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Monday, February 29, 2016

Review/Giveaway: Green Alert Coffee Green Tea Blends


One of the things I enjoy most about writing for Reviews, Chews & How-Tos is the opportunity to use and review products I would likely never come across otherwise - I have made several wonderful discoveries doing this, and today I am going to tell you about one that's been a real revelation for me: Green Alert.

I am not Team Coffee or Team Tea - I'm a long time fan of both, and enjoy trying new blends and having a large selection of tasting notes to select from on whim.  But I have never considered combining the two, and when I heard there was a guy who'd started a small company putting coffee and green tea together, my first thought was 'that's nuts and sounds terrible!' - and my second thought was 'I love that he did that, and I want to taste it!'

Hooray for me, I was able to get a 12 oz bag of each of Green Alert's two blends: Primal and Refresh, and experience this for myself.

Now, the first question I had was why?

Why would a person want to combine these two things instead of what I tend to do - start the day with coffee, and then move on to tea?

Well, it's got to do with a little bit of science.

According to Green Alert's website, the combination of coffee and green tea ramps up the caffeine to the level of an energy drink, but the L-theanine in the green tea keeps away the jitteryness and crashing that often happens with caffeine alone.

For those that depend on energy drinks to sustain them through their day, this is a much less chemically sketchy way of doing so, and you can control your sweetener intake by a lot, and by switching out a regular cup of coffee for Green Alert, you can treat yourself to the health benefits of green tea without giving up your coffee.

So good enough!  I do not drink commercial energy drinks, so I can't speak first hand to how the two compare, but I did sip one once and wow, did that taste horrible - like a nightmare version of Kool-Aid!  Green Alert, on the other hand, is a surprisingly delicious adult-quality beverage.

I do mean surprisingly - I was happy to try it, but was still unconvinced that green tea flavored coffee was a good idea, and to be quite honest, the first couple cups were hard to wrap my mind around - there was a delicious aroma of good quality coffee, and then a sip that was pretty much strong, smoky green tea.  It was confusing!

But it was the sort of confusing where you keep on sipping, thinking 'This is so weird! Do I like this??' and then realizing the cup was empty and you wanted some more.  And then going on to have a ridiculously productive day, feeling calmly alert after having started the day drifting to sleep every time you sat still for a second.

So... yea. I am a fan. A BIG FAN. And I'll be a regular customer.



Green Alert comes in two blends, and uses all Fair Trade organic products:

PRIMAL - Sumatran Coffee and Wulu Green Tea.  This is a rich, full-bodied cup of coffee with - yes - green tea!  Together the flavor is deep and intense, with a hint of smoky nuttiness.  This was the one that had me experiencing confused senses for a couple cups, but I have come to really adore this flavor combination a lot.

REFRESH - Dark Ethiopian Coffee and Moroccan Mint Green Tea.  This is more complex and a brighter taste.  The Moroccan Mint is a blend of green tea, jasmine tea, and mint, and the coffee is smooth and dark with strong chocolatey notes.  Do you see where this is going? - this is like a delicious Thin Mint in a glass!  I didn't have even a momentary bit of confusion here - the tastes are incredible together.  This is the one for a dessert cup of coffee (yes, throw a little splash of Irish Creme in there if you like!), and I enjoy it a lot in the late afternoon as a latte (recipe below) to carry me through the impulse to nap without getting too wound up to sleep come bedtime.


So once I had sorted out that I did like it, I started playing around with different ways to prepare it - you do need to brew it like coffee rather than steeping it quickly like tea, but some methods work better than others, and there is also the choice of hot or cold, with or without some cream or sugar.

It was recommended to use a French Press or to cold brew it, and to avoid an automatic drip, as it simply isn't an optimal method to get the best flavor from the Green Alert Blends.  After trying it in the automatic drip (of course I had to try it!), I agree with that accessment, although to be fair it handles it about as well as it handles any brand of coffee - if you want the best, you want another method, but it is convenient and adequate enough to get it done if you haven't the patience for anything else.

The French Press did a great job.  The result used fewer grounds than the auto-drip pot, and made a stronger cup. For those that enjoy using a French Press, this is the method you want, and the result will be fantastic.

I am honestly not a fan of the French Press, although I've had one for years - the process of using it is one I've never mastered comfortably, as silly as that sounds. So, I pull it out now and then, but it's not a regular part of my daily routine.

