Matcha Outlet

Once upon a time ago, I was away at a conference. I found myself in the elevator talking away to total strangers. I was the only person talking in the elevator. When it was apparent that no one was going to talk to me, I said, “oh well, just call me a nut.” Then I heard this lone voice say, “ Hello Hazel” as he exited the elevator. I died laughing and ever since that day Hazelnut has long been a favorite flavoring. I was thrilled to find it available in a matcha, I could hardly wait to get my order. Upon getting my order, I poured the bright green matcha powder into a tin. The smell from this endeavor almost took my breath away. This is one strong flavored matcha! Hazelnut is typically nutty and aromatic. This particular blend is extremely roasty. Perhaps a coffee drinker could more appreciate the roast on this blend.
To say the least, I was disappointed. I could certainly drink the tea and I did, but it was not as tasty as I had hoped. It was a bit too roasty for my taste and left an aftertaste in my mouth.
I contemplated this tea all week long. Every Matcha I have sampled from Red Leaf have been superb. I just could not stand to turn my back on this one. I searched recipe after recipe and finially decided upon making scones.
Today, I made a Hazelnut matcha scone from this tea from Red Leaf tea: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/hazelnut-matcha.html
My disappointment turned into elation! This strong flavored matcha is the perfect addition to a basic scone recipe. The scone is flaky, slightly sweet and is this beautiful pale green hue. I am drinking a Ceylon black tea with my Hazelnut Matcha scone and let me tell you I am in heaven. This is just what I was looking for, who knew that Matcha would be a great addition to baked recipes. Now, I can get all the health benefits of Matcha when I enjoy my black teas and not blow my diet on a cookie filled with fat. This is definitely a Win, Win for me in a tea ordering situation that I viewed as bleak. I am so thrilled that I took a chance and added that 1 tablespoon of matcha into my scone recipe. You read that right! Only 1 tablespoon was needed to bring out the nuttiness of the hazelnut and the smoothness of the matcha. Both are greatly enhanced in this flaky scone.

I may have mentioned on here before that my first experience with matcha was not a positive one. We had bought a pouch of matcha from a tea store that shall not be named, and Missy spent some time looking around on the internet figuring out exactly how much matcha to use for a cup of tea. Needless to say, it didn’t go terribly well. I took one sip, looked at Missy, and said “Are you serious, you actually want to drink this?”. Except it also involved swearing.

I put my interest in matcha on a back burner at that point. Maybe it was something a future, more refined me would enjoy, but definitely not today.

Then, Red Leaf Tea started showing up and making a huge effort to bring in new customers from Steepster. Reviews started popping up about their fantastic matcha, and the awesome flavors that they have. When the Belgium Chocolate Matcha went on sale, I knew it was time to give matcha another try. I figured, if I can’t enjoy half-priced, chocolate flavored matcha from what appears to be the best matcha vendor around, there was probably no hope.

My order options were:

Size : Small
Matcha Quality: Royal (Premium Grade)
Flavor: Distinctive

A side note: I involved two variables here, which breaks my little scientist heart. However, I thought that the best chance to succeed here would be if I used a better grade matcha, and a more prominent level of flavoring.

For preparing this one, Missy used her battery-powered frother, as opposed to the traditional matcha tools. It may be bucking convention, but it really seems to create a nice, smooth evenly distributed cup of matcha. This resulted in a smooth, but murky jade green drink, which is significantly darker than the matcha-that-shall-not-be-named. This makes it obvious that there is true cocoa powder in here, as opposed to just a flavoring (unless there was a flavoring and a coloring, then all bets are off).

It definitely smells very chocolatey, very sweet without any sugar added. It reminds me of a chocolate cake batter, or possibly muffin batter. There’s the chocolately sweetness to it, but the hint of background… well, I suppose it’s the smell of the matcha itself. Anyway, the matcha smell in the background elevates it a little bit to a baked-good smell, at least for me.

The taste is very smooth. At first, it has a warm hot cocoa flavor to it, absolutely delicious. It is inviting, and comforting, with a subtle sweetness on your tongue (much more subtle in taste than in smell). To me, the first drink was overwhelmingly cocoa flavored, with no vegetal taste to betray the matcha lurking below. Each successive drink makes that matcha flavor come out a little bit more. There is a strangely beneficial aspect to this, and that is that the matcha flavor itself slowly builds on you. It’s very crisp and clean, lightly foresty but without that swampy, seaweed taste that some green tea comes with.

