Matcha Outlet

I really want to rate this one 100 after today’s discussion because this tea makes me want to have a tween moment. OMG IT’S SO GOOD! #bestteaever #heaveninmymouth

On to the review – Seriously this matcha is amazing. I’m officially addicted to Red Leaf Tea’s flavored matchas. I’m working on placing an order right now. I had it over ice with almond milk this morning instead of my usual coffee and it hit the spot. It’s perfectly buttery and caramely goodness. I thought I would get my fiance addicted to these but luckily for me he prefers his coffee in the morning. This is another homerun from MissB!

Sipdown (135/142)!

Of course it would take until the last time having this for me to finally taste it. Ugh.

To prepare I made the last of what I had (around a tbsp) into a milkshake! I used one frozen banana, a cup of milk, and took scoops of Greek frozen vanilla yogurt with the matcha – all blended together.

It was really good; the banana was definitely a strong flavour but I actually tasted the matcha almost equally, which really surprised me given the fact I’ve always struggled to taste this flavour of matcha. It was creamy, and pudding-like, and even a faint bit lemony just like any Bavarian Cream I’ve had “in real life”. It was a pretty good milkshake, and I enjoyed a couple cups worth of it!

A nice way to finish this one off.

Ugh; so I last posted tasting notes a few days ago and noted in one of them that I was starting to feel sick. Apparently I know my body well; I am indeed very sick and have been since I last posted tasting notes. Ugh.

My stupid asshole boyfriend gave me Strep Throat. Which is such a fucking piss off because I’ve hardly gotten to enjoy any tea since SUNDAY and on top of things he’s being really weird and not texting me back/basically blowing me off or whatever, and I can’t tell if I’m just super pissed off about it because I’m sick and feel like shit or whether it’s something that’s actually kinda dick-ish and whether I should be calling him out on it. Blah.

So there’s my semi sick rant on this tasting note which really isn’t all that much of a tasting note because I just cold whisked this into some milk and it seemed to do literally fucking nothing but turn the milk green. Definitely not impressed with this one – and now I’m at a point where I’m just pissing around with the last of it until it’s a sipdown.

Which should be soon.

And this concludes the backlog, for now!

In cold milk when I got home. I wanted to work on finishing off matcha (looks like a sipdown for this will be soon), and I wanted something cold instead of hot so this worked out to be the perfect thing.

It’s the second time I’ve had this and I was told that I’d probably find it more flavourful the second time around but it’s still just slightly creamier milk to me. Ah, oh well. Can’t love ’em all nor would I want to.

…And now sleep; I’ve gotta be up early tomorrow to go shoe shopping and stop at the bank.

Thank you Courtney for the sample! I love getting to try new matcha flavours so it was a pleasant surprise. I also liked being able to try it before placing my matcha order (which I put in tonight: 30g of Bananas & Cream, Cheesecake, Coconut, Pear, Pineapple, Strawberries & Cream, and Tiramisu).

I had this in the morning for breakfast and I have to say… Not so impressed.

It was prepared in cold milk but I didn’t really get much of any kind of flavour from it: just maybe a faint touch of creaminess? But it was weak and left me wanting so much more from it. Not my cuppa tea at all…

But still thankful I got to try it! Maybe I’ll double the dose next cup…

Sipdown (133)!

Finished this one off in a batch of Pina Colada sugar cookies that also used RLT’s Pineapple Matcha! You can read the full review here:

http://steepster.com/roswellstrange/posts/325588#likes

First tea of yesterday morning.

I worked a regular eight hour shift yesterday even though it was Christmas Eve. However, since I’m spending Christmas at my Dad’s my mom is in Vancouver visiting a ‘friend’ for Christmas I had to get up way earlier than I would have normally in order to accommodate taking a different bus to work. I have to say though, for a shift on Christmas Eve all went surprisingly well. It was a blissfully slow day with very minimal expectations from management as they all knew that no one wanted to be there.

My Dad/Step Mom don’t have any milk in the house so I had this whisked into almond milk to kick start my morning. I have to say, of all the milk alternatives almond is very low on my preferred list. The only substitute I dislike more is regular old soy milk. That said, I thought this was very tasty in the almond milk! The coconut was creamy and delivered a rich flavour and the almond hardly noticeable at all. I don’t know if that’s a testament to the matcha, the ‘milk’, or the fact my tastes are just slightly altered because I’m still sick.

Made my own “Pina Colada” matcha milk by mixing this with RLT’s Pineapple Matcha!

