Red Leaf Tea

I had a mocha latte this morning since i had a bit of extra time in the morning before work. I’m trying to catch up on things so that i can take thrs and friday off or at least friday. While this is still pretty tasty, it may be that matcha is a winter drink for me. I can feel myself slowing down a little in terms of drinking it. Still, this was quiet enjoyable all things considered.

Ya know the let down sometimes between then you smell the dry leaves and when you smell it steeping? That definitely did not happen with this one. Absolutely intoxicating aroma, both dry and steeping, and taste. I’m no expert but it seems like the rosemary has a lot to do with it. I bought my sister a few .oz’s and she loves it too. It’s became one of my staples.

No notes yet.

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

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

Baaaahhh I’m so happy my computer is fixed :D So I felt like matcha was a good choice for this morning. And I was right :] The flavor is absolutely lovely. Sweet cherry and matcha. The flavor still reminds me of a cherry tootsie pop. Absolutely delicious.

Caramel goodness is great first thing in the morning!

Finally having another smoothie. I’m not sure why i stepped away from my morning matcha smoothies but i did. I pulled out the blender this morning to have one and man is it delicious. I’m still trying to finish off some of the less likeable flavours that i have before i open a bunch of the other flavours i have sitting in my cupboard, calling out to me. I’m hoping that I’ll clean it all up in May and get cracking on the new flavours…especially since i just ordered 10+5 from redleaf to use up my gift certificates from the referral program and the reviewing program. lol it seems like a lot but it was largely free and i’ll be sharing with people to let them try red leaf before purchasing. :)

Anyway this matcha? it’s alright but it’s not great. Maybe it’s the distinctive flavouring but i’m just not getting the butter cookie flavour. I’d be willing to give this one another shot though with the robust flavouring sometime i’m sure.

So, does anyone else have baby fever?

I have serious baby fever. My biological clock started ticking the second I turned 26. I’ve since been trying to feel out my new husband and see where his feelings on the matter are. Perhaps I can convince him to start trying in 6 months…perhaps. ;)

It’s going to suck being pregnant and not getting to enjoy my sizable tea stash for 9+ months. Can you drink caffeine when you’re nursing? I still have a lot of research to do before becoming a mother. In this age of information overload, it can be hard to sift through all the myths and misconceptions to get to the truth. I just want to do what’s best for my child, so if that means no tea, then I’d better start drinking this stash down!

In order to further this goal, here’s another SIPDOWN! This swap sample came from Indigobloom. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to get to this one. I was on a matcha craze a while ago. I couldn’t get enough!

Wow, this one is SUPER frothy!! Hmm, the taste is surprisingly floral. Like really floral. It definitely tastes like blueberry, but it also tastes like flowers. If God made a blueberry flower, that’s what this matcha would taste like I imagine.

I gave some to my budding tea drinker husband and he agreed it was very perfume-y. Neither one of us liked it very much. Could it be age? It was stored in an air-tight container and was still very green. Hmm, I’ve really liked some of the other fruit flavored matchas, but this one just tastes too much like flowery perfume for me to find it drinkable. Oh well. Thanks to Indigobloom for sharing!

Dreamy, creamy, caramel goodness!
Can one become addict after drinking this once? I think I am!
I just got this in the mail today and had to open the bag for a look. This wonderful caramel and butterscotch aroma blew me away. The Matchaccino mix is also such a beautiful vibrant green. I closed the bag back up because my boyfriend was working on a project and I wanted to wait till he was done to make us both a frappaccino. I guess I must have inhaled some of the fine powder and it coated my nostrils because the caramel goodness followed me everywhere!
Finally he finished his project and I pulled out the blender. I poured in 8 oz. of cold lactose free milk, 6 ice cubes, and a heaping scoop (came with the matcha) of the matchaccino powder. Then, I blended it smooth and poured it into two short glasses.
Boy, have I been missing out on something wonderful my whole life! My one and only time trying matcha was last week getting the green tea frappe at Starbucks in anticipation for my Red Leaf order. Ummmmmmm, I will never drink the Starbucks version again. The Red Leaf blows them away in flavor immensely and does not put you into sugar shock.
The caramel flavoring is very natural tasting, just like eating a SugarDaddy pop. I chose the robust flavoring. The matcha is very mild, earthly, like fine green grass with absolutely no bitterness. I chose the imperial grade matcha. I know that grade maybe overkill for lattès and frappès but I was really afraid of getting a bitter matcha that might turn me away from matcha all together due to really never having it before. I feel much more brave now to branch out on more grades due to the absolute best experience I had drinking it today.
I can’t wait to try more flavors from Red Leaf! I have a traditional matcha set with plain matcha on its way and I am now even more eager to try.
Somehow, I am going to have to fit drinking this caramel goodness in daily. I actually feel more energetic and high spirited and I am attributing to the matchaccino!
You can get this scrumptious caramel Matchaccino at Red Leaf Tea here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matchaccino/caramel-matchaccino.html

Also, my boyfriend’s response was “I could drink this. Much better than all these other girl teas you have been making me try.” I have been having him try all my new teas! What a good sport.

