This is flavor I could not wait to try. I am in love with all things pumpkin, so this one got purchased even before it went on sale last weekend (with a different coupon, though). I went ahead and ordered this with the basic matcha base and the “There’s matcha in there?!” flavoring level because I wanted a lot of pumpkin. Get it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/pumpkin-pie-matcha.html
When I opened the pouch and sniffed I was very pleased because it smelled spicy, but also richly creamy-pumpkin. But you often can’t tell what something is going to taste like from its dry smell, and that seems to be the case here. For this first tasting I prepared the matcha with just hot water (then added a little sugar later). I got almost no froth when whisking this one, which has to be an effect of the flavoring somehow. It smelled very clovey when prepared, that really is the dominant aroma.
As for the initial taste, well, that was surprising. It honestly didn’t taste like much… some faint spicey and an earthy, minerally matcha base. I’m really not sure how that’s possible with the “There’s matcha in there?!” flavoring level, but it’s true. Then I added some sugar, which balanced the flavor a lot. It still didn’t taste as pumpkiny as the dry powder smelled, but it was certainly a more rounded spice flavor with a nice pumpkin undertone. Honestly I can’t wait to try this one as a latte, because I think it will really shine in that form.
