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This tea gives and gives! I had this tea cold brewing in the fridge. I’ve been drinking from the pot and just topping it off with more water. I must have had 4 or 5 glasses by now and the leaves are still giving flavor into the water. As a result, my pot of tea is still full! It’s like that magic pot with the unending pasta that floods the whole town with food.

Very nummy tea. I’ve been sort of saving it, but I’d hate for it to go stale and be ruined so I’m drinking some now.

Also, unrelated, but it’s fun so I thought I’d share. I went on a foraging tour this weekend with my family. Lots of fun! If you live in or near NYC or Westchester, I totally recommend going on one of these tours. You learn about the “wild” food growing all around you disguised as weeds! I got a bunch of oyster mushrooms and burdock root! Very tasty!

wildmanstevebrill.com

He even showed us a few plants that would be good as teas with some supposed medicinal value. My friends tell me that I can now be of use during the zombie apocalypse. :D

Oh dear. I drank all of this without writing any notes! Hmm…what can I remember about this…? I remember not being all that impressed, honestly. I threw out the first infusion as a wash, but the following infusions were so weak and watery for a puerh. The leaf seemed to be finely ground so that might explain the rapid loss of flavor. I made it again but drank the first steep. Not too bad. Smells like wet earth tastes a bit like cocoa. It doesn’t fill your senses with flavor like other puerhs I’ve had. I guess I started with the good stuff and now I’m spoiled. :)

Thank you for sharing with me TeaEqualsBliss!

Oh no! I’m running out of this tea! I cold brewed this yesterday. Very fruity and refreshing. When cold brewed, they liquid is less murky and there’s no oily orange ring around the mug. This is fine by me. In fact, the tea turns a charming translucent forest green. I thought it was very pretty. My husband said it looked like radioactive juice. Little did he know, I had served him the same tea in an opaque drinking glass, which he gulped down happily. Muahaha

Hmm…not bad. I was hesitant to try this one because mint and cranberry seemed an odd combination, but it’s really ok. I cold brewed this overnight, which resulted in an amber colored brew. Like beer! The smell is pure cranberry. The taste is a light cranberry, almost like cotton candy, with a rooibos-y finish. Then the mint hits you at the end. Seems like spearmint. Very cooling. This is a great drink for hot days, I would imagine. Right now though, it’s just a drink for this morning while I’m waiting for the first few rinses of my puerh to be completed.

My husband hates mint, but I think the taste is mild enough in here that he might not notice. At least, not at first. :D

Just to remind myself how awesome regular matcha is, I made a cup of this even though it is now 10:30. And I’m exhausted. And I have to work tomorrow. That’s matcha love my friends.

I just love this so much. Green matcha, the original, so tasty. This green apple flavor is pretty alright too. :) I got this matcha for a couple of different reasons. 1) Someone (I forget who) on Steepster had the awesome idea for caramel apple matcha and I totally wanted to try some. 2) My sister loves green apple flavored things. I hung onto to this packet for a while without opening it because I know that matcha can deteriorate quickly once exposed to air and I didn’t have a suitable tin to store this matcha in. I just waited and waited until one day I realized I could use these little plastic containers that Azzrian had actually given to me so that I could send her matcha. We later decided that some other containers were better so I was told to keep these since she never used them anyway. Yeah! Thanks Azzrian! It’s not really the best storage for matcha because the lid doesn’t fit all that snug, but matcha! Best reason for everything. So anyway, I’m trying this matcha now!

The color is a bit dark, like olive green and the powder isn’t a bit gritty like the red matcha. yaay! I can’t have much now. I’m going to chill it for tomorrow morning when matcha makes sense, but I just had to have some before bed.

The green apple flavoring here has something that reminds me of that mango matcha that I really didn’t care for. Something weird like play dough and flowers. But it is not as prominent as it was in the mango. The green apple flavor here is quite nice too. It’s somehow like the candy version of green apple, but the freshness and greenness of matcha makes it less sweet and cloying and more like real apple. If only it weren’t for that odd playdough flavor… It’s pretty good.

