Matcha Outlet

Banana Runts! In Matcha form!
I find myself reading about 52teas flavoured matchas with sadness because I missed them. This one for sure! SO I knew I had to try it from Red Leaf.

Oh my gosh I’m so happy with this tea. It’s totally a candy tea with sugar added, but I’m thinking of saving it for smoothies to add a sweetness without needing sugar… if that makes sense! Plus a green smoothie always makes me think it’s healthier. haha!

Used this as a pick me up on Saturday after a hellish Friday and a sleepless night. Boy did it work. The sweet cotton candy taste brought a smile to my face with every sip. I wanted to share it with everyone I talked to.

Guh, cotton candy. This was the flavor I most looked forward to, and it’s the one I ripped into and gleefully made a cup as soon as the package arrived. So much for my nap, I have matcha to drink! I didn’t even read the description on the site, it just instantly wound up in my cart. Cotton candy is childhood to me, as well as a good number of college years spent drinking cotton candy cosmos. I can hear my mother in my head right now. “No, you can’t get cotton candy, if we’re going to pay $5 for a snack, it’s going to be something more than just spun sugar!” But rarely she would cave and oh man. Oooooh man. I remember at one company picnic, they had a cotton candy machine, and you could have all the cotton candy you wanted. They even showed you how to make it! It was amazing. It was the ultimate snack of my childhood. Fast forward a few years to the summer between my first and second year of college. I had an apartment with three other girls, two of whom I didn’t know, and I was working at Beech Bend Park. Now, if you know where that is, you either a) went to Western Kentucky University or b) are a biker, because it’s adjacent to the Beech Bend racetrack and the Beech Bend Campground, where Harley days are held every year. Usually, I got stuck working the teacups (ironic, huh?), but every once in a while, I got to work food services and I got to make the cotton candy. Oh my goodness. Heaven. Hot work, but heaven. A year or two later I went to O’Charley’s with a friend and spotted the Cotton Candy Cosmo on the menu. Unable to resist anything cotton candy, I had to try out. Out came a martini glass overflowing with fresh cotton candy. A little shaker contained vodka and when your poured the vodka over the cotton candy, it melted and mixed in so beautifully that you forgot you were drinking way too much alcohol.

Now it’s my go-to snack when the wife takes me to the movies. It’s $3 and it makes my inner kid go bouncing all over the place. This tea does the same thing (found here:http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cotton-candy-matcha.html). It’s…it’s amazing how much it really does taste like cotton candy, especially when cold. The cooler my cup got, the more it tasted like those little fluffy clouds of heaven. You can still taste the matcha, and it has an odd creaminess to it, but it’s just…wow. Wow. It all blends together and it even has that burnt sugar bit at the end of the sip. I’m going to take a cup of this to the Zoo next Tuesday, ride the carousel, and just go back in time to the carnivals and theme parks of my youth.

There are few things in this world that scream “summer” to me like watermelon. Unfortunately, they’re one of those rare treats as my father is allergic to it, so I only had it at other people’s parties when growing up. Now, my wife doesn’t like it, so it’s rare I can convince myself to lug a watermelon home and slice it up, just for myself. But the local grocery store now has mini seedless watermelons for a good price, so I’ve already had two so far this summer and plan on going back for another on Friday. So much love for watermelon in my heart. It’s just juicy and delicious and amazing. I’m just curious, did anyone out there grow up salting their watermelon? Until I was 10, we lived in Michigan and I’d never even heard of it, but when we moved to Tennessee, everyone did it. It does bring out the juiciness of it, but it’s also, you know, terrible for you.

Now, I know watermelon can be a tough flavor for tea. Many people have tried (two come to mind in 52teas watermelon iced tea and DavidsTea’s Luscious Watermelon), but I have to say I wasn’t horribly impressed with those I’ve tried. So while I had to try it, I just had to, I wasn’t holding out a lot of high hopes for this watermelon matcha (found here:http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/watermelon-matcha.html). When I opened the package, I got juicy watermelon…but a hint of metallic or whatever it was that made the lemon, peach, and mango teas so bitter. But since warm weather has moved in, I’ve gotten into the habit of mixing my tea with room temperature or cold water, and it definitely paid off this time. I get juicy, creamy watermelon and absolutely no bitterness. Mmmm, this is good. This is really good. It’s light and refreshing and utterly perfect for these coming summer months…it’s gonna be a scorcher. This is the watermelon I’ve been searching for and I can’t wait to try it blended up with some fresh melon. This kind of tastes like a watermelon bubble tea, but without the overwhelming sweetness. Maybe I need to find some tapioca pearls. It reminds me of the Ten Ren watermelon oolong blended with fresh melon, not Freshly Squeezed’s idea of a bubble tea. I’m only a little bitter, I promise. But this is a definite restock for me, and one I will definitely be sharing with friends and family.

