MinaG

Having just tried the Carob Red Matcha and thus coming off a slight disappointment, I was cautiously excited to try the Tiramisu Red Matcha. I ordered the “Robust” flavour level, hoping that would take some edge off the rooibos. And I was right. It took all the edge. Right off!

When I opened the bag, my entire apartment was instantly transformed into an Italian bakery. I have to say, the smell was divine and there was no rooibos to it. But then I got a little too close to it and took a whiff while pouring it into my glass storage container. BIG mistake! I should have known. If the smell was so strong as to penetrate every corner of my 2-bedroom apartment upon merely opening the bag, it would have to be insane when you got close to it. I actually had to take a day off and delay my drinking this because I couldn’t get over associating the flavour with nausea. I made some today with cold almond milk and it was much more than just red rooibos. I have to say the flavour is authentic tiramisu. It’s absolutely delicious, but still a little too strong for my liking. I would order this again but wouldn’t go any higher than the “Delicate” level. All in all, this was good and not too rooibos-y.

If you’d like to give this a shot, check it out at:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/tiramisu-matcha.html

This was my first flavoured red matcha! I recently developed a condition that demands I eliminate all caffeine from my diet, so naturally I thought a Red Leaf red matcha would be the perfect solution to sustain my tea addiction while complying with doctor’s orders.
I went into this matcha with one big expectation – that the Carob Red Matcha taste like a little more than just straight rooibos. To be on the safe side, I ordered the “There’s matcha in there?” flavour.

I was super excited when the package came because it meant I could indulge in matcha again and not risk hurting myself. I ran into the kitchen and cut the bag open, but the contents just smelled like rooibos. I’ve never had that experience before, so I checked the label on the bag and sure enough it said, “Carob Red Matcha – There’s matcha in there?” I made a drink with hot almond milk and the flavour was essentially a face full of rooibos. I tried it with cold almond milk. Face full of rooibos again. Argh! Why!? I contacted the company to find out. Apparently, the carob is added for its nutritional benefits and not its flavour, information I would have appreciated prior to purchase. I was hoping my matcha would taste like a little more than rooibos.

Conclusion: This is pure red matcha with no carob flavour. I wouldn’t buy it again and I don’t really want to drink it again. Sorry Red Leaf, but this one is a fail for me. It could be great with a green tea base.

If you’d like to give this matcha a shot, you can find it at:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/carob-matcha.html

I will never tire of this tea. I find it so sad that David’s has taken it out of stores. As soon as I found it missing I went online and bought 1/2 kg. I don’t ever want to part with it. I love the way the almond and vanilla aromas blend with the light bitterness of chicory. I just LOVE it! LOVE LOVE LOVE! And it’s great for digestion because chicory is a prebiotic. It’s one of the few teas I can drink and love all day long.

In a word, incredible.

Mmm. Chocolate. I look like Homer Simpson with chocolate matcha trickling out the side of my mouth right now. This is an amazing tea.
I am a great chocolate lover. I have to have some every day or I go a little psychotic. When I was little, I hated creamed spinach so much that I would sit for hours just staring at it, until my grandmother had the oh-so-excellent idea of spiking the spinach with my favourite substance (the only thing I would willingly eat at the time, really) – chocolate. I know that sounds gross, but it wasn’t to me. And thinking back on it now, I think I should just start slathering any good-for-me foods with chocolate just to get them down…So there is really no question as to why I picked the Chocolate Matcha from among Red Leaf Tea’s countless (and multiplying) selection of matchas. The only question is why it took me so long. This really should have been my first flavoured matcha. But I wanted to be adventurous with my flavour choices, and I had some doubts about the chocolate-matcha combo, despite the fact that I’ve actually had matcha cream filled chocolates in Japan and they were super delicious. At any rate, I’m glad I finally tried this tea.

I love the fact that Chocolate Matcha contains absolutely no flavouring, natural or otherwise. Its only constitutents are matcha and cocoa powder. The cocoa gives the tea a somewhat darker colour, which is nice because it allows me to personally verify the fact that it contains actual cocoa powder. It smells chocolatey too. Mmmm. I am starting to feel like all these tea places (and increasingly Red Leaf) are like purveyors of some sort of illicit substance. This stuff is so addictive. Just sniffing this Chocolate Matcha makes me a little giddy.
I love chocolate milk. That should come as no surprise given my chocolate addiction (i.e. daily chocolate requirements), so I decided to try this matcha in cold almond milk first. Not surprisingly, it tastes very much like chocolate milk. But there’s a nice vegetal background from the matcha, which is only slight. I got the Robust flavour (as usual, though I think I should have gone with the “There’s matcha in there?” option), so the matcha flavour is lighter than the chocolate flavour.