I think this would be better sweetened, but we will save that for tomorrow. Drinking matcha reminds me of the beginning of my tea journey. The first teas I drank had to have sugar and/or milk or honey. It just wasn’t good without additions. Then I found teas that were better without additions and now I only rarely add anything to my teas. Matcha though, I find I don’t enjoy them as much unless I add sugar or milk or both. Unflavored matcha is something I can enjoy without additions, but when it’s apple or caramel, I find myself reaching for the sugar. This is odd since I had a apple flavored green not to long ago and enjoyed it thoroughly without additions. I suppose the matcha flavor is stronger and more intense. Then again, if I use less matcha, it tastes watery. I’ll work on weaning myself off the desire to sweeten my matchas. I think I’m getting there already since I’m sipping at this matcha and going, “Mmmm, creamy sweet matcha…” :) Small sips!

Enough rambling! Time for bed!

If you want to have some green apple matcha, you know where it’s at!
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/green-apple-matcha.html

Edit Had this chilled this morning. So refreshing! The flavor is still weird to me but I enjoyed it a lot more cold. Didn’t even want to add any sugar! Raising the rating!

When I first saw this flavor for sale, I worried that it might taste too much like caramel and I’d end up with a duplicate matcha. But hey, the caramel one is awesome and we only live once, so I just went for it. I chose to get this as a red matcha so that I could enjoy this tea for dessert, just as it’s meant to be. :)

Having learned from my first red matcha experience yesterday, I added a generous amount of powder into my mug. No need to be fearful of a bitter and overly caffeine-y cup when you’re working with rooibos! I did it cold again because my apartment has terrible insulation and spent all day soaking up the heat of the sun just for me. And at night it gets so cold! argh. But anyway, love the smell of this. Sweet and candy-like with that smooth rooibos flavor.

I’m beginning to think that the rooibos is just naturally a stronger flavor so that the added flavoring is just overwhelmed because as I’m drinking this, I’m having a really hard time tasting the toffee. I could smell it in the dry tea, but once it’s all mixed with water, I can barely taste that toffee note. A bit of sugar makes this better, but if I didn’t know any better, I’d still think it was just plain red matcha with no flavoring at all. Now, I did go with the basic flavor level, but I think I should be getting some toffee still. :(

In the future, I think I’ll have a few “there’s matcha in there?” level red matchas around for the evenings, but I really enjoy the flavor of the regular green matcha more. I gotta try the white one too since Azzrian makes it sound so tasty. And the black matcha! I wonder what kind of black tea is used. What kind of white? Hmm.

Another thing I noticed with this red matcha base is that it does get a bit gritty and powdery. Yesterday, I was all focused on the deliciousness of the cheesecake flavoring, but today, since I could mostly just taste rooibos, I was able to pay more attention to the quality of the base. The slight grittiness is not too bad, but not that great either.

In the end, just like with regular rooibos, I’m settling for red matcha because I know I can’t have caffeine in the evening. I actually much prefer green matcha.

For those of you who want to try this tea, you can find it here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/english-toffee-matcha.html

I really recommend getting the strongest flavoring possible. The rooibos flavor, while mellow and easy going, is strong and not easily overwhelmed like green matcha.

This is a first for me! First red matcha! I’m not really the hugest fan of rooibos, to be honest, but when you’ve got a craving for tea at 10 PM, your options are limited. I like it well enough but nothing beats the tea from the tea plant. Matcha was especially a problem for me. The main reason I still have most of my delicious caramel matcha is because the caffeine is so intense that it gives me headaches at just a half teaspoon of powder in a mugful of tea. :( Then Red Leaf came to the rescue and started offering red matcha as a base option! Wooooo! The moment he made that announcement I was putting tea into my cart. hah! And of course who could resist cheesecake? No one, that’s who.

First, let’s talk about the tea as I experienced it. The first thing I noticed about this matcha was the smell. The moment I tore open that bag a tangy creamy sweet aroma assaulted my nose. Mmmm…. Then that rooibos smell came in the end. Want. Now. I poured the powder into my tin and noticed that I actually have a tin foil bag of cheesecake flavored Mars dust. It really looks exactly like those pictures I’ve been seeing from Curiosity.

http://www.universetoday.com/96708/curiosity-and-the-mojave-desert-of-mars-panorama-from-gale-crater/

Very cool. I’m drinking the universe! One could argue that I do this daily, but you know what I mean!

Since I had just finished working out, I really was not in the mood for a hot tea. I put a generous scoop of powder into my mug (I can cause it’s caffeine free! Wheee!) and added a bit of cold water, then stirred it up like mad with my spoon. No froth, but it all dissolved nicely. Then top it off with more cold water and drink! It looks a bit like hot chocolate with more red. Like red velvet but not artificial.