I made a cuppa this afternoon as I badly needed the extra boost, and thought… what better way that with a cuppa Red Leaf Matcha!
and boy it did not disappoint.
Using my new chawan and whisk, I was a maniac in the kitchen blending up my delightful wakeup cup! and oh yes it really was. So refreshing and light. Fresh picked greens. Maybe rhubarb or spinach? I know I’ve said this before, but the fresh water note was so thirst quenching! I felt as if I was drinking the purest water around. Is that the sugar destroyer part? I’ve never seen that in a matcha before. A touch of agave really brought that aspect out.
Oh and the flavour and smell were not fishy or anything, just pure green goodness.
As for whether this helps with sugar cravings, well I think it does! haven’t had a sweet since… but then it hasn’t been very long. One day I’ll make a smoothie with this every morning and see if that makes me crave nothing but green veggies! I’ll betchya it would :)
Anyhow, if you want some yummy Sugar Destroyer (isn’t it great that something so good for you is tasty!?) you can find it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/sugar-destroyer-matcha.html
Rating: 90

Thank you Red Leaf for making such yummy matcha!!!

Made this up with my new matcha set! Still missing my sieve. This one was just a teeny bit gritty at the bottom. More because I was at work and didn’t have time to whisk like a madwoman for long :P
Anyhow, I added a tiny squeeze of agave and a splash of milk which turned my cup in a lovely pastel green shade. Reminds me of my bedroom walls actually. In daylight, I’d bet they are a close match! The taste was ok, pleasant. Oddly, it was better without the milk. One day, I’ll give it a go with almond milk and see what that does.
Been going a bit crazy the last week. My work contract is ending soon and I NEED to have a job so I’ve been networking all over the place, or atleast started to. Getting my Linked In profile updated etc. I should go check my birth certificate, my middle name might have been changed to stress!
Darn, I wish I had the chamomile matcha tea. Le sighs.

I made a smoothie with this today, inspired by Amy Oh!
Except… It wasn’t a very good smoothie. Kinda bland. Too much almond milk and banana covered up the other flavours, esp the matcha! I threw in cherries, which changed the colour but not so much flavour or consistency. So I added a peach and it was more of the same. Oh well, I still have my tea high!
Next time, only half a banana. Maybe some Stevia?

Frozen bananas smeared with Sugar destroyer = Matcha Icecream. Perfection.
’Nuf said!

So… this was great! it tasted “fresh” like just picked greens washed in spring water, maybe even made into a broth. Rather smooth, and not fishy at all! The hint of natural sweetness was nice, like you find in some salads. A tiny hint of agave brought out that note a bit more, not that I was craving it lol
As for whether it reduces my sugar cravings… well, we shall see! I didn’t expect it to work the first time. I assume these things have a cumulative effect.

I made a smoothie! and it was oh sooooo good.
1 apple, 1/3 banana, 1/2 cup almond milk and 3/4 tsp cherry matcha = YUMMMMMMMM!
The cane sugar in the almond milk made it uber sweet though. It’s hard to find it without sugar sometimes. I have a feeling the store runs out often because it’s more popular. Oh well, it was still tasty. I love how the tart cherry pops against the sweetness of banana.
and now I have ample energy to pack up more junk. Let’s do this.
Rating: 90

