Boysenberry Matcha

Oh My Goodness!
No I am not sorry at all that I got the Boysenberry Matcha that is on sale here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html
Just wow.
You know I have been throughly enjoying Red Leaf Tea’s matchas over the past couple of weeks. Be that via friends here who sent me samples, and my own first purchase of Bavarian Creme matcha which was DELICIOUS.
But most of the flavors, other than the orange (also amazing) have been more creamy, dessert like, heavier matcha flavors. So I was eager to try this one!
Let me just say MMmmmmmmmm.
So when I first smelled the dry powder I thought, oh tart, crisp, light, berry!
My daughter’s first impression was “Mom this smells like Red Bull energy drink.”
I was like OMG you are SO right!
It does! I have to admit. I do love Red Bull. Actually I had a bit of a Red Bull problem not too long ago, before tea! Thank you tea!
Nonetheless it has that exact same tart smell to it!
Don’t worry though this is totally healthy!
Plus after preparing my matcha, adding some ice and milk, it tastes NOTHING like a red bull!
Okay maybe a little something like it in the sense that it is light, crisp, refreshing, not too tart but just a slight berry tartness but nothing that is going to make you pucker!
I love this!
I feel bad and I owe an apology to summer. Here I was craving autumn and forgot all about berries, fruits, juicy ripe tasting delights and had went totally for heavier, richer, creamier, flavors. But you know what … it is still summer and I am going to totally enjoy drinking this and many other light matchas to come!
So my set up was as follows:

Boysenberry Matcha
Size: Small
Matcha Quality: Royal (Premium Grade)
Flavor: Robust
Storage: Add Small Container (3.00 extra)

Total cost after discount: 21.58
That to me my friends is a steal for a high quality matcha like this!

Now to add to the amazing flavor of this matcha and the quality of the matcha itself I would also like to notate that Red Leaf Tea got my matcha to me in TWO DAYS time! Yes thats right and lets all face it when we place a tea order we want it YESTERDAY lol but that just isn’t possible. What IS possible is that I received my shipping notice the same day I placed my order and it was being handed to me by my always befuddled mail carrier two days later! And yes in fact I did stifle a squeee because my mother was there and so far she is not really onto my tea addiction at least not how far it sinks. But the point here is TWO DAYS! That is some super fast shipping in my opinion! It means that when I am craving the next flavors (already am) I can make my order and know it will be in my hands before the craving can end! :)

Now back to this tea … As I am sitting here in delight sipping away I am noticing this almost earthy flavor to it – no not the normal earthy grassy flavor of a matcha or green tea, but something else. The prominent flavors are still the same, tart, juicy, etc, not to be redundant, but there is something more, its one of those flavors you swish around in your mouth, tap tap tap your tongue around, make those smacking sounds trying so hard to pin point it but it is eluding me! I want someone else to get some of this so they can help me figure it out. Hey it IS on sale after all!

Yes this one is a delight and to think I almost passed it up I mean I was not too sure what to expect and didn’t want something too overly tart but thank goodness I went for it!

Oh oh wait I think I may have just figured it out! Oh I am tempted to make a second round to be sure but yes people I know what it is…. Now this may turn some of you off so I almost hate to say it but for me, its not only a good flavor, but brings back memories from my childhood. So here it is be it a good thing or a bad thing you all deserve to know…children’s vitamins!!! Yup you know like Scooby Doo, Fintstones, etc… Well I may have just lost a few of you on that but for those of you who want a trip back to your childhood then get this! Ah ha! Its the same flavor in Red Bull that is very detectable! Vitamin B!!! Oh boy, I fear I may have lost a few more of you now… the thing is I LOVE that flavor! As a former vegetarian of 7 years (don’t ask why I stopped being a veggie – long story – irrelevant – no excuse for me really) I used to take Vitamin B daily as a Veggie diet does not provide Vitamin B (I think B12 specifically) so for me this is a flavor I like and am used to. Some people do not like it so I guess if you are not sure at this price it is still worth a try! I am sure if you don’t like it SOMEONE around here – I don’t know who – maybe me, would enjoy it being sent their way. :)

Again here is where you can get your own Boysenberry Matcha from Red Leaf Tea:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html

Matcha, matcha, MATCHA!

