Mandarin Matcha

For personal reasons, this is one of the most horrible days of the year for me. So I turned to my matcha bowl. Desperate times call for lots of thick matcha. 2 HEAPING scoops (1.75g each!) matcha in 6oz water. Unfortunately this bowl doesn’t froth as much as it usually does, probably because it’s so thick. Now this is the perfect cure to a bad day! Thick, grassy, sweet, w/ a hint of orange. The only bad part is the last sip- it’s so thick that I need to add a little bit more water to get it down, unusual for a matcha that I normally hardly have to wisk and leaves my bowl clean. All in all a lucious, comforting bowl. Unfortunately, I don’t have anyone to drink tea w/ today- anyone care to join me in having a bowl of matcha virtually? I love reading matcha tasting notes!=D

For some reason I’ve been achey from head to toe since I woke up and have had an upset stomach off and on so I treated myself to a half bowl w/ True North Almond Crisps. Yum!

Sigh I still don’t have my strawberry matcha so I had a half bowl (1 scoop/8oz water) before church. What a yummy breakfast! I still want my strawberry though.

Yes, I’m having this again:) I had musk melon for lunch so I thought I’d try adding some matcha. 1 scoop over 1/2 cup melon (in my matcha bowl of course) and stir. Unfortunately I didn’t think and most of the matcha runs off because of the high water content of the melon (this was a REALLY juicy melon). Oh well. The flavor of the matcha isn’t terribly strong, just enough to make you say “Hmmm… something’s different…”. Also the orange is all but lost. Then why did I use this? 2 reasons- the incredibly fine texture and the fact that I have much more of this than my unflavored matcha. The part I REALLY love is the melon juice in the bottom. A lot of the matcha collected there and that’s where you can really taste the melon marry w/ the matcha. Yum! Hey Fred, can we have a musk melon matcha please?:)

A new matcha experiment: cold matcha

In such a rush that even heating water is out of the question or so warm that just the thought of holding a hot bowl, much less drinking something hot makes you feel faint? Try this!

3oz cold water and 1 scoop matcha.

The matcha doesn’t automatically disperse in the water like it does when hot, but does so completely w/ a little whisking. The color is not at all creamy like it is when hot.

Experimentation success… the flavors even seem to pop a little more. Just make sure you use VERY good quality purified water… I could see where that could screw this up in a hurry. I will say that the comfort factor is a little less than when prepared hot even though I drank this out of my bowl as usual. I’ll try it w/ unflavored and then again in the summer to compare.

W/ all my experimentation w/ matcha, I’m surprised that just one scoop in 8oz of water can be so rich, smooth creamy, thick, and foamy. I love this, but strawberry matcha- get here NOW!

I didn’t get to talk to my someone special yesterday, but when I woke up I had a REALLY sweet ecard waiting for me! Made this after reading it. Today is gonna be a great day!

Talk of this on a thread made me decide to go w/ this tonite while watching Biggest Loser. Who needs popcorn while watching tv when you can have this?

Made a half bowl for my friend Helen. I think she liked it. I know she loved the smell. I think I may send her a pouch to celebrate National Hot Tea Month.

Gosh, I haven’t had this in ages! 1 scoop/3oz water. Still as good as I remember it though.

For some reason… that even I can’t tell you… I never had my matcha this morning. Which is odd since my FedEx guy delivered my new DoMatcha chasen and chasen holder at 7:45 this morning- an hr earlier than normal! The prongs of my new chasen (around the edge as well as the center ones) are much curlier than my last.

1 scoop/3oz water. 52teas’s matchas always have mixed w/ the water very quickly- independently even, but I’m surprised that after a quick whisk my chasen is absolutely clean even considering the thicker consistancy. No vessicles. No matcha. Wow.

Was just blessed by a great 45 min conversation w/ the person I thought I was least likely to ever speak to again so I decided to have a half bowl of this to celebrate. Smooth and creamy on my tongue. Slightly sweet, slightly grassy w/ a bit of orange.

Have I mentioned this is perfect before? It is. My 1/2 bowl was especially good today, but I’m not sure why. When I 1st got this, I thought it was rather sweet but I’m starting to rethink that. Maybe my tastebuds are changing. It’s a perfect balance.

For some reason I never had my matcha this morning- so I made it thick (1 scoop/3oz water) and had it for dessert w/ a pocky stick!=D

1/2 a bowl w/ breakfast- a clementine (a very small orange w/ less pith and is much easier to peel) and 1/2 of a cranberry rhubarb muffin from Atlanta Bread Company.