CHERRIES!!! yup, it smells just like them. Tart, fragrant cherries.
I tried making the first bit with hot water and it was nice, but I don’t have a sifter so there were some clumps. sighs Yet another purchase I need to make!
The taste… well it’s a bit more medicinal than I had hoped, edging on that syrupy cough drop taste, but not too much so I don’t mind really. You need to whisk quite a bit, but I am getting used to the action now.
Sugar helps! I added only a touch, and it really made a difference. I felt that it brought out a tart side that was hiding before, and maybe even a little bitterness. Odd that sugar would bring that out.
Oh, and the warming sensation I felt was unexpected, but pleasant. Like brandy… not harsh. Soothing and lasting.
Then later on I took my packet down to the Second Cup on the main floor of our office building and had them make me up a Cherry Matcha Latte. It was nice, but something in there was burnt (and clumpy… not the matcha’s fault! the staff there aren’t familiar with it so I need to try this myself at home) Oh well, I still enjoyed my cuppa greatly.
Next time… I’m hoping it will work with Almond milk, because I would so love to have my matcha’s that way. Mmmmm. I don’t think I’ll try it again with all cow milk, it drowned out the matcha-ness a little too much for me. Perhaps with only a milk top-up it’d work better.
Overall, I don’t like this as much as I had hoped to, or as much as other people seem to like the Red Leaf teas. Bah, I just need to experiment! fun fun :)
Well… Happy Victoria Day everyone!! :D
(This is a backlog by the way, I added this on Friday but the system went buggy on me for a bit)
Edit: I love this one, and WILL rebuy after I’ve tried all the other flavours! ha.
You can find it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cherry-matcha.html
Going to buy caramel next. Can’t wait!

So I’m starting to come to the end of my matcha reviewing career, I’ve tried just about all the ones I want to try and now I need to decide which ones I want to stock up on. This is one of those I’ve been eyeing, but it kept popping out of my cart in favor of delicious beauties like French Vanilla or Caramel. But I am very excited to be trying it now (found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/sugar-destroyer-matcha.html).

It’s no secret that I sweeten my teas with sugar, all teas, without fail. I know, I know, I’m a horrible tea drinker. But this one is supposed to help curb sugar cravings and so on and so forth, so I’m going to try it without sugar first. It’s worth mentioning that this tea isn’t meant to replace sugar, it’s meant to do the following:
Regulate blood sugar levels
Curb your appetite for sweets things and goodies
Help maintain a healthy weight
Help maintain normal cholesterol levels
Taking all of that with a grain of salt, if replacing straight matcha with this can help curb my cravings for sugary snacks, then I’m all for it. Now I just need a tea to help me curb my desire for biscuits and gravy! Disclaimer, my cravings aren’t usually for sugary sweet things, I crave chips and bacon and savory goodies, so I’m not entirely sure that this will help me.

It tastes like…matcha! Surprise! I’ve never had a straight matcha from Red Leaf Tea, so I can’t really say how it compares to their matcha, but I have had straight matcha from other sources so I can, for sure, say that this tastes like matcha. Shocking, I know. I don’t magically feel like I don’t want anything sugary, but I’ll keep an eye on my cravings today and report back. Keep in mind, though, I’m only having a very small cup. The good news is that I am taking this matcha without sugar and while yes, I would like some sugar in it, I’m not dying for it. Maybe this old dog can be taught a few new tricks!

So here I am a few hours later, ready to report. Now, keep in mind again that I’m not horribly keen on sugar snacks, but after a long, long day at work I discovered that I hadn’t ready craved sugar at all today. It was interesting but inconclusive. But I’m glad to have tried it and I look forward to trying more and seeing if it really does help when I’m dying for a good sugar buzz.

In an effort to use up the coconut milk I opened yesterday, the wife and I are having matcha lattes this morning. I opted for Strawberry matcha because if the coconut comes through, it will taste like a Miami Vice, which I lived for on the cruise last year. If not, it will be a creamy strawberry delight. Win win. I added vanilla agave and cold water and used my milk frother to blend it all together.

No Miami Vice, but a very yummy vanilla strawberry blend. I really adore this matcha, I’m glad I pulled it out.

Mmmm strawberries. I cannot begin to tell you how much of my life has been spent picking strawberries. As a child, I hated it, but now I remember it fondly…isn’t it weird how that happens? So good…strawberry shortcake is the most delicious thing in this world. Especially made with fresh, sun ripened strawberries. As long as I can remember, my mom has had a row or two of strawberries in her yard. When we lived in Michigan and we had room to garden (and soil that was more than just clay), we had tons of strawberries. Tons! But then we moved to Tennessee, and the soil there was not as habitable, but she still managed to squeeze some delicious berries out of that red clay. So strawberries and strawberry flavored things that actually taste like strawberries always remind me of her and of that gorgeous garden she kept in Michigan. Of course, they also remind me of the time I was about 7 and picking strawberries in the garden when I felt some grass brush over my foot. I looked down to see a snake slithering over my foot. shudders I have never screamed so loud in my life. And thus a lifelong fear of snakes was born.

So the real question here is will this matcha be a snake or a shortcake?

