Matcha Outlet

First, the specifics of my order:

Matcha grade: Basic
Flavor: Distinctive
Size: 30 g.

You can order (and further customize the type of matcha/flavoring/amount!) here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/tiramisu-matcha.html.

This was my first experience with Red Leaf Tea, and I have to say the shipping was unbelievably fast! Like, two days door to door, and there are quite a few states between Georgia and Illinois. It’s like they knew I was waiting impatiently at the other end :).

This was also really my first experience with matcha. I love desserty things, and I love green tea, but I wasn’t so sure how the two would combine. Add to that the lack of traditional equipment and I was worried about not getting an authentic matcha experience. Well – I don’t know if it was authentic, but it was really, really good!

I prepared this latte style, all milk (heated in a saucepan) but no sweetener. I sifted about a tsp. of matcha into the heated milk and stirred to combine before pouring the whole thing into a milk frother. A few pumps of the frother resulted in some very impressive, thick layer of foam that didn’t disappear until I drank it.

And the taste was AMAZING! The sweetness in the milk was all that I needed to taste the cocoa powder and creamy marscapone cheese. There was still that nice vegetal green matcha taste to keep things from being OVERLY dessert-ish, though if that’s what you’re after you could certainly order more flavoring. I loved the balance between everything in this, and it’s a shame I only have an ounce of it. Oh well! Guess I better order more then! :)

Sooo excited about my new variable temp kettle for home! I used it this morning to make my first bowl of matcha in quite a while. One of the reasons I fell out of making matcha at home was the hassle of cooling the water to the right temp… I am one of those people who wants to make sure it is really at just the right temp, so heating it up in my stovetop kettle and letting it cool with a thermometer was dragging me down. But not anymore!

I made this with a touch of sugar but not as a latte. I do think I prefer matcha in latte form… this was pretty good, but I found the rose to be more perfumy than I used to when having it with milk. I also don’t quite find the white matcha to be worth the price bump, and if I was going to get the rose flavor again I would probably go for the green base. Nonetheless this was a tasty morning bowl of matcha.

Another day, another matcha. Still no power at my apartment, though I slept over at some friends’ last night because freezing temps do not sound like good sleeping weather to me.

Rose is one of my absolute favorite flavors. Can’t get enough rose. Rose candies, rose tea, rose everything, so rose matcha had to be high on my list to order. I decided to use this one to try out the white tea base, especially after Alphakitty talked about how delicious it was. I ended up ordering the robust flavoring because like I said, I can’t get enough rose. You can find this matcha here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/rose-matcha.html

When I opened the package, it was like whomph rose! It smelled so delicious and sweet. Not even what I would consider “perfumy” but more like a big fresh batch of loukoumi. When I smelled a little closer, it definitely had that rose-white-tea aroma, which of course makes sense. Unlike the black matcha yesterday, this one didn’t form any reasonable foam at all while whisking, but so it goes.

My first sip was rosey and delightful, and I probably could have drank the whole bowl as is, but I have gotten used to a little sweetness in my (hot) matchas, so I added just a pinch of sugar. It wasn’t actually enough to really make the bowl sweet, but it did bring out more flavors from the white tea base, including a bit of fruitiness. I had a hard time keeping the matcha in this one suspended in the liquid while drinking and had to whisk it every so often to re-mix it. It also, like the black matcha, wasn’t quite as disappearingly smooth as the green matcha.

The white matcha base definitely works well with the rose matcha, but I’m not sure I would go for it again; instead, I might try a more premium grade of the green. Still, a very delicious matcha and I won’t have any problem drinking it up!

Tonight was a crash course of Matcha Making 101.

I was able to get a gift certificate to Red Leaf Tea, and placed my order Friday. Their shipping was amazingly fast, because I checked the tracking number today to find it out for delivery. This was both very good, because it’s new tea (and when is that ever not good?) but also bad because I hadn’t actually looked into preparing matcha and here I was, the proud owner of 4 1 oz. packages of it.

I didn’t let that stop me.

I Macgyver-ed up system to approximate the matcha chasen, whisk, and bowl. Basically, I used my strainer from David’s Tea as a sifter, sifted the matcha into a stainless steel milk frother, and poured a small amount of hot water over. It frothed up, and then I added some more hot water into the frother before pouring that into a small square bowl that I drank it out of.

But going back to the matcha itself:

The powder was sort of an olive green, maybe a shade or so brighter. I went with the distinctive flavoring level for this one, which is one below delicate of their flavoring options. The scent was very lime/lemony more than anything else. I was kind of disappointed actually, because I was expecting a strong vanilla/custard note. But there was a tinge of creaminess in the scent, and I like lemon flavors, so I had high expectations.

I tried about 1/2 tsp. of the matcha with milk as the base first, and then water. The milk method resulted in a creamy, lemon tinged matcha with a grassy undertone from the green tea. I liked the flavor contrast from the creamier, sweet flavor to the slight bitterness of the matcha. I don’t know that I would have called it Bavarian cream, but I do know that I had two bowls of it because the first one made me want more.

