Matcha of the morning…..
It was time to pull this one out just to see how it compares to the way I usually prepare my matcha. For a cold version of this, it calls for 6-8 oz of milk and some ice, plus a scoop of the matchaccino mix, and then blend in a blender. When I make regular matcha, it is 6-8 oz milk, 6 ice cubes, 1/2 tsp matcha, and 1 packet of Spenda blended up.
First off, I think I got the lower quality based on the reviews I read here. I think I read somewhere here at Steepster where Red Leaf mentioned that there was a lower quality matcha batch that got mixed with a good batch, so you were kind of taking a chance, hence the lower price. No worries on that as the price I paid was fair. The product in my bag is kind of a brownish green rather than the bright green I am used to for matcha.
This differs slightly in overall taste. I do find the caramel flavor is kind of light (it is delicate). To me it mostly just tastes sweet. A little too sweet. The texture is much better, but I have some ideas why that I will explain later. I can tell the difference in matcha quality as it tastes just a little green. This is not bad (remember I have the lower quality that was a cancelled “special order?”), but I think it would be better in the usual grade of matcha.
The texture differences are all due to the sugar, xanthan gum, and tapioca dextrose. Sugar itself adds bulk in comparison to Splenda. Xanthan Gum is definitely a thickener, and from what I can quickly research on the tapioca dextrose, I think it is a lower sweet/higher bulk than the cane sugar. It is nice because the ‘middle’ of this feels filled when drinking it. In my usual version, you can kind of sense the ice just not quite being enough to fill it out. If that makes sense. The only thing that seems to suffer because of the added bulk is there is not as much room for frothiness.
I think for me, I will stick to the normal flavored matcha. Adding the Splenda is not an issue for me as that it what I use to sweeten all of my tea. It just comes out frothier (unless that is a product of the quality of the matcha and not the bulking agents.)
