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I’ve tried this particular sample three times before writing this note. I bought Red Leaf Tea’s new flavored matcha sampler. In total, I bought 12 teas for $25. This was the first one I tried because I’ve had it before and I loved it back then! That time it was robust flavoring with the classic base. Apparently, the entire sampler is made with delicate flavoring on the classic base. That flavoring level really makes a big difference.

I thought the dry leaf aroma was recognizably strawberry. But the brewed tea aroma was a little gross. Sadly, the first time I tried this sample, it was a bitter yucky mess. I prepared it with 175 degree water in my Nespresso Aeroccino. I waited a few weeks and then prepared it this way again. It was much better the second time so I must have done a better job at getting the right water ratio. However, it still just wasn’t quite right. There’s barely any strawberry flavoring to this at all, which is a huge disappointment. It tastes like the matcha powder isn’t dissolving in the water. So I’m drinking warm water with powder floating around in it. Yuck. I even put it through the Aeroccino twice so it was definitely whisked enough, and that’s the way I’ve prepared it in the past when I did like it and drank matcha frequently.

The third and final time, I decided to try out Red Leaf’s recommended cold latte. I still used the Aeroccino and I didn’t add ice. I also did start with warm water to get a paste going since the matcha dissolving in cold milk could be a problem. It frothed up huge this time, but I actually find the matcha foam off-putting. Drinking the cold strawberry matcha latte is weird. I can taste the matcha about the same as I could in the warm water. There’s no additional strawberry flavoring making itself known. Now there’s just the added flavor of skim milk.

Honestly, I am not a fan. I don’t know if it’s purely to blame on the flavoring level or what. I guess time will tell on that front because I have A LOT more samples to go through. So far, I’m really disappointed though. I spent a lot of money on this sampler and I could have just gotten a couple 30g packages at robust flavoring that I would have actually enjoyed. I think this sampler was a mistake. I’m leaving the rating unchanged from a few years ago, but I cannot recommend this sampler or flavoring level. I would probably rate this a 27.

ETA: I take back my negative review of the flavored matcha sampler. This particular matcha appears to be an outlier. The others I’ve tried are delicious.