Matcha Matsu (Organic)

Okey-dokey then.

I purchased a matcha box from the online Quebec Tea Festival, https://en.festivalduthequebec.com/ , because I felt that it would be good to discover and rediscover matcha teas and products. This matcha packet amongst others was included, as was a matcha spoon, whisk, and small bowl.

(if you are interested, I think more discovery tea boxes are available in Canada. I have been pleased with everything I have sampled so far.)

Edit—just checked the site and only the grand cru box is left for sale. Good value though no matcha.

The matcha mood rarely strikes me, but wow, today was the day that I really had a craving for it.

Yesterday, I had purchased a different brand of eggnog from the one that I usually buy. This one is thinner and sweeter with less nutmeg. Perfect for a matcha accompaniment and so it is.

I whisked a heaping spoon of matcha powder with about a cup of 175 F water, added a glug of eggnog, and Bob’s your uncle.

This drink is divine. The matcha flavour shines as does the eggnog. A really good balance of both.

Now I need to take a look at the quality range of matcha s at DT’s. I hope I am not using the most expensive and highest quality matcha with eggnog. Maybe that would be a waste.

But even if so, this is plenty delicious, so no regrets though I may opt for a cheaper one next time if so.

I may have to go caffeine-free for the rest of the day as I’m already getting a bit of a buzz.

Edit—not the most expensive one, so yay!

Day 5 of 24 Days of Matcha

I’m not a fan of plain matcha’s so just mixed it with some raspberry matcha and it was ok but can definitely tell the base is plain

David’s Matcha Advent Day 2.

I’m still learning to froth the matcha. Last time too much water. This time it was getting closer to froth, a little around the edges?

The two words I’d associate with it while drinking were fresh and smooth, but the aftertaste was much more bitter. I felt compelled almost immediately to add milk and found I liked it much better, almost as if it balanced out better (and I don’t normally drink any milk in tea).

DavidsTEA Matcha Advent Calendar 2020 – Day 7

Taking Roswell ‘s lead on this again and logging the Day 7 honey infused matcha to this tea, as this tea was in the honey. I had high hopes for this and was going to put it on toast, but had a small taste on it’s own and…no. Lol not my favorite flavor. Now full disclaimer – we have our own bees in our yard so we get some pretty fine very local honey at my place lol. I think this has spoiled my perceptions of any other honey. And on top of that, the super grassy note of the matcha in the honey…it reminded me of dark seaweed with sweetness. Not my thing lol.

Couldn’t bring myself to put this on toast, but did whisk up some Pumpkin Pie matcha and added a bit in there, and it worked out okay as it was pretty masked! Will probably finish the little jar of it in that manner haha. Not sure if I will be brave enough to try it on toast…interesting for sure!

Sipdown! (8)

So my mother, husband, and I spent a good part of the day shopping for furniture because, even though we’ve been in our house for two years now, we still hadn’t bought a lot of things. It was a very productive shopping trip! We brought home two nightstands, an area rug, and a small side table to go next to a chair in our bedroom. And we’re having a small dining table and chairs (for the breakfast nook), a glass cabinet (for my teaware), and tall bar-like narrow table (for nothing in particular…) delivered next Wednesday. Yay furniture!

But after all that shopping, I was a little worn out, and the snoring pug lumps in my lap weren’t helping matters… So I prepared the rest of this packet, leftover from the advent, hot with half water and half oat milk. I also added a drizzle of vanilla syrup at the end.

Warm, cozy, creamy, and just what I needed for a bit of energy! Still a nice amount of matcha flavor shining through the milk, and just a little bitterness at the end of the sip. This was my first time using oat milk with matcha as well, and I really liked it!

Smoothie matcha for this morning. Since straight matcha is a bit much for me without milk (too bitter for my tastes), I had prepared it as a latte, but I’m still working through my carton of Coconut Milk before it goes off, and while it had a nice texture, foam, and was sweet and creamy, making a fine latte in its own right, the coconut flavor was still a bit too powerful to really judge the nuances of the matcha. So I decided to make the same smoothie tonight for tomorrow’s breakfast, but this time whisked the matcha in hot water and tasted it before adding the milk (even though I knew I’d wince from the bitterness, haha!) It had a deeply vegetal aroma, very spinach/asparagus on the nose. The flavor was very umami, vegetal, and a bit grassy, and yes, bitter until the milk smoothed that out. With coconut milk added, mostly only a sweet grassiness comes through, plus the coconut flavor, which honestly is pretty nice and reminds me of a coconut-flavored matcha I once had.

This mixes well with other flavors, because even though it was quite strong on its own, it blended very smoothly both into the latte with the strongly flavored milk and into my smoothie (and honestly, I really just use “plain” matchas for culinary uses rather than “straight drinking” anyway). I made a Mojito-esque smoothie — the coconut milk matcha latte was thrown in the blender with some of Vahdam’s Namring Upper Darjeeling Autumn Flush Green Tea (which I didn’t like much at all) that I cold-brewed in the fridge with peppermint leaf to give it a “minty” flavor, then I added lots of mango, a bit of yogurt for creaminess, and a splash of lime juice. Made for a nice mint/lime drink!

(But why am I drinking mojito flavor when there is snow on the ground?!)

I like to make iced matcha lattes at home using this Matcha Matsu and almond milk. It’s a great green tea. I haven’t tried baking with it yet but I would like to whenever I get to pick more up.

Adventaggedon Day 2 – Tea 1/6

Another day, another advent… or six!!

I was pleasantly surprised to see a straight matcha included in DT’s matcha advent, though it would have been nice for it to have been more mixed into the middle of the advent – I have a feeling we’ll be all flavoured matcha and treats from here on out.

I like Matcha Matsu a fair bit – for what is technically the “lowest” grade of matcha from DT I think it’s very smooth and creamy, with fresh vegetal flavours! It’s also, fun fact, the matcha that is used in all of DT’s flavoured matchas. So, I’ve had it a lot. Today I just rocked a plain, hot cup while working at the lab today – it was a bit chaotic so finding the time to whisk matcha was not the most convenient thing in the world, but it was a tasty cuppa once it was made!

Today’s advent photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CIUQkZLAFJz/

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.

I drink matcha every morning. Though it’s still expensive, this is the one when I drink when I’m broke, and don’t have any DT points to redeem (awesome program btw!) The flavor is good (I just feel like I’m spoiling myself when I drink the ceremonial matcha… even though I only buy that one with points, ha!) It’s got that grassy green taste to it (because… it’s green tea), which I do enjoy. It is essential to the flavor, that the water isn’t too hot. When I have a cold coming on I add cinnamon, ginger, lemon juice, and honey to it. Delicious! (I use 1/2 a tsp in 8 oz of hot water, but steepster wouldn’t let me log it that way)

This matcha is perfect in a protein smoothie in the morning. The energy I get from it is a great bonus.