Matcha Outlet

Matchaaaaaah!

I think this one is settling in to be the overall family favorite. My daughter and I love the caramel, but my son does not. He loves this one, though. I find his preference a little strange as the flavors are kind of similar. All I know is this one is on the list to buy more. I just have to hope(ask?) for it to be a deal of the day sometime.

I do get toffee! Yum. I have classic base, and distinctive flavor. It is perfect this way. Of course, at our house, it is always made up with 1 c. milk, 6 ice cubes, a packet of sweetener (don’t judge!), and 1/2 tsp of matcha all blended up into a frosty drink in my mini-blender. Soo yummy.

Matcha of the day….

I was only going to keep two or so of these open at any given time, but the mocha disappointment made me want to open this one, too. Well, I think we got three good ones in our four pack which is not bad odds. This one is pretty tasty. I do get toffee flavors. It is kind of like a roastier version of the caramel. I do have distinctive flavor level (with classic matcha base)and think that robust would be better.

Edit to add: My kids both love this one!

Made with about 1 c. milk, 1/2 tsp. matcha, and ice in our mini-blender.

Latte!

I actually made this latte at work yesterday and all morning I had people asking me what I was drinking and when I answered “an eggnog matcha latte” I had to spend far too long explaining that it was an eggnog flavoured matcha and not a matcha latte made with eggnog – it was a whole thing, and I think I disappointed several people who were hoping that the office fridge had suddenly been stocked with eggnog for the holiday season. That said, this did actually take kind of like an eggnog latte! Definitely had the nutmeg/spice element and the sweetness correct, and a hint of custardy goodness. The mouthfeel was off – eggnog has a distinctly thick but silky/creamy taste and this was just normal milk.

I think making an eggnog matcha latte with eggnog has definitely gotta be on my holiday drink “bucket list” this year, though!

Overnight Oats!

Simple recipe with my usual ratios of oats, almond milk, vanilla agave, chia, and matcha. Nothing else added to this one! Came out quite good, though simple – tastes of creamy vanilla custard with a hint of nutmeg. Not really “eggnog” but delicious and decadent! Solid breakfast option to start any day off with…

Iced with some oat milk added in, from earlier in the week. I’m trying to make more of a conscious effort to drink more matcha as I have a lot of it on hand right now. This was nice and the sweet, soft spices were excellent but I wish it was a little creamier and a little sweeter…

So, I am in complete denial about the fact it’s so close to Christmas.

I mean – yesterday it was +5 degrees Celsius and it rained all day. It does not feel anything at all like what it should feel like this late in December. I even started my Christmas vacation yesterday from work – at this fancy new job I get TWELVE days off in a row. That’s ridiculous to me. What does someone even do with that much spare time!? I’m trying to do things to make it feel more like winter/Christmas though – drinking holiday themed teas, eggnog, watching Christmas specials of my favourite TV shows, going out and walking around the city and looking at all of the Christmas lights. So maybe I’ll get to that point eventually where it just clicks and I start to feel a little more festive.

Obviously this was a part of that whole “get into the Christmas spirit” sort of goal: it’s literally the most appropriate time of the year for me to break out the eggnog matcha. I even took it up a notch my making my eggnog matcha in eggnog. I don’t think I could get more eggnog-like if I tried! But… It’s not doing it for me.

I mean, don’t get me wrong – it sure as hell tastes like eggnog. But I’m just finding it too rich, too sweet, too creamy: all of the things that I normally deeply crave from eggnog. What is wrong with me!? I don’t think it’s the tea. I think I simply am just not really in the Christmas spirit.

Bah Humbug.

Actually purchased this pouch from Matcha Outlet rather than RLT, but they’re essentially the same thing anyway…

So I bought this earlier around summer, but when I bought it I definitely had the intention of drinking it/having it around for winter. The other day I realized that we were already half through December and I hadn’t even had a single cup of it! Of course I had to remedy that. Since I’ve had this before, I skipped the “trying it straight” step I usually take and I just went straight to mixing it with eggnog for an iced eggnog matcha latte, twofold. It was very thick, and rich and of course tasted really heavily like eggnog. I loved it though!

Super enjoyable.

Sipdown (198/200)!

Deja Vu; I’m basically just drinking the teas I had yesterday to get in some sipdown which is a sort of “meh” plan because I’m not enjoying them a whole lot – but I will be relieved to have them cleared out so I guess that’s the payoff here.

