Alright! I have had quite the little journey with English Toffee matcha – it started out on a bumpy road, but from that I finally perfect an iced matcha technique on the go! And coaxed out the flavour! So it has a happy ending, I hope I didn’t ruin it for you… read on ;)
My first few cups of English Toffee Matcha left a little to be desired in the flavouring department. I guess I should have gone with Robust or Distinctive instead of Delicate, but it hadn’t failed me before! I should say – it wasn’t that the cup itself was disappointing. In fact, the quality of matcha in this batch almost seemed smoother and indulgent than I’ve had in the past! It almost had a creamy quality to it, without any additives. I was just looking a little too hard for a “Skor” or even a salted caramel sort of flavour.
I tried it as a latte – and it was still delicious, but I was still searching for the English Toffee. I’m happy to say that I discovered the flavour the best in an iced tea with no milk OR sugar! That was super surprising to me! I usually add sugar to make the matcha sweet like the flavours usually are in their original forms, but this one came out the BEST unsweetened. Who would have thunk?
I keep seeing online a “recipe” for iced matcha, or rather, instructions where all you have to do is add the powder to a bottle of water and shake like crazy! Well, I have tried that multiple times and it’s gross every time haha. I uncap a bottle, sip a bit, shake some matcha in and shake away (for a loooong time) – but all I end up with is murky green water with clumps. Clumps that hit your teeth and dissolve into a bitter mess in your mouth.
THEN I read on a website (of course I can’t remember which one) where they added just a half a teaspoon of matcha, and a tiny bit of cold water – the same way you would make hot matcha – to make a matcha paste first and then add more water! So I added my half tablespoon of English Toffee Matcha, about a teaspoon of water – and my shaking was vigorous! It created a smooth paste almost instantly with no lumps (I didn’t even need to sift), I filled up my water bottle with the rest of the cold, filtered water. The liquid was emerald green, not lumpy or murky, and tasty! I didn’t add sugar or anything else, just sipped away and lo and behold – English toffee flavour and natural sweetness from the matcha, with a bit of vegetal tones and no astringency.
I’m pretty happy that I figured out the right way to make iced matcha in a bottle – I’m also happy with my English Toffee matcha. We’re on good terms now ;)
Found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/english-toffee-matcha.html
