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380 Tasting Notes

Blood-Orange Smoothie from The Spice and Tea Exchange
79

This really does taste like an orange creamsicle. It’s uncanny. The rooibos isn’t too strong, because I hate that, but it is quite strong so it’s borderline. But the orange and cream is very strong and quite lovely. I added a big splash of milk and 1.3 tsp of sugar to my 14 oz mug. Then I added more tea after I drank it because I shared the pot and the pot fills my cup twice exactly but my neighbour who I shared it with has a much smaller mug so I had some left over.

Anyway, this is pretty good. Not something I’d buy though, because of the strong-ish rooibos, but I like it enough to drink the rest of it. Thanks to Pia M for this sample.

Bavarian Cream Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
86

Don’t know what I did special today, but mmm, this one is good.

Champagne Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
90

First time in a while with this matcha that I wished I had added sugar. Maybe I put more matcha in than usual. Or perhaps I’m just getting tired of the taste. Or maybe my sweet tooth is overactive, I did have a muffin this morning for breakfast. Who knows. Note to self: sugar next time.

Vanilla Bean from Mighty Leaf Tea
73

This is a bit bitter, but I also think I overleafed it a bit so it might be that causing it. I can definitely taste the vanilla, though it’s not as strong as I like my vanilla to be in tea. I like to have a STRONG vanilla if I’m going to have something labeled vanilla tea. Exception being the Persimmon Tree’s vanilla black tea because although that flavour is pretty subtle, it’s also awesome. This one is not as awesome as that. It’s not terrible, if I ignore the bitterness, but it’s not what I want from a vanilla tea.

Thanks to KallieBoo! for this sample.

Boysenberry Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
83
French Vanilla Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
89
Lime Gelato from DAVIDsTEA
86

This is actually really good. Usually I’m not a big fan of green teas in general, and this does still have a bit of the green tea flavour that I don’t like, mostly in the aftertaste, but the flavouring and whatever else is in it makes for a nice creamy lime treat. I used up the entire sample on one pot so I’m glad that it turned out well.

Hazelnut Cookie from The Spice and Tea Exchange
68

Thanks to Pia M for this sample. I made a pot and shared it with a coworker.

This is an interesting tea. I can definitely taste the hazelnut although as it cooled down, it got somewhat bitter. Much better while hot.

Champagne Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
90

Drank this without sugar. Something of a rarity for me.

French Vanilla Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
89

Just drank some of this while being distracted by Avengers fanfiction.

Cranberry Autumn from Harney & Sons
49

Got this sample in trade from KallieBoo!. Thanks!

The cranberry is very strong in this one. Really strong. It’s so tart that I think I don’t like it very much. I like my cranberries to be moderated by other things and this one tastes like straight up steeped cranberries, I can’t even taste the tea part of it. There is something else that I can’t identify in the taste and it’s rubbing me the wrong way.

Bavarian Cream Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
86

Smooth and creamy and a little bit lemony, but with a bit of a bite to it today.

Macadamia Praline Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
73

I haven’t had the pure macadamia nut matcha so I don’t know how it compares with this one, and I haven’t had actual macadamia nuts in a long while, but this does taste like what I vaguely remember that those nuts tasted like way back when. There is also the addition of a bit of sweetness, almost artificial tasting, to the high note of the sip. It tastes much like it smells, nutty with a fair bit of sweetness.

I’d been putting off tasting this matcha for a while because I couldn’t decide if I liked the smell of it or not, the sweetness was confusing for my nose because it smelled (and tastes) right on the edge of artificial for me. Since praline (which I just looked up) is basically boiled ground up nuts with a sugar syrup added, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the sweetness has no real character to it. It’s just…sweet.

As I continue drinking this, I still can’t decide if I like it or not. There’s a sharpness to the nutty taste that’s sort of putting me off. Possibly it’s true to an actual macadamia nut taste and the sharpness is from the nut itself, but I don’t remember macadamia nuts well enough to tell.

Basically, if you like macadamia nuts, and want something sweeter than the regular blend, this is probably a good one for you. I want RLT to come out with more nutty blends though. I’d love to see a cashew or a pecan matcha.

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

Red Velvet Cake from DAVIDsTEA
92

Again, a little more bitter today, I’m not liking this as much as I did last time. I have more of this so perhaps I should steep it for less time next time, though I did a review of steeping times from the other reviews and it seemed 4 minutes was about average. Le sigh.

Caramel Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
96

I just read through the full description of this on the page and the second paragraph is a little ridiculous. Tastes good though.

Black Cherry Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
96

Almost drunk the last of this, though I have an unopened packet also waiting at home.

French Vanilla Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
89

Managed the perfect amount of sugar today. Now if only I had drunk it while it was still warm…

Eight Candles from Della Terra Teas
97

A little more bitter today. I didn’t enjoy this tea as much as I did the last time I drank it. I have another cup left in the pot so I’m going to try to doctor it up with a little more sugar than the first cup. I made it with the same parameters as last time, so I’m not sure what’s going on exactly. I really shouldn’t have to doctor this one up so much because of the amount of stuff in it already. Bleh. At least I’m 90% sure I think I can get my files to work this morning at work after banging my head against the wall for a week and a half. Good, because the deadline is Wednesday and it needs to be reviewed first.

Sakurambo from Lupicia
76

Tasty, definitely cherry and quite sweet. I’m glad this is a black tea because I was honestly expecting the only Japanese cherry flavours to be green tea. Thanks to ToiToi for this sample

Bavarian Cream Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
86
Caramel Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
96
French Vanilla Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
89
Moon Berry from Custom-Adagio Teas
76

Thanks to Lariel for this sample.

This is pretty good, although I’m not at all getting the berry flavours, neither blueberry nor raspberry, that I had expected. This mostly tastes like an Earl Grey to me, with some extra citrus thrown in there, likely from the orange peels. It’s very fresh tasting. I don’t even like Earl Greys that much normally.

I did oversteep this a bit so that might be where the berries went.

Boysenberry Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
83

Fairly certain I like the boysenberry better than the generic berry but probably less than the raspberry. Will have to continue experiment tonight.

Profile

Bio

Single, vegetarian, asexual, 5 cats. Airplane Engineer. I drink most of my tea with a bit of sugar and all the ones with a black tea base with a little bit of milk too. I’m super sensitive to bitterness and spiciness so I tend to avoid those.

I am also a flavoured matcha latte fanatic.

Location

Renton, WA, USA

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