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Second matcha of probably many today. Still feel all foggy. Went for a brisk half hour walk instead of eating lunch. Still feel all crummy.

This matcha is as tasty as ever. I think I might try it next time with a full teaspoon of matcha.

Having an odd day so far. I’ve been at work for…4 hours now, but have accomplished no work, though I did spend some time reading through new company processes so I guess that that maybe counts as work. I didn’t get much sleep last night so my brain is a little fuzzy and unfortunately caffeine doesn’t affect me so although it tastes absolutely delicious, this matcha will not help.

I got my Verdant TOTM yesterday and thought I might try it all today but I’m just not feeling it. So I went with matcha instead. I even went downstairs to the cafeteria and bought 3 things of milk in anticipation of having 3 matcha lattes before lunch, the next opportunity to buy milk. I may not drink any ‘normal’ tea today at all. Just not feeling it, which is quite odd for me. I looked over my selection of teas I have available at work and even the ones I’ve never tried before just don’t interest me. I think I’m going to have to try the Verdant teas at home which means I’m going to have to dig through my unopened boxes of tea I have in the entryway and find the one that has the gaiwan I bought. I don’t remember which company I even bought it from. This happened when I tried to buy another electric match whisk too, I had to buy an entirely different model because I just couldn’t find the one I bought before. Hopefully they’re of comparable quality.

Anyway that was kind of babbling and not really talking about the matcha, which was delicious as always. Well always the two times I’ve had it. I was experimenting with adding mint matcha to my different matcha flavours yesterday but I think I’m going to spare this one that experience. I just don’t think this one will be improved by mint.

To recap: very tired. feeling stupid and off. matcha good.

While the jasmine is quite strong and floral in this blend, the caramel is a lot more subdued, almost hidden in the flavours. The base tastes of both ingredients in it, black and green tea. I’m less fond of green tea so I could wish THAT were a little more subdued. It’s definitely got that ‘green’ flavour to it and I’m glad I steeped it at green tea parameters rather than my usual black tea ones. The floral aspect of this, though I usually like jasmine a little, I don’t like it this much so I don’t quite know what to do with the rest of this tea because I don’t think I want to drink it after this pot.

Today is a minty day! Continuing the theme of the day I made a hot latte out of 2/3 tsp of french vanilla matcha and 1/4 tsp of mint matcha (any more mint and it would be overpowering). As noted in my earlier reviews today, I need a bit more sugar to overcome the bite of the mint. I’m curious how it will do with the french vanilla.

Well this is an intensely satisfying combination. The vanilla softens the mint up a lot and makes it more mellow as well as making the whole thing creamier and delicious. I think I’ll be making this again.

ETA: I just realized that this is tasting note number 200! Not bad for being a member only since mid-December of last year.

Well, I just ate a Thin Mint so that’s bound to affect my perception of this tea, but at least it’s complementarily minty! Actually, I don’t think that’s a real word. New word!

Sharing this one again with my coworker, so I have a smidge more than one mug’s worth of this. Added milk and sugar as is my wont. Actually, after the thin mint, this one doesn’t taste nearly as sweet as it should. But I’m not going to add more sugar. It’s still good though. The mint in it isn’t as strong as, say, the mint matcha I had this morning, but it’s stronger than the ChocoMint LIT that I had earlier this afternoon. Nothing really special about this tea. Just black tea and peppermint.

2nd matcha of the day! I made a hot latte with 1/2 tsp of this berry matcha and added in 1/4 tsp (ish) of mint matcha. It tastes pretty good, although the mint is pretty strong in comparison to the berry, despite there being only half as much. I think I’m also going to have to start adding a bit extra sugar to any of my lattes that have mint in them because for me, it has a bit of a bite to it that seems to carry over even when I am mixing it with things. It was funny when I was scooping the matcha into this and comparing the colours. You wouldn’t think it, but these two matchas are completely different shades of green, the mint is much closer to neon and the berry is a little brown in comparison. Interesting.

Drinking this right now from a trade from yssah. Just enough for a pot-ful. I love it when I can use up all of a sample on my first try. Except when I mess it up, of course.

This tea is definitely minty, but I can’t taste much chocolate at all. I can vaguely taste the tea base and it mixes well with the mintiness so this is decent as a mint tea, but not so much as a mint chocolate tea. I’ve been consuming a lot of mint today, just had a mint matcha latte.

ETA: I shared some of my pot with a co-worker and he said he tasted the chocolate right up front, so it may be a taste bud issues. I’m beginning to suspect that I don’t taste chocolate very well in general.

Recipe: 1/2-2/3 tsp mint matcha, ~3 oz hot water (175 degrees), whisk with a fork (did not foam much at all), add some hot milk (1/2 pint minus a couple of gloops for my earlier tea this morning) and 1/2 tsp rock sugar. Stir.

Very minty. I didn’t get the robust flavour on this, just the distinctive, but it is still very very minty. Not that that is a bad thing! Not at all! I love mint. I taste mostly peppermint on this, maybe a hint of spearmint but mostly just peppermint. Hmm, probably should have added a bit more sugar to this one than normal, it’s got a bit of a bite to it. This will (in smaller quantities) be a great mixer matcha. I can’t wait to try it with french vanilla/creme brulee/bavarian cream. Might bring some home to try with belgian chocolate, but I might not. The belgian chocolate at home is made with a black base and the belgian chocolate that I haven’t opened yet from my last order is made with a normal green tea base and I might wait for that one to try mixing a chocolate-mint matcha. Looking forward to it though!

Made as a hot latte, this is VERY refreshing and crisp. It is almost cool on my tongue despite the actual temperature of the beverage, which is a bit of a strange feeling. Beyond minty tea, I don’t really consume hot mint anything.

You can find this matcha (and many MANY others) at Red Leaf Tea, but here’s the mint specific link: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/mint-matcha.html

First one to do a tasting note on this one I guess, since I had to add it to the database. Thanks to yssah for the sample. She sent me a giant pile of what I think are almost all of her black teas so I’m going through them now.

This…isn’t terrible. I’ve drunk a lot of peach tea over the years so I have pretty high expectations on what I consider a ‘good’ peach tea and this one is…probably middling-high on my scale. The peach flavour is a teensy bit artificial, but otherwise pretty juice and true. It’s quite strong too, in my little sample. The black base is subdued and a little overwhelmed by the flavouring. This one is worth trying if you’re looking for a peach tea.

Drank a couple sips of this tonight before realizing that I hadn’t added sugar yet. Was alright, but not quite what I wanted. Then I added a bit of sugar and MMM so sweet! This is an absolutely delicious dessert matcha and although it’s actually before dinner because my first attempt at dinner went in the trash, I’m quite enjoying this sweet little treat.