I had already tried the Caramel matcha in the green tea base, and it’s definitely been my favorite so far of the desert teas. When a bunch of people ordered the black matcha base for Cookies and Cream, I was a bit jealous. So, when Caramel came back on sale I knew this was my perfect opportunity to try it in black matcha form. I decided to spring for the “There’s Matcha in there?” Flavor level because I had trouble tasting the Cheesecake flavor at the Robust level when I ordered it with the White. Plus, I wasn’t sure how strong the black would be.
I couldn’t find any official instructions on what temperature of water to use. For green matcha you use green tea temperature water, so I figured for black matcha (since it’s black tea) I would use sort of less than boiling water.
I didn’t sift the matcha this time around, and that may have been a bad idea. I noticed the black matcha made big clumps a lot more than the green or even the white did.
I prepared my usual whisk in a bowl method, and it was too bitter for me without anything added. So, I popped in a little milk and a packet of raw sugar to help bring out the flavor.
Well, it definitely tastes like caramel and black tea. I don’t know how I feel about this matcha. It’s not bad, it’s not great. There’s still a little bit of bitterness that comes through. I may have to give it a few more experiments before I make a final verdict, but for now I’m not overwhelmed, but it’s not unbearable either.
As always, you can get the matcha in green or black form here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/caramel-matcha.html