As you get to the end of the drink, there is some matcha that has settled towards the bottom. This is likely because I’m a little bit of a slow drinker, sensitive to hot liquids and such. Or, we really have no clue what we’re doing. Always a possibility.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this matcha, especially if you’re new to the world of matcha. It has renewed my faith in matcha as a viable beverage choice.

You can get it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/belgium-chocolate-matcha.html

Now… to mix it in with a protein shake in the morning…

This is my second matcha from Red Leaf Tea. I ordered the red matcha base again because I didn’t love the first French Vanilla red matcha I tried. I wanted to see if maybe I picked the wrong flavor, strength or tea base. Rooibos is a good choice for me because I have a lot of caffeinated teas in my collection. I like drinking tea in the night and rooibos is a lovely choice. I’m also really enjoying this new form of rooibos. I’ve tried bagged and loose rooibos teas and the idea of drinking it in powder form is still an exciting thought. For some reason, it seems like it’s more of a treat.

Upon opening the bag, I smell that familiar red matcha base and something that reminds me of cheesecake. It is tangy, sweet and like something I have smelled before. What on earth does it remind me of? I know! It’s astronaut ice cream that I tried as a child. That packet had vanilla, strawberry and chocolate all in one flaky, dry bar. The texture and taste made me sick, but made for a memorable experience.

I am really glad that the astronaut ice cream scent isn’t that present once hot water is added. Compared to the previous red matcha I’ve had, this one smells much smoother. The red matcha doesn’t seem as sharp. Perhaps it’s because I ordered the strongest flavor profile or maybe it’s the cheesecake flavor itself. The flavoring and the rooibos blend together in a beautiful way – Yum. I can’t wait to taste this!

Sipping… this tea is rather interesting. The wood flavor of the rooibos is more present now. It mixes with this rather tart, cheesy note. The finish is nicely creamy. I think the frothy texture helps to bring out the creamy notes. The tea is tangy and reminds me of yogurt. It leaves my tongue tingling a little. I’d like to see how this tea is sweetened or with other additions. For now, it’s a good cup to drink before bed.

Overall, yes, this is an improvement from the French Vanilla matcha I first tried. I like the stronger flavor and would recommend this strength for the red matcha if you like more flavor in your tea.

I’m excited to try other matcha teas from Red Leaf Tea. I know there is quite a lot of talk from other people about the standard matcha base. Yes, that’s next on the list! I’m going to continue to experiment with matcha for a little while.. add some sweetener or maybe some milk? I usually don’t add things to my tea (sometime a splash of milk to the deserving black tea), but I think that this matcha would be good with an addition or two.

If you’re interested in purchasing this tea, here is a quick link to the matcha!
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cheesecake-matcha.html

Mocha Matcha

Get some here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/mocha-matcha.html

Ohhhh I so love this matcha!
It was way better than a Starbucks mocha latte!
I did however make this in my typical latte manner with ice, milk, and creamer with the matcha base.

I also as always tasted this matcha straight and it sure could have satisfied me without all the additions but habits die hard and I wanted a cool drink.
The mocha taste was so good, a little like coffee, a little like dark chocolate and a whole lot of YUM!

I feel so spoiled with my morning matcha routine and can’t imagine how I ever got motivated in the mornings without it.

The kind of energy boost it gives you is so wonderful – not jittery or excitable but just the right level of boost and it feels like a good clean energy. This is coming from a former Red Bull junkie as well!

Actually I also used to be addicted to coffee as well so this gives me both the energy boost I crave along with the flavor of a good coffee! It does have a good coffee flavor too! Its not too strong of a coffee flavor either although I used to adore strong coffee.

This one is excellent for my morning “fix”.

I realize I have done a TON of reviews on Red Leaf Tea and many people are making their own orders. Deciding which flavor to try first is always a challenge I know and with even more amazing flavors coming out its going to get even more difficult deciding where to begin your matcha journey.

All I can say is I have yet to dislike ANY flavor and out of … geesh… about 23 or 24 or so flavors I have tired I would say only one – ONE of those flavors was a 4 instead of 5 stars! Only ONE. All of the flavors from Red Leaf Tea have been so natural, so true to taste. I most always have got the robust but as most of you know I want an “in my face” flavor. However even at a delicate flavoring I have never been let down.

