Matcha Outlet

SIPDOWN! woot woot!
One more matcha finished up, just in time for me to try and make a decision on what matchas to re-order from the referral program. I do love this blueberry matcha in my morning smoothie. It’ll be a tough decision on what to pick up for my next order :)

Had this again this week, with peaches! :) I’m really enjoying this, though I am very near to a sipdown on this one. Luckily some of my restocks should be here soon and i have some free matchas from the referral program I’m thinking about cashing in soon. :) I’m digging the blueberry and peach combo this morning as it’s nice and refreshing on my throat.

Blueberry smoothie this morning! First day back at work, though I’m still sick. Sadly if i could stay home and work from home today I would have but with my black berry issues, i had to go in. Need to be able to finalize things for china as well given that it’s 3 weeks away and im starting to enter panic mode. visa, passport pics for the visa, book hotel, book flights, check to see if i need shots, should i get an inhaler given the crappy air quality, figure out a day tour…oh and you know do real work!

I added some cheesecake to this one today, which i find really smoothes out the blueberry flavour and makes it much less tart. I really hope red leaf doesn’t have to increase their shipping costs as well. I’m totally bummed about that this morning. Didn’t think it would be that bad…

mmm nothing says hello morning like a blueberry cheesecake matcha smoothie and a system crash at work lol This is about 50/50 with blueberry and cheesecake so in theory i could log this as cheesecake as well. I’m really enjoying the combo of the two :)

Today’s morning smoothie which was finished soooo long ago is brought to you by blueberry! (and caramel). I am really digging the blueberry matcha when I mix it up with other flavours like caramel or cheesecake or vanilla etc. Something about adding a splash of the other matcha flavours to the blueberry makes it explode! woot!

awe yeah! Blueberry matcha smoothie! No cheesecake this morning but i did toss in some frozen peaches to see how that went. The matcha is a little artificial tasting this morning, but not so much that it isn’t good. I do think that i prefer this with a dash of vanilla matcha in it though, for future reference.

Mmmmmm blueberry matcha!
Catching up on my matcha reviews since I’ve been a slacker in that department. This matcha is delicious! I love blueberries! I’d eat blueberries all the time if I could since a while back some of my favourite fruits started to give me an allergic reaction. I was prompted by steepster reviews to pick this one up – in particular MissLena12 and Ninavampi.
Once again, Red Leaf has managed to create a flavoured matcha that isn’t artificial tasting. However, this isn’t the taste of regular old blueberries. This matcha tastes like wild blueberries. It has a sweet taste but there’s also a strong BLUEBERRY taste! I think with this particular matcha because it’s not artificial tasting, I could bump up the flavouring to robust, though I always err on the side of caution and get fruity flavours in distinctive first :)
As usual, I made a blueberry smoothie with this matcha. I still can’t get into drinking straight matcha so this is the way I do things. I love the way the milk adds creaminess to the matcha and with the blueberry it’s no exception! One thing I would like to try with this particular matcha is adding it to pancakes along with real blueberries!
I’m looking forward to
My matcha was composed of the following:
Size : Small
Matcha Quality: Starter (Basic Grade)
Flavor: Distinctive

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

I figured I’d start the new year with a new matcha flavour for my morning smoothie! Ill post a proper review later at some point but man this is a fantastic! I was pushed into getting this by a few of the reviews on here by someone who’s name escapes me at the moment. I added just a touch of vanilla matcha to this smoothy just to make it a bit creamier and delicious. Th blueberry flavour in this is super intense and spot on to real blueberries. There really isn’t any artificial taste to this, which I was worried about after the pear fiasco. This was also distinctive flavouring since I’ve found with the fruit matches, robust seems to bee just a smidge too much for me. In the creamier, coffee, chocolate flavours I could totally probably push it to “there’s matcha in here” though I tend to stick to robust :)

Anyway wonderful start to the new year!

The last cup in my stash. :( I miss you already.

