Matcha Outlet

I’m coming down with a cold or flu, so what better time to get in a healthy dose of matcha than now? I haven’t tried Pumpkin Pie with the green matcha base, but I thought I may enjoy it better with a black matcha base, which I haven’t tried until now, because I find that spices go better with black tea, anyway.

So black base. Check. Robust flavour. Check. Basic grade. Check.

Dry, the powder smells quite spicy. The cinnamon is at the forefront, followed by the clove, then nutmeg. I can’t smell any pumpkin in there, but the combination of spices most definitely suggests pumpkin pie.

I’ve prepared this in two ways. The first time, I tried this hot. I did the usual, sifted the powder, added a bit of water, mixed it up, added a bit more hot water, then added some So Delicious coconut milk. I also added in about ½ tsp of white sugar. The base is a little stronger than I had expected. A bit bitter, but that bite melds into the fiery spices.

I prefer how I prepared it the second way, as a cold latte. I combined about 1 tsp of matcha with three ice cubes, ¾ cup water, ¼ cup So Delicious coconut milk, and half a tsp of honey. Now this is more my style. Cold, the spices and bitterness have mellowed. This now has a much creamier vibe, like pie itself. I’ve also noticed that the cinnamon isn’t as strong when cold. The nutmeg and clove are definitely more prominent. Plus, the black base is definitely quite a bit bolder than your typical green base, though.

Check out Pumpkin Pie Matcha here!: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/pumpkin-pie-matcha.html

Too bad I used up the rest of my fresh pumpkin purée. I could have added some to the cookie dough, or made pumpkin cranberry loaf with a shot of this. That would have been awesome!

I was really excited to try this tea. I am a soda lover, and cola matcha is probably one of my all-time flavored matchas. This one had a few reviews, so I decided to take a chance on it. The package had a very interesting ginger-y smell. I put a 1/2 teaspoon of matcha into my water bottle, as usual, and stirred it up and drank it cold.

I’ve made this a couple times and I’m not as impressed as I was hoping I would be. Part of the problem is that I’m not really getting the ginger ale flavor. It’s more ginger flavored than ale flavored. It doesn’t quite have the “flat gingerale taste” that I was hoping for like cola matcha does. I read another review that said this tasted like Vernon’s but I’m not getting that at all. It’s not a bad tasting matcha, necessarily, but it’s not as true to the flavor as I was really gunning for.

It’s worth mentioning that I did get this flavored robust, as I usually do. I’m wondering if maybe I should have scaled back the flavoring a little and the ginger wouldn’t be so prominent? I don’t know. The flavor isn’t my favorite, as someone who likes ginger-ale, and LOVED the cola matcha, it’s a little disappointing. If you’re like me and loved the cola matcha, and are looking for a similar soda-flavored matcha, this is not it, unfortunately.

I’ve officially jumped on the flavored matcha train! http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cheesecake-matcha.html
Being obsessed with green tea flavored everything and also having a weakness for cheesecake, I figured this would be a perfect start. I feel like I was in one of those movies, where the person patiently waits by the door everyday for the postman that never comes. Ha..okay maybe not that bad, but I was fairly excited when it finally came.
After opening the bag, it smelt so incredible I was tempted to eat a spoonful of the matcha. Realizing that wasn’t the best idea, I opted to make an iced green tea latte. I wanted to get the full flavor of the matcha untainted so I didn’t add in any sweetner as I usually would. I whisked a little bit of hot water and the matcha and it foamed up nicely. Being a bartender, I threw the matcha with ice and soy milk into my shaker tins and shook away. The foam from the ice turned super frothy and tasty.
The flavor was to the t what I imagined liquid cheesecake to taste like. Right down to the slightly lemony tang you get from real cheesecake. It was more complex than just sweetened cream like I expected. After adding in a little agave the flavors popped even more.
Later in the day I even found myself craving more and decided to make a hot latte instead. I usually am a fan of iced drinks, but after having this as a a hot latte I think I’m converted. This is a very versatile matcha that I can’t wait to mix with other flavors…
mmmm pumpkin pie..caramel..acai..white chocolate… =D

Peppermint and watermelon smoothie? Uhhhhh yes please.
Funny, I’m not a huge fan watermelon in general, but real watermelon in a beverage? Oh goodness! YUM! (though it is my fave melon overall, I really couldn’t care less for the others, they taste chemical-ish to me)
At first I wasn’t sure which matcha to use but then I remembered that mint helps headaches, and have a pounding one today. So mint? It made sense! and ya know, they really seem to go well together.

