865 Tasting Notes
I knew after my matcha OJ on Saturday I’d only have 12oz left so I skipped it yesterday and had 12oz today as I knew I wouldn’t get to the store yesterday. Added 2tsp and shook well. I prefer a 1tsp:8oz ratio, especially with stronger matchas, but as this one is lighter, it worked well.
A double post… made 2 24oz infusions (4 heaping tsp/195degrees steep for 3.5 min 1st infusion, same temp 4.5 min 2nd infusion.) Had both w/ Subway- last nite and today for lunch. Tuna sub w/ pepper jack, banana peppers, extra pickle, tomato, lettuce, chipotle south west dressing, and light ranch on Italian Herb & Cheese. 1st infusion was clean, crisp, and smooth, a bit hay like. 2nd infusion was less hay like, more brothy… maybe even a touch buttery. Now if only I had a white tea brownie for dessert:)
I’ve had a rough 3 days all around… physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and even sleep wise. Last night specifically my dog got me up in the middle of the night cuz she had to go to the bathroom and I was awake early… but luckly Madison, my dog, let me lay in bed for quite awhile. At 9am my phone rings and it’s my best friend Irina. She’s never called me in the morning before so I instantly know why she’s calling. Yep, I was right! As of last night, she and her boyfriend Brock are engaged! Seeing as she loves all things organic and drinks matcha frequently (although unfortunately just for the health benefits… she hasn’t found her love for it yet), I made a full chawan of this- 16 ounces! I haven’t had a full chawan at once since I got it back in Jan. This is also the best I’ve gotten it to froth- almost EXACTLY like at the cafe I had matcha at for the 1st time. It’s a great day! Congrats Irina and Brock!
Went after a career fair that ended up being a disaster (wasting 5 hrs of my time does not make me happy.) One of their nutritional boosters is matcha! Even if this is sweetened like Starbucks’ “matcha”, I’m fine w/ it- and I need matcha right now… so what to put it in? I was taking forever deciding (letting people go ahead of me of course) and the person at the counter asked, quite impatiently, if I was ready to order. I politely said I had it narrowed down between two and she asked which. I said I was debating between the chocolate chiller (chocolate and yogurt) w/ matcha or the strawberry beach (strawberry and yogurt) w/ matcha. She suddenly turned up her nose, made a face and said, “Well… um… matcha is green tea and it has a flavor, I don’t think it would be good with chocolate” Sigh… breathe… smile… I politely replied, “I’m well aware of what matcha is and drink it several times a day- and I love the combo of matcha and chocolate. Matcha hot chocolate is the best.” I decided to go w/ that since I don’t really like yogurt based fruit smoothies and was hoping the chocolate would cover the yogurt taste as I don’t like the yogurt/matcha combo either . (I think it would have been good though cuz it ended up tasting like frozen yogurt) and it was amazing! And chocolate in any from before 8am is absofreakinlutely amazing! =D After a few sips I thanked her again for the smoothie and told her it was very good. The shock on her face was almost as much as when I ordered it. Why must people not only insult your tastes but imply (or come right out and say) you don’t know what you’re talking about?
Had 24oz of this w/ my favorite lunch: a plum, 2 vanilla Fiber One yogurts, and tortilla chips w/ 1/2c. corn, 1/2c. homemade salsa, 5 sliced green olives, topped w/ 2TB each mashed avacado and Smart Balance™ Reduced Fat Sour Cream. It’s not as bland as it was this morning, but still no fruit.
I got mine today! It took exactly 5 weeks vs. the estimated 4. Although I feel a lil jipped cuz a lady on their FB page said she got hers in only 4 days- oh well, I’m not gonna be petty- it was just an observation. I’m just happy that I got one of my top flavor choices.
Now for some preliminary observations (and, unfortunately, drawbacks). The packaging is a bit misleading- on the front, in a highly visible green circle it says it has “1 combined serving of fruit and vegetables” making it appear to have less nutritional value (save the green tea extract) than regular V-Fusion light. But there’s a small white cross that leads you to the back under the white nutrition facts box that says Each 8 fl. oz. provides 1/4 cup each fruits and veggies, bringing the complete bottle to 1.5 (combined) servings of fruits and veggies… I also don’t like that the white box names a serving as 1 bottle (12oz) instead the normal 8oz serving of juice. I also don’t like that this is only 50% juice. I know there is tea in here, but it’s extract. It’s not like they use steeped and decanted loose tea. I also don’t like that they don’t tell us how much tea is in here.
Ok, sorry about that- but I had to state the facts. Now on to the taste. Now I’ve had several of the regular V8 V-Fusions, including the raspberry. It’s almost as good as the blackberry which is my favorite. Unlike other flavors, there’s virtually no taste from the veggies… so let’s see how this one compares…
SCORE! Strong, smooth, slightly sweet raspberry flavor… no veggies! No tea either. Idea is wonderful, execution is horrible. If this sounds good to you, do your tongue (and the rest of your body) a favor- pick up a regular bottle of Raspberry V-Fusion (or any other flavor) so you get 2 servings of fruits and veggies per 8oz, add 1tsp of matcha, and shake!=D
I rec’d mine today, same flavor. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my first choice. I’ll probably drink & log it tomorrow. It is currently chilling in the fridge after its warm trip here.
This and the pomegranate would have been the only ones I liked. And it tasted amazing- the nutritional value just wasn’t there. I posted my review on their FB page as well.