All I can say is go for it – pick one – any one – Butterscotch so far has been my top favorite I think. But you can’t go wrong with vanilla – and if you love it (you will) you have something to mix with other flavors such as Strawberry Vanilla. Don’t think of vanilla as a flavor that will get muted by another either. I have found it a very nice mixing flavor and it stands out. I got the French Vanilla but have also tried Madagascar, I prefer the French of the two as it is a stronger vanilla but trust me BOTH were excellent.

I mean when you buy one, review it, get the next free, you really can not find a better deal for any kind of tea on the net in my opinion. Plus the customer service and shipping are the best!

Thanks Red Leaf Tea!

My Match Was Composed Of:

Options:
Size : Small
Matcha Quality: Starter (Basic Grade)
Flavor: Robust
Storage: Add Small Metal Tin Container (Holds up to 45g)

My daughter picked this one out – she LOVES truffles and of course raspberry is one of her favorites. She has not got to try it yet as she is at work but I had to sneak a bit since I was putting my matcha powders into their tins. LOVE the Red Leaf Tea Tins with screw top lids! Almost idiot proof.

So this one has a very nice raspberry flavor, although I seem to be missing the chocolate flavor, not that I taste no chocolate but its not like the chocolate matcha flavor. However truffles have a very distinctive flavor to them – which for me is difficult to describe, but this does taste very true to an actual truffle and not simply to flavors of matcha mixed together. So its not just some chocolate flavor with raspberry flavor but however this was blended with whatever ingredients it is true to that truffle aroma and flavor. I wish I could explain the flavor I am talking about maybe it is some kind of special nut oil that is used or something but there is just a flavor to truffles that is different and this matcha absolutely has captured it!

So today I began with the preparation of the matcha and was going to do my typical latte but last minute before adding the creamer decided to use a scoop of natural vanilla ice cream hubby was so lovely to pick up for me. So my blend included the prepared matcha along with some ice cubes, a quarter cup of milk, and a small scoop of ice cream. It was not that amazing of a plan since the ice cubes and ice cream wanted to be stubborn but I took a long tea spoon and mixed it up and ate it something like a float.

Mmmmm absolutely delicious! The raspberry truffle flavor popped along with the creamy ice cream here and there in a milky frothy treat!

The lingering after taste is what is most astounding! I had this matcha latte shake concoction over 15 minutes ago and I am still tasting raspberry chocolaty goodness in my mouth!

Of course as always Red Leaf Tea’s matcha base is outstanding even at the starter grade!

Oh and if you want to get some of your own to play around with get it here:

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/raspberry-truffle-matcha.html

My matcha was composed of the following:

Options:
Size : Small
Matcha Quality: Starter (Basic Grade)
Flavor: Robust
Storage: Add Small Metal Tin Container (Holds up to 45g)
I do recommend the Robust level of flavor in this one personally. Also remember to grab up one of those screw top tins!

I swore to myself that I was not going to try matcha, at least not for a long time. I have too many teas already, I spend most of my personal budget on tea in spite of the fact that I have needed new shoes for forever, and I also know that I will want all the doodads and I have so much tea paraphernalia already that there is hardly room for anything else.

But Azzrian wrote all these amazing reviews, and talked about lattes and pushed me right over the edge! I have tried to justify my purchase – and the ones that I know are soon to follow – by saying that this is REALLY for my eldest daughter, not for me.

My daughter likes “foofy girly coffee drinks” as she calls them but has been drinking green tea for about nine months now for the health benefits. She also uses it to keep her awake on night shift. So the Mocha Matcha was the perfect first matcha to try!

I bought the small 30 gram size but I did not buy the tin this time because I knew I had one small tin that should be really good for it. Next time, I will get the tin because they recommend keeping this in the refrigerator or freezer for freshness, and I feel that their screw on lid is better suited to that than my regular tea tin. I chose robust for the flavor level because I really want her to feel like she is having one of her foofy coffee drinks! I do not have the doodads yet, so I used my powerful Bamix Immersion Blender to mix it, because if that doesn’t do it, nothing will! I can’t wait to buy the bamboo whisk and scoop and the whisk holder and a matcha bowl, though! To buy the matcha, look here:

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/mocha-matcha.html

Shipping was pretty fast! I ordered this on Sunday and it was a holiday weekend with no mail service Monday, yet I still received my tea Friday.

I am having this early in the day because I have been warned that matcha is…very invigorating, to say the least! I literally argued with myself all night because I wanted to go ahead and try it, but I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to sleep, but I wanted it SO BADLY! I even dreamed about tea last night!

