Eggnog Matcha

Hmmm. I’m not sure about this matcha! I made it hot, with a dash of milk and it was nice, and had the texture of eggnog, but not the thickness or flavour. Well, maybe some of the taste, but it was only halfway there. Adding some sugar, all I really got was the sweetness from the sugar! Plus a hint of creamy nog. Am I missing something here?!
Anyhow, it was pleasant, and I found nothing wrong with it at all. The base seemed a bit smoother, so I suspect this is Royal grade? shrugs
I’m glad I didn’t order any for myself is all.
Thanks to the traveling tea box!

I can’t believe I am the first to review this one! Crazy! I mean, it’s eggnog, a tasty delicious dessert-type treat. And the dessert matchas really do seem to get the most attention (for obvious reasons haha) BUT not this one! Maybe because it hasn’t gone on sale yet? I’ve wanted it for a while, and decided to just go for it in my last order. I needed one more, so eggnog hopped into my cart! I got:

Size: Small (30 grams)
Flavor: Delicate
Base: Basic Matcha

I’ve only gotten one matcha with the Delicate level of flavor: caramel, my very first one! I’ve found I really like the Distinctive, though I did get a Robust one in this order that I haven’t tried yet . However, eggnog is a REALLY strong flavor and I wasn’t sure if it would meld well with matcha so delicate it was. Just a regular starter base this time, since I adore my Pumpkin Pie with the green and thought eggnog might be similar in feel. You know, fall desserts! I plan on mixing them together very soon, mm pumplin pie eggnog.

Eggnog has a very distinctive taste: creamy, vanilla and almost custard-like with nutmeg and other fall spices. Much like the Bavarian Cream, this matcha actually captures the creaminess! Vanilla is dominant, along with a custard taste and nutmeg coming in at the end of the sip. Like pumpkin pie, it melds well with the grassiness of the matcha, keeping it from being so heavy. Honestly, I can’t even drink a mug of real eggnog, it’s wayyyy too rich. In fact, as much as I love it, it makes me nauseous. So this matcha is perfect! All the eggnog flavor without the eggnog ickiness. I love it! You can get some here:

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/eggnog-matcha.html

And while it doesn’t seem to be super popular, I think it’s definitely worth a try! A very special flavor.

Get it here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/eggnog-matcha.html

So when I opened the package it was one of those OMG moments – it smelled SOooooo good! I instantly started singing Fa la la la la …
A huge smile came to my face. 
I knew this was going to be a re-order SOON!
Then I took my first sip.
It needed sugar.
I was a little deflated.
I mean it was good and all but its one of those flavors you just know needs a little push to make it POP.
So a little sugar was added.
Better but it does not have the wow factor I was hoping.
Now please, bear in mind, I about had a special moment when I smelled it in dry form. My eyes literally rolled back in my head so my expectations were REALLY high!
It is quite pleasing nonetheless but its not going to knock Butterscotch or Macadamia Nut out of my top two list.
I will play around with this one some more though to see what I can do with it. It may be better iced as I had this one straight with a little milk which made it sort of luke warm.
Still, this is going to score in the high 80’ as really there is nothing bad you could get from Red Leaf its just now that I have tried so many I do have my favorites that others need to stand up to.
:)

Had a huge creamy latte with this today!
SO tasty, but I have to agree with some of those notes that it isn’t quite "eggnog"y enough for my taste buds to make that association, but still tasty. Full review to come!

Another goodie from the traveling tea box.

I mixed this up the way I have been with matchas. Milk and ice in my metal cocktail shaker.
This smells like eggnog. i havent had actual egg nog in years. My first experince with actual eggnog wasn’t a pleasnat one.

I think this tastes like eggnog, but I enjoy it this time around. Creamy, vanilla, custard, spicy. Yup this is so good. I would probably drink this in place of eggnog throughout the holidays.
I’m not suppose to like matcha. I don’t need a new beverage addiction.

I’m thinking about starting on protein shakes in the am, since I don’t usually eat breakfawt. I wonder how the flavoured matchas would lend to it?