I did a shit job sifting/whisking this though; lots of lumps. Ick.

I appreciated having this around for the Christmas season – but it’ll be summer soon (even though it doesn’t feel like it) so time to move on from some of the Christmas teas I have stocked. Maybe I’ll reunite with this come winter/Christmas.

GUESS WHAT!

I didn’t type “Eggnong” when I was looking for this in the search bar. I’m so proud of myself!

Anyway, I only have one more serving of this left after the cup I made myself last night. I’m pretty ok with that though; it was yummy but not really something that screams “summer matcha” – right? Right. Plus, I have so many other kinds to enjoy thanks to all you crazy generous people!

I noticed this was frothing up really fucking well last night so I “drank” the entire 10 oz. of it as froth. Some of it was added to Adagio’s The Pint – but most of it was just continuously frothed up and the scooped out of the cup and enjoyed as this lovely light and airy eggnog treat. It took forever to finish it off, because I kept having to refroth – but it was delicious.

I may have typed “Eggnong” again. And by may have, I mean I most certainly did.

Anyway, Iced Latte whilst watching Season 9 of Bones while Tre is at school.

I just realized that, holy shit, I have company coming over in two days. Better than that, non-family company! One of my friends from Regina (Tre’s graduating class, but a closer friend to me, and someone I hung out with a couple times whilst in Regina) is coming up for a weekend and staying at our place!

It’ll be great because he’s an avid tea drinker and I’ll have someone to talk to over the next couple days other than Tre. Downsides? I have to give up my super cozy couch and return to sleeping on my God awful bed (or just let him sleep on my bed, but Tre says that’s weird). Also, he’s the biggest conspiracy theorist that I know – so I’m gonna get to hear lots about that…

Made a small amount of this in cold milk. I may have used a bit too much matcha; it’s really strong.

I’m trying to catch up to VariaTEA! Everytime I make a new batch I notice that she’s made more too. Blerg. I think part of it is that I’m accustomed to drinking large amounts at a time though (8 or 10 oz. mugs and a few 12 oz. timolinos full). Smaller cups would allow me to get through more tea quicker…

Made as a tea soda.

1 tsp. dissolved into a can of club soda; tasted pretty good, but more green tea than eggnog flavour this time. Again, I think fizzy drinks may have been a bad idea for a sore throat (though I am feeling better than I have the last three or so days)…

I had a craving though – so I scratched it.

And Tre wont make me eggs :(

I was originally planning on grabbing the orange matcha I have to make into a tea soda, but after seeing the mess that Tre made with my Eggnog matcha I ended up pulling that package out to try and clean it up, and just winded making myself some of this instead. Part of it, I think, was that I realized I had already enjoyed two orange teas today so I kind of wanted a switch up anyway.

So, I made this into a tea soda! Weird, I know. I’ve never heard of an “Eggnog Soda” but something in me was sure it’s be worth trying. So, I used a tsp. of matcha dissolved into about an ounce of hot water. I then poured a can of club soda into the water bottle I was dissolving it into (I have issues drinking matcha when the flavour is something that isn’t meant to be green, and eggnog definitely falls into that category).

The smell is very strong. A distinct eggnog smell. Taste wise, it surprisingly works. The only thing that’s especially weird (you know, other than the carbonation) is that is doesn’t have the thick, creamy mouthfeel that I associate with eggnog. The taste is pretty bang on for eggnog though (albeit with some green tea taste in the aftertaste that is a little undesirable).

But no, I think this was a good experiment. I’d actually very likely drink it again – especially if I had Christmas baking to go along with it like I currently have next to me (eggnog soda and gingerbread!). I really, really enjoy using matcha for tea soda! Once I figure out some flavours that I just can’t do without, I’ll have to make an order so I can make this a more regular thing (I still have pineapple matcha to try out using this method – so I’m quite hopeful about that)!

Yay! My family is here and we’re celebrating Christmas! Although, the “not yay” part is that my mom is being really bitter about her recent break up with ‘he who shall not be named’ – and I literally mean he shall not be named, I’ve been forbidden from even saying his name. Anyway, lots of yummy baking and such.

