakfast Before Work!

Matcha Green Tea Smoothie & Smoked Salmon Panini

Lettieri Espresso Bar Cafe

94 Cumberland St

Toronto, ON M5R 1A3

416.515.8764

website

Tuesday, 25 February 2014

Balzac's Coffee Roasters :: First Visit

Organic Hot Apple Cider

(medium $3.41 including tax)

Balzac's Coffee Roasters

122 Bond Street

Toronto, ON

416.597.1700

website

Thursday, 30 January 2014

Ding Tai Fung :: Shanghai Lunch

Saturday, 21 December 2013

Homemade :: Matcha Green Tea Latte

Hello Everyone!

One of my all-time favourite flavours is matcha green tea! It's what I always order at Starbucks (Green Tea Frappacino or Green Tea Latte). However, sometimes its nice to have the drink at home opposed to picking it up at a coffee shop.

I picked up the pictured bag of matcha powder at JTown (Steeles & Woodbine) for $6.25 per 40g. This is the second bag I have purchased. It's a pretty good, but I haven't tried other brands yet so I can't compare. So far, I found that I haven't been able to fully dissolve the powder in boiling water, but it can also be due to the fact I've been arbitrarily adding the powder to hot water opposed to following the instructions indicated on the bag. I've also purchased a tin from Teavana ($19.95 for 40g), which I am planning to try when I finish my current bag. I will report if the price difference creates a huge difference in the quality of the matcha powder once I try it out.

Without further ado - here is how I made Matcha Green Tea Lattes at home!

First add the matcha powder to the pot.

Follow the instructions provided on the matcha powder for optimal portions.

Next, add boiling water to the pot and stir well.

Make sure that all the matcha is dissolved. If it isn't dissolved, the latte will taste a bit grainy and bitter.

Pour the milk into the glasses.

Typically a glass half full of milk or more is better. You don't need a lot of the hot dissolved green tea.

Add sugar or honey by taste.

I don't add sugar as I prefer my lattes to be more on the bitter side than the sweet side. However, most matcha powders are unsweetened (except the green tea powder from Starbucks is pre-sweetened) so most people add sweetener. I had a discussion with a Starbucks barista who suggested to add vanilla syrup.

Enjoy!

PS: Typically, I don't use a separate container to dissolve the matcha powder in boiling water prior to pouring it into milk, but this method has taught throughout various blogs and YouTube videos. For single glasses/personal portions, I normally mix the powder with a little hot water in the drinking cup and fill the remaining part of the cup with milk.