I’m just going to say that I could not imagine the difference sifting matcha makes. It actually tastes like cheesecake, not just sweet matcha. This is a wonderful revelation. lol

This was my impulsive black Friday purchase. I couldn’t turn it down, it was an incredible deal and it was the perfect opportunity to delve right in.
I went with the royal grade matcha with “There’s matcha in there?” flavour level.
I purchased a matcha kit just for this. I boiled the water and THEN, only then did I bother reading that you shouldn’t use boiling water. . . Then came the task of waiting for the water to cool. Finally we got there. I added 1 tsp of matcha powder to my bowl and 6oz. of water. Then I got to use my super cool bamboo whisk! It frothed up pretty quick and I added some milk I steamed in the microwave.
I had no idea what to expect for flavour, all the reviews are so different, some say it’s bitter, some say smooth. I expected it to be tangy, that normal tang that cheesecake has. It didn’t have it, it was perfectly rich and smooth and tasted real. The matcha buzz lasted me well into the work day, which I was VERY grateful for. I look forward to all my future red leaf purchases and I plan to make this one a staple in my tea collection.
I should add that the shipping was insane! I ordered Friday, they shipped FRIDAY and I received it the following Thursday and I’m in Canada! I think I’ll get the tin next time!
Buy it here! http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cheesecake-matcha.html
I hope I did this right! lol

Coming to work with me!

Hello, heaven!
Red Leaf ships seriously fast! I ordered this on Black Friday and they shipped the next day. Considering I’m in Canada this is crazy fast! I obviously had to make a cup. i jumped the gun though. I assumed it needed agave and milk and I obliterated the flavour.
I ordered royal grade with “there’s matcha in there?” flavour level. I taste no cheesecake. Will try it again soon.

Wow, I still haven’t reviewed this, and I’m just finishing it off. I think because I wasn’t sure what to think of it. I ordered it in basic grade and robust. It’s on the generically sweet side. Slightly creamy, like how a white hot chocolate is, but not an actual obvious white chocolate, if that makes sense.

Taste-wise, again, generically creamy and sweet. It basically helps cut the vegetal quality of the matcha itself. I prefer blending this with soy milk and strawberries, as it makes a lovely strawberries and cream refreshment.

I also just used the last of it to make white chocolate matcha shortbread. They were fantastically flavourful fresh out of the oven. The matcha made the shortbread even richer, and the matcha powder itself gave the confection a bit of a kick, but I’m finding as the days go by, the matcha is a little more bitter in the cookies now. Either that or the white chocolate flavouring isn’t doing much.

It’s good but if I wanted a more universal, flavoured matcha that I could use in different types of drinks and baking, I’d much rather go with the French Vanilla.

It’s still worth checking out if you’re a huge fan of white chocolate-flavoured drinks. This may be your new best friend:

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/white-chocolate-matcha.html

Backlogging another review on Red Leaf’s matcha – French Vanilla
My matcha was composed of the following:
Size : Small
Matcha Quality: Starter (Basic Grade)
Flavor: Robust
I picked this matcha up to see how sweet it was and whether I could possibly use this to add to my other matcha flavours. I’m not a huge fan of vanilla but there are certain instances I just love having a dash of it in my drinks! I opted to start with this one over the Madagascar vanilla that Red Leaf has, having no real sense as to what the difference would be. This matcha has me wondering about the other one as well since it’s really good.
This is another matcha that I won’t drink on it’s own often as I purchased it specifically to add to other flavours. However, since purchasing it, I’ve had a few cups of straight French Vanilla matcha lattes. This is also going to be the first matcha I share with my friend who wants to try it because she often goes to starbucks for a green tea latte with a shot of vanilla :)
I really like this vanilla as it’s not cloyingly sweet even with the robust flavouring. There’s a smooth taste to this that doesn’t come across as artificial which is majorly important to me. I will be picking this one up again in the future, though maybe not until I’ve had a chance to try Red Leaf’s other vanilla matcha!
Buy it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/french-vanilla-matcha.html

This is a terrific vanilla matcha. Especially when adding to other flavours for that extra kick of creamy goodness. I’ve had this a few times but haven’t logged it as it’s usually been an addition to another matcha smoothie. I’ll do a full write up soon on this one but it’s for sure a reorder whenever i end up getting through this one.

