I’ve felt really restless all day today, so this afternoon I downloaded a bunch of new music onto my phone and whipped up a large travel thermos of this matcha whisked into some cold coconut milk and I went out for an aimless walk/stroll.
I ended up going around the block a few times, down to the frozen over duck pond three or so blocks away, and finally settled back at the mini ‘playground’ built in between the four different condo buildings surrounding the one I live in. I stayed there about half an hour, just taking in the fresh air and listening to some music.
This was really good matcha; it was my first tasting and I had a hard time gauging whether it would be more orange or vanilla heavy based on the dry smell of it alone. At first as I started drinking it I tasted the coconut milk more than anything else but slowly the flavour of the matcha itself seemed to build. I’d definitely say that the vanilla comes off as initially stronger; apart from the taste of the coconut milk it’s the first thing that jumps off and creates a silky coconut and vanilla top sip combo. However, as it just starts to fade the orange kicks in and is this sweet, fruity counterpart. For a few seconds, this is very creamsicle like and then eventually the vanilla has been masked by the orange and the result is delightful, soft orange notes.
All in all, I thought this was the perfect balance struck between sweet/creamy matcha flavours, which typically do really well as lattes, and brighter fruity matcha flavours which are generally the ones I tend to want to drink straight. It’ll be interesting trying this in the future without the coconut milk as well because it was so present in the flavour, and paired so well with both the vanilla and orange.
Also, song pairings! It was a long walk, so I listened to a lot of different things. However, the one match up that really stuck out to me was this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zvm58NRqZY&index=16&list=LL1M1wDjmJD4SJr_CwzXAGuQ
I liked it ‘cause it was mildly upbeat and sort of summery, which worked with the Creamsicle flavour I had going on. However, it’s also a little melancholy and sad which worked with my surroundings as I walked; the sun was setting, it was cool out but not cold. Everything was quiet, still, peaceful…
It just all pulled together so nicely.