My last matcha from this order! While I’m sad I won’t have any new ones to try (until I make another order, which I guarantee won’t take more than 24 hours haha), I now get to experiment! But before I do, this little gem is just begging for a review. Like with Bavarian Cream, I experimented a bit with the base. I loooove black tea, so of course I needed to try black matcha! And I honestly can’t think of a better flavor to go with it than Cookies & Cream. My matcha was as follows:
Size: Small (30 grams)
Matcha Base: Black Matcha
Flavor Level: Distinctive
One of these days I’ll pick a matcha I totally love and get it in the large size, but for now I like having small options of so many different flavors—I don’t feel like they are going to go bad or anything before I get to them! I have so many teas (nearing on 200 orz) that I just know I won’t use up large portions unless it’s a cupboard staple like Paris or Uji’s Genmaicha—stuff I drink ALL the time. And while I do drink matcha all the time, I like to mix up the flavors so I love that they offer this tiny size!
So, let’s talk about the black matcha base. It’s gotten so-so reviews on here, but I think my opinion is quite different on this one. First off, it looks like cocoa powder! It’s also much harder to get off a countertop than green matcha, which I unfortunately learned when I dropped a bit on it and it just smeared brown everywheeeere. I get so sad whenever I drop a bit of matcha… which sadly isn’t that uncommon, it’s always drifting off the edge of my spoon. Oh well, the sooner I go through a packet the sooner I get to order more I suppose!
I was expecting a lot less froth, but it really mixed up well and actually dissolved faster than green or green/white. Usually I have to kind of tip my mug around to get in all the corners where the matcha is clumping (even after sifting, since I don’t use the traditional bowl/fancy whisk but a mug and regular whisk), but this one whisked in like a dream! After adding some milk it looks like hot chocolate, and it smells like it too—cause of the flavoring I chose, it is very chocolatey! I think the base has some natural chocolate notes that are enhanced by the cookies & cream flavor.
The first sip was kind of weird, since it doesn’t taste at all like traditional matcha—no grassiness, none of that lip-smacking matcha flavor I’m so used to. It really does taste like black tea! Honestly, I don’t know why I was so surprised by this fact. It’s powdered black tea, of course it’s gonna taste like it! It’s a much richer base, I want to say creamier but I’m not quite sure how much of these notes I can attribute to the flavoring. I got the distinctive level, so I should be able to really taste the base thankfully!
What this base definitely has over regular matcha is how smooth it is. It just slides down your throat! And the flavor is so interesting, hard to pinpoint exactly but it’s definitely like a nice Chinese black. I wouldn’t say I like it MORE than regular matcha or even the 50/50 base but it’s a great option and I honestly think for this flavor it’s better with the black base than it would be with any other. This is how I felt about my Bavarian Cream 50/50 matcha—it’s nice to have so many options, now I know what flavors go well with what bases! For chocolatey flavors I will most definitely go with the black from now on, though I think it might be weird with something fruity.
So, about the actual cookies & cream flavor! It is SO GOOD. Like oreos in my cup! The chocolate is rich and dark, the cream is smooth and deliciously vanilla. It’s not as heavy and dense as the bavarian cream, it’s lighter and… fluffier. Not, you know, physically fluffy obviously, it just tastes more airy. I haven’t tried any chocolate-y matchas before, but damn is that flavor spot-on! I am so impressed with all the flavors they offer that I’ve tried, but what has really won me over is all the options. You get to feel like it’s match personalized just for you! I am head over heels in love with Red Leaf.
If you want your own Cookies & Cream matcha (and you should!) you can find it here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cookies-and-cream-matcha.html
