Matcha Outlet

Very tasty Christmas Eve latte for breakfast thanks to the generous CrowKettle!

As suspected the pumpkin pie flavor DOES pair very nicely with white matcha. I drank this whisked with warm whole milk and a little bit of honey. Super rich and tasty :)

Matcha sipdown….

My daughter finished this today. She did like it, but for her, the additional cost over regular flavored matcha just did not make sense.

One thing of note….I was really annoyed getting the last few servings from the bag. The included scoop was brilliant until the end. By then, the handle as not long enough and I had to stick my hand way down into the bag and hope I could manage to get the mix in the measuring cup. I think if I were to repurchase (which is not likely) I would be hoping for a scoop with a longer handle, or even the equivalent in a measuring spoon with a longer handle. I am sure the volume can be approximated for someone who needs the information.

Matcha of the morning…..

I decided to give this one another go today. It is a little sweet for me, but I think I will have my sweets loving daughter try this. I think the improved texture when blending up with ice will definitely make a difference for her. I will report back!

Blended with ice and milk.

Matcha of the morning…..

It was time to pull this one out just to see how it compares to the way I usually prepare my matcha. For a cold version of this, it calls for 6-8 oz of milk and some ice, plus a scoop of the matchaccino mix, and then blend in a blender. When I make regular matcha, it is 6-8 oz milk, 6 ice cubes, 1/2 tsp matcha, and 1 packet of Spenda blended up.

First off, I think I got the lower quality based on the reviews I read here. I think I read somewhere here at Steepster where Red Leaf mentioned that there was a lower quality matcha batch that got mixed with a good batch, so you were kind of taking a chance, hence the lower price. No worries on that as the price I paid was fair. The product in my bag is kind of a brownish green rather than the bright green I am used to for matcha.

This differs slightly in overall taste. I do find the caramel flavor is kind of light (it is delicate). To me it mostly just tastes sweet. A little too sweet. The texture is much better, but I have some ideas why that I will explain later. I can tell the difference in matcha quality as it tastes just a little green. This is not bad (remember I have the lower quality that was a cancelled “special order?”), but I think it would be better in the usual grade of matcha.

The texture differences are all due to the sugar, xanthan gum, and tapioca dextrose. Sugar itself adds bulk in comparison to Splenda. Xanthan Gum is definitely a thickener, and from what I can quickly research on the tapioca dextrose, I think it is a lower sweet/higher bulk than the cane sugar. It is nice because the ‘middle’ of this feels filled when drinking it. In my usual version, you can kind of sense the ice just not quite being enough to fill it out. If that makes sense. The only thing that seems to suffer because of the added bulk is there is not as much room for frothiness.

I think for me, I will stick to the normal flavored matcha. Adding the Splenda is not an issue for me as that it what I use to sweeten all of my tea. It just comes out frothier (unless that is a product of the quality of the matcha and not the bulking agents.)

I seem to be the only person who didn’t like this. I was so excited when a friend got it for me for Christmas but it tastes like mud to me, added sugar and it tasted like slightly sweetened mud. I did make it into a latte and I see most here did not. I’m tempted to try it that way but I hate to waste more that could be swapped.

It seems like good.

For the first time in ten days, I not only got my full eight hours of sleep but I also got to sleep in! It felt blissful, and I woke up feeling so relaxed/refreshed. I do work today at DAVIDsTEA, but I’m enjoying having the morning to myself to just eat a nice, home cooked breakfast and drink some tea…

I finally invested in a milk frother after what seems like ages of meaning to get one; and by “invested in” I mean one of my coworkers bought a new one and gave me their old one. Regardless; I am now in possession of one! So I’m drinking some matcha almond milk, and that milk frother is the fucking bomb. Seriously; I’m in love already! It was easy to use, and now everything is light, frothy and fun. I even have a frothy matcha milk moustache as evidence!

And of course it tastes great too; definitely sweet but a particularly “bubble gum” flavoured sweet as opposed to a simply sugary sweet. The almond milk flavour is strong as well, so my bubble gum drink has nutty undertones – but it’s not bad, just maybe a very slight bit weird to be tasting the bubble gum and the almond milk. I think I’ve done this pairing (or cashew/coconut) before though, and that’s usually the case anyway. It’s just sticking out to me a bit more today than it normally would.

Sipdown (178)!

This matcha is listed in two different places, and apparently I’ve written one review under this listing (other than this review) and then the review from last night under the second listing. Blah. I don’t know which is the ‘proper’ listing, but since this is the one I had in my cupboard then I guess I’ll just stick with this one.

Anyway, here’s the link for my review from last night – I don’t particularly feel like deleting it and reposting.

http://steepster.com/roswellstrange/posts/216355#comments

I prepared this in cold milk again today, since I really enjoyed it that way last night. Same preparation exactly, although this finished it off. Now that I’ve found a way I really love this, it’s a little harder seeing it go.Maybe once I’ve found enough flavoured matcha that I love I’ll be able to justify putting in an order, and perhaps this will make it into that order.

Thank you VariaTEA and consequently, Cavocorax for the sample!

