drank Orange Matcha by Red Leaf Tea
314 tasting notes

This is my first matcha, so I won’t give a score. Many thanks to Lala for sponsoring my first adventures in matcha.

I prepared this in the traditional fashion with bamboo whisk. 0.5 tsp in about 4 oz water.

The strong orange aroma provides a strange contrast to the veggie aroma of the tea. This continues into the taste as well. The two very different flavors never really melded for me. I was a bit shocked at the bitterness, though I recall reading that this is a feature of matcha. There is an acidic component of the finish that I suspect is due to the orange flavor (it seemed like citric acid).

Overall, I wasn’t impressed. That may be the tea or possibly just I don’t like matcha. Lala anticipated this possibility and generously provided a few more samples, which I will review in the next few days.

Preparation
170 °F / 76 °C 2 min, 0 sec
Lala

This matcha was also a classic grade matcha, so it is a much lower grade and may be bitter due to that. It will be interesting to compare this to the ceremonial grade (which should not be bitter at all).

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Lala

This matcha was also a classic grade matcha, so it is a much lower grade and may be bitter due to that. It will be interesting to compare this to the ceremonial grade (which should not be bitter at all).

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Retired engineer/physicist.
My ratings will usually be based on multiple tastings. Oolong teas are generally 3 grams of tea in 6 oz water for 1 minute. Black teas are 1.5 grams of tea in 6 oz water for 3-4 minutes. Pu-erh is 3 grams in 2.5 oz, generally 10, 10, 20, 30, 60 sec. Since I use less tea, 6 sessions is equivalent to twice that many for people who use 7 grams of tea.

My numerical ratings are all based on how much enjoyment I took from the tea. Since I prefer blacks and oolongs, they will receive higher scores. I also give a couple of extra points to decafs, just because I can drink them in the evening without staying up half the night. I don’t dislike flavored teas, but find that they lack the complexity of finer teas.

90-100 = superior, worth a high price
80-89 = Excellent. Will buy again
70-79 = Good tea, but probably won’t buy
60-69 = Nothing really wrong, but…
Below 60 = Wouldn’t drink again. Probably didn’t finish

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