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Backlogging from Sat. This and Special K protein water was the extent of my supper.

Sifting is even worth it for matcha OJ… Wonderful!

I normally don’t pair my matcha with anything except for possibly a piece of fruit on occasion, but since it’s that time of year, I decided to pair it w/ a Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie. Sooo good! Reminds me of my favorite non coffee Starbucks winter drink. :) Even though I like to take my time drinking my matcha and don’t mind rewisking it (especially when this doesn’t need much), I still find eating while drinking matcha a bit awkward. I think I’m going to make shortbread then dip them in mint matcha chocolate ganache to get the same flavors.

This makes the perfect matcha OJ! This matcha has definitely proven to be worth a 100. Not just a 100 though, but “this deserves a 100 and I need to go thru and down grade all other matchas”. Yay!

Ok… the official test. 1tsp poperly sifted and whisked in my chawan w/ 8oz hot water which is 4x the suggested serving size on the bag.

Now this is interesting… My first observation is that it’s very easy to sift. So much so that very few of the tiny wholes in my sifter are clogged with matcha. Ease of cleaning my sifter after use will definitely give this matcha brownie points.

As soon as I pour the water over the matcha powder, it starts to mix and even froth at the edges. This quality is not exclusive to this matcha, but it’s definitely a nice thing to see. It whisks quickly and easily and forms quite a bit of froth, even for someone like me who still isn’t very skilled at froth making.

Yummm… WOW. This has a nice strong flavor, but also a smooth quality instead of a harshness that one might expect from consuming the entire tea leaf. This is the smoothest matcha I’ve had w/o being weak in flavor. I like to take my time drinking matcha and I absolutely don’t mind rewisking halfway thru if that’s what it takes for me to enjoy the entire bowl, but this needs very little rewisking because the mouthfeel is smooth in addition to the flavor.

I’ve said in the past that my palate is not yet refined to say x matcha is “the best I’ve ever tried”, but I think taking into account all factors (even those that, in all honesty, don’t reflect taste such as the price), this is the best matcha I’ve ever had. I just hope it stands up to matcha OJ- that’s the last test for me.

TRY THIS!

I’m broke again. Like really broke. Why is it when I encounter financial issues like this I also ran out of matcha? My financial situation caused me to do some research and I did a search for “organic ceremonial grade matcha”. Low and behold, I found this! I’ve never even heard of Urbana before. Really? Could it be? The price seems too good to be true! The only matcha I’ve had that is comparable in price is Lupicia’s 100g matcha which is a dollar cheaper at $15, but that’s neither organice or ceremonial grade, both of which are greatly important to me when it comes to matcha. Don’t get me wrong, Lupicia’s is by far better than no matcha at all and I would by it again in a heart beat again if I needed to, but it’s a bit flat- especially when I make matcha OJ.

(Back log from yesterday)… Holy excessive packaging! The box is huge for one small pouch which means there’s also a ton of paper padding inside. I’m also not happy with the price that this excessive packaging costs- almost $8!

I breathe a sigh of relief when I open the package. It’s definitely green. Much more vibrant than Lupicia’s and the aroma is quite strong too.

Since it was my best friend’s birthday, I decided to forgo traditional preparation and make a double portion (2tsp/16oz hot water) in my large mug that Irina got me for Christmas last year.

I can tell that this definitely needs sifting and I’m not getting the froth on top, but this is really good! I’ll give it a score and elaborate more on the mouthfeel when I have a chance to whisk it later, but this is definitely better than Lupicia’s and something I would (and will be) getting in the future- but would also recommend it to anyone… including Irina. :) And to avoid the insane shipping, I’ll just buy 3 at once… I drink enough of it that it’d stay fresh no problem lol.

I needed something to cleanse my palate after the tomato basil tea and since I wanted something clean and light rather than something like matcha that would have also worked, but would have coated my tongue, I went for this. I also don’t have much matcha left lol. 2x cup just the way I like it- lotsa leaf, cooler water, short steeping time. I’ll be so heart broken when this is gone.

Decided to play w/ this a bit and add 1/8tsp each dried oregano and garlic powder and have it w/ my lunch (Left over buffalo chicken pizza I added pineapple and corn to dipped in tetziki sauce w/ a pear and a salad w/ cucumber, carrot, cranberries, and shreadded coconut w/ Italian dressing.)

Now this looks like tomato soup! While pale, it’s red and slightly opaque. Smells like tomato soup too!

OHMYWOW! This is so good! The oregano and garlic really beat the lapsang into submition to the point where it’s pretty much hiding. It does make the tomatoes taste as if they’re fire roasted instead of stewed though. For a person who hates tomato juice and exceptionally watery pasta sauces, I’m shocked I love this so much. This cuppa absolutely gets a 100 in my book.

A salsa flavored tea would be good! Tomato, black and red pepper, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic… maybe a version w/ a bit of watermelon and mango (the type of salsa I like on my fish tacos).

I had no clue what to have for dinner by the time Biggest Loser came on so I shook this (2tsp) into 16oz of water w/ a packet of Special K protein water (Pink Lemonade flavor) and 4TB of lime juice (since it’s so sweet). 2 hours later and I still have no idea what to eat, but I could sure drink this every day… actually I’m realizing that, for the most part, I could rely solely on matcha for my tea consumption (I still love me some chai though). While not thick grade, this is some amazingly awesome stuff and it’s pretty awesomely priced as well.

While I didn’t and couldn’t fathom this, I think I was almost as jazzed as LiberTEAS about this one. I’m all for weird and savory teas… specifically my idea for a hot dog flavored black so I’m hoping if this one goes over well, that will be next.

Whoa… TOMATO. W/ a bit of lapsang souchong. Note to self: Tomato tea smells nasty. But, that’s what it’s supposed to smell like so at least it’s accurate.

I actually got this yesterday, but I didnt’ get the mail in til this morning so I decided to have this for breakfast which is normal for me. I’ve never had tomato soup (which I hope this tastes like) for breakfast perse, but I’m not a fan of typical breakfast foods for breakfast.

Pretty normal steeping parameters for a flavored black tea for me. The liquor is a reddish brown that’s fairly translucent and the aroma is much like the raw leaf except it’s slightly more smokey and and less tomatoey.

Yep. That’s what I feared. While I can taste the tomato, the lapsang is way too strong. So much so that it’s the dominant flavor and completely masks the basil and pepper. This tastes more like BBQ smoked ribs w/ a tomato sauce topping than a tomato soup. I think a Yunann region black tea would have been a better choice. Love the idea though.