Matcha Outlet

I got the eggnog as a free sample along with another flavor a purchased (caramel), and I have to say, I was EXTREMELY disappointed in this tea.

I don’t know if it was a fluke sample, but I made it once on its own, using close to traditional prep methods, and it was horrible. The tea itself was very bitter and the sweetness of the eggnog flavor on top of that astringent taste was a bad combo.

I prepped it again, figuring I must have done something wrong since I’ve never had matcha that tasted this bad before but the second try wasn’t any better. Added milk and a little sugar for the “latte” effect and it didn’t help.

Thankfully the caramel flavored matcha was significantly better, so I am wondering if maybe I just got a bad sample. But the friends I made this for really disliked it, and they were surprised because I have made them good matcha before, so…

Disappointed.

http://www.infusedmusings.com/2014/04/01/red-leaf-tea-matcha-review-eggnog-caramel/

I have done the unthinkable for me…….I tried this shaken up in water. It is not as fantastic as a latte, but it still works! I am pleasantly surprised! Lots of spiciness with a hint of pumpkin. Mine is a small with robust flavoring.
1/2 tsp in about 8 oz water. I will be doing this again and trying it with my other flavors.

(I just noticed that the amount of tea must be at least 1 tsp. in the “How much tea and water did you use?” section. I think that placeholder there needs to be formatted to not round numbers….it rounded my 0.5 tsp to 0 no matter how I entered it.)

Sadly, this one I didn’t enjoy. I tried it both as a hot milk matcha latte and a cold matcha milk to no avail. The flavours upset my stomach. I’m not a huge fan of popcorn as it is, so perhaps that played a part. I’m not sure I could completely differentiate the flavours, but it struck me as more super sweet, borderline ‘burnt’ caramel/butter mix.

Thanks for the sample VariaTEA! Another matcha to leave for those who do love it in the future. :)

This is a sample sipdown too, the first one of the day eep.

This is quite strong and is quite perfumey, but I love EG and this is no exception.
It does taste luxurious with my whole milk and stevia, but for curiosity sake,
I would like to try it hot as well.

Interesting flavor, the best way to describe it is similar to a caramel almond butter type flavor.

I have been lucky enough to receive some yummy matchas from swaps lately. I didn’t understand why people would make spreadsheets for their tea. Well, now I understand! I have no idea who sent me some of these teas. Why did think I would remember? But who ever sent me the next couple teas that I log… well, thank you very much! :D
I made the Cookies and Cream Matcha as a latte with 1 tsp. in 6 oz cold lite soy milk with a couple ice cubes. I added a touch of stevia. Blend and , whoa! What I nice dessert. Very satisfying and refreshing. The cookie and cream flavor is gentle and i would probably like it a little more in my face, but I would recommend it to all dessert drinkers. It really worked as a sweet treat for my dieting. I still have to be careful about the calories in the soy milk, but at least it’s nutritious. I lost another 4.2 pounds in the last two weeks.(total, drum role… 24.6 pounds!!)

Afternoon snack time! Popcorn and English Toffee matcha milk. It sounds weird but it works really well together!

I got home from work early and thought matcha sounded good. I made some with milk and it was tasty for sure. I pretty much chugged it. I’m a matcha fan thanks to the free sample I got from Red Leaf. I probably won’t order this one again, but I’m excited to try out a bunch of their other flavors that sound delish!

I woke up and really wanted something refreshing and cool, but alas I didn’t have enough milk to make another matcha milk! So I went with matcha soda, although the only carbonated water I had was coconut flavored. The combination is surprisingly good! I get a little coconut flavor at first, but then the buttery/nutty flavor of this matcha comes through and actually blends pretty nicely. Kind of like a macaroon? But not really.

This is my first matcha milk and I am liking it! A LOT. While I wouldn’t say that it really tastes like toffee, there is a very nice buttery component to it with a hint of nuttiness. I will definitely be ordering more matchas from Red Leaf, although maybe not this one. It’s good, it just didn’t blow my socks off. Thanks for the preparation instructions, Marzipan!

Well, this one is a bit bizarre. Added to this is that this is my first matcha soda and I’m not a fan of carbonation, but besides that it is just weird.

Is that licorice? It’s reminiscent of cola, but also not. I don’t really know what to say about this one.

Thanks for the sample VariaTEA! Yet another matcha flavour down.

I’m also happy I have a cup of Dolce Vita steeping away haha.

I’m really digging the hot matcha lattes. Almond milk is so freaking creamy that way! This matcha is nice, but it’s more of a hint of strawberry, rather than a definite strawberry. Maybe I need to up my flavor level to robust from now on. Anyway, it’s still creamy and delicious!

