Cranberry Matcha

My first ever matcha experience! And I get to try Franks flavored matcha’s thanks to AmazonV!

I tried using 1/4 tsp with 6 oz water that was 180F and whisked it with my metal wisk. The matcha almost instantly blended with the water into this deep olive green. I smell a faint cranberry with the green tea, but like Cofftea, I can’t find the flavor in the hot matcha. There is a slightly sweet flavor, which could be from the cranberry flavor. I may have to try this with cold water, or in a smoothy, or some of the other ways matcha can be had.

Got a text from my friend Helen yesterday afternoon asking if I wanted to go to an Asian vegan dinner night w/ some of her friends. I like my poultry as well as dairy products so I’ve never had a completely vegetarian, much less vegan, meal but I decided to jump in. My head started to spin… I was still in my pjs and needed to be completely ready in 2 hrs… what to bring? I didn’t have means or even the time to go grocery shopping… Tea! So I went to my tea stash trying to figure out what to bring. Didn’t want tea bags (didn’t have any anyway). I have no paper filters. That means I need to take my ingenuity. But I didn’t want to limit everyone to once choice and I didn’t want to dump leaves after just one use to give people a choice… hmmm… Then It hit me. DUH! This is asian night! Matcha! I brought all the matcha I have Lupicia’s, and 52teas cranberry, strawberry, apple, banana, and mandarin. Yes it went with the theme, but I admit I was nervous about bringing matcha. I bring tea to EVERY party I go to and mostly it gets left un touched. I admit that I take that more personally than I really should and matcha is even more off the wall than your average tea so my worries increased. Luckily, this is a very amazing and unusual conglomeration of people and the matcha went over REALLY well! I’m not sure what everyone had, but I heard cranberry and mandarin a couple times- a couple of the guys even had 2 mugs! The preparation was less than authentic- 1tsp in 8oz of hot water served in coffee mugs… but some of us did stir the matcha w/ chop sticks instead of a western utensil so I think that made up for it. I had the cranberry which is why I’m logging it here. Oh, and the food was wonderful and I didn’t leave hungry- it definitely wasn’t a “here, have a salad” type of night!

Enjoying a chawan of this today. This one may just very well be my favorite of the three flavored matcha teas that were released from 52Teas recently. The flavor of the cranberry is rich and really complements the matcha flavor very well. The matcha is sweet, vegetative and just a little bitter, while the cranberry is also sweet and just a little tart. It’s an interesting combination that my palate finds quite scrumptious.

Steep Information 1:
Amount: 1/4 tsp
Water: 8 ounces filtered 180°F
Tool: Aerolatte
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes 1:
Dry Leaf Smell: vegetal, fruity, tart
Steeped Tea Smell: vegetal
Flavor: vegetal, chalky, maybe a hint of fruit?
Body: Full
Aftertaste: chalky
Liquor: dark opaque olive green

Added another 8 ounces of water and blended, weaker, barely any flavor.

Steep Information 1:
Amount: 1 tsp
Water: 8 ounces filtered 180°F
Tool: Aerolatte
Served: Hot

Tasting Notes 2:
Dry Leaf Smell: vegetal, fruity, tart
Steeped Tea Smell: vegetal
Flavor: vegetal, grassy
Body: Full
Aftertaste: a little fruity
Liquor: dark opaque olive green

I added white sugar, a lot and it became a weird sweetened grassy fruity drink/

I have come to the conclusion I don’t like grassy green teas, and most green teas taste grassy to me.

I tried an assortment of amounts from 1/8 tsp – 1tbl in varying amounts of water and juices.

This was smooth, not bitter, hints of cranberry that I wish were stronger.

images: http://amazonv.blogspot.com/2010/09/52teas-loose-leaf-green-tea-cranberry.html