I really appreciate the endless blending options Chocolate Matcha offers. I ordered this matcha along with my Strawberry Matcha from Red Leaf, with the intention of creating a chocolate-strawberry piece of heaven. But I think it would be great with banana matcha (chocoalate-banana…mmmm), vanilla matcha, and caramel matcha (chocolate caramel….mmmm mmmm) as well. Actually, it would probably be great in anything! Maybe even spinach matcha ( ^ V ^).

You can find this tea here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/belgium-chocolate-matcha.html

Edit: Once it’s cooled down a little, a lot more vanilla comes through. It’s a nice tea. And I appreciate its simplicity.

Rooibos. Enough said. There is some vanilla, but the rooibos is overwhelmingly strong and as I’ve said time and again, I can’t stand that rooibos funk. I made this as a latte and I steeped for 7 minutes. I am hoping that I’ll get more vanilla with a shorter steep. Until then, I give this an “Ok” rating. It’s not awful and it’s not great. It’s fine.

David’s is terrible! They’ve given me another rooibos to love! I don’t like the flavor of red rooibos. It tastes too red and rooibos-y. Nevertheless, this tea is amazing. The cinnamon is the most prominent flavor, with just hints of something else…something magic and mysterious. This tea is magically delicious! Much more magically than those nasty Lucky Charms!

I got this matcha in the mail two weeks ago and haven’t reviewed it. Why? Because I’ve been all kinds of sick (cough cough) and I didn’t want to soil my tea-drinking experience with those nasty cold germs.

I had high expectations for Red Leaf Tea’s Strawberry Matcha. I’ve had incredible experiences with each and every other tea I’ve ordered from them, so I knew I was in for a great tea-drinking experience with the Strawberry Matcha. Most of the teas I’ve tried from Red Leaf so far have been flavored with “natural flavoring” rather than the fruit or substance itself, so I was looking forward to trying something even closer to nature. This is also my first fruit-flavored matcha!

I should mention I don’t really like strawberries. “So why did you get a strawberry matcha you silly little girl?” you may wonder. Well, my relationship with strawberries is a little more complicated than that. Growing up with fresh garden-picked fruit and vegetables, the lack of tasty strawberries was the biggest food disappointment I found when my family moved to Toronto. All the strawberries here taste like cardboard to me. BUT, I do love anything flavoured with strawberries. Strawberry milk? I’m there! Strawberry ice cream? Yes please! Strawberry shortcake? Well, I could go on and on. Needless to say, my past records with food were pointing me in the direction of strawberry matcha and that was the direction I followed. And am I ever glad I did!

I love this matcha. I could rave on and on about the multitude of ways it can be served and the multitude of health benefits it offers. First, I tried it in cold water. Delicious. There’s a real freshness from the matcha and a strong strawberry aroma and flavor. It tastes like a strawberry juice. Next, strawberry matcha in cold almond milk. Mmmm. This was excellent. It really brought out the strawberry milk flavour I’ve adored for as long as I’ve been aware of its existence. Really tastes like a strawberry dessert. Love it! Then, I decided to try it in hot water. It’s still great! It seems a bit strange to drink what tastes essentially like hot strawberry juice and like it, but I deceive you not, my palate found it quite appealing. And finally, in hot almond milk? Mmmm. Very comforting. Warm strawberry milk.

I can see myself really enjoying this matcha daily in a million ways. I plan to try it in milkshake form. I’m going to get some vanilla ice cream (of the alternative milk persuasion as cow’s milk offends my digestion) and blend it up with some of this and a bit of almond milk. Then, I’m going to try blending strawberry match with a frozen banana and some almond milk, and maybe a bit of honey. Then, I’m going to bake it into muffins along with some strawberries. Mmmmm. I can’t wait to exploit this matcha to its fullest potential. I can’t believe I deprived myself of its goodness for nearly two weeks. But it was worth it. I love this! LOVE!