1 scoop made thick, 3oz water. Matcha is strong, orange is strong… yummmy!!!

Woke up to mom making gingerbread coffee this morning so I had that 1st instead of my matcha. Turned out to be the most flat, flavorless coffee I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t weak or diluted. Unflavored coffees have more flavor than this one! Sadly my dad and step mom got me a bag of random coffees for Christmas so now I have just as much coffee as I do tea in the house. Don’t get me wrong, I love coffee- but I don’t drink it nearly as much as I do tea. Oh well. I cold brewed one of the bags so I can make dirty chai lattes. Terry drinks coffee so I think she might be pulling the “I get you what I like” card that my dad does and they both accuse me of…

I said I would be having a full bowl of matcha every day for the month of Jan. (Does anyone know if there’s a National Matcha Month?), but today I think I’ll divide that into 1 portion of thick matcha and then half a bowl of thin matcha because I really want to try this prepared thick.

1 scoop matcha/3oz water. Definitely thicker in constistancy, but still mixes well as it did when I prepared it thin although I do give it a little help w/ my chasen. When I remove my chasen from the matcha I see a single orange cell (or is it called a membrane?) stuck to one of the threads. Yes! Proof that real oranges were indeed used.

The flavor is definitely stronger, more concentrated. But it is not bitter, chunky, or gritty. This is no doubt due to the very fine texture of the matcha. This would be a wonderful starter matcha specifically for someone looking to prepare it thick. Whatever way you decide to prepare it, this matcha won’t disappoint you.

Blends well w/ Strawberry Matcha.

Talking to Chrine about an 8oz bowla made me want one! 1 scoop, smooth and frothy. And remember what I said about it separating? A friend called just as I was making it so it did separate requiring me to rewhisk. Quite ironic:)

After feeling pretty icky yesterday, I needed something comforting so I made a half bowl of this. I took my time enjoying it which required a couple extra whisks, but it was so worth it!

Made orange pineapple matcha this morning. 2oz pinapple juice/6oz water/1 scoop matcha. Swap the water for coconut water for an even more exotic treat. The pineapple juice, although in a much smaller amount than the water, balances nicely w/ the orange and gives it a little more body.

Made thick before church and drank w/ a clementine. Getting up at 7:30 I’d never make it til lunch so the combo is quite nurishing and yummy.

Wow, I didn’t have this yet today! I didn’t get around to drinking tea before lunch (chicken breast w/ Dr. Tea’s BBQ tea rub and a salad), so I had a half bowl for dessert. And it works. It’s slightly sweet, rich, and creamy. As I tipped back the bowl to get the last drops, my mom (who thinks matcha looks gross so she won’t try it) looks at me and says “What? No crust?” It’s a joke in our family. I tend to leave something on my plate after a meal. Like w/ hamburgers (how the phrase got started), I almost always leave about half of the very outter edge of the burger (typically the back or end farthest from my mouth) because the edges can dry out. I do this w/ chicken and pizza as well. If I don’t leave any crust, you know I love it! So, NO CRUST!=D

Made mandarin matcha drinking chocolate for breakfast:) 1/3 c milk, 3TB drinking chocolate mix, 1 scoop matcha.

The matcha is light, but evident, and you can tell there’s something else in it- but I’m not sure you can tell it’s orange.

Woke up REALLY FREAKIN COLD! The wind chill was -20 last nite (not sure about this morning) and mom forgot to pay the propane bill so we had no heat this morning. Thank God the guy could be here by 8:30. So I needed an extra warm feeling in my mouth besides just hot matcha. So I added some ginger. 1.5g steeped in 8oz water for 3min then added that w/ a scoop of matcha to my bowl. The ginger didn’t really affect the tast too much, just bit my tongue a bit and took away some of the sweetness of the matcha. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love this matcha, but I do think it’s just a tad too sweet and this balances it out perfectly.

Full bowl combined w/ Den’s Matcha Kaze. Although it wasn’t really equal parts. Mandarin matcha is so fine I end up w/ a lot more on the scoop than w/ my other 2 matchas. Actually kinda made my stomach funky. :( I guess there is such a thing as too much matcha… :,( A friend I haven’t seen since I graduated HS 5 yrs ago is coming over so I’ll back logging what we both drink after she leaves.

