Matcha Pumpkin Spice

I gave in to a stupid Groupon for this that I probably shouldn’t have. I got this and their normal matcha, which was kind of the reason I bought it. This is one of those gross pre-sweetened matchas where the first ingredient is a sugar of some sort (in this case coconut nectar) followed by matcha. It is actually lucuma spice, and not pumpkin spice. According to wikipedia, lucumas taste like maple and sweet potato, and so then I’d call this more like sweet potato pie sweetened matcha.

I mixed a tablespoon of this mix with water and coconut milk. I did sift it before preparing, hoping to cut out the chances of grittiness as mentioned by the only other reviewer of this stuff, but the sugar crystals did not go through. The spices are really nice though.

More than anything there’s just a weird aftertaste from some flavor in here. I don’t think it’s the matcha, unless it really can’t even handle the combination of 180 degree water, cooled down with 35 degree coconut milk.

At first I didn’t have any problem with grittiness but now I can feel it, no matter how much I stir it up again and again.

I think I’ll find a way to cook with this instead of drinking it, it would be perfect for baking I think. After about half of it, I just can’t take it anymore because that grittiness is actually getting caught in my throat. Gross.

This is slightly better flavour-wise than Got Matcha’s Matcha Chai, but it has the same problem with grittiness. I tried it both as a latte with rice milk and by itself with water, and it was less than thrilling both ways. As I’ve said before, Got Matcha’s regular matcha is great, but the two flavoured ones I received with the package I bought leave a lot to be desired. And again, this one is pre-sweetened, which I don’t like. Definitely won’t be buying anything other than the regular matcha from Got Matcha in the future. I was tempted by the Matcha Cacao, but I suspect it’ll be the same story.