The second bowl was made with just water, and after the milk option and all of its richness this rendition didn’t have much chance of winning the flavor contest. However, it did froth up nicely and the color of the liquor was a beautiful emerald green. I just spoiled my taste buds with the first option, and there’s no going back now. :)

So, do I like flavored matcha? Definitely. This is only the first of the four I bought from Red Leaf Tea, so that’s a good thing – I’m going to be swimming in this stuff for a while yet!

I’m back in NY, and disappointed to find out my house still doesn’t have power. Unfortunately I have an electric stove, so I am SOL when it comes to trying to make tea at home. Also it was freaking cold last night (low of 33°F overnight), so my now-unheated apartment was not pleasant.

I schlepped all my matcha-making equiptment in to work today (it’s where my variable-temp tea kettle is anyway), except of course my almond milk, which sadly did not make it in my fridge. I got a package of Red Leaf matchas not long before I left last weekend but I never got around to trying them because I was so busy, and then they just sat on my table. I brought this one in today to try.

I chose this one to try out the black matcha base because I was intrigued by it and figured hazelnut would pair well with a black base. I got this one with robust flavoring, because that’s how I roll. You can find it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/hazelnut-matcha.html

When I opened the pouch on this one I immediately smelled hazelnuts and black tea, but then an odd fruitiness crept in as well, almost like I might expect if this was a green matcha. When I whisked it, it produced the thickest, most luxurious foam I’ve ever had for any matcha I’ve tried. I sipped it while it was still hot and didn’t taste much, which could be more to do with the hotness of it than anything else, but I still went ahead and put in about a tsp of sugar. The result is nutty and smooth and delicious. There is maybe a hint of fruitiness but I am unsure whether that is a quirk of the hazelnut flavoring or the black matcha. I am enjoying the black matcha base and will probably get it on any future matchas that are chocolately flavored. When I got down to the bottom of the bowl it was a little grittier with a little more fallen pieces of tea than the green, but it really wasn’t bad at all. Can’t wait to try this one as a latte (eventually).

One of my true weaknesses is opposing flavors. Sweet and sour, spicy and sweet, and of course my love for sweet and salty. The perfect combination of amazing-ness.

When I was planning on putting in my order to Red Leaf Tea, they had caramel popcorn matcha on sale and I figured why not. After opening the package the aroma filled my nose. I was in heaven…All the buttery notes of popcorn caught my attention and were soften with the creamyness of caramel. I thought theres no way it can actually taste the way it smells. I planned to prepare it traditionally and added a couple ounces water with two bamboo spoonfuls of matcha. After whisking for a good minute, a nice frothy foam formed and finally time for the first sip!

The taste was delicate and had the perfect balance of butter and sweet creamy caramel. A bit of the matcha flavor came through, but I barely detected any bitterness or vegetal flavor. Now that I knew what it tasted untainted, it was time to turn it into my favorite style, tea latte. I warmed up some vanilla soy milk and just a touch of agave. I normally sweeten my teas with Truvia, but I figured the agave flavor would add more emphasis to the caramel.

At this point is where this matcha truly shined. The touch of milk and sugar brought out the flavors even more. It was like a warm cup of salty, creamy, buttery, caramely goodness. I also equally enjoy this matcha as an iced latte. When I’m in a hurry before muay thai or jiu jitsu practice, I throw everything in my magic bullet and voila! tons of foam and a latte under a minute. This is the perfect alternative to any energy drink and it’s became my favorite ritual of the day before practice.

I definitely recommend this flavor to anyone who loves sweet and salty or loves caramel. You can purchase this match from:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/caramel-popcorn-matcha.html

Baaaahhh I’m so happy my computer is fixed :D So I felt like matcha was a good choice for this morning. And I was right :] The flavor is absolutely lovely. Sweet cherry and matcha. The flavor still reminds me of a cherry tootsie pop. Absolutely delicious.

Today is a matcha kind of day :] This smells so good! It kind of has a hint of the cherry medicine smell to it but that was expected.. The flavor reminds me of cherry tootsie pops or a cherry sucker :] Oh my goodness. This is good.

This morning has been interesting… I’m attempting to make a raw tomato bread and my blender wasn’t big enough to hold all of the ingredients so I had to get creative and blend everything separate. Ugh. Let’s hope it turns out.
I needed something to relax with and for me matcha is as relaxing as it gets. I love sipping out of my little bowl :] This smells amazing! It’s more of a raspberry candy smell though, like most of Red Leaf’s fruit matchas. The flavor is light and sweet. To me the raspberry is very juicy and natural tasting. Very nice :] The sweetness of the fruit blends so well with the matcha. MMMmmm :]

Thanks to Azzrian for a sample of this!

This is very tasty. It’s not as fruity as I would have liked, but it’s not too bitter, either. I don’t know if I’m getting a lot of sangria flavor, but I am getting some subtle fruity flavor. Azzrian put it best when she said it was a cross between citrus and red berries. It’s not absolutely repulsive, but I don’t know if anyone is going to say “Man, that’s definitely Sangria”

A good middle of the road matcha.