Mandarin Koicha before my hair appointment! 3.75 grams of matcha and approximately 40 ml (1.3 oz) water, Sorry Frank, but it’s a little gritty and bitter for my taste prepared this way. Quite the flavor punch though! =D

Thick (1 scoop/3oz water) Just like a smile in my chawan!=D

I think I made it extra thick today, which is easy to do because it’s so fine- a lot of matcha can fit on my scoop! That’s not a bad thing though… the only bad thing is that it goes faster then:(

Irish Orange Creme Matcha:
3oz hot water, 1tsp instant Irish Creme cappuccino mix, 1 scoop matcha.

The Irish Cream flavor is quite strong, but is sweetened by the orange. Not dreamsicle-esk though.

Was up late reconnecting w/ a friend I haven’t talked to in 10 years so I definitely needed this before church to stay attentive! Prepared it thick today.

Double orange mint matcha. 1.5g orangemint steeped in 8oz water for 3 min then added to 1 scoop matcha and whisked in my matcha bowl. Quite minty, the orange comes thru as more of a sweetness, and the typical savory vegetal matcha flavor is also there.

It’s been 60 the past few days, but today is insanely windy so something that coats my tongue is nice!:)

Ah… it’s been a while! Back to may favorite matcha today. 1 scoop/3oz water. Seems more orangey today. Yum!

Back to my favorite matcha! I wish all matchas would froth this easily. Perfect to warm me up after my shower.

This is by far the most time intensive matccha flavoring I’ve done so far. 3g ginger root steeped in 8oz water for 3 min, decanted, and then steeped 1 bag of ROT’s Get Relaxed! in the ginger water for 7 min. Then I added the infusion to one scoop matcha. The ginger was surprisingly strong, almost over powering. The rose, although I wish it had been stronger, was a lovely addition, and the mandarin oange provided a nice sweetness. A word of warning though- this is not a pretty color… almost sewer-ish.

Just when I think I’ve hit rock bottom, I fall even further… Only God and matcha can get me out. If I’m gonna fall, I’m gonna fall deeper in love w/ Him and right into my matcha bowl. A half bowl warmed my body and my spirit. Keep the flavored matchas coming 52teas, my stomach and my soul are in desperate need of them.

1/2 bowl… coats my tongue like a blanket… I just wish it actually kept me warm:)

Back logging from this morning before church, half a bowl.

Tough day, lots of work today, got home and saw all the comments on the posts. Tried to make this again as a smoothie. A different type of smoothie this time:

1/4 cup frozen Dole mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)
2 tsp. Mandarin Matcha (I will have none left at this rate)
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup cold water

This was a little thicker than yesterday, as in I used less liquid, and one such liquid was milk instead of all water. The milk worked well with the mandarin flavor in the matcha, I was pleasantly surprised because I had been hesitant all week. This version however, seems like it needs more milk if anything. I am going to look into yogurt for tomorrow and maybe orange juice to give this another go.

Definitely still worth experimenting with.

Absolutely awful morning, but no reason to bother you with that…had my protein shake again today and as promised made it with mandarin matcha..

2 scoops Vanilla Dream (VPX Powder)
8 ounces water
1 tsp mandarin matcha
1/2 banana

Blended until smooth in my Magic Bullet, the mandarin matcha clumped a little more than the strawberry, probably was too cold with the chilled banana and the water, but overall was very good. The usual bitterness of the matcha is overrun by the vanilla ice cream flavor of the powder, but the slight tartness of the mandarin, is still there, it shines through, just barely to make a whole new flavor to this protein shake.

Here’s to a better afternoon!

Yesterday was an awful day – so much drama and issues with just about everything. Let’s start over today…That being said:

“Back to the grind Steepsterites, and with the extra running around and activity during the day from the new job and schedule, I have been dragging a bit. Still having tea daily, but neglecting my matchas and chais – teas I cannot easily make and take with me in the morning.

Today I started to rectify that with a protein shake:

2 scoops Vanilla Dream Whey Protein Powder
8 ounces of cold Skim Organic Milk*
1 tsp Mandarin matcha

Blend until smooth. Consume. Go to work. I will be revisiting an old favorite on my drive to work today, look for the review later in the morning!

*I note that the milk is organic not because of any fundamentals I have against normal milk, but the different pasteurizing process makes a creamier milk, so even at 0% (or negligible) milk fat it still tastes, feels and foams like a higher-fat content milk. I have heard it compared to whole milk, I do not agree with that, but definitely 2%."