As part of our Christmas traditions, we all opened a present early on “Christmas Eve”. For me, that meant I got 50g of DAVIDsTEA’s Jessie’s Tea and 50g of DAVIDsTEA’s Guava Cadabra! I was only expecting to get one kind of tea, so I’m definitely a happy camper!

Also, my brother leaked to me that my Dad (who I wont see until January) picked up the DAVIDsTEA Christmas sampler pack for me, which I SPECIFICALLY said not to do because I already own more than half of the teas in it (in large quantity – 100g of Gingerbread and 190g of Choconut Oolong because Tre bought me 50g of that for Christmas too – and I already had 140g of it), and the third is one I don’t enjoy at all. I’m actually kind of pissed off about it, honestly, because the last time I saw him in person was the day before the Christmas teas came out and I made a BIG deal of telling him I was going to be buying them to try for myself, and the last time we talked on the phone he asked what I wanted for Christmas and I mentioned that if he was even thinking of getting me tea I had already sent a list of blends I wanted but did not have to my mom and he could check with her. Otherwise, I DID NOT want him to pick something out because it was too risky because I have so many DAVIDsTEA blends and he has no idea of knowing what I do and don’t have. He didn’t listen at all.

So, I’m basically begging my brother to convince him to return it. Maybe it makes me an awful person, but I don’t think I can even fake being happy about receiving it. I told him to tell Dad whatever he needed to in order to make that gift go away, be it that someone else already gave the exact same thing to me (he could say that was the present Tre bought me – he’d never know any better) or that he saw my collection and I own everything already (not a total lie). I was very specific about receiving tea this year, so whatever it takes…

Anyway, on to this one…

I recieved this as a sample from Red Leaf Tea and wasn’t really planning on trying it currently because my mom was supposed to be bringing actual eggnog (but she forgot). However, my mom wanted a Christmas tea to drink and since there was no eggnog in the house I listed this as one of the options (I did not list Butiki’s Creamy Eggnog though because I do not have a lot and I didn’t really feel like sharing it…) and it was the one she picked.

For preparation, I used 1/2 tsp. of matcha in 12 oz. of cold milk, which I then split for the two of us. Honestly, I did a REALLY horrible job of mixing it and it looked quite gross. I could have probably done a better job but my sister was rushing me because she wanted to open her present.

My mom, although surprised it was a cold drink, really enjoyed it though and said it tasted very much like actual eggnog. I have to agree – despite being poorly blended it was very rich and creamy tasting and nice and smooth going down (despite lumps of unblended matcha). I can’t imagine this would be good hot, and I think it might be weird cold shaken in straight water so I’ll likely be finishing the rest of my sample in cold milk.

I’m quite pleased with my latest matcha experiences. The first ones I tried where just awful (cold shaken black cherry and unflavoured matchaccino mixed into milk), but this one and orange matcha cold shaken and as tea soda were a definite improvement. Enough so to keep me from flat out righting off matcha altogether!

Backlog:

I’m not big on alcohol, and while I have enjoyed the alcohol flavored/infused teas that I’ve tried (most of them anyway!) I can’t really tell you with expert opinion that what I’m trying is an alcohol infused or flavored tea because I really don’t know enough about the nuances of different wines/spirits to make that determination. I can only really say what I taste, and base that opinion on my memory of what I remember a certain alcoholic beverage to taste like (I did have some college days, and I spent more time drinking alcohol back then than I do now).

That said: this sangria matcha is sweet and fruity, and I did enjoy it. A hint of brandy-like flavor, but mostly what I taste is fruit notes. This was a robust flavored matcha (classic grade), and I think that a little less flavoring would be better for this blend. I think that the flavors overpower the matcha flavor, but I can taste the buttery sweetness of the matcha and a hint of creamy vegetative taste.

This is better cold than hot. Much better!

Overall, an enjoyable matcha, but not my favorite from Red Leaf Tea.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/10/07/sangria-flavored-matcha-red-leaf-tea/

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/eggnog-matcha.html

I love Eggnog and Eggnog Tea, but there is NO match for this:
This is good as a hot or cold latte or classic preparation of matcha,
But I prefer to drink the Classic Eggnog in a cold latte with whole milk…
I am addicted and unashamed
The quality matcha that Red Leaf supplies to its customers
is tasteful and honorable…I would not be ashamed to serve it to anyone.
Eggnog is my favorite flavor and
YES! I highly recommend it