Also, I gave some to Dad and he went down memory lane… apparently my Grandmother used to make all sorts of smoothies, unheard of teas, and other experiments, with him as the guinea pig. Ha!
Well, I’m happy to have something in common with my grandmother. She left a bunch of costume necklaces behind and I wear them often in a bid to remember her. Also because she had great taste :P
But this? This is SO MUCH BETTER than retro fashion. It even makes my headache worthwhile. Miss you Grandma xx

I’m finding that this doesn’t mix with other flavours as much as I’d hoped. For some reason mixing it brings out a salty aftertaste. Strawberry, caramel and raspberry truffle so far. Very odd. Nor does it go well in smoothies. SO… I’ve been making it solo, or with almond milk, but my fave so far, hands down, is mixed in with some fruit, cereal, or chocolate bits, and vanilla yogurt!! Oh yeah baby. Those are some happy moments.

Mixed this with Almond milk. Didn’t add anything since I wanted a baseline for how the mint and nut dairy mixed. Peppermint was still strong, but almost perfectly muted. I can’t wait to try this with some caramel! Mmmmm
Lowering the rating a smidge. Gnight y’all!

Wahoo! I’m the first to review this matcha!!
And whew, what a matcha it is. When I opened the package, my head went immediately to CANDY CANES. Yup, that is exactly what it smells like. Then I whipped some up and is it ever strong! I got a small with robust flavouring and basic grade and it is perfect. I did add half a teaspoon of sugar hoping to cut down the intensity and it seems to have done the trick.
Next time, I’ll try distinctive but I suspect that this is only a hair stronger than I’d like, so the lower flavouring level may be too light for my preferences. YUP!! There WILL be a next time. Oh man, I cannot wait to try this in all sorts of ways. Peppermint and strawberry, or caramel, or cheesecake! Or in a latte. Hey maybe I can mix it with chocolate sauce and milk for a low cal minty “hot chocolate”!! better yet, with a dash of vodka on those cold winter nights. (sighs!)
I have a feeling that this will be gone long before Christmas heh :P
Rating: 90 ish
Anyhow, if you want to buy some for yourself, you can get it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/peppermint-matcha.html
Oh and do yourself a favour and buy a tin. They are the perfect size!

What a perfect tea to mark my 750th review :D

Sipdown! It was one of the oldest teas in my cupboard, and the very last of my RLT matcha. Really going to miss it. I was really extravagant and added the remaining 5g to my banana protein smoothie. I still have a GC for reviewing matcha but with the crappy dollar exchange I don’t even know if it would be worth it. Hmm.

I’ve been neglecting my matcha lately. Funny how when I made my first RLT order, I’d rip through a 30g pouch in less than a week. Now it’s taking me a year just to get through the larger 60g pouch, it seems. I still love you, matcha, I just need to make time for you.

And that is what I did this morning. I have coconut milk to use up, so I blended a cup of unsweetened coconut milk with a heaping teaspoon of this matcha, and threw in 100g of frozen mango. It’s better than I expected (due to my skepticism towards the quality of the mango)! It’s almost as thick as ice cream and the mango pairs very well with the matcha.

Morning matcha protein smoothie:

1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2g French Vanilla matcha
1 tbsp Fry’s cocoa powder
40g BSN Syntha-6 Chocolate Peanut Butter protein powder
150g ripe banana

Topped off with a dash of roasted Saigon cinnamon. Yum! It’s been keeping me full for three hours now. The matcha gets lost amongst the cocoa, banana, and protein powder, but it’s still a nice addition.

Protein shake is happening right now:

40g BSN Syntha-6 in Chocolate Peanut Butter
175ml 2% milk
~1 tsp. French Vanilla matcha
60g frozen raspberries
1-2 oz. Amaretto (whoops!)

Not surprised that I can’t even taste the matcha. Mostly raspberries and Amaretto with the protein powder in the background.

Apparently I haven’t had enough of this matcha today. Know what I made for supper?

French Vanilla matcha pancakes.

Because I can.

I had this with my last cup of chocolate milk. Refreshing! But I think I prefer this matcha with almond, soy, or coconut milk. And chocolate milk on its own. Yeah.

I made a Matcha Cow to keep me company while cleaning, so basically a cup of milk, Kahlúa, French Vanilla matcha, and a pinch of nutmeg.

Seeing that I have a huge bottle of Kahlúa just kicking around, I ought to perfect this Matcha Cow invention of mine.

I would have dubbed it a Green Cow but apparently that’s Pisang Ambon and milk.

Had this for breakfast yesterday and today. I know I know, sorry my notes have been supremely boring. I only brought an x amount of tea to my mom’s with me.