This tea can be found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/strawberry-matcha.html

I have to admit, this was a Red Leaf matcha that I found both intriguing and somewhat scary. I love coffee flavor in nearly any dessert or tea. And who doesn’t love chocolate? But coffee, chocolate, and green tea? That seemed like something that could go either way for me. I just wasn’t sure whether the freshness of the matcha would match the chocolate and coffee combo. Boy, was I ever wrong to doubt Red Leaf’s flavor mastery! It’s great and can be found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/orange-matcha-clone.html

I selected my usual “Robust” flavor. And I have no regrets on that front. I did a cold brewed vanilla almond milk latte with ½ tsp Mocha Matcha to 1 cup almond milk. The coffee and chocolate flavors were the most prominent. I didn’t detect any matcha at all. I find that strange, because I was able to pick out the matcha in all my other Red Leaf selections, but for some reason the coffee and chocolate combo just obscures the matcha really well. I think that may be why this one works so well. I don’t get any of the freshness or grassiness that I associate with matcha, which was what I was so worried about tasting strange when mixed with chocolate and coffee. I really like the flavor of this. It tastes like a calorie-laden, overpriced coffee-shop drink. I can’t drink those things. I love the smell and flavor of coffee, but actual coffee makes my insides feel like they’re turning inside out. So this tea makes for a great compromise between my desire for that coffee flavor and my desire to avoid the punch in the gut of actual coffee.
While I was drinking my cold matcha latte, I did think that it may be a matcha that would taste better hot, rather than cold. I’ve found that the other Red Leaf matchas I’ve tried have done better cold than hot, but this one seems like something that would just get along better with some heat. I’m not sure why. It might be because I associate that mocha flavour with hot beverages. At any rate, I still haven’t tried it hot so I can’t really confirm that suspicion. It’s just a hunch.
With the flavoring in this tea as strong as it is, I think it would work really well in baked goods. It really seems to call to be made into a frosting in a chocolate cake or something. Once again, true of all Red Leaf flavored matchas I’ve tried. This is definitely another Red Leaf success story.

I tried this cold brewed as David’s “Tea of the Day” yesterday. I had been meaning to try it for some time, but other teas just got in the way. And I’m generally not the biggest fan of green oolongs. But I liked this! I liked it a lot! It smells like a bakery and tastes like one too. The flavor of the oolong is there, but it’s so well-balanced by the vanilla that I actually like it. I will buy some to try in latte form.

Oh caramel, my sweet love! And oh Red Leaf, you devils! You are indeed masters of your craft!

This was the first tea that drew me to Red Leaf’s flavored matchas. One of my fellow Steepsterite’s glowing reviews led me to the company’s website. But when I got there and saw the endless flavor options Red Leaf has to offer, I decided to try the ones that were a little different first. I kept Caramel matcha in mind for a while and finally decided it was time to give it a shot. Everyone loves it, so why would I feel any differently? And I know I love caramel so I ordered a large bag of the “robust” flavour. Actually, come to think of it, all my flavoured matchas have been “robust.” I like that word too….:)

I have always been a lover of caramel. As a child, I wasn’t allowed to eat much in the way of sweets. But my dad would sometimes buy the little chewy KRAFT caramels that come wrapped in transparent plastic. I LOVED those! He rationed them out to my sister and me, but we would steal them when he wasn’t looking. Loved that sweet chewy burnt sugar flavor. My dad also used to make this really awesome hot caramel milk from scratch (as in with sugar and milk). Red Leaf’s caramel matcha, which can be found here [http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/caramel-matcha.html], really reminds me of a cross of matcha with my dad’s caramel milk or of matcha with those KRAFT caramel. It really tastes like caramel! Those glowing reviews and high ratings are not unjustified!

When I opened the bag, I was transported back to my childhood. And it really reminded me of my dad, which is why he features in this review. Anyway, I shed a tear and then dove into the bag. I wish I could bathe in this stuff. It just smells so good. I made it with ½ tsp tea and 1 cup cold almond milk (as usual, since matcha lattes have become my favorite drink ever) and frothed it up with my new matcha whisk. It smells even better brewed! And it tastes so smooth. It’s very strong on the caramel and I love that. The matcha flavor definitely comes through though. It’s mostly on the finish that I noticed that ever so slight freshness. This tea is a definite must try for anyone who likes caramel. It is going to be one of those teas that I go to bed dreaming about having the next morning.

P.S. This tea reminded me so much of cake, I just had to try it in cake form. I took a fork and mixed about 1/2 tsp of caramel matcha with about 2bsp vegan butter and about 1tsp sugar (I’m not sure about exact proportions because I eyeballed everything and may update this when I try it again). I spread the mixture on a brioche and had myself some instant cake! So yummy! I also have a killer Japanese matcha cake recipe that is just screaming for me to try with this tea!