I like this!! first time I made this, not so much. But today? it’s quite different.
If you let the RL teas sit for a few weeks, I think it really makes a difference.
The rooibos base is really smooth and comes through more than anything else. Chocolate is in here? Oh yes there it is, hiding in the back! Super mild, but it’s there. I ordered Robust flavouring, next time I think I would go with the higher level. The highest of them all… is there matcha in there?
Now this is a gift for my Aunt, so I only made a few cups. Otherwise, I’d experiment a bit more.
Either way… I will definitely order it again, despite my initial apprehension, now that I know what to expect

I am finally just about done this, it is getting pretty strong as it is fairly old. This morning I was wanting something sweet because it’s Easter and I don’t have any candy (insert sadface) so I mixed this with my caramel matcha, half tsp of each. I then added about a half tsp of sugar after whisking with hot water. The result is not too bad, but the blueberry is mostly overpowering the caramel and it is pretty strong. The caramel is mostly present in the later part of the sip. Not bad, and I am feeling the matcha energy! Perfect for working on my one paper of the term! (how I dislike papers lol) See previous notes on both of these matchas :)

Oh, and Hoppy Easter!

Made a cup of this in the morning for the first cup of the day! This was pretty tasty today, none of the slight bitterness I had found previously, maybe because I actually added some sugar. I did it with a bit warmer water (185 degrees), 1 tsp matcha and some sugar after topping with hot water. I still have to try a cold matcha latte/cold matcha in a waterbottle lol. But so far just hot water and sugar (only really necessary for some of the matchas) is my preferred method. See previous notes!

Another blend of blueberry and french vanilla matcha. I’m almost finished my blueberry matcha, which is probably a good thing, it is getting a bit more bitter every time I have it, just getting a bit old lol I’ve had it since December..but it still is tasty, don’t get me wrong! I made this with hot water as usual, I suppose I could add some sugar, but meh, it still is pretty good, and I don’t feel like moving. 7 hrs of lab = one tired me. This will rejuvenate and help me feel balanced. Gotta love matcha! See previous notes.

So I used half a tsp of this and half a tsp of the French Vanilla matcha to make a hot water matcha today. Man I am on a matcha kick as of late!! Anyways, I thought I’d log this under blueberry since that is definitely the dominating flavor here. The french vanilla added a nice bit of creaminess, but in the future I would probably put more french vanilla and less blueberry. Also, think my blueberry might be getting a bit old, it is definitely stronger and a bit bitter today. But this was a nice experiment, and it smells heavenly! Will probably try making this with hot milk in the future as well, I have been lazy and not wanting to get my lactose intolerance going, so I’ve been just making hot water matchas. And they are so nice on my stomach! :)

I’m falling asleep studying for a dreadful midterm tomorrow, so as much as I didn’t want to have caffeine, I made a cup of this matcha, hot water and sugar. I am hoping (although unlikely) that my big matcha order will show up tomorrow, it has been in Canada since Monday, but hasn’t arrived yet here. Sigh. If it doesn’t show up tomo I have to hope no one takes it from the apartment because I’m off to the States for a week as of Sunday…fingers crossed it shows up tomorrow!! See previous notes on this matcha.

ETA – I fell asleep for 20 minutes anyways. Thank goodness its reading week after tomo, i need to get caught up on sleep asap.

Today I once again made this just with hot water and sugar, this is becoming my preferred way to have this matcha mostly because when I make it with milk, it sometimes bothers my stomach (lactose issues, not the matcha lol) and with just hot water, this tastes so fresh and yummy!

And I finally decided on my matcha order with my gift cert! I got 30 g robust of caramel, cheesecake, french vanilla, and black cherry!! So excited for them to arrive :D Thanks to Sil and ashmanra for the flavor suggestions!

Having this with hot water and sugar this morning! I also had in the evening last night, forgot to log it. This is so good, and I’m very excited, I got a bunch of gift credit for Red Leaf’s matcha referral program, so now I have to decide on at least 4 new flavors!! Any suggestions? I have been looking on Steepster and have an idea of the ones I will pick, but feedback is appreciated!