It turned out that my favorite way to brew Green Alert is to cold brew it and drink it over ice with milk. The cold brewing process is easy and foolproof, even though it is a bit of a mess and involves a lot of straining. You can cold brew using a French Press, but the method I used allows you to make a lot more at once, and since it takes several hours of waiting for it, you don't want to have to go through this just for one serving.

The result is a concentrated Green Alert extract that can then be used with water to make a delicious hot or cold beverage that is really smooth and non-acidic, and it seems to make the coffee and green tea flavors work together really nicely, too, instead of battling for dominance.

I was able to make enough of the concentrate at a time to provide me with several days worth of iced coffee lattes.

Cold Brewed Green Alert
(I made a batch for each blend)

- 6 oz Green Alert (Refresh or Primal)
- 3 cups cold water

- 2 large bowls
- fine mesh strainer that can fit over bowl
- coffee filter or cheesecloth
- Quart Mason Jar or other container

Place Green Alert grounds into a large bowl, pour over cold water. Stir gently to blend.  Cover the bowl with a dishtowel or plastic wrap and let sit on counter for 24 hours.

Place strainer over 2nd bowl and insert filter or cheesecloth into the strainer.  Carefully and slowly pour brewed Green Alert and grounds into the strainer, pausing if liquid gets near the top of the strainer, so it can drip into the bowl before continuing (if you overflow, you'll get grounds in your concentrate, and be straining again).

Once all the liquid is in the bowl, let the strainer sit for a few more minutes to catch any further drips. Grounds can be composted.

Pour resulting concentrate into a quart jar for storage.

Microwave Cold Brewed Hot Green Alert

Combine equal parts cold brew concentate and water, and warm in microwave.  Adjust strength to your taste with more concentrate or more water.  Add milk and/or sugar as desired or enjoy black. All the advantages of instant coffee with none of the yuck!




Cold Brew Iced Coffee Green Tea Latte
This is my favorite!  Especially delicious with Green Alert Refresh.  I like mine with no sweetener and find the mint makes it taste sweet and rich without added sugar.  And yes, you can most definitely add a splash of Baileys to that for a 'shamrock shake' worthy of the name!

Fill your glass half full with ice.  Fill 1/3 full with cold water.  Add 1 part chilled coffee concentrate, and 1 part whole milk or cream to taste, along with sweetener or Baileys if desired. Stir and enjoy.

Green Alert is available for purchase directly from the website for $14 per 12 oz. bag in either of the two flavor blends currently available (Refresh or Primal).  Shipping is $2 per bag and as this is a small artisan company, it is only shippable to the US.  I found this price to be very reasonable - the organic Fair Trade coffee used in each blend is rich and well roasted and would easily cost as much or more per ounce.  The high quality fair trade tea would cost a good bit more per ounce.

If you'd like to try a bag or two for yourself, Green Alert is offering a couple ways to help you do so:

From now until midnight March 14, 2016, you can save yourself the shipping costs by using the code RCHSHIP at checkout!

Meanwhile, we've also got a Giveaway for you!  One winner in the US will receive a bag of each blend to discover for themselves what an interesting product this is - read on to see how you can enter to win!


http://www.mygreenalert.com/
https://twitter.com/mygreenalert
https://www.facebook.com/MyGreenAlert





To enter the giveaway, you must leave a comment in this entry as instructed by the Giveaway Tools Entry Form below. This will open up additional optional entries to increase your odds of winning.

This giveaway is open to US RESIDENTS ONLY and will end just before midnight ET on 3-14. 

The winner will be notified by email within 24 hours after the end of the giveaway. In order to claim the giveaway prize, the winner will need to respond within 24 hours of notification, or an alternate winner will be selected.

Once the winner has responded and confirmed, their first name will be posted on our Giveaways  page.

Good luck!

47 comments:

  1. I would choose the Refresh Blend. Iced coffee is my favorite way to enjoy coffee.

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  2. I've never heard of this brand before. It sounds pretty good. Have a terrific week!

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  3. I also have never heard of this brand but I am a big fan of both coffee and green tea so this sounds amazing to me!!!

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  4. I have never heard of this either. The coffee with the mint tea sounds interesting as I enjoy both - but have never had them together.