Shortcake. Oh my goodness, shortcake. This smelled amazing when I opened the package, like creamy, sweet strawberries. Like, well, strawberry shortcake, to be honest. Guh, I just want to dive into it. I took it to work with me and my mind was blown by it. I kept getting distracted by how good it was. I love a good tea. I’m trying to figure out which six I want to keep in stock and this is a definite front runner. I think mixing this with a little French Vanilla would be out of this world. I love berries so most of my smoothies are berry smoothies…this will be an amazing addition to that particular mix. Now, it doesn’t have that hint of tartness that fresh strawberries do, but that’s okay. I’m in love anyway. It tastes like strawberry candy, but I know Red Leaf Tea doesn’t use artificial ingredients, so I’m very excited to have this. Next time I’m craving a bag of strawberry puffs, I’m going to reach for this instead. Mmmm…maybe I’ll take some of this to work with me today too! (Found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/strawberry-matcha.html)

I have such a love/hate relationship with licorice, and I had to try this one (found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/licorice-matcha-organic.html), I just had to. Licorice in tea is one of my favorite things of all time, and the Licorice Mint tea from Red Leaf Tea is a must for me when I’m sick. And while I love allsorts, any other licorice candy is not for me. I just think it’s vile. Every Easter my mother would gleefully sit by as I sorted out all of the black jelly beans from my basket. She was the only one in the family who liked them. Is there anything more gross than popping what you think is a purple jellybean into your mouth, only to discover it was a horrible, horrible, licorice one? Blegh! But allsorts….mmm. They’ve become a bit of tradition in our family. They’re impossible to find in Tennessee, so when I’m sending a package to my folks I always include Coffee Crisp for my mom and allsorts for my dad. That is, if I can keep myself from eating them all before the package goes out! Trust me, it happens more often than I care to admit.

I kept eyeing this tea, adding it to my shopping cart and then removing it in favor of another flavor of matcha, adding it back to my wishlist. I finally bit the bullet and I’m here to find out if this is an allsort or a black jellybean.

It’s not a black jellybean at all! It is a lovely sweet licorice that soothes the throat and makes me unbelievably happy. I was very scared of this blend, but those fears were unfounded. It is delicious and definitely one I need to keep around for when I’m sick but I have to deal with work anyway. Completely lovely. It’s not really an allsort either, it’s the licorice I’ve come to know and love in teas. I should have expected that, but I was scared by the picture on the website.

Licorice tends to polarize people. You either love it or you hate it. I’m one of those who loves it, but my wife is one who hates it. If it’s in a tea, she can taste it, and it bothers her. But for me…oh, I love it and this matcha is beautiful in the balance of flavor to matcha. I want to make a large mug of this, but I have other matchas to taste and review!

Cranberry. Cranberry is another one of those flavors that brings out very distinct memories for me. Thanksgiving at my grandmother’s house, not for the cranberry sauce (which I loathe), but for the cranberry juice she always had on hand. I loved it! And she’d mix it with a bit of ginger ale for me and oh, I felt so grown up…my first cocktail! Virgin, of course. We lost her the year I started college, so every time I taste anything with cranberry, I think of her. Then growing up, my mom taught me how to make this delicious cranberry-orange bread with fresh cranberries, and that bread is why I always have cranberries in my freezer. I made it for my in-laws the first Christmas after the wedding and now they look forward to it every year. Maybe after I’ve tried this straight I’ll need to try it with some orange juice. But cranberry is a flavor very near and dear to my heart, so I am very much looking forward to trying this one. The health benefits of cranberries aren’t such a bad thing either, and since I don’t drink juice anymore, this might be a good way for me to get them (found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cranberry-matcha.html).

This blew my socks off. The scent when the package is opened is a sweet cranberry, not the tart berry I was looking for, but I can’t bring myself to complain. I put about a quarter of a teaspoon in a small mug, added about 75-80 C water, some sugar, and frothed it up. Then I added robots (by which I mean ice in the shape of robots) and a touch of cold water to make a beautiful iced tea. I am so far from disappointed it hurts. This is lovely. I didn’t expect to like this one nearly as much as I do, but I am in love. I’m definitely seeing the berry in cranberry, but there’s also a hint of tartness in the middle of the sip. I am so surprised, I honestly didn’t expect to be wowed by this. But I am and I am going to restock on it ASAP. I can’t wait to try it blended with some vanilla matcha or some orange juice…yum. I don’t have a lot of experience with cranberry outside of the little fruits baked into muffins, but I think I need to branch out and try some new things!