That’s what I was chanting when my first order arrived from Red Leaf Tea this morning. I’m sure my husband thought I was crazy as I ran back into the house to tear open the package that contained both boysenberry and caramel matchas! Let the matcha fest begin! =D

LiberTEAS mentioned a few days ago that Boysenberry reminded her of her home in SoCal – Same with me! My family lived about 20 minutes from Knott’s Berry Farm during my high school days. If boysenberry isn’t already, I think it should be the official berry of Knott’s! So needless to say, the boysenberry flavored matcha Red Leaf Tea offers has a little nostalgia for me – that and the fact that it was on sale – win, win!

I purchased a 30 gram pouch of the Boysenberry Green Matcha, basic grade with robust flavoring.
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html
I like my teas to be bold!

As I poured the matcha from it’s pouch into the small metal tin RL offers for a nominal price, I became giddy! This smells soooooo good! Whiffs of sweet berry start swirling in the air around me. I could nearly taste the boysenberry! I already have a feeling I’m going to regret getting a small tin of this…

For this particular review I’m sticking to a basic preparation – matcha and water. I usually like to enjoy my matcha latte-style, but I want to get a taste for what it’s like at it’s most basic preparation.

First, I sifted a teaspoon of matcha into my glass mug. Then adding 2 ounces of warmed water, I wisked it with the matcha with my electric frother. There was a nice layer of freshly formed foam atop of the liquid. Looking through the bottom of my mug, I could see there were no clumps of unmixed matcha to be seen. (Yay!) I added the rest of the water (6 oz.) and stirred.

Wow – this is really quite good! I like that the boysenberry doesn’t completely mask the matcha, but it does a good job of detracting from the grassiness green matcha has. (Remember, I did go all out and use “robust” flavoring!) This is really drinkable without sweetener, but I have a feeling adding it would just take this over the top into crazy good territory. So for now I’ll refrain.

I bet this is gonna be awesome iced! Can’t wait to play around with this and make fruity smoothies with this too – the ideas are endless!

Now I’m curious about trying the Boysenberry White Matcha – I think that’s going to be on my next order, which will be very soon! :)

I had not planned on having a second bowl of Matcha today … I usually limit it to one per day because it really does have an energizing effect on me and if I drink too much, I’m bouncing off the walls… However, my new chawan arrived in this afternoon’s post, so, I decided I needed to try it out, and this is the matcha with which I chose to christen it.

This is AWESOMELY good. Mrs. Knott would be proud of how far her berry has come… and this certainly does the tasty berry justice. It is so sweet and tart and tasty. I love how good this is. I am so glad … SO VERY GLAD that I tried this boysenberry … happy it was on sale when I bought it, but, I would have purchased it (and will get it again in the future) without the sale. It is one of the best Matcha that I’ve tried from Red Leaf yet… this one is a MUST TRY. If you like berry, you’ve gotta try this!

Azzrian – a BIG thank you!

This smell delighfully fruity-sweet without smelling tart or fake.

The aftermath-color is a murky dark olive green = a bit dark than the others I’ve tried from RLT so far. BUT…it still smells dandy! The flavor is ‘just right’ – it’s a tasty fruity-sweet flavor without being too overpowering but it’s still standing it’s ground! It’s a plump berry much like a combo of loganberry with a bit of citrus even.

Yup! This is a WINNER! I like this a lot!

Ever since I’ve been ordering from Red Leaf, I feel like all my matcha purchases had been “desert type matchas”. So, when I saw that the Boysenberry matcha went on sale again (since I missed it the first time), I knew I had to grab it. I’m not sure if I’ve ever had boysenberry on its own, but I definitely know I’ve had it in yogurt form. There are several companies that make boysenberry yogurt, and it’s delicious.

I ordered the 30g of Boysenberry Matcha, Starter (Basic Grade), Flavor: Robust. I really really like berries, and thought about upping the flavor even more, but decided to keep it at robust for now and see how it goes.

For all my previous matchas, since they were desert matchas, I had been making them hot the traditional matcha way. Usually, after my first sip, it was a little too intense for me, so I added some milk to help bring out the flavor. But for boysenberry, hot and milk added just didn’t sound appealing to me, so I thought I would try something new. On the Red Leaf site, under all the matchas, they have a “steeping” tab that talks about how to prepare them. There’s the traditional way, and the “traditional with a chill”. I’ve always wanted to try this, but none of the matchas I ordered sounded appealing cold, so I was excited to finally try something new.