Boy is my kitty glad to be back home with me. This is the first time I’ve ever had to board him in 8 years. He hated it! They said he wouldn’t let anyone near him and would just growl. Poor baby probably thought I had abandoned him! But now he’s finally home, and he’s a happy kitty, following me around, purring, and sleeping on my lap. :) Here he is being cute and stretching at the top of the stairs (one of his favorite spots): http://instagram.com/p/YtH7Z_F-rJ/

Many thanks to Indigobloom for this sample! I tried it once before but hadn’t made my mind up about it. I used less leaf this time around, probably about 1.5 tsp. I also did a shorter steep at 2 minutes and added a splash of skim milk immediately after brewing. No sweetener though.

Hmm, this is interesting. It’s much quieter than I remember and definitely no longer heavy. A soft, whispering tea on a cloudy day. I feel like I could take a nap after drinking it, LOL! The bergamot and citrus have faded away probably due to age. It’s also worth noting that again, this tea has oddly no aftertaste whatsoever. The flavor is only apparent while it’s still in my mouth. So strange.

I added the rest of the sample to the second infusion hoping to get more life out of the leaves. That just made this note a SIPDOWN! ;) This steep had probably about 2.5-3 tsp infusing for 2.5 minutes. I added milk again and waited impatiently for it to cool enough to drink. Hmm, it’s still pretty lackluster in the flavor department.

This isn’t the most exciting tea, but it is good. My rating reflects its appeal to my tastes and the leaves’ ability to hold flavor over time. Thanks again to Indigobloom!!!

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

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

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

I have been drinking this on as cold shaken in water bottle. But I thought I better try it hot, not sure why. Just so I could fully appreciate it I guess.

I brewed it traditional, in hot water, and as a latte. Hot, this matcha tastes much more nutty. There is a very light watermelon taste. It is still sweet without having to add any sweetener. There is much more of the green tea matcha taste when it is hot vs. cold. The latte and the traditional brew taste almost the same, with the latte obviously being more creamy.

I prefer this one in a cold shaken method. To me, it just doesn’t seem right to have watermelon hot.

Ok, prepared as a blended with ice latte for breakfast this was astoundingly good! The texture is JUST right!!! I also have the coconut flavor of this and it’s to die for. Seriously recommended! And so easy!

So I was trying to re-create a mimosa type tea (champagne with orange juice). I used this tea and mixed it with Tangerine Parfait by Cuppa T Specialty Teas (both white teas). I mixed half and half tea and cold brewed for about 12 hours. I also put some raspberries and blackberries in the pitcher.

So it doesn’t taste like a mimosa at all. But its not bad. There is the champagne taste, with a candied orange taste, and there is a citrus peppery taste to it. Very fruity. Its sweet on its own.

Not what I expected but still delicious!

I have been really looking forward to trying this! I made my first one at work today, so I did not have access to a blender. I took a mason jar with a scoop of the mix and when I was ready to drink it I added around 8oz of milk and shook vigorously. The caramel flavor is AMAZING! There is a slight chalkiness, but I’m going to blame that on me not preparing it according to package directions. I’ll try one this weekend with ice in the blender! Also I’d like to note that this is extremely sweet for me. It seems about the same sweetness level as a Starbucks green tea frappe. I normally drink my matcha lattes with probably half this amount of sugar. No biggie, I’ll just add more milk next time and I think it’ll be PERFECT! :D

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Oooh, thank you CrowKettle! I have a few matcha samples to try out and I decided to start here! I took about half a tablespoon of matcha and mixed with 2oz hot water, then added ice, 5oz of milk and I shook it like crazy.

The result? This is pretty good. And different. And strong. I can definitely taste the matcha, and the creaminess. Did I get the proportions right? I don’t know. I do know this was easy to make and quite tasty so I think that that’s the important thing here.

I shook this up in a cocktail shaker with milk and agave and counted to 100 and created a matcha latte where half my glass was foam. It was lovely. I really need to get back to drinking my matchas up so I can try moooooore. The whole 50% off a review thing is still on right? I should do that. I’m sure there’s a couple around here I didn’t review yet.

I could use a bit more chocolate to this one, though that’s easily solved with the straight chocolate matcha I have.

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