I love eggnog! I’d drink the stuff all year round if I could! But I cannot drink it. I was vegan during university and vegetarian for a couple years after that and of course during that time I ditched dairy. When I stopped being vegetarian I found out I’m lactose intolerant, since I lost the enzymes to drink milk. Higher fat content milk hits me the worst. I still don’t drink cow milk. Plus, actual egg nog has CRAZY amounts of calories and fat. My husband, last year, trying to get some extra calories, spliced leftover egg nog with leftover heavy cream for a high calorie drink. Ew.

While being vegan/vegetarian I’ve ventured into Soy nog. IMO, the stuff is terrible! It’s watery, barely flavored, no depth and the eggy part tastes stale and weird. I’ve tried a bunch of different brands and never found one I remotely liked. When I saw Red Leaf Tea’s Eggnog matcha, hey.. this might have some potential to have an eggnog on my terms! I’ve been wanting this matcha for awhile, but kept procrastinating on purchasing it.

Specs on the matcha I’m drinking:

Eggnog Matcha
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/eggnog-matcha.html
Quality: Classic (Basic Grade)
Flavor: Robust

Out of the package, the eggnog matcha smells slightly eggy and spicy. I thought it would smell stronger, like the pistachio matcha I got recently.

Prepared as a traditional hot matcha, I can taste the eggnog, but in matcha form! The base of bold green tea is there, with a eggy taste second, with a vanilla and nutmeg hit. This matcha is also slightly sweet. No bitterness or astringency.

Now the best part, a Red Leaf Tea Matcha prepared as a latte! I made mine cold, whisking 1/2tsp of egg nog matcha into some soy milk and a little sweetener. I find the eggy taste is the strongest! I love eggy taste! Next is the creamy vanilla and a hint of spice. This was really sweet, so I’d go a little less on sweetener next time. And next time I should add a sprinkling of nutmeg or cinnamon ontop.

The flavoring in this is really strong, as a Robust flavor, I cannot taste the matcha in this in the latte. Good for me as I love the egg nog taste, but for others who want the matcha taste, I’d go to distinctive or delicate.

The only thing missing for this to be perfectly like eggnog is the consistency. This might go well with a thicker soy milk (like the very vanilla Silk soy milk) or whisk in a little instant vanilla pudding mix. Of course, this egg nog matcha latte is green, so more festive!

Tea peeps, give this one a shot!

Oh, egg nog. When Red Leaf Tea first contacted me, asking what flavors of matcha I’d be interested in trying, my immediate response was this. Egg nog. Oh goodness, egg nog. Please, oh please, egg nog. When the holidays come around, I miss it with a burning passion. There’s just too much cream in it for it to be worth the risk, unfortunately. We have been able to find soy nog, but it’s just not the same. But I have to say, it does the trick when I’m really just dying for a cup of nog. It certainly brought my father in law and me closer last Christmas when he was always more than happy to get me a glass of soy nog so he had an excuse to grate fresh nutmeg on top. He cracks me up.

So this matcha (found here:http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/eggnog-matcha.html) had high, high, high expectations to live up to. It was delicious, very much so, but a little weak. I got a hint of eggnog flavor that was greatly overshadowed by the flavor of the matcha. Which isn’t a bad flavor at all, it just isn’t what I want when I drink egg nog. Maybe a little soy milk will bring out that creaminess for me and give me that egg nog flavor I crave.

Ok, I’m sitting here with two cups of Red Leaf Matcha sitting in front of me. Eggnog and Irish Cream. I’ve been sipping from one and then the other, comparing the flavours (sometimes with a sip of peppermint tea in between to cleanse my palate). The strange thing is, I can really notice the difference in the taste of the two more when I compare them this way. I think when I drink them on different days, my brain tends to blend them together more.

Anyway, on to the tea. I was not thrilled with the smell of the dry powder at all. It smells kind of funky to me. I must have different olfactory senses than the reviewer who loved the smell but not the taste as much. To me it tastes way better than it smells.

I got the classic grade of matcha with the robust level of flavouring from http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/eggnog-matcha.html. I mixed a bit into almond milk, as I usually do. It does have a light, creamy, eggnog taste to it, but even in the almond milk it’s a bit thin-tasting (if that makes sense) for eggnog. My brain wants it to have a thicker consistency. I think I may experiment with adding this to my protein shakes so it has more body.

Not my favourite matcha, but still pretty good. It’s the closest to eggnog I’ve been in years (I don’t drink milk or eat eggs), so it’s a nice treat.