Hmm. I’m not sure about this one. It’s a bit too floral for me. But on the upside, that’s one more matcha flavour down!

Thanks VariaTEA!

This one is still so tasty. I’m in a bit of a tea rut, but I thought if anything a matcha milk would cut through that.

I let this one sit all day yesterday in the fridge and I’m just enjoying it this morning. Delightful. This is a sipdown of this particular package, but there’s more in the post currently. Phew.

P.S. guys I went to pick up lids for my mason jars at Canadian Tire and I saw they had mason jars with the lid and straw like David’s, but for a little less. I thought it was pretty neat because the one at my store was Aladdin themed hehe.

I have a lot of work to do for school before tomorrow. I’m now reviewing some and learning every single thing there is to know about the cardiovascular system. And I do mean everything. The prof told us this morning, if we had happened to register in two classes (the max for a spring term) to drop the other one, because there was no chance of passing both. I already knew this and only registered for histo. At least I’m a step ahead there. :)

Ahh, but this matcha is pretty close to perfection. The flavour is so delightful. I am running very low on both this and Banana & Cream, the two I’ve decided need to be in my life at all times. This means I’m open to flavour suggestions for other matchas because I can’t justify an order without doing one of the deals.

MY WELLIES ARE HERE! I went out to check the mail 15 minutes ago, and they weren’t here and it was NOT raining. Then, not 5 minutes later I heard the UPS truck pull up and I flew outside and it was raining and they had arrived!

I’m going outside to play in the rain in my new wellies!

Here they are: http://s770.photobucket.com/user/courtneyns/media/Steepster/8538D85D-CB04-4742-8726-74C40B80A827_zpskaqtyead.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

Oh, and this tea is awesome.

I made another cold matcha and waited for the right moment to finally crack this open. I have been craving watching Skyfall for the last few hours, but instead I’ve been diligently working on my conservation cue cards. This is my treat.

It’s very similar to Peanut Butter, but for some reason my mind has decided I’m actually enjoying this one. Maybe because it’s delicate? I feel the Peanut Butter may have been distinctive (note go back and check). Either way, I’ll be ordering more of this in the future.

Also, in less than a week now (by a few hours), I will be in Vancouver! I think I have my list of teas to pick up complete.

Mmm. I put 1/2 tsp. of this in a mason jar of milk and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. I spent a significant portion of the afternoon intensively researching wellies, which means I’ve now decided it’s time to get this paper done. This was just the tasty kickstart I needed.

This one is working much better for me than did Peanut Butter. It has a similar taste, but the addition of “Pie” on the end here makes it more acceptable to me. It’s funny how the mind works. I am thoroughly enjoying this now, but I’ll have to do a more detailed note later.

Thanks VariaTEA for adding this one into our matcha order. Excellent choice!

Here’s one from Roswell Strange! Thank you – I’d heard good things about this one and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s definitely more chocolate than coffee, but the coffee lingers in the aftertaste. It’s very nice. :D

VariaTEA was awesome, and along with our joint matcha order, she sent a ton of matcha samples my way. :)

This one I did my standard way, mixed with cold milk and allowed to sit in the fridge a few hours. I’m not really getting anything distinctly toffee-like, but it does make a nice creamy milky drink at least. Nothing special for me here, but always grateful to be able to try matcha flavours without buying them myself.

Thanks VariaTEA!

I’ve been searching up wellies for a significant portion of the afternoon (you know, because it’s not as though I have exams to study for), and I think I’ve finally narrowed it down a couple styles. What do you guys have for wellies?

My first sipdown in SOOOOOO long!
I’ve been busy with Disney okay haha.

But thank you QueenOfTarts for sending me a huge sample of this. I think I was able to get like 5 cups!! I love it so much and I definitely cut a ton of corners with this tea. If I know I need energy to last me through the day, I just throw it and some vanilla almond milk into my timolino and then I’m out the door :)

In other news, I worked a 6am to 1pm shift today and as I was driving home, I decided to grab some chipotle. I was already getting a lot of stares since I was still in costume. The lady at the counter told me to have a nice day, and I responded with “Thanks! And you have a magical day as well!!” ha. IT HAS BEGUN.

Backlog from last week from when I worked a super long shift and was still not used to everything Disney! This is such a quick tea bc I’m lazy haha. I literally just measure like a tablespoon of this into my timolino and pour cold vanilla almond milk on top and just shake it as much as I want all day long! I love this tea tons :)