So in my search for the perfect vanilla (which I’ve now found in Red Leaf Tea’s French Vanilla matcha), I’ve found that many caramel teas are close enough to temporarily satisfy me. But after a while I miss that vanilla creaminess and begin the hunt anew. Plus, caramel is my favorite sweet candy, though I prefer sour candies. But as a child who went through two sets of braces, caramel was not a treat I was allowed to indulge in often. But every Halloween I would buy a bag of those Caramel Apple suckers, braces be damned, and make them last for ages. My love affair with caramel has been a long and torrid one.
Anyway, caramel brings out those feel-good feeling in me. So of course when I was ordering my Green Apple matcha from Red Leaf Teas, the caramel (found here:http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/caramel-matcha.html) had to tumble into my cart too! I have to try them mixed, or I’ll be doing my teenage self a grave disservice. But first, I’m going to try it by itself, with sugar added, of course. If it’s anything like their French Vanilla, I’m in for a treat. I’m trying to try all of the new ones, but all I want to do is return to that little gem.
On to the caramel! I’m only making a small cup of this as it is 9:30 at night and I want to sleep at some point. But hey, sleep is for the weak and matcha-less, right? Right. The smell is amazing. Like I just want to crawl into the package and spend the rest of forever there. The taste…mmm. Mmmmm….mmmm. Okay, it tastes like….mmmm. Maybe I needed a bigger cup. A soup bowl, perhaps. Guh…mmmm. It tastes like the French Vanilla, but with a lovely burnt sugar aftertaste that is rocking my world right now. It tastes like real caramel made on the stovetop with nothing but sugar, cream, and a big mess that is completely worth it. Mmmmm. When I was in high school, at a church carnival I won a caramel cake. It was a caramel-flavored cake that was laced with real caramel bits, caramel icing and drizzled with, you guessed it, caramel. This reminds me of that. Or the caramel pie from O’Charley’s, which was essentially a pie crust filled with caramel. This is amazing, and I want to order some with the “There’s matcha in this?” flavoring option so I can just drown in the caramelly goodness. This is a must-always-have-in-stock for me.
Edit: My wife just pointed out that it tastes like marshmallow Peep s’mores, and I couldn’t agree more! If you’ve never made s’mores with Peeps instead of marshmallows, you haven’t lived. Just ask my father in law XD.