As far as I can remember, I hadn’t actually done that yet which is kind of CRAZY considering that when I first ordered this matcha a year(+) ago that was one of the first ‘flavour combinations’ I had in mind. It was tasty; but also at the same time I felt like the flavour was lacking. I’m pretty sure that stems from the age of the matcha and not the pairing itself though. Lets be real, this matcha is old as balls. Even just opening up the packages I could tell they weren’t as fresh, juicy, and intense as they were brand new. But that said, they’ve still got life left in ’em!

I definitely tasted the pineapple a lot more than the coconut though.

It just dawned on me the other day that since I’ve started drinking cashew milk I haven’t tried all of my older matches in cashew milk yet, and that’s a whole new way to re-explore them! Since coconut is probably my favourite (next to maybe Pineapple) of my older flavours I’m starting there.

Sadly; I thought the cashew milk detracted from the confectionery buttery creamy coconut taste I’ve grown accustomed to – it tasted more grassy and vegetal that usual and the flavour of the cashew along with that made it feel rather choppy and disconnected. However, I’ve not lost hope; cashew milk is turning out to be a little hit or miss, but maybe one of the flavours I feel is less suited for regular milk will actually taste better this way!

Only one way to find out.

Queued Tasting Note.

Made this one to drink during my tattoo appointment; I measured out porrly though and it was really watery and disappointing. Boo.

But…

I promised information on getting my tattoos done on Tuesday, so here it is! I went in a little bit nervous, but mostly really excited! I think I’ve mentioned it before in other tasting notes, but when I visualize myself, how I’ve always visualized myself – is with tattoos.

Getting my arms shaved was kinda weird; and my artist was like super, super tender about it. And then he put the stencils on and I checked them out in the mirror to make sure everything was laid out how I wanted it – when we actually started, I was so braced to be in a lot of pain. I know tattoos are supposed to hurt so I was ready to white knuckle through that pain; much to my surprise it didn’t feel like much of anything. In fact, it was really relaxing. I imagine that acupuncture would maybe feel similar. Honestly, taking the surgical tape from the bandages off the next morning probably hurt more.

So far everything’s healing up pretty nicely; I’m definitely making sure to follow all my after care instructions – these tattoos are gonna be with me the rest of my life; I want to make sure they look good! There’s a small bit of very light scabbing on the Tabula Rasa one but after checking several different websites it looks to fall very comfortably within the range of what is normal. I’m already getting a little sick of explaining to people what they mean, though. I explain Tabula Rasa (means blank slate, and to me means “Fresh Start” and symbolizes my moving to Saskatoon and starting fresh) and they all go “Oh!” and nod because they can at least emphasize with that. I explain Camellia Sinensis to them and they just look at me very blankly…

I’m very excited to go and get more work done though! Next up is probably either going to be the series of Shel Silverstein illustrations I want done (the Candle from Invitation, bearded man, and one of the panels from The Thinker of Tender thoughts) or getting the actual Camellia Sinensis plant done on the same arm my CS word tattoo is; but that’ll absolutely be a bigger piece since I plan on getting something that’ll cover most of the length of my forearm.

Afternoon Steepster! I hope everyone’s New Year has started off on a positive note. Anyone make any New Years resolutions? I don’t mind sharing mine; I’ve resolved to at least begin the Tea Sommelier program; through online correspondence though which isn’t ideal, but seeing as I don’t live in London, Ontario…

Unfortunately I missed the deadline to sign up for the first course (of eight, I believe) as sign up was in December – but I’ll be checking frequently to sign up for the next offering! Definitely excited!

As for this one, I definitely switched things up a little and instead of doing this creamy matcha in straight milk like usual I made things a touch more adult by adding a shot of white rum to the mix. Shaken, not stirred. Coconut and Rum and natural pairings, and I thought it would be a fun way to switch up the usual way I prepare this that would still taste similarly. The flavour of the rum was actually much, much stronger than I was expecting and not gonna lie there was a little “alcohol burn” from how potent it was. So I guess a shot was more than enough to add a little flavour. It still tasted good though, and the flavour of the matcha certainly wasn’t erased or overpowered; the ratio was just not as even as anticipated.

I happen to also have Pineapple Matcha so perhaps I’ll reevaluate my formula a little bit and try it again with a little Pineapple Matcha mixed in – really step up the tropical aspect of this one. Kind of like a “true” Pina Colada; but the matcha version.