I tried it hot and plain first, and had some chocolate milk standing by, icy cold, to pour it into after tasting it. My Bamix will froth plain skim milk with Nesquik added into a decent semblance of a milkshake because it whips in so much air that it feels thick, so I don’t have to add a lot of calories to this to get a great latte, plus these are things my daughter will have on hand when I get her hooked on…I mean, if she decides she wants to make these, too.

And the Bamix worked amazingly well! After just a couple of seconds pulse, the tea has a nice froth. I was a little apprehensive because I didn’t know what to expect, but I sipped the plain matcha and…smooth! It wasn’t bitter, like I was afraid it might be! There were no lumps and it wasn’t sour or grassy.

The first sip plain tasted like chocolate first, then there was a coffee aftertaste, which is exactly how I feel when I have a sip of daughter’s foofy drinks. I added just an ounce or so to my chocolate milk and it tasted a little like a malted or something, so I poured in almost all of it and added ice. Now it tastes like I just went to Starbucks!

I already know what my next matcha will be. Hubby has a demanding job at times and needs energy, but he doesn’t drink coffee, shouldn’t have soda, and just grabs a glass of Carnation Instant Breakfast on his way out the door. I can hardly wait to try the French Vanilla matcha with vanilla Instant Breakfast! I think hubby is going to love it! Next will be the Pumpkin Pie matcha, again for my daughter because she goes NUTS at this time of year buying everything pumpkin flavored and making pumpkin recipes, and she mourns for good pumpkin the rest of the year. I already saw a rave review for the pumpkin pie matcha, so I know she will love a Pumpkin Pie Latte, and she will be ale to make that herself all year long.

I am going to attempt just whisking some by hand later today. If I get good at it, maybe I won’t feel bad for buying a matcha set. And I can’t wait to see if this makes me get all the housework done!

I had enough on my gift certificate from the caramel matcha review for 2 and a half small matchas, so after cheesecake and watermelon I needed a third. I couldn’t quite decide, but I do love pumpkin pie so I went for that one! I found myself waffling after the purchase. Maybe I should have gone for pear or english toffee? But the second I sniffed this I knew it was the one. First, off, this is how I got my matcha:

Size: Small (30g)
Flavor Level: Delicate
Grade: Basic

I went for delicate flavoring because pumpkin pie is a really overpowering flavor and I didn’t want the matcha to be overshadowed. I think it was a wise choice, because right off the bat the flavor is like BAM in your face! You can smell all of the spices: clove, cinnamon, ginger, mmm. And, of course, pumpkin! I love pumpkin, it’s so great for all sorts of fall-themed sweets. My favorite is pumpkin fudge!

Anyway, I was preparing my pumpkin pie matcha latte when my boyfriend came in and said (and I quite) “shit, make me some of that!” From across the room while I was sifting the matcha. Yup, it’s that strong! So I ended up making two mugs haha. I decided to prepare it a little differently than usual, as a hot latte! Instead of mixing it with hot water at first, I just used hot milk! 2 ounces at first, and then the other 6 once it was properly whisked. I was a little worried about clumping, but it came out really well and blended perfectly. It also foamed even better than it usually does! I’m sure it’s just because I whisked extra hard in an attempt not to mix it up, but I do love that foamy surface.

This is AMAZING. I have loved all of the matchas I’ve tried from Red Leaf (this is the 4th) but this is the best. It squeaks out just over the caramel. The spices are really strong, especially the clove. I love clove, so of course I was very happy with this! The nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger are also present. Then the pumpkin: creamy, smooth, squash-y. Uhnf, sooo tasty! Then the grassy, sweet matcha comes into play. It keeps this delicious concotion from being overly rich and dessert-y, in fact I could drink this ALL day! In fact, I already want to make another serving even though it’s far too late to have so much caffeine. You can find this matcha here

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/pumpkin-pie-matcha.html

And I really can’t recommend this one enough! If you’re on the fence about choosing a flavor, go with this one. You won’t regret it! Unless you hate pumpkin pie, and well… who hates pumpkin pie?

Well, after a less than stellar experience with the Apricot Matcha, I decided to “clear my palate” with something that’s been tried and been GOOD. This was the first tin I came across so this is what I prepared.

And it is so yummy. So yummy and boysenberry-ish, with lovely vegetative notes. This is one that I think everyone should try! OH, and by pure coincidence, my full-length review for this tea will publish in a couple of hours on the SororiTea Sisters blog: http://sororiteasisters.com

I had not planned on having a second bowl of Matcha today … I usually limit it to one per day because it really does have an energizing effect on me and if I drink too much, I’m bouncing off the walls… However, my new chawan arrived in this afternoon’s post, so, I decided I needed to try it out, and this is the matcha with which I chose to christen it.