Okay, so, fair warning. I’m not overly familiar with the acai berry or how it should taste. I’ve had acai berry/blueberry juice before, and loved it, so I’m hoping I’ll love the berry on its own. Of course now, all I can think of when it comes to this tea is RuPaul’s Drag Race with all the different queens trying to say “acai” for a TV commercial. It’s like the Pink Dragonfruit from Tealish. I’ve never had dragonfruit, but it smelled amazing and so I tried it and I loved it. Now I’m on the hunt for an actual dragonfruit to try. So while I can tell if I like the tea and if it tastes good or not, I have no real way to tell if it tastes like the actual fruit at all. But that’s okay! Everyone should be open to new experiences, and I am looking forward to this one (found here:http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/acai-matcha.html).

Okay, yum! It’s kind of like blueberry on steroids? I don’t know, it’s got this amazing berry flavor with a round tartness….yes, round. It was the word that came to mind as I sipped it. It’s just…lovely and unexpected. The flavor is very bold and very…unique. I don’t quite know how to describe it, but I liked it. I definitely want to try more acai flavored things if this is what I have to look forward to! I’m not sure if I need to restock on this ASAP, but it’s definitely in the running for my must-have list.

After seeing some of the glowing reviews for this matcha (found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/mango-matcha.html), I had to try it. Trying Mango Diablo from DavidsTea recently has brought back to mind my love of mangos and real mango flavor. I had forgotten it in the face of so much fake-tasting mango flavored tea and candy out there. But I used to beg my mom to let me buy a mango. There are few things better than slicing into a perfectly ripe mango. Makes a royal mess to eat it (at least, the way I did it), but it was so, so worth it. Still, I hate messy food, so if I can find that mango flavor without the mess, I am all for it! It was a bit worried about this tea after the strange bitterness of the Peach and Lemon flavors, but what’s life without a few risks? Mango makes me think of summer and tropical smoothies and everything delicious in life.

So when I opened it, it had that same smell the Peach and Lemon flavors had, a faint hint of bitterness, and I got worried. Still, never let it be said that I’m afraid to try new things. I made a cup of this to take to work with me, and thank goodness I did, it was a hellish day and I desperately needed the energy from it. But…it wasn’t that great. It tasted like decent mango flavor with a back hint of chemicals. I don’t know what it is, but I think I just need to stay away from the citrus group of flavored matchas. The Peach redeemed itself when iced, so maybe the mango will do the same. I’m hoping it does. My feelings may also be skewed a bit, I’ve been spoiled by the delicious goodness of the Mango Diablo from Davids, so my opinions on the mango flavor might have been different if I hadn’t been drinking tons of the Mango Diablo lately. That’s my new standard for mango flavor and this just doesn’t match up to it.

Still, it will be no great hardship to finish this off, especially in smoothies over the coming summer months. It’s not horrible, it’s just not for me. But maybe a lower temperature will help or finding another way to drink it. Or maybe one of my friends will try it and like it and then it will have a good home!

So good. Creamy and fruity and sweet and everything lovely in life. So. Good. If you have these two, do yourself a favor and try mixing them. You’ll thank me later ;)

This was delicious! I think I might have to keep cinnamon in the house if only to stock up on this blend! It’s so, so good! It tastes like home and fall and yumminess. Next time I might throw a bit of french vanilla, round out the corners a bit, but this was wonderful.

Mixed these two together today…it tasted kinda like blue raspberry cotton candy! I greatly enjoyed it while at work, but I don’t think Raspberry is one I’ll be stocking up on.

okay. So I know it’s unwise to drink matcha so late in the evening. It’s probably going to keep me up, but heck, it’s Friday tomorrow and everyone knows nothing really gets done on Friday anyways, right? It’s like, a law of office work ethics everywhere!
Anyway, I’ve had this matcha in my tea drawer for a while now. I keep thinking about it, but I wanted to wait for a “perfect” moment. The perfect moment will probably never come! Oh wait…my friends and I are going to a Cherry Blossom Festival this Saturday at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Dammit! That would totally have been the perfect moment! I suck…

Well, I’ve already sampled the tea so on with the review! Perhaps I can bring some to share! But there’ll probably be a tea ceremony at the festival…

Anyway… I’m going to compare this tea to the Starter matcha since it’s the one I’ve had most often and most recently. I must say, I don’t see or taste too much of a difference. The green is a bit brighter, but not the light neon green I’ve seen in super fresh oceanic matchas. It’s also pretty clumpy. It makes me wish I had a mini sifter.