Mixed 2:1 with Maple Syrup Matcha as the “2”. Despite using more maple this was the dominant flavour. You can read more about that in the full note here:

http://steepster.com/roswellstrange/posts/269214#likes

Whisked into cold milk and snuck in before leaving for work in the early afternoon. Delicious, frothy, creamy coconut treat as per usual deliciousness.

Everyone should try this matcha at least once. It’s just short of life changing, really. And it can be used so many great ways (though milk is the front running choice).

Matcha Milkshake!

This time with a slightly less conventional matcha combination? I guess?

So here’s the recipe:

3 Small Scoops of Vanilla Ice Cream
1 1/2 Cups of Milk
2 tsp. of Coconut Matcha
1 tsp. of Pumpkin Pie Matcha

I don’t know why, but I’ve been really playing around with my Pumpkin Pie Matcha this week; I guess in an attempt to try it even more ways and to just use it up. And I guess some part of me is starting to recognize that Autumn is sneaking up, and that part is slowly transitioning into Pumpkin flavoured stuff, starting with latte-esque stuff.

This was very good! The coconut was obviously stronger in flavour than the Pumpkin Pie seeing as I used more coconut matcha, but it had a layer of creamy pumpkin and nutmeg/cinnamon underneath it that just made everything pop and added so much depth to the milkshake. It was the perfect late night treat to enjoy while watching sappy romcoms online!

I definitely recommend trying it out for anyone who has both matchas!

Coconut Matcha Soda and Macaroni and Cheese for breakfast! It may seem like a simple meal, but it’s the best I’ve cooked for myself since last Wednesday when I got sick – and certainly the most fun I’ve had with my matcha…

Somewhat sadly this finishes off the Coconut Matcha from Courtney; thankfully I still have a full 30g bag of it sealed in the freezer – but now I’m probably going to wind up opening that a little sooner rather than later.

As a matcha soda; this is ok! It’s pretty refreshing and feels like some kind of tropical spritzer type thing I could be having while on vacation. Downsides are that it’s a bit more vegetal than I’m accustomed for with this particular matcha, and not as creamy. For those reasons, I prefer this in milk: but I will enjoy the rest of the soda I’ve whipped up too.

Side Note: I’m so pissed at my mailman right now! I checked the mail at 10:00AM today for my Red Bubble T-Shirt order and the mail hadn’t been delivered yet. I checked again at 11:00AM and the mail had shown up but the stupid mail guy had just left me of those pick up slips which means I have to go rescue my stuff from postal jail.

It’s a huge piss off though because the postal jail they send my stuff to is not closely located to my home despite having THREE other post offices within a closer range (ugh!), and I have a standing agreement with my post guy that if he gets stuff for me and no one answers to just leave it in the boot room, which is unlocked (because the door to my area of the house locks and so does the door to my landlord’s area of the house). So, either my postal dude is being a dick or it wasn’t him today…

Plus, NO ONE KNOCKED!

Even more frustrating: there’s an $18 charge to go pick up my stuff. Why!? Don’t tell me it had inadequate postage: I bought it online – those bitches should know their shit. I just want my fucking t-shirts.

Mixed 50/50 with White Chocolate Matcha in some cold milk for a super special, creamy treat! Read about it here:

http://steepster.com/roswellstrange/posts/243535#likes

I was totally shocked to receive this and some other matcha in the mail this morning from the so lovely Courtney who sent me some surprise tea!

This is one I had planned to add into my matcha order, despite never having tried it, so I was incredibly stoked to get to taste it today to confirm whether or not I need 30g of it. The short answer is: yes I do. It was so so so good! Like the creamiest tastiest coconut milkshake type thing. I have literally nothing to complain about.

In other news: I couldn’t put in my tea or my t-shirt orders tonight despite a huge paycheck. When I went to the store to buy my prepaid cards they charged me for them ($400 dollars worth) but immediately after doing so the Assistant Manager, who had sold them to me, declared that the cards had not activated like they should have.

Seemed like a simple fix to me; just refund them and sell ‘em to me again but with working Prepaids… Apparently not so easy! Now I’m $400 short in my till and have to come into work early tomorrow and stop at the store to get this resolved by the store manager himself (who had to contact the “higher ups”). I’m incredibly pissed off. This should have been resolved TODAY because now I’m $400 out which is a very uneasy and scary feeling.

Ugh.