The orange and cream flavor from this is incredible, I still love the strawberry (more in this protein shake than the mandarin) but alas, it is running dangerously low…It appears I can still order it, so maybe that is in order today…

Had this matcha this morning with my protein shake and I HAD to post. I was definitely skeptical about the mandarin matcha with milk, however everyone had assured me it should be fine.

I added it to my vanilla ice cream protein shake. 1/2 teaspoon matcha to 16 ounce shake (the shakes are premade). It was a pale green, and the mandarin blended extremely well with the vanilla ice cream flavor, almost like a creamcicle, you know the orange and vanilla swirled ice cream you can get down the shore, with just a hint of matcha flavor at the end of each taste.

Very good way to have this, definitely started my morning off right!

I’m enjoying a Matcha smoothie at the moment – Kefir, frozen peaches, banana and Mandarin Matcha. This time, I am using coconut milk kefir, which adds a very interesting dimension to the flavor – it has a bit more tropical flair that I’m really liking.

Yum!

It appears that I only have enough of this Matcha left for one more serving… perhaps I will finish that off with a chawan of Matcha in a bit.

What a nice after lunch treat.

I’ve reviewed this one before… and the flavor is still quite the same: sweet with just a touch of bitter. One difference today than in past tastings is that I notice more mandarin bits in my chawan. I don’t know if there have always been this many and I’m only now noticing them, or if somehow I managed to scoop out more this time than previously. But I don’t think that this presence of more bits of pulp make this tea more or less fruity… it just makes it look a bit different.

So, Frank… what is your next Matcha flavor going to be?

My 3rd 52Teas tea today! I was actually CRAVING some matcha today, I didn’t want to break out my ceremonial matcha, so I opted for this lovely tea.

I think I am enjoying this a little more each time I prepare it… and I think that the next time I prepare it, I might mix it with a little bit of the ginger matcha from Art of Tea – can’t really go wrong with mandarin and ginger! Sounds awesome to me.

The flavor is smooth and delicious and sweet, just as I expected it to be. I love the orange flavor with the bittersweet matcha, a very nice pairing! And it coats the throat quite nicely… which is a bonus when one is feeling sickly!

A bit of a backlog: In between infusions of the Chocolate Earl Grey, I made myself a smoothie! Ingredients: 1 banana, about a cup of frozen peach slices, vanilla kefir, and a tablespoon of Mandarin Matcha. YUM!

Matcha Matcha Man!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO43p2Wqc08
Need I say more!? Okay…maybe I should…this is the first song that popped in my head when I took this one out to stir up this afternoon!

The Mandarin levels are perfectly MACHO! And the Matcha…very nice!

Double Shot…plain…
pretty much tastes like peas and mandarins! LOL
Still ok with as much as I used but can certainly pick up more on the green tea flavors than the mandarin…will try with a splash of rice milk for kicks…stay tuned…

Almost out of this

I have decided for the rest of the day I am going to drink matcha…see how much matcha one person can handle in a day! LOL

SIPDOWN! This one will be missed…excellent flavor! YUM! See previous notes :)

Yeah…the rice milk smooths it out…nice…check out previous post…

I’ve found that it’s really hard to compare this to plain, unflavored matcha—they’re two different animals. Even though Mandarin Matcha isn’t the same as regular matcha, it’s still wonderful in its own way. The powder is olive green, rather than the bright, radioactive green of fresh matcha. I’m guessing the color is due to the pulverized dried orange that is mixed in with the matcha, and not just the quality of the matcha itself. The smell is flowery and sweet.

Today I’m using two scoops and 4 ounces of hot water. The color of the tea is a murky green, and quite a bit different from that characteristic jade green color of regular matcha tea. Mandarin Matcha does not foam, no matter how hard or how long I whisk it. Only a few weak bubbles appear at the surface.

The taste is a bit weaker and sweeter than regular matcha is at this concentration. I’m guessing this is because of the orange that’s mixed in with the matcha dilutes it. The orange taste is light and not artificial tasting. There is a strange sharpness or sourness near the back/middle of my tongue, but it’s bearable. Happily, there is no bitterness.

In exchange for the orange note, you do lose some of the vegetal/grassy flavor of regular matcha. At the same time, there is an interesting blossomy component to it that I didn’t taste in the plain matcha I have on hand. And oh, the smell! The smell of Mandarin Matcha is divine. Juicy orange, tart and sweet, cream, and matcha.

I think it’s a good change of pace from regular matcha. The novelty of the orange flavor certainly makes it worth trying. While I don’t know if I’d consider it the best matcha I’ve ever had, it has earned a place in my cabinet.