This is AWESOMELY good. Mrs. Knott would be proud of how far her berry has come… and this certainly does the tasty berry justice. It is so sweet and tart and tasty. I love how good this is. I am so glad … SO VERY GLAD that I tried this boysenberry … happy it was on sale when I bought it, but, I would have purchased it (and will get it again in the future) without the sale. It is one of the best Matcha that I’ve tried from Red Leaf yet… this one is a MUST TRY. If you like berry, you’ve gotta try this!

Yay! Matcha! I know that my order from Monday is on it’s way and will probably arrive either today or definitely tomorrow, and I have a few teas that I still haven’t tried from my previous order! And I’m already composing a third order!!! I’m bad BAD bad. Bad me!

I know I talk a lot about my gramma on here, she was the closest thing to a mom that I really ever had. My real mom pretty much abandoned me and I haven’t spoken to since I was 14 years old, and my step mother was … well, let me put it this way, she made Cinderella’s and Snow White’s step mothers seem nice … but my gramma loved me unconditionally, and I miss her so much that the only thing that really keeps me from breaking down into tears is to talk about the happy memories … even now, thirteen years after her death. I miss her so much.

Anyway … my gramma had many fruit trees in her back yard. One of them was a Plum tree, and I loved eating them fresh off the tree. But even better was when gramma would make plum jelly. So good… just like the fruit only sweeter. When I first opened the package of this Matcha… that’s what I smelled! My gramma’s plum jelly! Sweet and plum-y … I didn’t really notice much of a Matcha smell, but that was OK because I was loving what I was smelling.

And that’s pretty much what I’m tasting too … but with Matcha. This tastes to me like a bowl of Matcha with some of my gramma’s liquified plum jelly stirred in. Sweet and plum-y but with a nice Matcha taste. I taste some of the spice tones in the tea leaf with the addition of the plum flavor … and it makes me think that a little bit of cinnamon might be good in this too. Perhaps I will need to add the cinnamon Matcha onto my next order so that I can try mixing these two flavored Matcha together. YUM … my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

This one is really, really, REALLY good! But then, how could one go wrong with plum Matcha? So yummy!

Second Red Leaf matcha of the day! I am actually feeling kind of icky and nauseous, and don’t want any actual food so matcha is pretty much my food for the day haha. Okay, maybe not the best for you, but it’s sooo good!

I really love watermelon, but so often it’s just a bit icky and gross and artificial in tea, candies, pretty much anywhere you’d put watermelon. You know, like a Jolly Rancher! Confession: I actually do like Watermelon Jolly Ranchers. BUT I don’t want my tea to taste like that! I want fresh tasty watermelon. And I do trust Red Leaf to deliver on really authentic watermelon taste!

My matcha is as follows
Size: 30g (small)
Flavor: Distinctive
Quality: Basic

I almost went with robust flavoring but I am really glad I didn’t: the flavor here is stronger than the cheesecake, which is the same level. Maybe the fruit is just more powerful tasting! I think Robust would totally drown out the matcha flavor, which I definitely don’t want.

In the bag, this smells… like a Jolly Rancher. Uh-oh! I wasn’t too worried, since often sitting around in the bag have a much stronger and more artificial smell than the actual taste. I didn’t really want a latte for this, so I decided to experiment with a smoothie! I have no clue how to make a matcha smoothie so this was definitely a bit of a mad scientist project.

I first sifted & prepared the matcha extra strong. I tasted it at this point, and wow! Too strong and a bit bitter for my taste, but the watermelon flavor was spot-on. Kind of like a plain matcha was made with watermelon juice instead of water! Hmm, now I wonder if you could do that—make matcha with juice or something instead of water. I do have some tamarind juice in my fridge, I’m tempted to make the caramel matcha with that!

I popped the mixed matcha in my food processor (yeah, I don’t have a blender haha) with some chunks of fresh watermelon and ice, then blended away. When it was done I added a splash of milk as well, because milk and matcha go together like… well, watermelon and summer!

