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Blueberry Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
85

This is my first matcha! Haha, of all my black Friday/Cyber Monday orders, this was the second last one I placed, and it’s the first to arrive! Yay for fast shipping :) so yes I tore open this box and was super excited to see all the matcha, unfortunately, only one pack is for me and the others are for Christmas presents! Also got 2 whisks and 2 scoops for the gifts as well, not one for myself yet. But onto my first experience with my matcha, the blueberry one!

Here is the type I ordered:
Blueberry Matcha
Size : Small
Matcha Quality: Classic (Basic Grade)
Matcha Type: Regular Matcha
Flavor: Robust

So upon opening the package, BLUEBERRY!! SOO MUCH BLUEBERRY! I was amazed at how intense it was! That must be the robust flavoring haha! It smelled ridiculously berry like, and I was very excited to try it out.

So now here is where my attempt begins. It was not the best attempt, but bear in mind, it is my first, and I didn’t really know what I was doing, and also didn’t have the proper tools haha. So I measured out roughly .5 tsp (used a baking spoon) and put it in my metal strainer to remove clumps. I put it in a plastic blue bowl, and got out my kitchen whisk. It was a big big for the task to be honest, and I really wish I had ordered a whisk for myself! I boiled water, and let it cool for a bit, then added roughly 3 oz to the bowl.

And then I tried to whisk…lol, it didn’t really work! I got a few bubbles, but I’m pretty sure it was more my unorthodox (and not very good) whisk/technique that caused this.

But I persevered with my task. And finally i thought hey I’ll just try it like this. So I put it in my cup, added some more water and a bit of sugar.

And it actually isn’t too bad! For a first attempt, it tastes pretty decent :) it’s a lovely green color, LOVE IT, and it smells like a blueberry, and what I’m tasting is a muted blueberry (and a real blueberry at that, fresh and juicy!) and some green teaness. I confess, I haven’t actually tried plain matcha before trying this, so I’m not really sure what matcha tastes like. But overall, this is pretty good, which means it must be AWESOME if I actually knew how to prepare it right!

Oh, and I feel a caffeine buzz coming on, probably contributed to this long review hehe. I am so excited to experiment with this! I want to try it cold, with milk, smoothies, everything! I can’t wait to get this perfected. I will hold off on rating this until I get my technique down.

ETA: I had to try it again haha, so after finishing my cup with water, I tried again using a ceramic bowl and a bit less water when whisking this time. YAY I got some bubbles to stay!! And I added it to hot milk with a bit of sugar and it’s really good this way too! :D

I have joined the world of Matcha! :)

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Comments

LiberTEAS
LiberTEAS 2012-12-05 20:54:21 -0500

Sounds like you did pretty well for your first attempt! I will say that after using a fork for several months before finally purchasing a whisk, there is a vast difference between the texture of the matcha produced by stirring with a fork and that produced by whisking with a bamboo whisk, and I believe if someone is to buy only one tool for matcha preparation, a proper whisk is the tool they should purchase. You can easily measure out an almond size portion using any spoon, you can easily use a cereal bowl in place of a chawan… but a chasen makes a big difference in my opinion. But, it is good that you found a way to enjoy it without the tools, because they aren’t absolutely necessary.

MissLena12
MissLena12 2012-12-05 21:06:43 -0500

Yeah I definitely was going to grab a whisk for myself when I ordered, but it was already getting up there for price haha. I will see how much I like it, and if it’s a hit, I can get one at my local DAVIDsTEA in the future :D I actually just tried making a hot latte with it and this time whisking I actually got some bubbles to stay! Only difference was I used a bit less water and a ceramic bowl instead of plastic, something made it better! It’s so much fun :D

LiberTEAS
LiberTEAS 2012-12-05 21:59:46 -0500

Yeah, I am not a big fan of plastic when it comes to tea … the ceramic makes a difference, if only in my head! :)

MissLena12
MissLena12 2012-12-05 23:48:13 -0500

Haha I don’t think it’s in your head! It definitely helped the frothing, lol and now the whole apartment smells like blueberries! I love it!

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Profile

Bio

Hello all, I’m a university student finishing up my Electrical Engg degree this year (read:NERD :D), who is a bit obsessed with tea! I discovered loose tea in 2011, DAVIDsTEA in 2012 and it took off from there. I really started drinking/enjoying tea because it’s excellent to take to class in the morning and because I can’t handle coffee!

I enjoy a variety of herbal, white, green, oolong and black teas. I am a bit sensitive to caffeine, but I find that in moderation I can still indulge in black teas and matcha. I’ve also dabbled with matcha and pu’erhs.

Oh, and I have a severe peanut allergy and try to avoid all other nuts, just to be safe. Limits my tea choices a wee bit, but oh well.

MissLena’s rating system
(as of 04/19/13)

95+: Absolute favorite, will try to always have it in stock, and when I don’t I pine over it!
90-94: Awesome teas, will probably purchase again a few times
80-89: Very good tea, may restock at some point
70-79: happy to have tried and will gladly finish, but not restock
60-69: not horrible, but not the best, will finish if I have some though
50-59: not a favorite, probably will have a tough time finishing the bag
-50: yuck. I don’t want to have it ever again.

I am happy to say that my caffeine intolerance seems to be subsiding! This is allowing me to try a wider variety of teas :)

Location

Canada

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