Red Leaf Tea

YESSSSSSS.

And that’s another matcha gone! (81) :O I try to drink one cup a day (a big one with 2 scoops!) and only keep 4 flavours open at a time to help out with the freshness.

What did I think? I like this – it’s creamy and sweet and enjoyable for times I don’t want to be overwhelmed by flavour (i.e., pumpkin matcha, or bubblegum). Would I get it again? Maybe. There are so many other options out there, but, I would’ve say no to more.

Surprise Sipdown!! (168)

1 tsp caramel matcha + 1 frozen banana + 3/4 cup skim milk + 1 package French Vanilla smoothie mix = 1 amazingly delicious breakfast smoothie! Sweet, creamy, rich, decadent, and probably the best way to use up this tasty matcha :)

I took a sip of my matcha milk today and got the caramel, as I expected I would, but was also surprised to get a hint of saltiness that reminded me of the caramel popcorn flavor. I actually had to do a double-take to make sure I grabbed the right package. However, after confirming it was just plain caramel and being confused for a moment, I realized I had just had peanut butter and the saltiness was remnants of that. Nonetheless, it made for a pretty tasty treat.

So I had a final this morning at 11:30-1:30 and I think my teacher is magical because I got my grade an hour ago. Yay for efficiency!!

Anyways, on to the matcha. This is a sample I got in one of my Red Leaf Tea orders however I have tried it previously and at a higher flavor level thanks to the wonderful Sil. Sipping on this now, I immediately get a big whiff of caramel which is delightful but it doesn’t necessary transfer over into the flavor. This is not to say there is NO caramel taste but rather it is muted in comparison to the scent. It is also a touch grassy. I think I will be sticking to Caramel Popcorn for my caramel fixes but this sample will definitely do until my 60g arrives!!

I don’t know what it is about this particular cup today but having 1/2 tsp of the sample Sil gave me in a glass of cold milk is really hitting the spot. It is so caramel-y and deliciously sweet – it almost tastes as though I put melted caramel in my cup as the flavor is that spot on. This is tasting like an amazingly decadent afternoon snack. Thank you Sil!!

ETA: The first cup was so tasty that I decided to have another. That makes this yet another sipdown!! (165)

So the first time I had this, I was not a huge fan but mixed with a cold glass of milk, this is pure caramel-y goodness. It is rich and creamy and tastes like a cup of liquid caramel. I was worried when I got a whiff of the powder because it smelled sort of chemically but there is no chemical taste here. Definitely raising the rating on this one. Thank you Sil for sharing!

Thank you to Sil for my sample of this matcha. I tried this both as a latte and plain and to be honest I was not as in love with it as I anticipated I would be. I think I am on the minority with this one but I did not really notice the caramel too much. I didn’t think it was bad just not the flavor I was expecting. However, I don’t think I blended the matcha too well because there was powder at the bottom of my cup so maybe that has something to do with it. I will finish up the sample but I don’t think I will be buying more of this flavor.

OK, I enjoy matcha – but I can’t really rate it. I also can’t really taste it?? They all taste like yummy hot milk drink to me, for real. ARE MY TASTEBUDS DEAD OR WHAT AM I DOING WRONGGGG

I saw this and had to try it. It just sounded too yummy, not to mention unique. It is absolutely delicious. The flavor is very light, and the raspberry is very subtle and not overpowering at all. The tea is slightly sweet and no additional sweetener is needed. I really like this tea.

Sipdown!
This was much needed to as I had 9 samples come in from Teavivre and my total tea count is at 130. I still think I can get to 100 for Black Friday though. I’m more worried about getting a good job first! :P (Otherwise I will be very sad as you all place huge orders for awesome prices and I avoid the internet for a few days! Hahah.) I just had an interview yesterday, and I applied at an interesting place today so I’m not discouraged yet!

Anyway, thank you CrowKettle for this! Took me long enough to drink it all, eh? But I enjoyed it.

Also I’ve now organized ALL my teas in my spreadsheet so that if I don’t have the exact date, I have an estimate of when I bought it – time to sip down those old teas!

Backlog:

A tasty bowl of Matcha, although it’s a bit underwhelming. Not as impressive as I was hoping it would be. I mean, I guess with it being a Kiwi Matcha, I had my hopes pretty high. But the flavor here tastes less like kiwi fruit and more like a candied kiwi. Kind of like the dried, sugar coated kiwi slices you’ll find in the dried fruit section of the grocery store.

Don’t mistake that as me saying I dislike it … I’m enjoying it, but, I guess I was just hoping for a more true-to-the-fruit taste because there are so few Kiwi teas out there … and I was hopeful about this one.

Nice balance between flavor and Matcha – the matcha is sweet, creamy and smooth, and the fruit flavor is sweet and fruity. My specs for this tea were the classic grade of Matcha and the Distinctive level of flavoring.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/05/17/kiwi-flavored-matcha-from-red-leaf-tea/

I’m not sure what to say other than “blah.” It smells halfway decent dry, but had almost zero flavor. I wasn’t expecting it to taste like tea, so that’s not it. I would have been completely happy with hot cherry Koolaid, but it tastes like VERY watered down off-brand cherry Koolaid. Two or three sips and the rest went down the drain. I managed to eek out a second cup of Adagio Dewey Cherry that I made this morning and that had twice as much flavor (but only about half of what it was this morning, but I wasn’t expecting much of anything from a second steep).