OH MY GOD. This is sooooo delicious! Juicy, fresh, amazingly bold watermelon taste. The milk adds some really nice creaminess, but it’s still refreshing. This is summer in a glass, sweet and cool and just.. uhnf, I am in love. Everything I have tried from Red Leaf so far has been beyond my (admittedly high) expectations. I think I am a matcha addict now! You can find this matcha here:

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/watermelon-matcha.html

My second Red Leaf order is finally here! I swear, the post office at my apartment is cursed or something. My first order, which went to my house, only took 3 days to get to me! This one? Well, it shipped on Saturday and I got it today. Even with the post office holiday, that seems like a LOT longer when I am only 60 miles from my house. Ugh, I was worried I wouldn’t get it in time for the Bavarian Cream sale! But, here it is, and of course I started diving in about 5 minutes after my order came.

My matcha is as follows:
Size: 30g (small)
Flavoring: Distinctive
Base: Basic

I went for a bit more flavoring than in my caramel matcha, since I wanted a little bit more oomph but didn’t want to overwhelm the matcha. It seems like most people go with Robust, which I was tempted to do but I REALLY like the taste of matcha. Maybe robust next time, but for now I want to go up in flavor slowly.

Of course I was tempted to start off with a mix of caramel and cheesecake, but I need to try this one on its own first! The smell coming out of the bag is sooo good, it’s got that creamy aspect but also tang! I feel like a lot of cheesecake teas miss out on the tangy aspect, so it’s nice to see it up front and present from the beginning here. I sifted it into the mug (a little bit more than usual, because I am feeling really tired and need to wake up!) and added 2 ounces of hot water—around 185, though I think you can use boiling? I’m not entirely sure, but I’ve been playing it safe since I’d hate to ruin some of this godly stuff. I have been thinking about getting a real matcha whisk—so far I’ve used my little baking one and it’s worked fine, but there’s only a little bit of froth. I added a little sugar too. Hey, it’s cheesecake! It needs to be sweet!

I tried it “straight” (well, as straight as it gets with sugar added haha) and it was sooo good, but really strong. I definitely prefer lattes, so I poured in some ice cold milk and whisked a little more. I feel like that fish in Finding Nemo. “Bubbles, the bubbles!” I’m so enchanted by the whole process! Once completed, I think I gulped this down in roughly 30 seconds. I try to savor, but it’s too tasty!

The cheesecake taste is spot on. Creamy, sweet and delicious! And of course, that wonderful tang is present, which really is what makes it cheesecake for me. I swear, I can taste a little bit of the buttery crust as well! Of course it doesn’t overwhelm the matcha, which I think keeps this from being overly dessert-y. Don’t get me wrong, I love dessert teas, but given the caffeine content in matcha I tend to drink it in the afternoon or early evening and I don’t really like dessert teas unless it’s right before bed. So this is perfect! It’s like a slice of cheesecake in a cup without the calories or guilty feelings, plus it gives a nice energy boost. I am SO in love with Red Leaf’s matcha, it’s perfection. I got 2 more flavors in my order and I am sure I will try them both before the day is up!

You can find this matcha here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cheesecake-matcha.html

I made this as a breakfast smoothie this morning. I’m too lazy to make oatmeal or eggs.
So, raspberry white matcha, some frozen raspberries, soymilk and soy protein. The raspberry flavoring is really strong!

I’ve been loving this pic http://cheezburger.com/7168217856
though, relating it to tea caffeine instead.

Raspberry Matcha – White Matcha base

It took me awhile to put two and two together to figure out Red Leaf Tea’s Matchas http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/ white, black and red matchas are actually from white, black and rooibos teas! Derp! What is super cool with Red Leaf teas is that you can get white/ black/ red matchas on their own, or select it as the main base for your flavor matcha!
For me, I love white teas with fruit in them – the white tea is delicate, delicious and does not take away from whatever fruit is in it. With that said, I felt I wanted to try something new, so I selected a white matcha to play with fruit elements.

My matcha specs:

*Raspberry Matcha
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/raspberry-matcha.html
Quality: White matcha
Flavor: Robust *(again, I love a strong flavor so might as well go with a bang!)

I went with raspberry as I find it slightly uncommon as a fruity tea, and often is tart. Raspberries are very tasty too!

With this order I snagged a tin for my matcha for $3.99. The tin is a perfect size for the matcha as well as having a good seal. I think I’d like to bling my tin sometime with those foil fruit stickers or glitter polish once I get time. Anyways, I recommend ordering the tin because the matcha comes in a non resealable bag and you don’t want to get the deliciousness ruined by the air.

Out of the package, the white matcha is mysteriously weird brown grey powder. However, there was AN EXPOLSION OF RASPBERRY SMELL! Holy cow! I felt as if I was getting smacked around by a sweet pump raspberry.

