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Kittenna

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Kittenna drank Cheesecake Matcha by Red Leaf Tea

So I received my redirected matchas yesterday, woo! As I’m heading into the lab, a shot of energy seems appropriate, so time to try the much-loved cheesecake matcha. I ordered the robust strength with the regular base, as that seems to be the preferred combination here. http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cheesecake-matcha.html

When I first tore into the packet, I have to say that I was surprised/shocked to smell not cheesecake, but strawberry. A similar thing happened to me with the Madagascar Vanilla, where I smelled not vanilla, but strawberry. A bit disappointing, as I was expecting a strong tangy cheesecakey aroma. Upon further sniffs, I detected a bit of a milkyish, possibly cheesecakey flavour, but given that this is “robust”, I really expected more.

As usual, I decided to make this into an almond milk latte. I used 2 heaping teaspoons of matcha whisked into hot milk, then mixed with cold almond milk. To my surprise, the latte tasted like nothing but a generic matcha latte. Not even a hint of cheesecake. So I added another generous tsp or two to a new small bowl of hot milk, whisked, and added it. Same deal. And keep in mind… I think I’ve used about half of my 30g packet by now. This is one EXPENSIVE latte… I added some maple syrup as sweetener (no other options), and now I have quite a tasty drink… but definitely not what I was expecting. I can almost smell cheesecake if I sniff quite hard, and a sip of the latte leaves a bit of a cheesecake aftertaste, but this is unfortunately not what I had hoped it would be. Perhaps the cheesecake blends in too well with the almond milk? I wouldn’t have expected that, given how well my delicately flavoured Caramel matcha worked with it (and also, I tried a taste of the plain milk + matcha and couldn’t taste cheesecake either). I would love to blame this on my tastebuds or something, but I have a series of other teas with me that I can definitely smell and taste quite fine, so that’s not the problem.

Oh well. I do love the caramel matcha, so perhaps will simply stock up on that one instead!

ETA: It just occurred to me that I may have made a fatal error by drinking almost my entire latte on an empty stomach… uh oh…

2012-10-06 18:03:58 -0400

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Helena 2012-10-06 18:37:13 -0400

That’s odd mine definitely smelled like cheesecake (it overwhelmed my kitchen) so I’m not sure why yours smelled like strawberry, did you have strawberries on the brain?

Kittenna 2012-10-06 18:41:25 -0400

Nope, wasn’t thinking about strawberries at all. And it’s funny, as I’ve been sitting here, I keep randomly smelling strawberry again. There are these asian strawberry/cream candies in little red wrappers that I love, and that’s exactly how it smells. It doesn’t particularly taste like strawberry, though.

Red Leaf Tea 2012-10-07 01:51:34 -0400

I’m very sorry that you did not like it. Please contact me regarding this product.

Indigobloom 2012-10-07 02:39:02 -0400

I just had a similar experience today!!!! with the cheesecake matcha. I wanted to try it a few different ways before writing my review.
I got milky candy, but not cheesecake. not strawberry either though. Definitely not what I expected, and nothing like the other ones I tried. Well, my base was lower grade this time than my previous purchase

Kittenna 2012-10-07 02:44:55 -0400

Yeah, based on the previous reviews and given that I ordered “robust”, it just wasn’t anything like what I expected. Yes, milky candy would more accurately describe the flavour I got (plus yummy matcha base!), but even that was pretty weak.

@Red Leaf – I do want to clarify that there’s nothing inherently wrong with the matcha, nothing tasted “off”, and I certainly enjoyed the latte I made! Cheesecake, though, it was not :(

Kittenna 2012-10-07 02:49:13 -0400

Also, I’ve only ever ordered the basic grade, and delicate flavouring (in the whopping three previous matchas I purchased); this was my first foray into a stronger flavouring. Based on the strength of both the caramel and green apple, I was expecting to be knocked out by the cheesecake! (The vanilla was definitely not so potent.)

softrevolution 2012-10-07 11:48:16 -0400

I didnt get much Cheesecake flavour from a hot latte either. Cold, though, it really shines. It is now my favourite and most used matcha ever since I tried it in a smoothie. It tastes incredibly tangy and true somehow. But hot, I find it’s just meh.