If you are looking for a good cherry tisane, my first recommendation is the Dewey Cherry and the second is Tea Forte’s Cherry Cosmo. The Dewey is hands down my favorite, but if you are looking for something a bit more tart, try the Cosmo. Neither taste like tea (they aren’t supposed to!), but very yummy.

Triple sip down! I made not one, not two, but three matcha lattes this morning because I was eager to finish this off. Needless to say, I felt buzzed for quite a while.

It was a tasty treat but I’m not going to pine for it. I have my trusty French Vanilla by my side.

Late evening Irish Cream matcha latte. Just finished it and I feel like having another one despite it being nearly midnight. I have problems.

This is an easy way of using up the rest of the vanilla agave, at least.

I thought I’d try this with some vanilla agave and half-and-half today. Hot, of course.

It’s actually quite nice this way. I find the vanilla agave to be really finicky, especially with regular teas, but it seems to pair well with matcha.

Unrelated, but has anyone suffered from sciatica? I think all the sitting I’ve been doing at my desk has led to it. It’s driving me CRAZY. It’s so hard to sleep at night when one of my legs is simultaneously numb and in pain, and cold. Hope it isn’t permanent.

My body is clearly trying to fight off a virus because I slept in until 12:30pm two days in a row now. The almost there body aches and fatigue and mildly sore throat are wearing off so maybe it was worth it after all. There goes half my weekend though.

I’ve had this matcha for quite a while now. I think I purchased it last winter when Red Leaf started with their 5 + 2 free deals and what not. Love Irish Cream so who wouldn’t want a matcha that tasted like it?

For the record, I ordered the basic grade along with the “There’s Matcha in There?!” level flavouring, because I wanted the Irish Cream to be loud and proud.

When I opened the packet, I’ll admit that it smells a lot like the other creamy flavoured matchas, such as Caramel, English Toffee, etc. Is my nose really that dull? But I have such a trained one! So I’m stumped.

I’ve tried it a couple times now, trying to coax out the flavours. The first time I tried it, I prepared it hot with around half a cup of vanilla soy milk and a touch of brown sugar. I realized this wasn’t fair because of the already vanilla flavoured soy milk, especially after I tasted it and realized that the concoction tasted almost exactly like how the French Vanilla tastes when I make it in this same way.

Ok, so time to make it with a neutral milk. This morning—well, afternoon—I opted for half-and-half instead, so the concoction this time around was half a cup of hot water, combined with a couple teaspoons of cream, then half a teaspoon of brown sugar. Definitely took care of the “generic” (I’ll call it that now since the vanilla soy milk does make everything taste the same) vanilla soy flavour, but I swear this still tastes reminiscent of the other creamy flavoured matchas I mentioned earlier. I mean, it’s super yummy (all of the ones mentioned are) but not sure if it would be worth having all of them in your cupboard/fridge at the same time. I just don’t get an authentic Irish Cream flavour from it. But what I do really like it’s is super smooth, and a wonderful choice for an autumn day.

Next up: cold latte, maybe in a few days when I’m feeling better (and maybe I’ll slip in some Biscotti Bailey’s to kick it up a notch…)

But if you’re curious about Irish Cream, like the flavour, and want to try something different than, say, the nutty, fruity, or vanilla ones, definitely give this one a shot:

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/irish-cream-matcha.html

Sipdown! Thanks, Incendiare.

Drinking this as an iced latte, as usual. I’m really just too lazy to heat my milk most mornings, so it’s a good thing these flavoured matchas are good cold.

Possibly not one I’d buy, but the flavour feels pretty authentic. Definitely an interesting choice for in the morning, before work!

I would describe this as earl grey xtra bergamot. Delicious! The smell of the dry and brewed tea is string sweet bergamot. The brewed tea is a smooth and slightly creamy black base with bergamot flavour. Not too sweet but not bitter or astringent. There is a slight metallic aftertaste but that may be the cup I am drinking from. I would not say this earl grey is anything fancy but it is great for anyone that loves bergamot.

TTBA #7
Interesting.
I love the little pressed disk this comes in. Neato!
But the flavour? hit and miss. I like the floralness of it all, but it is rather intense, even after only a three minute steep. I’m not inclined to go for another.
If I had to rate this on the floral meter, it’d actually be at only about 7, but that’s more because it isn’t as perfume like. The actual “flower” taste is quite intense. Oddly so!
Also, I don’t taste ANY goji berry, though I can certainly see quiet a few. How did they pack so many in there?!

Backlog:

This is a decent Pomegranate flavored White tea. I love Pomegranate, and I think that this tea captured the tart yet sweet flavor of the pomegranate quite well.

Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/04/13/white-pomegranate-tea-from-red-leaf-tea/

Tea #10 Great Canadian Traveling Tea Box

This is the biggest surprise from the box so far. I love this. Delicate white tea with natural raspberry flavor. Fantastic. There is something in the back that I would say is wine ish. I don’t have much more to say other than, sorry this is staying with me.

This is my first matcha, so I won’t give a score. Many thanks to Lala for sponsoring my first adventures in matcha.

I prepared this in the traditional fashion with bamboo whisk. 0.5 tsp in about 4 oz water.

The strong orange aroma provides a strange contrast to the veggie aroma of the tea. This continues into the taste as well. The two very different flavors never really melded for me. I was a bit shocked at the bitterness, though I recall reading that this is a feature of matcha. There is an acidic component of the finish that I suspect is due to the orange flavor (it seemed like citric acid).

Overall, I wasn’t impressed. That may be the tea or possibly just I don’t like matcha. Lala anticipated this possibility and generously provided a few more samples, which I will review in the next few days.