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  5. I like how refresh sounds it would be especially good in the summer time here. I have never heard of this brand but would love to try it.

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  6. I like my coffee black with stevia

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  7. Yum! I am like you, Lynda! I like coffee and tea and have varieties of both on hand to fit my mood, the weather, the temperature, etc. This is really quite a surprising idea. I think the Refresh might be my choice to try. Thanks!

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  8. The Wulu green tea and Dark Sumatran coffee sound really good. I love that this coffee is fair trade too!I like my coffee very hot, very strong and black no cream.

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  9. The Primal blend sounds good. We use a French press chez moi.

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  10. We use a keurig but I'd love to try a French press

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  11. The Primal blend sounds good. I prefer to have iced coffee.

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  12. The Refresh Blend sounds so unique. I use a Keurig and a Tassimo to prepare my coffee.

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  13. I'd like to try the Refresh because I love mint. We use a French Press and add a little lowfat milk.

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  14. Coffee with green tea? This sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing on the "What's for Dinner" link up~

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  15. This looks great and sounds really refreshing! #FridayFrivolity

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  16. Hi Lynda,
    This is a very interesting post. Thanks for sharing your giveaway and valuable information about coffee and tea. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & twitted!

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  17. The Refresh Blend looks amazing, Ice coffee is my favorite way to drink coffee. I love it especially in the winter, which everyone thinks is nuts :).

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  18. This sounds like an interesting combination and I can't wait to try it out. My favorite way to drink coffed is brewed with hazelnut creamer and sugar.

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  19. This sounds like an interesting combination and I can't wait to try it out. My favorite way to drink coffed is brewed with hazelnut creamer and sugar.

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  20. Yum, this sounds good! I love green tea, and would love to try it with coffee in it to see what I think. #ProductReviewParty

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  21. Green tea and coffee, two of my favorite things! Thanks for sharing this on This is How We Roll link party!

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  22. Oh my more caffeine effect without the jitters. Yeah. Thanks for sharing on #FridayFrivolity. I hope you will join us again next week.

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  23. I think I would enjoy the Primal blend. I prefer my coffee bold, but I love green tea too.

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  24. Looks like a great tea, thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop, pinning and tweeting.

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  25. I am interested in the Primal one. I love my coffee with cream and sugar.

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  26. I would choose the Refresh Blend. Iced coffee is my favorite way to enjoy coffee.

    agnesye@hotmail.com

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  27. DARK Ethiopian coffee intrigues me. I like my coffee with sugar and milk

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  28. i would like to try the primal most. im not certain how i would like the mint :) i usually drink too much coffee and take it light and sweet

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  29. Sounds like a great brand! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  30. I use an old fashioned percolator. I love dark roasts.

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  31. WULU GREEN TEA DARK SUMATRAN COFFEE sounds so good and I use a drip pot and another machine with kcups too we love our coffee and teas too.

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  32. We use a keurig but I'd love to try a French press

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  33. The primal sounds like a great blend. I got a Keurig for
    Christmas and I love it.

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  34. I would try the Primal Blend first. I have never heard of this brand. Thanks for the intro. (jozywails@gmail.com)

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  35. I love my coffee iced, though I've always wanted to use a French press

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  36. Without tasting the blend I have no idea which one I would prefer. Based on just the description I would select the Refresh (MOROCCAN MINT TEA & DARK ETHIOPIAN COFFEE). I selected this one because the Primal Blend was for someone who liked their Scotch straight up and I do not drink alcohol.

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  37. I only drink coffee when it's mixed with hot chocolate or booze, but I bet my Ogre would love the Primal blend.

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  38. I'd like to try the Moroccan mint tea, and I usually put creamer in my coffee.

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  39. i want to try the moroccan mint tea. i am a big fan of coffee but i am trying to try more tea.

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  40. The primal blend looks yummy to me. LOVE that it is FAIR TRADE!!!

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  41. I would love to try the Refresh blend first. I do not have a favorite way to prepare coffee.

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  42. The Primal intrigues me the most. I like to make single cups of coffee during the day and like to have it strong and black.
    Laurie Emerson
    lauraemerson17 at yahoo dot com

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  43. Yum! I am like you, Lynda! I like coffee and tea and have varieties of both on hand to fit my mood, the weather, the temperature, etc. This is really quite a surprising idea. I think the Refresh might be my choice to try. Thanks!

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