I can’t believe I’m the first one to review the almond matcha. Almond seems like a popular flavor, but I guess others have gotten more attention recently and almond has fallen by the wayside. It’s one of my very favorite flavors, though, so I knew I had to order it in my last order.
For this matcha I ordered the Basic grade base, but I went all the way to “There’s Matcha in there?!” as the flavoring level because 1) I can never have enough almond, and 2) often almond teas just aren’t almondy enough for me. Can’t let this happen here! Cutting open the package releases an amazingly powerful almond aroma, like sniffing a bottle of almond extract.
I prepared the matcha using a half teaspoon of matcha for 8oz total of water. I was a little concerned about being overpowered by flavor, so I went small for this one. I sifted my matcha into the bowl, making sure all the “flavor crystals” made their way in, then added a splash of water to loosen up the powder in the bottom of the bowl, then a couple of ounces to whisk with. I didn’t get great foam with this one, but I can’t tell if that’s user error from being extra tired this morning or not. Finally I finished adding the remainder of my 8oz of water.
The prepared matcha is probably one of the best-smelling prepared matchas I’ve come across. The almond-extract aroma is mitigated and it now smells actually nuttier, sweeter, more like marzipan or an almond paste cookie. First sip… wow, yum. This is so almondy and sweet on its own (I haven’t added any sugar), it’s like eating an almond cookie, or a big hunk of marzipan. I know the flavoring level is “There’s matcha in this?!”, but you can still taste the matcha, and it’s a flavor that goes well with the almond. I do think I probably could have gone with robust for this one because the type of almond flavoring they are using seems like the strong time that will come though fairly easy. Ok, I couldn’t resist adding just a touch of sugar (half teaspoon), and holy crap, is this like almondy matcha candy. It makes me think that this would be a good addition to a sugar cookie as opposed to almond extract to make a matcha almond cookie. This has been my favorite matcha so far, and I will definitely be back for more when I run out.
Get it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/almond-matcha.html