The flavor, is minerally and sweet. It’s smooth and green with no bitterness. I’m enjoying this quite a bit, but I think not more than the starter matcha. Hmmm… There’s nothing distinctive or extraordinary about this tea, but that does not make it bad. After all, ordinary vanilla ice cream is still vanilla ice cream, which is awesome. I would say this is representative of a classic matcha flavor. This is what you taste when you get green tea ice cream in china town. It’s delicious, just not super high quality. I would definitely recommend this for lovers of green tea, but if I wanted to get a regular matcha from Red Leaf, I think I’ll stick with the Starter Matcha. And oddly enough, I think this may be one of those rare teas I simply prefer sugared and milked. Like early grey and chai.

I am still super curious about the higher grade stuff though! What does the Emperor’s Matcha taste like, for example? And White Tea matcha! So intriguing! And I can’t imagine liking red matcha, but I’m super curious about that too! Halp! I want to try them all!

Oh, and the caffeine has kicked in now. I was feeling really sluggish and tired, but now I’m all energetic. ack! And I only had so little. :( I wish all teas were caffeine free so I can enjoy them late into the night. I’m always having to drink honeybush/rooibos or plain mint. While I enjoy all those things, I’d really rather be sipping a cup of oolong or green tea.

For a good matcha experience, please check out:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/royal-matcha.html

Made icing with this Matcha!
Madagascar Vanilla Buttercream. I almost wept!

There is no bitterness at all when you make this into an icing for a chocolate cupcake. Just saying – if you want to try it, I will high five you.

Here’s the recipe/pictures!!!
http://www.daisychubb.com/recipe-chocolate-cupcakes-with-matcha-buttercream-chocolate-ganache/

Alright I am finally sitting down and doing this review. It’s only been about a week since I received my Red Leaf Tea order, but I’ve had this tea three separate occasions since then. Every time I went to sit down and write a review – I was already finished my cup and I didn’t quite know what to say. I knew I wanted to thank aisling of tea for her amazing reviews of this company, and this matcha in particular. (thank you!)

I think I understand what took me so long. This is a seriously mysterious matcha. When I opened the package and took a whiff, I associated the sweet vanilla smell with something else, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I whisked up a cup between 175-185 degrees – the matcha itself was bright, vegetal, creeeamy and full of vanilla deliciousness. Definite vanilla bean or real vanilla extract – a flavour that isn’t sweet but is associated with baking. When I bake with my 3 tablespoons+ of real vanilla – it always smells sooo delicious and sweet, but if you were to taste it itself – it doesn’t taste how it smells. That’s the opposite of this matcha – it really does taste how it smells – I think that’s where the mystery came from.

Finally I associated the smell with the matcha whipped shortbread I made a while back. Of course! It smells and tastes like delicious flour, sugar, matcha and vanilla! Since I ate over a dozen of those cookies, it’s now obvious where that taste association comes from haha. Love it. (You can find this matcha here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/madagascar-vanilla-matcha.html ).
I really want to do a comparison of this vs the new French Vanilla matcha. Subtle but delicious differences I’m sure!

Oh man I just got an awesome idea. Mini matcha shortbreads for summer, using the different flavours of matcha! Ah! I can’t wait to see how the flavour translates into a simple flour, butter, sugar cookie. Paired with an iced matcha. On the front porch. Okay I don’t have a front porch : ( But I have the makings of the rest of it :D

Today I mixed 1/2 tsp Madagascar Vanilla and ½ tsp Mango. Deeelish. Want to know a secret? It was so delicious and perfect that I drank the entire cup without realising I didn’t put any sugar in it. How sweet it is! It wasn’t bitter at all – because I accidentally let my water cool to 165 degrees. This is my new matcha sweet spot temp when I want to drink it straight up. I didn’t even want to make it into a latte – it was creamy and sweet – with the vanilla matcha it almost tasted like I already put milk in it. This isn’t my number one matcha choice, but it is PERFECT for blending!

I don’t know if I mentioned this in my other reviews – but this matcha (and the other varieties) has (have?) an amazing echo of taste. The aftertaste of the natural flavours lingers long after I’m finished the cup. To be honest, it kind of makes me crave more. If I wasn’t already bouncing off the walls with matcha energy, I might make more! No joke. This stuff packs a serious energy punch. I’ve been having it every morning! I feel lucky :)