I mentioned earlier that this had a pleasant aroma and I really think it does. A co-worker asked who was ‘boozin’-it-up’ and I had to laugh. Apparently it’s more potent than I gave it credit for! Regardless I like this. It does have a bit of something in the aroma that I can’t quite put my finger on…slightly fruity…not sure if it’s peach or berry or a combo but it’s really appealing. It has a slightly juicy flavor to it, too. It’s not really bubbly-texture-wise but fun and festive like a champagne would be, I guess.

Enjoyable from start to finish!

Azzrian thanks for this one! YOU ROCK!

I will be giving this a more lengthier review soon but I had my first cup of this 2 days ago and really enjoyed it. The aroma was lovely. The flavor was neat, too!

I created the ultimate filling breakfast drink with this matcha: night before, I took 300ml of vanilla soymilk, bit of honey and 3 T of chia seeds and left them puff up overnight. This morning, I took half of that concoction, 1/2 cup of more soymilk, half a scoop of protein powder and 3/4 t of blueberry matcha and shook ’em in a jar.

This recipe probably works with any matcha, but the blueberry flavor worked really well here and matches the weird texture of the chia seeds. Yum! Now to get on with my day – I got a shawl to block!

Filling combo:

Silk Fruit Protein soymilk in mixed berry + some blueberry matcha + little ice. No sugar needed since the milk is pretty sweet and fruity. The taste got really blueberry with hint of other fruit, so very tasty. But omg, I feel so full drinking this with a light breakfast. I think I need a gaiwan oolong or green session to make me feel less blobby.

(see previous notes for review)

I was planning on making a strawberry matcha post weight lifting smoothie, but I found some sad looking frozen blueberries in my freezer and decided to do an all blueberry smoothie instead.

blueberry matcha 1/2tsp + soy protein powder + 1.5 cup soy milk + blueberry jam + frozen blueberries + some greek yogurt + ice. phew!

and I inhaled my smoothie! I was so hungry and this doubles as lunch!

Because I’m slightly crazy, or too creative. I decided to sweeten my blueberry matcha latte with blueberry jam.

Chunky, but delicious! Super Super blueberry taste!

I totally needed it too – it’s my rabbit’s birthday today. He’s 1 year old, and very angry about wearing his birthday hat that I made this morning, that it was crazy to get a picture of him wearing it. See picture: http://bunnyjiujitsu.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/img_2828.jpg

MMm blueberries, my favorite fruit! I go crazy with fresh blueberries – eating lots of them! Off season, I love blueberry jam. I’ve been planning to give this matcha a whirl for awhile. Let’s see how it goes:

Blueberry Matcha
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/blueberry-matcha.html
Matcha Quality: Classic Basic Grade
Flavor: Distinctive

Out of the package, the matcha smells blueberry candy – like a huge blueberry sticky lollipop! Over the top sweet blueberry flavoring smell.

Prepared simply as a hot cup of matcha, there is a mix of flavorful earthy matcha with a finish of blueberry taste. However, I kinda find this blueberry sharp and tart, like I’m eating a bunch of blueberry skins packed into a sip.

While I was making this as a latte, I took a sip of the matcha made with a bit of hot water and sugar and it tastes a nicer blueberry flavor, the sweetener hiding that blueberry tartness.
As a latte with soymilk and some sugar, this matcha becomes a nice mix of blueberry and creamy flavors, backed up with the depth of earthy matcha. I think I will at least sweeten this matcha, as I prefer the flavor more.

I find the Distinctive flavoring does a perfect job here – it does taste more blueberry than matcha, but still enough green tea taste to remind you its matcha.

I can’t wait to combine this matcha with my other flavored RLT matchas!

mmm d-lish!
Super glad I jumped on the Large size for this matcha. I don’t have any milk right now, but I know it will make a kick butt latte when I get the chance.

The fig is sweet – closer to a fresh fig than a fig newton, in my opinion, so yay for that!

I’m reseraching LUSH like a mad woman – I have to say the smell does remind me of a Dorothy bubble bar. I think I have a new found love for fig-scented and flavoured things – bring on more fig tea please!

Another goodie from the traveling tea box.

I mixed this up the way I have been with matchas. Milk and ice in my metal cocktail shaker.
This smells like eggnog. i havent had actual egg nog in years. My first experince with actual eggnog wasn’t a pleasnat one.

I think this tastes like eggnog, but I enjoy it this time around. Creamy, vanilla, custard, spicy. Yup this is so good. I would probably drink this in place of eggnog throughout the holidays.
I’m not suppose to like matcha. I don’t need a new beverage addiction.

I’m thinking about starting on protein shakes in the am, since I don’t usually eat breakfawt. I wonder how the flavoured matchas would lend to it?

made a latte of it this morning it’s good but not great :)

I had this as a latte this morning and realized that I much prefer the pumpkin pie matcha :D

I made a latte of this earlier this morning and it was yummy :D

Sip sip down down. Updating my cupboard here because I’m way behind. Wouldn’t purchase again, but can’t figure out if it’s because I didn’t care for the ratio of the various spices or because of the black tea base. Or both?