So other than the disastrous peach matcha episode of a couple of weeks ago, this is the first fruity matcha I’ve tried. I was kind of concerned because it is a generic ‘berry’ flavour and not any specific type of berry, but back when I made smoothies with berries, I used to dump at least 3 different types in at a time and it always came out pretty well (unless I overdid the cranberries).
Berry matcha from Red Leaf Tea (found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/berry-matcha.html) is definitely ‘generic berry’. Not to say that’s bad, exactly. It’s certainly not my favourite thing, I just got off of a batch of dessert-y matchas including the infamous caramel matcha so I have some matcha favourites pretty cemented already. But it is good. Not great, but good.
There’s a slight slight slight tinge of bitterness in the back of the throat as I drink this (as a hot latte) but it’s certainly easy to ignore and doesn’t detract much from the experience. I think if I were to buy this again, I’d pick the robust level of flavouring instead of the distinctive. I would stick with the classic grade matcha though. I don’t like this one enough to warrant a higher grade matcha. Although now that I’m thinking about it, I think I might enjoy this one more if it were made with black matcha. I’ve always enjoyed the interaction between black tea and berries.
I did add a bit of sweetener to this, about a half teaspoon of rock sugar to my 10 oz mug of milk, water, and matcha. Used about 2/3 teaspoon of matcha. I think I might use a full teaspoon of it next time. It will probably take a while for me to get through this small order.