So, here’s hoping I can place my orders tomorrow…

Why did I not review this sooner? I was sure I did, then when it came to removing it from my cupboard I noticed it had no rating. Well I can write a review now, I’ve had this one a bunch of times and it was absolutely delicious. The watermelon is distinct in flavour and pure, there is no way about it…this is watermelon. I love watermelon. If I could I would marry watermelon and have it’s babies. The Matcha itself works well with the flavour, adding a silky element to it. I used this Matcha as a latte, traditional with water, as an ice cream topping and as a lip gloss scent. It was perfect throughout whatever I tried and I am sad to see this one go, I have maybe three cups worth left which will be finished this weekend I imagine. I need to get some more flavoured Matcha as soon as I get some money.

Uh, yummmm!

Made this as a hot latte earlier when I felt in need of a sweet treat after my lunchtime salad.

It’s hard to get strawberry flavored anything without a heavy chemical note, but they’ve managed to pull it off here!

It tastes a lot like a strawberry milkshake with only the faintest hint of a chemical taste.
Really creamy and full of strawberry deliciousness, as promised by the name.

I’d consider adding this to a future order!

Thanks for sharing some of this with me, Courtney!

Thanks, NayLynn, for sending me this sample in the gigantic package of tea you sent my way! Honestly folks, this woman is beyond generous.

I’m always excited to try new matcha, and I’d planned to try this today anyway. When I woke up feeling as though I was taking a bath with the devil in hell, I thought this was as good a time as any. I have no idea why our place was so hot last night, but at least I had a cold drink instead of a hot one. I had this in cold milk, and probably should have blended it for a bit longer, as there was still some powder floating around in the milk once I was done. I could drink most of it, though.

Had I not known this was bubblegum flavoured, I don’t know that I would have necessarily identified it as such, although it is certainly more of a candied sweet taste as opposed to a more generic sweet taste, so there’s that. And it was enjoyable and certainly not at all offensive or anything, but so far at least I don’t think I’ll be including it in my eventual RLT order. I’ve got enough to try again though, and so I’ll probably do just that. It made for a refreshing first glass of milk in the morning, and I’m so glad for the chance to try it. Thanks, Nay Lynn!

Also, let’s be honest: every time I drink matcha I’m inevitably comparing it to the bananas and cream flavour, and to date none has really lived up to that one quite yet.

Thanks again, Nay Lynn!

Sipdown (126)!

Finished this off yesterday in my non-broken glass tumbler. Sadly the one I’m left with leaks, really badly, so it was a messy ride to work on the bus.

To finish this off I used about 1 tsp. – all that was left, in a 50/50 mix of hot water and milk. It was really good; creamy and silky with a nice, cooling peppermint flavour. I’ve found that in straight milk this tastes chalky, but that didn’t come through with the 50/50 mix. I actually enjoyed this one a lot, even with it’s super powerful smell. I’m still so sorry it contaminated the rest of the matcha samples I sent you Cameron B.

On a frustrating note; I called into work sick today – I have a horrible headache, and super scratchy/sore through. Kind of typical cold stuff; but it would have been awesome to have this around today because it’s such a great sick tea; especially in straight cold water. But how could I have known I’d be sick? Ugh…

Cold shaken in water, in my timolino.

I was running really late yesterday heading to work and didn’t have time to wait for anything to brew so I just scooped a little matcha into my timolino and shook it up on the way to work. It was a surprisingly good replacement to hot tea, especially since it was so hot out yesterday anyway.

This is probably the ultimate in cool, refreshing things to drink! It’s so minty! And I’m really happy I didn’t have to sacrifice my ritual timolino full of tea just because I slept in. Will definitely keep this in mind for next time I’m running behind!

And Big Brother is up online now; so probably gonna pause on tasting notes because I really want to watch the episode! Especially because ultimate Big Brother couple Jeff and Jordan are in this episode, and Jeff is gonna propose!!!

Cold shaken in icy water to help with breathing when I was at my stuffiest. It did the trick a little bit, but not nearly as well as I was hoping. I’m going to blame that on myself though; I’m quite sure I improperly measured out the matcha I wanted to use.

So I finally got around to having this in milk! And to summarize the experience in one word: “nope”.

It was so weird and unpleasant: like if someone had taken a bottle of those pasty mint flavoured Tums and crushed them all up then mixed the chalky slurry with a cup of ice cold water. Ew, right!?

But it’s ok: maybe it’s good that this is one I don’t like in milk: afterall with how much matcha I have it’s going to take quite a lot of milk to finish it up and having a variety of ways to enjoy it is a plus. So I’ve got Club Soda + Pear or Bananas & Cream and this one in straight up cold water, and the others in milk…

Works for me.