Belgium Chocolate Matcha

It is about 10:30 pm where I am and I was thinking I would switch to caffeine free options but then I realized that I only ate lunch about an hour ago so maybe it is not too late to enjoy my tasty, tasty caffeinated teas. So, rather than going for yogurt, I am having my first of possible two matchas. I think the more I drink this one, the more I enjoy it and pick up on its chocolatey goodness. That is probably a good thing because I have A LOT of it thanks to the wonderful MissB and her awesome stash sale.

And another matcha gone! (74) This time I had it with hot water, as usually intended. It’s more bitter than I’m used to when I drink it in milk, and the chocolate isn’t quite as stand-out-ish, but it’s still a little creamy and sweet.

I would definitely restock this.

Azzrian…if I bounce off the walls later – it’s YOUR Fault! LOL :)

It’s a MATCHA-Thon, folks! Who’s IN?

Here’s my first Matcha of my matcha-thon.
It’s been a while since my last sip of this. I usually do a double shot of this…I can taste the chocolate more-so in the after taste – it’s still true green tea//matcha taste upfront…first and foremost.

Believe it or not… I had not had this until today!
Wow – I am surprised at just how good this is!
One reason chocolate was never something I wanted to order is because well – its chocolate – and I am such a chocolate snob I didn’t want to be disappointed, I mean also if I want chocolate (when don’t I?) I figured I would just have chocolate – not chocolate matcha BUT …
This has such a really great chocolate flavor … and this is not even robust or distinctive flavor! I mean I can only imagine how crazy good this would be in a stronger flavor – or perhaps being more delicate is why it is so good – Whatever – its awesome!
I can’t even get my mind around it right now its so yummy!
Whatever preconceived notions I had before are gone.

Sipdown on this one as well since the last little bit of this is on it’s way out to a friend. I had a last cup of this straight since this is usually one of those matcha that i add to my coffee matcha to make it the sort of mocha matcha i want red leaf’s mocha matcha to be. On it’s own it’s still quite good but it will always be a matcha i add to other concoctions rather than one that i drink on my own. Still though, that’s likely reason enough to rotate it in!

Well well, here’s another matcha that took my tastebuds by surprise. I ordered the Belgium Chocolate matcha expecting, well, I didn’t know what to expect! Haha.
I’ve never had a chocolate flavoured green tea before, but for some reason I didn’t even blink or flinch at the thought of a chocolate matcha. It must be the faith in flavour that Red Leaf has instilled in me – if cotton candy works, why not chocolate, right?

There were a few more reasons I sprung for the chocolate – I had also ordered the strawberry and knew they would make an amazing pair! (Chocolate covered strawberry matcha, how sexy!), but I also have caramel and cheesecake matchas which it would also blend well with! Let’s not forget a chocolate covered banana iced latte (might add a little bit of english toffee in there as well for a Skor effect!)

What can I say? I feel like a matcha mad scientist. I’ve got a blending itch that I have to scratch!

So far my favourite way to enjoy this matcha is as a hot latte with all the fixings! I whisk up 1.5 teaspoons of matcha with just enough water (175 F) to make a paste. I then add about a half of cup of water (same temp) and sweetener (white sugar for me) and whisk some more to dissolve the sugar. A simple syrup would also work! Now I heat up ½ cup milk and cream (half and half) in the microwave and froth it up with my milk frother. Add the half and half to your matcha, top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings! This treat is oh so comforting, and could even be recreated with soy/almond milk or 1% for a light but indulgent treat!

Before this matcha I hadn’t found a flavoured tea of ANY kind that was a “replacement” for treats. Yes, I am in love with the cheesecake matcha – but it doesn’t replace my cravings for a big fatty piece of creamy thick cheesecake. Nor does a chocolate cake tea turn me away from the frozen McCains delight sitting in my freezer. This tea, however, DOES cure my craving for chocolate and hot chocolate! Sometimes I get a real hankering for a package of powdered hot “chocolate” – but I don’t even consider this a “substitute” – it’s the real thing!

Find it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/belgium-chocolate-matcha.html

I didn’t realize it was cocoa powder added for the flavor here. Of course I also didn’t read a single thing about it because it was on sale, and you buy immediately when things are on sale.

I’m drinking it cold even though I just came in from outside and it has remarkably cooled down. This is not a sweet chocolate flavor at all, which I love. At the same time it doesn’t actually taste like cocoa powder, or feel like it, in the way a tea like DavidsTea’s Chocolate Cake does.

As usual I have it with a bit of milk and a couple ice cubes. I’m not a fan of the coconut milk I have right now, and I think a different brand or at least one that’s slightly sweetened would really shine with this matcha. It doesn’t even add a richness to this, and that was what I was really hoping for. I still haven’t found my favorite.