I took my water bottle and measured 1/4 teaspoon for matcha, per the instructions. I then filled my bottle with 16oz of water. You can also use a water bottle, but since I want to be environmentally friendly (and I like my filtered water), I decided to just use a regular bottle. I debated whether or not to sift the matcha, but decided I wouldn’t the first time around. I shook my bottle vigorously, and then sipped the results…

WOW!!! I was really impressed. With all the other matchas, I had a hard time tasting the flavor just straight, but here I can definitely taste both the matcha and the boysenberry. The matcha is not overpowering, but there are definitely berry undertones. I didn’t need to add any sweetener, although I bet if I did it would bring out the flavor even more.

I can’t believe how easy this is to make. It sure beats using a whisk (no pun intended) and making water on the kettle. Those are good too, but this is better. I’m thinking I need to order some more fruity matchas in the future, since I liked boysenberry so much. I’m not sure how this would taste hot, but it’s definitely delicious cold.

As a reminder, you can get the matcha here: https://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html

Mathathon last of the day I just did a small size of this or ill go nuts! I tired to space my matchas apart by a couple of hours. I definitely did not drink them all at once. That would be crazy! So when this went on sale I was like what the heck is a boysenberry? So I completely passed it over. Then I kept seeing reviews and people where like oh its so good. I was like is it a blackberry? Red leaf says it resembles a big sized raspberry, loganberry and blackberry so I was like okay I love raspberry’s and blackberry’s. Then I saw Azz reviews that it smells like red bull. I love the smell of redbull!

So what I got was Size: Small (30 grams), Quality: Basic Grade, Flavor: Delicate. So what I did was half a teaspoon of the matcha shifted with one third a cup of hot water and half a cup of milk and some ice. Okay so smell kinda get redbull. So first sip I can taste the berrys. Its nice and sweet and tart. I like that its not just a sweet berry flavor. I get the tartness that reminds me of blackberrys. You definitely get the matcha but the boysenberry holds its ground with the matcha. Its not overpowered by it at all. I did add some sweetener which really made the boysenberry shine some more. I’m gunna need to try these berrys now! Get it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html

Yet another incredible matcha from Red Leaf. I still can’t believe how quickly I’ve fallen in love with matcha. All of the flavours are so true to life, perfectly balanced, and darn addictive. I’ve even come to love the preparation process, whereas I used to find it a bit of a pain in the butt. Something about scooping out the fragrant powder, sifting it into my cup and then whisking like a madman is soothing, in a way. A nice little break from whatever I’m doing to just focus my energy on preparing my tea.

I was a little wary about trying this flavour since I’ve never had a boysenberry, so I didn’t really know what to expect. Blackberries are one of my favourite fruits though, and boysenberries look pretty much identical, so somehow I just assumed that they must be delicious. I was right! This matcha is the perfect fruity treat. The best way I can describe it is as a fresh, light, perfectly sweet/tart berry. When I opened my package of delicately flavoured matcha, I was overcome with a burst of sweet, almost candy-like fruitiness. I was reminded almost of
those delicious, chewy blackcurrant pastilles that I loved growing up.

Once prepared, I was treated to a nice balance of earthy matcha and bright berry goodness. The candy quality is a bit muted, and the fruitiness really shines. One thing I love about this matcha is that I don’t have to add as much sugar to it as I do with the more dessert-like flavours. With this, I like to let the tartness of the berry shine through, but with the dessert matcha I crave a good amount of sugar since they’re supposed to taste like something sweet and decadent. This is delicious unsweetened or with just a touch, and I never miss the extra sugar.

I have posted my favourite smoothie mix for the cheesecake matcha, which is strawberries, bananas, matcha, vanilla yogurt & pineapple orange banana juice. I haven’t tried a smoothie with this flavour yet, but I’m thinking blueberries, bananas, vanilla yogurt, and apple juice or cider would be absolutely perfect.

I’m hoping to make another matcha order soon, to try out some more unique flavours and experiment a bit with the bases. So far I’ve only tried traditional green matcha and the 50/50 base, but I am super curious about black matcha. I’m thinking it would make an amazing latte with one of the richer flavours, like pumpkin pie or mocha. And recent reviews have got me tempted to try cookies and cream black matcha. I love that with Red Leaf, the possibilities are truly endless.