This tea was a pleasant surprise. I am not usually one for chais. For some reason, spicy teas usually make me nauseous. And I dislike ginger, cardamom, and pepper in tea. With this one, I get to bypass the ginger, cardamom, and pepper, while enjoying a few tea spices that I actually enjoy!

Dry, the tea smells like cinnamon. And steeped, it tastes very cinnamony. It doesn’t have the punch-in-the-face cinnamon of David’s Cinnamon Heart, but it’s up there. The rest of the spices mellow it out a bit. I really like this both straight and as a latte. It also delights me that it’s free of flavoring, natural or otherwise. Sometimes, it’s just nice to have something pure and simple. And this is both.

After procrastinating for I don’t know how long, I finally tried Superberry. I had a 10g sample on my shelf and kept sniffing it, but it never enticed me enough to give it a try. It has a piney smell that just turned me off. Well, I finally did it. DaisyChubb, you convinced me to bury my fear of Superberry. Thank you! Now I can clear that one off my list. And the verdict? Nothing special. It tastes of berries, though I’m not sure what kind. Fortunately the pineyness is wholly absent from the brewed tea. I won’t be buying any more of this, but I’m glad I tried it.

I am in trouble. My first flavoured matcha, Red Leaf Tea’s Bavarian Crème Matcha, was so delicious I just had to give it a rating of 100. And frustratingly, I like my second flavoured matcha, Red Leaf Tea’s English Toffee Matcha (which can be found here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/english-toffee-matcha.html)
even more! I wish Steepster would allow ratings of 100+ because this tea surely deserves it. I kid you not. It really is that good! I feel like if I just sprinkled some of this everywhere, the world would be a better place. It’s magic fairy dust I tell you!

Now, back to the tea, when I was younger, I used to get English Toffee Cappuccinos as an after-violin-lesson treat. I looked forward to those Cappuccinos so much that I’d just want to run out of my teacher’s house once my lesson was done without so much as a goodbye. But I was a polite kid. Anyway, Red Leaf’s English Toffee match has all the flavour of those English Toffee Cappuccinos without the a) crazy calories, b) crazy amounts of sugar, and c) coffee! It’s awesome. I can drink this knowing that I am doing something positive for my body and still have it be delicious and exactly what I want.

Ahhh, as soon as I opened the bag I knew I was in trouble. I knew I would love it so much that I wouldn’t want to ever be without it. It has a distinct caramel aroma but it’s not just caramel. There’s something else, something special that you can’t quite place. That’s the chocolate lurking in the background…

To make it, I decided to make another first of my Red Leaf matcha escapades and put the tea in cold almond milk. I had my first matcha latte with Bavarian Crème and here I decided to take that one step further. I put ½ tsp of tea in a small amount (maybe 2 tbsp) of cold almond milk. I whisked that up and found that the tea dissolved nicely. Then, I added the rest of the cup. It turned out great! The flavour is 100% English Toffee. Toffee caramel sweetness combined with chocolate. Yum! I didn’t feel like I was drinking matcha at all. There was zero grassiness or bitterness. It was like sweet silk in my mouth. Red Leaf definitely captured the flavour of my beloved English Toffee Cappuccinos and they did it without the coffee. How’d they do that!?

This tea was an absolute event for me. Red Leaf has such an amazing variety of products that choosing just one (or two, as I did this time) took a painstaking amount of effort. But if the biggest dilemma I have in a day is which delicious dessert tea to buy, I’ll be a happy camper. I eagerly anticipated this tea’s arrival and saved it for the weekend so I could savour it in peace. And savour it I did.

Prior to trying this tea, I had only ever had straight matcha, made the traditional Japanese way. I had never tried a matcha latte. I had never had a flavoured matcha. And I had never had Bavarian Cream. This morning, I made myself a cup of Bavarian Cream matcha latte and had:
1) my first matcha latte,
2) my first flavoured matcha, and
3) my first taste of Bavarian Cream.
Three firsts! And then my eyes rolled back. And my body sank into the couch. It was quite the experience. And I am hooked! It’s like Pokemon. You have to try them all! I certainly will try. I have to say the Bavarian Cream flavour is top notch though. You can find it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/bavarian-cream-matcha.html

Having only had straight matcha before, I was expecting this tea to have some bitterness. I bought the “Robust” flavour and found no bitterness that I would normally associate with matcha. There were some undertones of matcha in the cup, but definitely no bitterness. It’s almost as thought the Bavarian Cream flavour does the job of the candies that you are traditionally supposed to have with matcha and cuts the bitterness. Anyway, back to the flavour. I initially noticed the lack of bitterness. The first flavour that came through was that of vanilla and cream. It was custard! This was my first taste of Bavarian Cream, so I can’t claim that this tea reproduces it perfectly, but I can claim that it is delicious. I guess Bavarian Cream is a type of custard and the flavour is custard-y, so it probably does a good job. Also, my boyfriend took a whiff and he said that it smells like Bavarian Cream. He’s not big on tea, so he wasn’t interested in trying any, but did comment that this would make a great icing. I agree. I think it would also be excellent in a cake. Bavarian Cream matcha cake…mmmm…That sounds so delicious. I will have to experiment.