I normally prefer it cold but I’ve been drinking it hot with soy over the past couple days and it’s wonderful. Vanilla is such a perfect flavour. Now I want more vanilla teas (well, that’s not new).

I normally enjoy this cold as a smoothie or latte but I thought I’d enjoy a hot cup of this beauty this early afternoon.

My mom has a cute mini teaspoon hanging around in the drawer so I measured with that. Nothing to sift with but it turned out great anyway.

Grassy with a light French vanilla accent. Probably still my favourite flavoured matcha.

Mmm, topped off today’s supper (spinach salad with almonds, blueberry goat cheese, and strawberries) with 1/2 a pint of strawberry matcha smoothie:

1 tsp French Vanilla matcha
200ml Silky organic soy milk
5 strawberries
1/2 tsp chia seeds

I only had one problem. I wanted more!

Alrighty then, so apparently it only takes me 10 days to go through 30g of matcha. This is already done. I enjoyed my last serving with half a cup of frozen blueberries and strawberries, plus about a cup of soy milk.

I don’t think I’ll bother removing it from the electronic cupboard since I’m going to be ordering more, probably a large size, or even two! You can’t go wrong. Vanilla goes with everything.

Before I get back to my pile of schoolwork, I wanted to write about the amazing smoothie I just made for breakfast. In a blender, I added (approximately) the following:

8 strawberries
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tsp French Vanilla matcha
2 ice cubes
1/2 tsp vanilla agave nectar

The way the strawberries and French Vanilla matcha play together is spectacular. It’s thick, creamy, and dreamy.

When fresh strawberries get too expensive to justify, aren’t in good shape in the store, or aren’t anywhere in sight, I’m SO grabbing a bag of frozen berries to continue with this trend. I’ve already ripped through half my French Vanilla matcha, and I got it not even a week ago.

After a long three-week wait, my very first Red Leaf order has finally made it to my doorstep! I’m always eager to try anything vanilla, so this was a must. And French vanilla? Sold. Automatically.

I actually haven’t had any matcha in a couple years, so I thought I would start out my flavoured matcha journey with the regular, Classic (basic grade). Seeing that I love vanilla, I also opted for robust flavour, because I can never get enough of that creamy French vanilla.

I decided to make a cold matcha frappé. I blended three ice cubes, about 1 tsp of French Vanilla matcha, ¼ cup of So Delicious coconut milk, ¾ cup of water, and a tsp of sugar. I wanted to add some honey instead but I had zero patience for it since it’s crystallized. I want my matcha fix now!

The result? Like how I’d imagine drinking a liquefied French vanilla matcha cupcake with shreds of coconut on top would be like. The coconut milk is the perfect ingredient for this. The green matcha has a delicate flavor. Slightly vegetal, but not bitter at all, and the flavor of the vanilla makes me think of sheer royalty. Actually, I’ll admit that I would have liked a little more flavour. Don’t get me wrong, the vanilla in it is obvious, but I was just hoping for a little extra vanilla oomph from the robust flavour option.

The viscosity of the matcha frappé was also a pleasant surprise. It’s a very filling beverage, and seeing that I’ll have to spend a lot of late nights on university-related stuff, I’m planning on keeping this close by for an energy boost. If you’d like to get your hands on some velvety French vanilla matcha, please do so here:

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/french-vanilla-matcha.html

Did I mention I just drank three glasses of matcha over the past couple hours?

Today I decided to buy a milk frother and I was all excited to get home and try it out, only to make a big mess all over the kitchen. Anyway this is another sipdown for me. I seem to be sipping down a lot of stuff lately, but don’t worry, I’m still buying more tea! This is such a nice dessert and makes a good soymilk latte. Not sure if I would get this one again soon, only because there are so many other flavored matchas to try.

Breakfast smoothie of the morning! I used soymilk, banana, canned pumpkin, hemp seeds, ice and the matcha. It was good with a bit of nutmeg sprinkled on top as well. There’s no denying the matcha in this however. It’s actually a really good combination with the pumpkin… and you could make some fabulous desserts with this, I think.

I felt like I haven’t had nearly enough caffeine today and needed an energy boost so I pulled this out of the fridge. It’s been a while since I’ve had matcha and I really need to finish this off soon. I tried it latte form with some soymilk and ended up making a mess all over my microwave. This is pretty tasty as a latte though i doubt I’d drink it plain, made the traditional way with a whisk.

Tea of the mid-morning here. This stuff is good but I don’t really like it plain, I blended mine with some soymilk so create a latte. I haven’t been using this too much, the macadamia matcha got consumed a long time ago. I should find a dessert I could make with this matcha, now that it’s fall… a nice treat for the weekend