Second Red Leaf matcha of the day! I am actually feeling kind of icky and nauseous, and don’t want any actual food so matcha is pretty much my food for the day haha. Okay, maybe not the best for you, but it’s sooo good!
I really love watermelon, but so often it’s just a bit icky and gross and artificial in tea, candies, pretty much anywhere you’d put watermelon. You know, like a Jolly Rancher! Confession: I actually do like Watermelon Jolly Ranchers. BUT I don’t want my tea to taste like that! I want fresh tasty watermelon. And I do trust Red Leaf to deliver on really authentic watermelon taste!
My matcha is as follows
Size: 30g (small)
Flavor: Distinctive
Quality: Basic
I almost went with robust flavoring but I am really glad I didn’t: the flavor here is stronger than the cheesecake, which is the same level. Maybe the fruit is just more powerful tasting! I think Robust would totally drown out the matcha flavor, which I definitely don’t want.
In the bag, this smells… like a Jolly Rancher. Uh-oh! I wasn’t too worried, since often sitting around in the bag have a much stronger and more artificial smell than the actual taste. I didn’t really want a latte for this, so I decided to experiment with a smoothie! I have no clue how to make a matcha smoothie so this was definitely a bit of a mad scientist project.
I first sifted & prepared the matcha extra strong. I tasted it at this point, and wow! Too strong and a bit bitter for my taste, but the watermelon flavor was spot-on. Kind of like a plain matcha was made with watermelon juice instead of water! Hmm, now I wonder if you could do that—make matcha with juice or something instead of water. I do have some tamarind juice in my fridge, I’m tempted to make the caramel matcha with that!
I popped the mixed matcha in my food processor (yeah, I don’t have a blender haha) with some chunks of fresh watermelon and ice, then blended away. When it was done I added a splash of milk as well, because milk and matcha go together like… well, watermelon and summer!
OH MY GOD. This is sooooo delicious! Juicy, fresh, amazingly bold watermelon taste. The milk adds some really nice creaminess, but it’s still refreshing. This is summer in a glass, sweet and cool and just.. uhnf, I am in love. Everything I have tried from Red Leaf so far has been beyond my (admittedly high) expectations. I think I am a matcha addict now! You can find this matcha here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/watermelon-matcha.html
I am wanting to try my hand at making some matcha ice cream with this. Perhaps the next time I’m at the store I’ll get the ingredients I need.
Alright, I keep seeing all your flavoured Matcha’s. What does Matcha itself taste like? I’m thinking I may need to try some flavoured matcha
mmm any matcha icecream you attempted would be delicious. this one is seriously awesome with heavy cream so that would hit the spot! Luxury really!
@tattooed – matcha kind of tastes like green tea on an intense scale. It’s a bit grassy and smooth, sometimes astringent or spinachy. Do you have a starbucks around to try a green tea smoothie? Or a DavidsTea to get a tea to go? I think those would be the best ways to get an idea of the taste before committing to buying a lot! :)
@DaisyChubb: what options did you select for this tea? I got the basic matcha with the “distinctive” flavoring, and it turned out perfect for me.
I got the basic flavouring with the basic matcha! I feel it could use a little more flavouring if I order it next time, so I think you may have picked the perfect amount!
That said, it’s still pretty flavourful this way – I couldn’t mistake it for any other flavour :3
A watermelon tea doesn’t sound good to me, but a watermelon Matcha does! :))