Tea or Coffee?

So on to the fourth Torani syrup review!  This time it’s rose syrup.  

I was scrolling through Pinterest a few months ago and came across a video of someone making a rose latte.  Now, I have never liked rose anything.  Not rose perfume, not rose scented candles, not roses themselves, I liked nothing about roses. But, there's has never been a latte that I have been unwilling to try.  Also, the syrup was ten dollars so I didn’t really have much to lose.  Looking at other suggested videos I found that some people would top their rose latte off with a matcha shot, and I loooooooove matcha so I just had to.  

When I was at the grocery store I also can across Rose Pink Latte mix from Tazo.com that you just add milk to and since I didn’t know what the strength of the syrup would be I figured a tea latte would work just fine.  

And it was!!!! It tasted incredible and I have one once a week!☺️  The rose syrup isn't that strong, and it’s more sugary than rosy so when paired with the latte mix and the matcha shot it’s pretty mellow.  If you want it to be stronger use more mix than milk, and increase the amount of syrup too.  

So when I first started drinking matcha I bought a matcha whisk with it because I thought it was a requirement.  Later on I bought a handheld milk frother from Home Goods to add a bit of fun to my drinks, but I started to use it when making matcha too because it seemed convenient.  So then I had to ask myself: was a matcha whisk even worth it?

Third syrup on the list is... (drumroll please) Black Sugar!  This one was my favorite for months.  Lavender stole it’s top spot, but it’s a pantry staple for me until I die.  I would use it in chai, earl grey, hot coffee, cold coffee, and even mixed in with my vanilla ice cream.  It was a very serious obsession lol. 

When I bought this syrup I didn’t know what black sugar was, so the flavor took me by surprise because I immediately recognized hints of molasses.  Black sugar is white sugar that hasn’t had its molasses removed, making it an unrefined sugar.  Because of that, there’s a slight caramel taste and it is very rich so not a lot is needed.  I have been using it in my morning coffees again instead of trying to ration it until payday.

The second syrup on my review list is lavender! (Again, I get all my syrups from torani.com)  This one I was skeptical about because as soon as I took the cap off the scent hit me in the face.  I was worried that no matter how little of this syrup I used it would always be too strong a flavor and that it would taste “off”, but I was so so wrong.  This one is in my top three favorites list, and I have to keep myself from buying it in bulk.  I use it for both my teas and my coffees.  It pairs especially well with matcha.  Matcha is good for days that I have a slow start, and since the caffeine is not too overbearing, pairing it with lavender gives me the mellow caffeinated start to my day that I need.  Another fave of mine is a simple lavender coffee, with two teaspoons of sugar and a pour straight from my French press.  Since it is getting warmer out I plan to make it with cold brew, as soon as I figure out how to make it in bulk.