This definitely reminds me of matcha and the chocolat chaud I had in Paris…here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/p%C3%A2tisserie-viennoise-paris-2#hrid:6zEUX8xdSIVsBJ9ZpAvxrg Okay that goes right to my review but there is also some blasphemer who comes up first otherwise at least on my usual setting on Yelp.
It was ridiculous. It’s why I wish I had a richer “cream” to match, so that I could pretend I had an iced matcha version of it. This is definitely nowhere as chocolatey but it is very similar in that it’s not sweet, it’s well, chocolate.

I may have mentioned on here before that my first experience with matcha was not a positive one. We had bought a pouch of matcha from a tea store that shall not be named, and Missy spent some time looking around on the internet figuring out exactly how much matcha to use for a cup of tea. Needless to say, it didn’t go terribly well. I took one sip, looked at Missy, and said “Are you serious, you actually want to drink this?”. Except it also involved swearing.

I put my interest in matcha on a back burner at that point. Maybe it was something a future, more refined me would enjoy, but definitely not today.

Then, Red Leaf Tea started showing up and making a huge effort to bring in new customers from Steepster. Reviews started popping up about their fantastic matcha, and the awesome flavors that they have. When the Belgium Chocolate Matcha went on sale, I knew it was time to give matcha another try. I figured, if I can’t enjoy half-priced, chocolate flavored matcha from what appears to be the best matcha vendor around, there was probably no hope.

My order options were:

Size : Small
Matcha Quality: Royal (Premium Grade)
Flavor: Distinctive

A side note: I involved two variables here, which breaks my little scientist heart. However, I thought that the best chance to succeed here would be if I used a better grade matcha, and a more prominent level of flavoring.

For preparing this one, Missy used her battery-powered frother, as opposed to the traditional matcha tools. It may be bucking convention, but it really seems to create a nice, smooth evenly distributed cup of matcha. This resulted in a smooth, but murky jade green drink, which is significantly darker than the matcha-that-shall-not-be-named. This makes it obvious that there is true cocoa powder in here, as opposed to just a flavoring (unless there was a flavoring and a coloring, then all bets are off).

It definitely smells very chocolatey, very sweet without any sugar added. It reminds me of a chocolate cake batter, or possibly muffin batter. There’s the chocolately sweetness to it, but the hint of background… well, I suppose it’s the smell of the matcha itself. Anyway, the matcha smell in the background elevates it a little bit to a baked-good smell, at least for me.

The taste is very smooth. At first, it has a warm hot cocoa flavor to it, absolutely delicious. It is inviting, and comforting, with a subtle sweetness on your tongue (much more subtle in taste than in smell). To me, the first drink was overwhelmingly cocoa flavored, with no vegetal taste to betray the matcha lurking below. Each successive drink makes that matcha flavor come out a little bit more. There is a strangely beneficial aspect to this, and that is that the matcha flavor itself slowly builds on you. It’s very crisp and clean, lightly foresty but without that swampy, seaweed taste that some green tea comes with.

As you get to the end of the drink, there is some matcha that has settled towards the bottom. This is likely because I’m a little bit of a slow drinker, sensitive to hot liquids and such. Or, we really have no clue what we’re doing. Always a possibility.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this matcha, especially if you’re new to the world of matcha. It has renewed my faith in matcha as a viable beverage choice.

You can get it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/belgium-chocolate-matcha.html

Now… to mix it in with a protein shake in the morning…

YUM! This is absolutely delicious. Some of the other chocolate Matcha teas I’ve had have come off tasting a bit like ovaltine. That’s not a bad thing, as I like Ovaltine just fine, but, I like that this actually tastes like chocolate! The best way I can describe this is a combination of Matcha and a thinned sipping chocolate. Very yummy.

Well darn. I was always so confident that I’d love this. I mean, it’s chocolate! How could I not like it… right!?
So… Guess what? I don’t love it. Nooooooooooooooo!
Sighs. Sad sad sighs. How could it be? Was it something I did?! Did I offend the chocolate gods?
It just doesn’t taste like the true, intense, cocoa that I expected. Yeah, I can see how it tastes similar to chocolate. But still, it is not chocolate. It’s too floral for that. Not in a bad way, once I accepted it for what it is. Still, I’m super disappointed.
In my smoothie, it lent an element of that smooth truffle centre. Not chocolate per se, but getting there.
Overall, not bad. I’ll enjoy the rest of my packet with no issues, though I still feel as though the next time I look on the site to place an order, I’d find something labeled “chocolate” that’d hit it on the nose for me and send me into daily matcha chocolate comas!
No matter, there are plenty of other matcha flavours I love. It’s a learning process :)