I sifted up my matcha over a wide mug using a fine tea strainer. From there, used 180f water and whisked the matcha. This matcha was hard to create a froth and the froth did not stay, despite my efforts.

As a traditional cup of hot matcha, the taste is super bright and strong raspberry essence! The raspberry flavor reminds me of those raspberry syrup shots you can get at a coffee shop but unsweetened. No tartness here! The white matcha was lovely and rich. It wasn’t veggie tasting or bitter and was a great base to not disrupt the raspberry attack. However, there is astringency present, drying my throat, which lingers for awhile after drinking. The colour of this cup of matcha was an interesting brownish green. The astringency and power of the raspberry was a little much for me – next time I will need to go easy on the amount of matcha I add as I think I went with 1tsp.

Of course, I needed to try this matcha as a latte – I’ve fallen in love with how amazing Red Leaf’s matchas are in lattes and it’s way better (and cheaper) than getting it made at a coffee shop.
I added 1/2tsp of matcha sifted and whisked in hot water and sugar, topping it with vanilla soy milk. The colour of the latte is a pretty light creamy brown. The taste is wow – the perfect tea latte with a shot of juicy raspberry! The white tea is present and makes the latte really light. The astringency is gone as far as I can tell.

Overall, very delicious as a latte and I think this matcha would be killer to mix with another flavored matcha – I’m thinking chocolate matcha with this would be insanely yummy! For someone looking to order, this would be great as a 50/50 with another flavor (a cool option Red Leaf Tea has).
Commenting on white matcha, I think an awesome combo would be grape flavoring, which would work well with the astringency.

Lucuma Matcha

Buy it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/lucuma-matcha.html

So this matcha is very earthy smelling in the dry form. When I opened the bag there was really nothing remarkable about the smell other than sort of an earthy aroma mixed in with the matcha aroma. I shrugged and was like “okay” lol I just didn’t know what to think. I have never heard of Lucuma let alone had Lucuma before so what do I know!?!

I did however want to expand my horizons and the health benefits of Lucuma really interested me as well. Especially helping with skin inflammations and as an immune system booster!

So I prepared the matcha of course and took a sip. It just tasted like matcha but of course a Red Leaf Tea quality matcha which equals GOOD STUFF!

I added my ice and milk – as in my typical latte preparation of course, but this time did not yet add the splash of vanilla creamer. Took a sip – still the same – wonderful matcha flavor, but nothing else.

So then I added my splash of vanilla low fat creamer, hummm now this is an interesting turn of events. I taste a light fruitiness here! Is it my imagination perhaps? Is it wishful thinking? Is it that somehow magically the creamer brought out the fruity flavor? Maybe it is a mental thing since this is now the way I usually enjoy my matcha – I have myself fooled into thinking things always taste better this way? I don’t know. I am willing to admit if that is the case but maybe had I just added some sugar (there is sugar in the creamer I am sure – its not sugar free and even if it were it would have some kind of sweetener in it in the place of sugar right?). So I am thinking … this must be a fruit that is complimented and made more predominant with the addition of some kind of sugar, not the creamer at all!

So next time I have this I will leave the creamer out and add some sugar which ironically I had considered doing before adding my creamer but I just didn’t want THAT much sugar in my matcha. Still for the sake of science next time I will!

So then, how does this matcha TASTE? Well, its matcha tasting, with this light juicy like flavor similar to a melon. The fruit looks like an avocado to me. I looked up the Lucuma Fruit and found that it is supposed to have a flavor similar to a sweet potato and maple and you know what I do get that! Its light mind you and even at the Robust flavor I selected I still feel the matcha flavor itself is the predominant flavor here. It is richer as a matcha though and I think that is due to the Lucuma! Still I get this melon flavor too. It truly is interesting and nothing about it tastes bad at all. I just don’t really have my mind wrapped around it yet HOWEVER if you are adventurous and want to try something out of the box this is a good one to select for sure!

My Matcha was composed of the following:

Options:
Size : Small
Matcha Quality: Starter (Basic Grade)
Flavor: Robust
Storage: Add Small Metal Tin Container (Holds up to 45g)

Again here is where to pick up some of your own!!

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/lucuma-matcha.html

I really cannot leave well enough alone in the kitchen! I’m desperately tired this afternoon, so a match smoothie is in order. I’m returning to the boysenberry matcha peach smoothie with some vanilla yogurt added, but this time I threw in a small handful of frozen raspberries too! It’s turned out a really pretty mauve with tiny flecks of raspberry and peach. And before you start to think I’ve killed whatever matcha flavor was there, don’t worry. The matcha is still noticeable and provides a nice depth to the smoothie.

