Was flavored matcha the first matcha you have ever tried?

The first flavoured matcha I tried was also the first matcha I tried and I think the flavouring was too delicate for me to taste, really, but I really did not like the base matcha. Peanut Butter Pie. Which is interesting because the second matcha, also the second flavoured matcha, I tried was really really good, from the same company and presumably using the same base. Champagne Matcha. And the third matcha, the third flavoured matcha, I tried was horrible and the flavouring made my tongue burn. Peach Matcha.

I haven’t stopped trying though. I do prefer flavoured matcha though, because I don’t actually like green tea.

Caramel matcha. It took me quite a good many times to get it tasting right but now I really like it. I think I have a preference for unflavored matcha though.

French Vanilla matcha. Mmmm!

Yes and no for me. I’ve had a lot of drinks with straight, unflavored matcha in them, but never prepared them myself. Heck, I’ve cooked with unflavored matcha but never made a drink out of it! So the first time I had matcha it was unflavored.

But the first I ever made for myself WAS flavored—Red Leaf’s caramel!

French Vanilla is the only matcha I’ve tried. Red leaf was offering a sale and had a program where people were getting free matcha if they got someone to order. So I figured what a great time to try it out, I got a deal and someone else also got a free matcha. So I took advantage of the sale and got 15 flavors! I’m not sure how well it keeps after opening so I’m only trying one at a time. There was a pamphlet that showed me how to make it, that was very nice. I like the iced latte best, but warm and frothy was great too.

Yes. It was a Watermelon Matcha, and it took some getting used to. In fact, I’m still playing with it. I seem to have a preference for it warm rather than hot/cold.
Someday I want to get around to tasting a unflavored, as well as trying some flavored white matcha! But for now, I’ll keep messing with this one. I’ve still got a Strawberry/Blueberry custom mix to try.

I tried ‘regular’ matcha first which wasn’t my favourite. Then I decided to try flavoured. Caramel was good, the others (cheesecake, strawberry and cookies and cream) were not. I am not a fan of green tea at all, so not liking matcha wasn’t really a surprise. Both can make me nauseous and I really don’t enjoy the taste anyway.

I hadn’t bought any matcha before, and I did trades with two people who were willing to part with a teaspoon or two of their flavored matcha. The first one I tried was watermelon, because it sounded refreshing. I poured about 1/4 tsp into a 16-oz water bottle. I wished I had poured more in there because it was a bit too weak. I poured way more in the second time and it was delicious. I could taste both the watermelon flavor and the matcha. I still have yet to try plain matcha but I have ordered some from infussion. ;-)

Great stories, keep them coming!

This topic is meant mainly for people that answer yes to the first post question, as they’re in minority (counting Japanese people of course). Probably also a minority in english speaking cultures: google search “matcha” = 7,560,000, google search “flavored matcha” = 2,250 results. I used anonymouse.org so you can get the same results as I did no matter where you live.

The minorities are the most interesting groups!

Nope, it was unflavored for me. I was an exchange student in Japan, and was invited to a tea ceremony performed by a couple classmates. I don’t remember much about the matcha, I was focused more on the tea ceremony itself. It wasn’t until a few years later that I tried matcha as a drink again, and that time I thought the flavor was interesting but not really my thing… until I added a little bit of sugar and fell in love. Been drinking it ever since.

I’ve actually never had flavored matcha.