Just got home from work and microwaved the stir fry that Tre ordered me last night but I was too full to actually eat. I was trying to think of what to pair it with, are green tea seemed like the best idea. Except, I don’t really like green tea and the only unflavoured green I have in Genmaicha which seemed a little light in taste to pair with this. So, I decided to try one of the matchas I haven’t dug into yet. Initially I was going to go with Pineapple, but Tre said this sounded more unusual so I went with this instead.

I decided to try it out as a tea soda, so to prepare it I mixed 1.2 tsp. of powder into about an oz. of hot water which I mixed it into the dissolve. I then let it cool off and finally poured in a can of club soda. The smell is only faintly bubblegum (both dry and mixed up) so I’m wondering if maybe I should have mixed more in? All the other matchas I’ve encountered have smelled very strong in flavour.

Taste wise, I get bubblegum but only a little. Mostly, I taste very vegetal green tea (which is weird carbonated). It’s drinkable, but I definitely don’t enjoy this as much as either of the last two matchas I’ve tried (orange and eggnog). I’m not sure if I’ve tried any matcha that I feel like I need to order, and this is no exception.

Overall, just mediocre. Regardless, thanks VariaTEA for sending a sample my way! I’m slowly learning more about matcha thanks to everyone’s generosity.

I highly recommend Imperial Matcha! It is two grades higher than Classic Matcha (the lowest grade Matcha at Red Leaf Tea) and one grade higher than Royal Matcha, meaning it is more flavorful and better than both of them, but it is one grade below Connoisseur’s Matcha and two below Emperor’s Matcha (the highest grade matcha available at Red Leaf Tea). It also has a strong taste that is similar to Izu Matcha. Furthermore, it is extremely nutritious because it is full of antioxidants and even helps control weight. I prefer it iced and make it by the pitcher to make it last, using one tablespoon of Imperial Matcha per pitcher (makes 3-4 large glasses). Like all other matcha’s, be sure to stir your glass, cup, or pitcher of Imperial Matcha with a whisk to make the little dry clumps of matcha dissolve because they taste very bitter. If you like it sweet (that is how I like it), it tastes better and sweeter with sugar than Sweet N’ Low. If you buy a flavored matcha from Red Leaf Tea like Caramel Matcha, you can choose Imperial Matcha to make it better. I will definitely buy Imperial Matcha again (it is my favorite matcha so far), and you can buy it at http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/imperial-matcha.html.

Backlog:

I LOVE this Matcha. This quickly became one of my favorites from Red Leaf, because I love the sharp contrast between the tart and somewhat bitter grapefruit to the sweet, vegetative notes with buttery undertones of the matcha. The two just … WORK together very well.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/10/15/grapefruit-flavored-matcha-green-tea-red-leaf-tea/

Classic base, default flavor.

This is lovely, but I honestly wish the flavor was stronger. I probably made this wrong – I just whisked a teaspoon of the match into a mug of heated almond milk – so if anyone has any suggestions on how to prepare this that would be awesome.

This is sweet, creamy, but I’m not getting the burnt sugar caramel flavor that I associate with creme brulee.

Also, I need to get a sifter. I whisked it fairly well but there are still some small lumps and those are bitter.

ETA: Okay, 1 teaspoon was too much. I had to toss the mug when I got about halfway done because it was too bitter.

This sample was near perfection. I got this as part of my Black Friday purchase. This was the December sample:) and a great one at that!
I made this with whole milk a tad of sugar and a handful of ice and in my ninja pulse blender it went:)
I sware this could pass as the real deal egg nog except for the color and the texture of course ha ha.
The flavors here were spot on. The nutmeg, the cinnamon, the creaminess!
This is genius I say! Pure genius! This one tastes just like the eggnog tea I had last week! I think it is amazing how spot on some teas can be! If you haven’t tried this and love egg nog I highly recommend it! This sample was delicate flavor intensity, if I had the money I would so love to try the intensifies versions of this or maybe a white matcha version of this!
Ooooooh yummy I’m just drooling at the concept. Ha ha. Anyways…
LOVE THIS! End of story. I may have to splurge and purchase just this one.

I was initially doubtful that this could become an eggnog replacement for me, but yet again I was proven wrong. This has a delightful creamy texture to it, that while not nearly as thick as eggnog, comes pretty close if you use whole milk and a blender to froth it up like a latte. You may have a slightly different texture if you’re using skim milk since it has significantly less milk fat. I also think this is best served cold. I don’t know about you, but the thought of warm eggnog doesn’t appeal to me. I can’t even get behind eggnog lattes at the coffee shop, no matter how hard I try. What I can get behind is the sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon they put on top, that ended up being a great addition to my eggnog MATCHAccino.

The only thing I think this is really missing is the alcohol. When I make eggnog from scratch I generally put a good dose of brandy in it, although others prefer rum or bourbon. In my shortsightedness I didn’t even think to order a package of alcohol flavored MATCHAccino to experiment with. Next year I fully intend on picking up small packages of both brandy and rum to see what kind of results I end up with. My love of experimentation combined with the extensive custom flavor list offered by Red Leaf just may put me in the poor house.

You can read the full review over on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2013/12/17/tuesday-tea-eggnog-matchaccino-red-leaf-tea.html