Boysenberry matcha far surpassed my expectations. You can find it here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html

My matcha order was the following:
Size : Small
Matcha Quality: Starter (Basic Grade)
Flavor: Distinctive

So it’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to try a new matcha flavour. In part because it took forever to get here but also because i’ve been seriously busy AND have been trying to drink the other things that I have.
I blended this up with a little milk and ice and i have to say that this is a great matcha! I think that given a choice between ordering this and the berry again, I’ll stick to this one. It’s got a light berry taste but it is without hesitation “boysenberry.” Now admittedly I haven’t had fresh boysenberries in a while, but this tastes like the boysenberries i remember. I drink all my matcha without sugar – sweet comes from the banana i add if i go that route. This matcha though…makes me feel like if i added just a touch of sweetner to is, my mouth would explode from the fruit juiciness. This is a winner in my books!
I’m glad that I chose the distinctive flavouring, though unlike the pear i think that this one could go up to the robust flavouring without coming across as artificial. This might actually be a matcha that I could drink straight – i’ll have to try that sometime 
Buy it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html

Thanks to Rachel for this sample! This is my first matcha ever and it is so awesome! I know I mention in most of my tasting notes that I am not an iced tea drinker. But I wish I liked it, because when I want to really get some caffeine in, iced tea is a quicker vehicle for it and much more refreshing.

Well, this isn’t an iced tea exactly, but it’s a refreshing cold tea. Rachel sent the matcha powder to me in a nicely folded aluminum square. I couldn’t help but feel like a drug user unfolding my little aluminum packet of powder. LOL I took a swig from my water bottle to make room, added my typical two packets of Splenda, and dumped all the matcha into the water bottle. I shook it up and said a prayer.

It’s so good! It’s better than any iced tea I’ve ever had! The taste is light, and refreshing, and berry-ish. It makes me happy. I was afraid it would taste like Snapple or Crystal Lite or something but I should never have doubted. Someday I’ll buy my own matcha and I’ll have my own cold caffeine vehicle.

I’ve been really excited to try this Boysenberry Matcha since I saw it on sale, but I needed to wait until I was ready and able to purchase the other various things for matcha (bowl, whisk, etc.) first. And then it was also prudent for me to order another flavour at the same time to help justify the shipping to Australia. (On a side note, Red Leaf Tea’s international postage prices are very reasonable, at least to Australia! I’m so glad it’s a calculated rate, not a flat rate.)

Here’s what I ordered: the small (30g) size in Starter Grade matcha with the Distinctive Flavor level and a small tin. And here’s where you can get yours: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html

When I opened the gold foil pouch (non-resealable, by the way, so get a tin if you don’t already have one), I knew I did not let myself down in getting this. There were only one or two reviews for the boysenberry here when I placed my order, so I was taking a little leap of faith with it, but I did not go unrewarded for my boldness. Sweet, juicy boysenberries with their playful tartness filled my senses. Oh, but that’s not all. There was also that lovely floral smell I noticed in the caramel matcha I had for the last two days, the scent of good sencha and gyokuro, lurking in the background.

The lattes I made with the caramel matcha were a success, but the berries smelled so good that I continued in my resolve from earlier in the morning to make this one with just water. And a little Splenda, mind you. So I used 2 scoops (about 1 teaspoon), poured in about 60ml (2oz.) of 80C water and got to whisking. I didn’t get quite as much froth this morning, but that was more than likely me. Then I topped it up with what seemed to be close to another 175-200ml (6-7oz.) of water. It looked like I had right about a cup of emerald goodness in my bowl, so I think my eyeball estimates were pretty good.

And as if on cue, a little someone needed their bottom to be cleaned. Now I wouldn’t normally include something like this as part of a review, certainly not one meant to be appetizing, but it has a purpose: just trust me here. As Lil’ Miss and I reached the top of the stairs to come back down to my awaiting bowl of warm matcha, I was taken aback by the definite smell of boysenberries from all the way down in the kitchen! Remarkable!

So I was now even more excited to try this. Oh, it was just wonderful. Juicy and sweet-tart with a hint of that white floral I noticed in the dry matcha. I liked this one quite a bit more than the caramel matcha, and that one was good too. But it’s so hard to pass up beautiful fruit, and the same goes for fruit flavoured tea.

I know I got this on sale, and it’s not at that sale price anymore, but I tell you it is worth every penny and more. Don’t be the least bit afraid that there aren’t that many reviews for this flavor (yet). It’s a rather new option, and I’m so glad it’s there. More than that, I’m glad it’s here with me too!