Indigobloom 2012-10-07 12:29:53 -0400

thanks for the tip, I will try it via shaken bottle method next :)

Sil 2012-10-07 13:45:17 -0400

Kittena and indigo….you two are weirdos :p

Indigobloom 2012-10-07 16:41:20 -0400

agreed!! haha
I suspect it would have been alot better with royal grade. and my fave cheesecake is the ricotta/“light” kind so that might have something to do with it? shrugs

Kittenna 2012-10-10 03:47:36 -0400

softrevolution – this was a cold latte, so I don’t know what went wrong. I think I’ll be getting more to try and see if it was an off batch; my palate isn’t usually super far off from everyone else’s! I was really looking forward to the tang, and with the upcoming end to the free matcha program, was thinking to place orders for a large amount of both the caramel and cheesecake matcha, so was disappointed when it wasn’t as good as I expected. (I still have to pick up a bunch of the caramel though…. deeeeelish!)

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I have always been a tea fan (primarily herbals and Japanese greens/oolongs) but in the last year or so, tea has become increasingly more appealing as not only a delicious, calming drink, but as a relatively cheap, healthy reward or treat to give myself when I deserve something. I should clarify that, however; the reward is expanding my tea cupboard, not drinking tea – I place no restrictions on myself in terms of drinking anything from my cupboard as that would defeat my many goals!

My DavidsTea addiction was born in late 2011, despite having spent nearly a year intentionally avoiding their local mall location (but apparently it was just avoiding the inevitable!). I seem to have some desire to try every tea they’ve ever had, so much of my stash is from there, although I’ve recently branched out and ordered from numerous other companies.

I like to try and drink all my teas unaltered, as one of the main reasons I’m drinking tea other than for the flavour is to be healthy and increase my water intake without adding too many calories! I’ve found that the trick in this regard is to be very careful about steeping time, as most teas are quite pleasant to drink straight as long as they haven’t been oversteeped. However, I tend to be forgetful (particularly at work) when I don’t set a timer, resulting in a few horrors (The Earl’s Garden is not so pleasant after, say, 7+ minutes of steeping).

I’m currently trying to figure out which types of teas are my favourites. Herbals are no longer at the top; oolongs have thoroughly taken over that spot, with greens a reasonably close second. My preference is for straight versions of both, but I do love a good flavoured oolong (flavoured greens are really hit or miss for me). Herbals I do love iced/cold-brewed, but I drink few routinely (Mulberry Magic from DavidsTea being a notable exception). I’m learning to like straight black teas thanks to the chocolatey, malty, delicious Laoshan Black from Verdant Tea, and malty, caramelly flavoured blacks work for me, but I’m pretty picky about anything with astringency. Lately I’ve found red rooibos to be rather medicinal, which I dislike, but green rooibos and honeybush blends are tolerable. I haven’t explored pu’erh, mate, or guayasa a great deal (although I have a few options in my cupboard).

I’ve decided to institute a rating system so my ratings will be more consistent. Following the smiley/frowny faces Steepster gives us:

100: This tea is amazing and I will go out of my way to keep it in stock.

85-99: My core collection (or a tea that would be, if I was allowing myself to restock everything!) Teas I get cravings for, and drink often.

75-84: Good but not amazing; I might keep these in stock sparingly depending on current preferences.

67-74: Not bad, I’ll happily finish what I have but probably won’t ever buy it again as there’s likely something rated more highly that I prefer.

51-66: Drinkable and maybe has some aspect that I like, but not really worth picking up again.

34-50: Not for me, but I can see why others might like it. I’ll make it through the cup and maybe experiment with the rest to get rid of it.

0-33: It’s a struggle to get through the cup, if I do at all. I will not willingly consume this one again, and will attempt to get rid of the rest of the tea if I have any left.