This was my first matcha latte too! It was great with almond milk. I will definitely be doing this again.

No notes yet.

I have to confess I went to David’s today for the sole purpose of trying this tea. And taking a breather from work at lunch. And checking out the construction at Queen West and Spadina. So I guess English Rose wasn’t the sole purpose of my trip, but I digress.

I tried this tea iced as the “Tea of the day” and sadly, it left me underwhelmed. I’m not really partial to flowery teas, but I don’t mind them. Rose blends, however, tend to be overwhelmingly rosy. And this one definitely veers in that direction. I was hoping I’d be able to taste the black tea or the sweetness from the alleged chocolate that’s in there, but no. Nothing. Just rose. I guess this would be a great tea for someone who really likes rose. It’s just not for me.

No notes yet.

No notes yet.

Love at first sip indeed!

When I was little, I used to spend my summers at my grandparent’s cottage. They had apricot trees, among many others. Whenever I finished eating an apricot, I would leave the pits out in the sun to dry and look forward to the day I could crack them open and eat their delicious seeds. This tea brings that yummy memory back.

I’ve actually had this tea for a while. I bought it when it first came out and enjoyed it regularly for several weeks, but then I had a brewing mishap. I over-leafed and the tea turned into a nasty, bitter, nauseating mess. I couldn’t face it again…until tonight. And I’m glad I did. It has a wonderful apricot-pit aroma, with a touch of sweetness and creaminess. I brewed it in pure vanilla almond breeze and it was magic in my mouth.

Curse you Prairie Berry for being so darn delicious! ( > . < ) Seriously. This is one yummy berry and I am on a no-more-tea-buying-because-it’s-threatening-to-overtake-my-apartment program. My cupboard is filled to bursting and I think I have more kinds of tea than David’s does on their walls. But this is good. And it’s even better because it’s been quite an educational experience. I didn’t even know what a Saskatoon berry was before I met Prairie Berry. So I guess I can say I’m better for having tried it. Mmmm. I look forward to deleting some teas from my cupboard to make room for this beauty. Also excellent with vanilla almond breeze.

I love apples! I have one (sometimes two) every day. Sometimes I microwave them with cinnamon. It’s the closest thing to baked apples without an oven (I learned this trick in Japan, where ovens are rare). Apples remind me of my grandparent’s apple orchard and baked apples and cakes and pies and everything comforting and yummy. I just love love love them!

I realize that was somewhat of a digression, but having said that, I really love this tea. I’m drinking it with Almond Breeze right now and it really reminds me of my microwaved apples. It’s creamy and delicious, full of pure apple flavor. It smells so wonderful and tastes like my childhood.

Note that I brewed it for 2 min, rather than the 3-4 min instruction on the label. The David’s girl who sold it to me said that any longer than 2 min brings out too much bitterness. My brew turned out perfectly, with absolutely no bitterness, so I’m going by what she said.

Color me impressed! This is cherry cola to a tee! Amazing! I tried it in store on ice on a boiling hot day. Very refreshing. It’s sweet and cherry-licious. Keep up the good work David’s! <3

I tried this as yesterday’s “Tea of the day.” I am not sure that those samples provide a fair test of a tea’s character, but I’ll give this one a rating anyway as I don’t plan to have any more.

I love green tea. Green was the tea that started my wacky tea obsession (I’m looking at you genmaicha). Sadly, I have no love for Green Seduction. I had been meaning to try this one for some time and when I saw it as the “Tea of the day,” I jumped at the opportunity. It has a prominent green tea flavor, with a slightly tart and fruity aftertaste. I think tart + green tea = me :(.

I picked up some samples of David’s new berry teas yesterday. The girl at the shop said this was her favorite of the bunch. This was the first one I’ve tried and I’m less than impressed. I can taste the white tea, which is nice, but the flavor of strawberries so prominent in the dry scent just fade into the background when brewed. The aftertaste is definitely strawberry, which makes it passable.

I tried this tea as a latte as well. Not bad.