Everyone seems to have one or two flavours of matcha that just don’t quite agree with their tongues and tastebuds. Sadly (super sadly!) this is that one for me! Happily, there are still some delicious aspects of this matcha, so here’s my fair review : )
Pina Coladas are my favourite tropical boozy drink! Okay I’ll also drink them without booze, but that kick of rum keeps me happy. Haha! I love the creamy texture of ice cold, slushy coconut milk with the tang and sweetness of fresh pineapple! A drizzle of grenadine and I’m taken to my happy place. To be fair, I haven’t had a pina colada quite like the ones in Cuba. That was my only hot resort holiday, so it has lots of good memories and good drinks.
I was hoping to recreate that deliciousness by making a slushy, creamy, matcha smoothie with this matcha! To be fair, that was the best result, after trying this hot and as an iced latte – slush was the way to go!
Hot, the matcha had too much of that chemical taste that seems to occur sometimes (hasn’t happened to me yet – first timer!). The flavour isn’t really meant to be hot, though, so I tried it iced next! Iced was a bit better, but there was something a bit off that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It could be that too much flavouring was in my batch? That could be, as there is pineapple, coconut and rum flavour in this matcha – but who knows, it could be one flavouring altogether and I’m just crazy! I digress, the iced wasn’t quite working for me either. (An iced latte is definitely the way to go though, and next time I will try it with coconut milk! I even have some pineapples in the freezer I can pop in as well.)
My Pina Colada Matcha slush might have been better, but I used waaay too much matcha by accident, so it was a bit too strong in the flavouring department. I just crushed some ice with agave and milk to make the slush, so as the ice melted it did become more palatable. I really think the trick for this one is to make sure to use around 170 degree water (that tempers the bitterness) and use a little less matcha powder that you would usually. With other flavours, I could go crazy and dump 3 tablespoons into a cup and it was palatable (and energizing!), but less is more with this particular blend!
When I’m out of this tea, I think I will order some coconut and pineapple separately and do some blending of my own! I still have total faith in Red Leaf Tea – they hook me up with delicious matcha, and I can’t wait to try more flavours! This particular flavour can be found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/pina-colada-matcha.html