Although I got in on the tail end of it, I have really appreciated the “free matcha” promotion that Red Leaf has offered. The promotion, along with the positive reviews on Steepster, have spurred me on to go ahead and give flavored matcha a try. The hardest thing has been making a decision on what to order since there are so many exciting choices! I have loved Caramel and Pumpkin Pie, so it was time for something fruity. I found it at http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html
This was my first fruity matcha from Red Leaf and I had really been looking forward to trying it because of the great reviews. The delicious aroma of this selection made my mouth water as soon as I opened the packet. I have enjoyed boysenberry syrup on many occasions in the past, back in the days when I used to eat waffles and pancakes. This definitely captures the essence of boysenberry nicely with a great balance between sweet and tart. I was too impatient to pull out the whisk, so I did what others have suggested, and mixed it up with 2 oz of hot water , then added some almond milk, a splash of cream, a small amount of sweetener, and some ice cubes and shook it up to make a chilled latte. I will eventually try it hot, but I have really been in the mood for the chilled lattes lately! So this was the third flavor I’ve had from Red Leaf, and all have been outstanding. I’m afraid they could be somewhat addictive. If you haven’t tried boysenberry, you should! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

When I was thinking about what fruity matcha flavor I wanted to try I decided that Boysenberry sounded the most interesting to me. I’ve previously only gotten the desserty flavors but I wondered what a fruity matcha would be like and if the fruit would go well with the green flavors of the matcha. I decided to get the robust flavor level and also a small tin to make storage easy.

I tried the matcha first made the usual way with hot water and it was very good, but I was very curious about the “water bottle” method I’d noticed some people using so I gave that method a shot as well. I filled up a plastic bottle I had with ice cubes, water, and matcha and shook like mad! I ended up with a delicious iced matcha that was so easy to make and convenient to carry with me to work. If you want to take matcha on the go I suggest this method!

I did enjoy this hot, but I felt like the cold method brought out more of that tangy fruit aspect I was really looking for here. Someone else mentioned this being a bit like redbull in their review and I can really see what they mean. It does taste a bit redbull-y and I’m a former redbull addict so I know what I’m talking about here. Haha.

I have to say I’m glad I picked this flavor out. It’s so much more unique than your typical strawberry or other popular fruit flavor.

I got my matcha here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html

Thanks Azzrian for this sample! :D

So, I have no idea what on earth boysenberries are, but now I want some if they’re similar in taste to this matcha. This tastes great!

I’m drinking it straight right now, and I’m loving the juicy, fruity, berry flavours I’m getting out of this. I may try this as a latte at some point and see how it tastes, but I’m not in a latte mood for now. I imagine it’ll taste great, though! Probably like a berry smoothie or something of the sort.

Yum!

I haven’t had a lot of boysenberries or boysenberry flavoured things (I think I might have had some jam blend at some point) so I can’t tell you if this is true to taste, but it is certainly tast_y_ and definitely of the berry family.

This review is for the classic matcha base and robust level of flavouring. After my last mega-batch of matchas were done at distinctive and I had been disappointed in some of them, I decided to up to power level on this next batch (and the one after it, which is already being shipped to me, heh).

This is a good flavoured matcha, but it doesn’t really knock my socks off. I’m rather picky about my berries and if this is what a true boysenberry tastes like, I’m pretty sure it’s one I wouldn’t seek out very often. I remember liking the jam though. Hard not to like jam.

According to wiki, a boysenberry is a cross between a European raspberry (not sure how that differs from a North American one), a common blackberry (yum, almost a weed up here in the Pacific Northwest), and a Loganberry (which I’m also not that familiar with). A loganberry is apparently a hybrid of a different type of blackberry and the same type of raspberry (European). So now we know. I think I like both raspberries and blackberries better separately.

You can find this matcha here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html

Mmmmmm. I have been anticipating the arrival of my Red Leaf order just so I could try this matcha. I quite like the taste of Red Bull, and when I heard this matcha tastes like Red Bull I had to get some to try it.
The smell of the dry matcha is spot on Red Bull, the taste is the same as well. Now I don’t think the goal was to set out to create a Red Bull flavoured matcha, but I guess boysenberry is what Red Bull is flavoured with.
The matcha powder is fine and smooth. The boysenberry flavour is strong and mixes well with the matcha flavour. There is a boysenberry aftertaste but it is not unpleasant at all.
I made this tea iced and as a latte, both were delicious. I think I prefer it cold though.
I orderded robust flavour.
Quite impressed with the flavoured matchas from Red Leaf that I have tried so far. Will be making another order shortly.
You can find this matcha here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html