Pineapple Matcha

For months I have been hearing about this mysterious “shake it up in a water bottle” method of making matcha. I wanted to try it since I try to drink a glass of matcha every day, but alas I had nothing to make it in. I drink filtered tap water, and I have been lacking in teaware since I always end up spending my money on tea instead. The lack of a tea tumbler is something I constantly complain about when going out (especially to the movies, how nice would it be to have a hot thermos full of your favorite tea instead of sugary soda?) so my boyfriend surprised me with a wonderful double-walled tea thermos for xmas! Finally, the elusive “shake it up” method is within my reach.

Usually to make a glass of matcha I have to boil water, mix up a starter base with matcha + hot water, and then pour it in a glass with cold water. This way is a lot easier: matcha and water in the thermos, shake it up! Voila! No sifting required, it’s so easy. Today I’m doing it with the Pineapple Matcha I got in a swap with Chuckieroy! It was one I always wanted to order but kind of slipped my mind, so I’m happy to have a shot at it now.

Mmm! It’s softly tropical pineapple, not fake or artificial tasting. It’s just a little bit sweet, and has that rind-y taste I found in the mango matcha. I have enough of this generous sample left to mix it with coconut—homemade pina colada!

So I have a confession to make. I don’t like pina coladas…or getting caught in the rain, for that matter. They’re too sickeningly sweet filled with tropical flavors built to give me heartburn. I love fresh pineapple, but when I wasn’t on meds to help fight my acid reflux, even looking at one was enough to send me into heartburn agony for a few hours. But now I can indulge and it’s wonderful! Anyway, yes, I don’t like pina coladas because of the creaminess as well, so I’m glad they released a pineapple matcha (found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/pineapple-matcha.html) as well as a pina colada matcha. Pineapple I can definitely get behind. We love pineapple in this house, my wife spent some time in Mexico and fell in love with them there. We even have one of those pineapple corer/slicers, a big piece of $10 equipment with a single purpose that I refuse to live without. I am very excited to be trying this matcha and I’m praying it will help feed in to that pineapple addiction we’ve found ourselves with. Maybe I’ll try it swirled together with some strawberry matcha…I love the taste of pineapples and strawberries together. Or any of the berries, for that matter. They just balance each other out so beautifully.

So after a bit of mental back and forth, I decided to give this one a go. Pineapple can be done well in teas, so hopefully this one will live up to expectations. When I first mixed it up, my wife could smell it from across the room. “That has to be bubble gum or cotton candy.” Nope, just pineapple! It does smell very sweet. At first sip, I’d be hard-pressed to find pineapple specifically, more of an overall tropical candy flavor with a touch of a medicinal aftertaste, like chewable baby aspirin. But in the aftertaste, the taste that lingers on your tongue, I found pineapple. Yum, yum, yum pineapple. I’m not too sure of this one, I’m going to have to try it with strawberry, but it’s got all of the sweetness of pineapple and none of the tartness that makes it so good. I don’t think this is one I’ll be stocking up on, but I don’t think I’ll be forcing it on my friends either. I won’t have any trouble finishing it, but I doubt I’ll get more. Still, I am grateful to have been granted the chance to try it! I just don’t think I’m enough of a tropical fruit fan to fully enjoy it.