So far, this is my favorite matcha…
mixed with whole milk (cold) & a touch of stevia.
I love eggnog and this is to die for.
Thank you Miss B ☆

This is my first try at Matcha, and I didn’t follow directions EXACTLY… I thought I would want extra matcha to have a stronger flavor, but it made it slightly bitter. The flavor is dead on for Egg Nog, so I am going to try again later. Also, I tried it hot just to see if I would like it that way…NOPE…I think I want some whole milk in this…may award higher numbers later after I learn to follow directions & use whole milk :~)

thanks so much to Sil for this one!

red leaf really is a wonder…. i have no clue how they accomplish the nuance of flavours in their matcha without preservatives or sugar.

honestly, this flavour is not my favourite…. the madegascar vanilla has been my favourite so far, but the components of this were very clear! easily a moana loa nut praline! i am hugely impressed.

i wouldn’t buy it…. but red leaf, you have my full attention. this is what i drank on the day of my last exam… the one i sleep walked through? the one i barely remember? somehow, with a fever and sick as a dog i got through with a B+. as far as i’m concerned that’s a 3 way effort: mine, Sil’s and yours, red leaf. because i have no other explanation.

still enjoying these matcha powders with cold milk….

Hm. Cream inside a donut? Okay, I’ll try that.

Size: Small (30g)
Quality: Basic
Type: Regular
Flavor: Delicate
Made with 8oz cold coconut milk, 1 tsp of Truvia and mixed with a chasen.
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/bavarian-cream-matcha.html

It’s been a while since I’ve had a donut of any kind, much less one with cream in it. Still, I like pudding/cream and I used to eat eclairs with bavarian cream in them like they were something I needed to survive.

Out of the bag it smells light and creamy, and it tastes pretty much the same. There’s a hint of lemon, but it’s mostly cream and butter. While I like it, it definitely requires more stronger flavoring. This would be fun to mix with maraschino cherry and belgium chocolate to see if I could make my own version of a black forest cake.

Ok, so this is my first attempt ever to make a matcha latte. Seeing how I don’t have any of the proper equipment like a bamboo whisk or whatever, I think I did okay. I think I could have used more matcha to milk ratio because it tastes mostly like warm caramel-flavored milk to me. I was reading online about matcha lattes and how some people opt to add sugar. I’m glad that I tasted it before I did because it is extremely sweet on its own. Maybe it’s because I didn’t add enough matcha, but I am not getting much of the matcha taste itself. I am, however, getting an overwhelming caramel, so maybe it is just the caramel masking other tastes. Anyway, I still have enough to go at it again, so I will try try again!

Its all in the preparation?

Yes, I am looking for a way to enjoy this rather than let it go to waste. Today, I added 3/4 tsp to some hot cocoa. It was not terrible. The mocha flavor was light and worked well with the cocoa but I could definitely taste the green tea prepared this way. I am not a green tea drinker no matter how hard I try, so it was a bust.

I know the flavors in the matcha are as much an olfactory experience as taste. I tried the same trick on my daughter (with her knowledge, of course) using Cookies & Cream matcha and putting it in her hot cocoa. She said she could smell the flavor, and it was as much the smell of certain flavors that were not exactly agreeable. The whole experiment was pretty much a fail. We will be sticking with the milk/ice/matcha/sweetener blender drink.

This is one of a four pack we ordered over last weekend. I am pretty sure it is the one my son was most excited about. Unfortunately, it is not what he expected. I guess I have this one all to myself. Ours is classic base, distinctive flavor, prepared with milk, ice, and sweetener in the mini-blender.

The flavor in this one is average. I now think one should stick to robust flavors for coffee types as that is how coffee is. Robust. I get light chocolate and coffee, just what you’d expect, but because it is light it starts tasting like something is wrong with it rather than it is mocha flavored. I am sure it would be better stronger. I am not sure I will take a chance on ordering a different flavor level as I am no longer that adventurous with my tea dollars and there are definitely a few we love.

I have to say that taking a chance on a flavor is not all that fun for me at this point. I don’t like spending money on something I/we might like. I do appreciate the sample program and can’t wait to see what they offer in January.

Hmm. Having the last bit of this in a cup of unsweetened almond milk. It’s better with a little sugar – regular milk is actually quite sweet.

It’s nice, though. Smells of oreos, and almost tastes of them. I’m not getting any chemical taste today, just almond milk and cookie.