Boysenberry smoothie this morning made with frozen peaches and some vanilla yogurt. Very nice, and I can feel the energy coming that I need for the day. Going shopping on a Saturday in Sydney—not for the faint-hearted!

Day two of Spring-Is-Here-So-It’s-Smoothie-Season Season, even though it’s raining outside and dark enough that I’ve head to turn on the lights this afternoon. But yesterday’s caramel matcha banana smoothie was such a hit, I had to follow it up with today’s boysenberry matcha banana smoothie. Made just like yesterday’s but with a good scoop of yogurt to give it an extra “twang.” Good stuff!

I’m going to have another week or more of alternating between this boysenberry and the caramel matcha because I’ve promised myself to not order any more until I get towards the end of these. The restraint is the hardest part! But I also know I’ll be a bit sad when I get to the end of the boysenberry because it is just so good!

Made a latte with this matcha this morning. About 60ml (2oz) water to whisk, then about 175ml (6oz) milk frothed and warmed, sweetened with a little Splenda. It was actually less Splenda than I used yesterday when I made this with just water. So the flavor was more gentle and still fantastic! Hubby said he could smell something different and sweet before he came downstairs just like I could yesterday. I very kindly gave him a sip and he gave it the thumbs up too!

I’ve been really excited to try this Boysenberry Matcha since I saw it on sale, but I needed to wait until I was ready and able to purchase the other various things for matcha (bowl, whisk, etc.) first. And then it was also prudent for me to order another flavour at the same time to help justify the shipping to Australia. (On a side note, Red Leaf Tea’s international postage prices are very reasonable, at least to Australia! I’m so glad it’s a calculated rate, not a flat rate.)

Here’s what I ordered: the small (30g) size in Starter Grade matcha with the Distinctive Flavor level and a small tin. And here’s where you can get yours: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/boysenberry-matcha.html

When I opened the gold foil pouch (non-resealable, by the way, so get a tin if you don’t already have one), I knew I did not let myself down in getting this. There were only one or two reviews for the boysenberry here when I placed my order, so I was taking a little leap of faith with it, but I did not go unrewarded for my boldness. Sweet, juicy boysenberries with their playful tartness filled my senses. Oh, but that’s not all. There was also that lovely floral smell I noticed in the caramel matcha I had for the last two days, the scent of good sencha and gyokuro, lurking in the background.

The lattes I made with the caramel matcha were a success, but the berries smelled so good that I continued in my resolve from earlier in the morning to make this one with just water. And a little Splenda, mind you. So I used 2 scoops (about 1 teaspoon), poured in about 60ml (2oz.) of 80C water and got to whisking. I didn’t get quite as much froth this morning, but that was more than likely me. Then I topped it up with what seemed to be close to another 175-200ml (6-7oz.) of water. It looked like I had right about a cup of emerald goodness in my bowl, so I think my eyeball estimates were pretty good.

And as if on cue, a little someone needed their bottom to be cleaned. Now I wouldn’t normally include something like this as part of a review, certainly not one meant to be appetizing, but it has a purpose: just trust me here. As Lil’ Miss and I reached the top of the stairs to come back down to my awaiting bowl of warm matcha, I was taken aback by the definite smell of boysenberries from all the way down in the kitchen! Remarkable!

So I was now even more excited to try this. Oh, it was just wonderful. Juicy and sweet-tart with a hint of that white floral I noticed in the dry matcha. I liked this one quite a bit more than the caramel matcha, and that one was good too. But it’s so hard to pass up beautiful fruit, and the same goes for fruit flavoured tea.

I know I got this on sale, and it’s not at that sale price anymore, but I tell you it is worth every penny and more. Don’t be the least bit afraid that there aren’t that many reviews for this flavor (yet). It’s a rather new option, and I’m so glad it’s there. More than that, I’m glad it’s here with me too!

Sipdown, yeah!

I had to cut it with another matcha, Cookies and Cream black matcha, so I had enough matcha. I made it with soy milk and ice cubes – very tasty! I did like the cheesecake flavor, but I think I prefer more in your face stuff like the fruity or chocolate flavors.

The matcha really got me focused on studying the drivers handbook. I learned something new: You cannot do a U turn on a one way street and you cannot shoot firearms at signs. Well, yeah.. /facepalm