Here’s the best part. The taste. Smooth vanilla cheesecake. Delicious flavor. I wish it were stronger. I got distinctive, but I should probably go up a grade next time. The rooibos is pretty tame here. Just a hint of rooibos-ness. Not sure how to describe the flavor.

I wish I had some soy/almond milk cause I really want to try this as a latte. All we have is real milk (lactose intolerant) and chocolate Pure Almond Silk. A chocolate cheesecake latte might be pretty awesome though…. BRB!

I think I added a bit too much cause the chocolate is overpowering the flavor, but it is awesome! Cheesecake chocolate drink!

Thank you, Red Leaf, for making this delicious flavor!
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cheesecake-matcha.html

And with a red matcha option! I can add as much powder as I want without worrying about bitterness or caffeine because it’s red matcha! The possibilities are endless!

For next time, English Toffee matcha! Then combined! Then caramel and cheesecake! This will be awesome!

This is so sweet! Like brown rock sugar! I love the floral aroma. It’s also got the something that reminds me of autumn. I find that this is common in dark oolongs. If you close your eyes to inhale the aroma and then sip, it’s really like being outdoors in the woods when the leaves have mostly fallen to the ground. I’d even say it’s out in the woods during late morning after the dew has dried but before it gets too hot. It’s one of the warm autumn days with chilly mornings and evenings. One of those beautiful clear days where you don’t know if you need a jacket or not. Mmm…makes me long for fall…which is almost here! I know this because even though I have a giant pot of Oriental Beauty in the fridge, I woke up craving hot tea, which is why I brewed this. It was so chilly this morning, my puppies were sticking their cold noses into my armpits and backs of my knees. They’re lucky their cute.

Back to the tea! Where was I? Sweet, autumnal, floral and woodsy (but not woody. Wood is a funny word when you think about it.) Very tasty and warming. The second steep is proving to be as delicious as the first. The first steep was sweeter and more floral, but this second one has a more prominent roasty woodsy taste. I really think I’m starting to enjoy darker oolongs. At least when they are smooth and tasty like this one. :)

I really love hot tea on chilly days. soon…

On an unrelated note, I’ve been playing Magicka with my sister. Are any of you familiar with this game? It’s sort of really hilarious. Especially when it’s me and my sister playing because we have this terrible tendency to accidentally kill each other because we thought we hit the “heal” button when we actually hit the “Fire” button. We both learned the revive spell pretty quick. :)

I bought this tea maybe forever ago when it first came out. Just a sample size. Ever since then, I’ve been thinking about trying it. I’ve never had the opportunity since I think of black teas as morning teas. Having them any later would seriously mess with my sleep. And I keep forgetting to bring it to work and my weekends have been very busy lately. Sigh. There’s a lot going on right now. Today, I’m actually going to take the 3 hour trip to see my parents, so I’m really supposed to be leaving soon. But I need just a bit of time for myself this morning with a cup of tea. So I guess I’ll be arriving later.

This tea smells really great dry. I may have brewed it a little too long. The taste is not really that pleasant to me. It smells like caramel candy and it even tastes like it, but there’s also something weirdly sourish and unpleasant. I don’t think I’ll rate it since it may be because I let it brew for like 10 minutes. I did use a lower steeping temp though. Added a bit of milk and sugar to make it tastier. It’s ok now, but I think I’ll stick it in the fridge for husband to finish.

I also have some good news! Don’t know why it took me so long to let it out here. I was offered a permanent job this week. This means I can finally go to the dentist. weeee! And we can maybe afford husband’s law school without taking on loans. :)

So that last time I got some matcha from Red Leaf, I asked my sister what flavor she’d like. She chose this one. Then, even though I bugged her for one, she never wrote a review so we can have more matcha! I finally bribed her with promises of coconut and English toffee. haha It’s a never ending cycle! So without further ado, my sister’s review:

One summer, at a farmer’s market, my sister and I tasted bee pollen for the first time. The nice man at the stall showed us how he liked to eat it – dusted over some honey. He dipped a toothpick into the honey, and then dipped the toothpick into the bee pollen. We ate the honey and pollen mixture daintily as he told us about the health benefits.

I remember all we could really taste was the delicious honey because it just dominated, but the texture of the pollen was interesting – it felt chewy and looked like little yellow dust balls. It might have tasted better to me because it’s a super food: it contains 40% high-quality protein and a huge list of vitamins and minerals. Vitameatavegamin, anyone?

So I was actually pretty excited about trying the bee pollen matcha, hoping to get a clearer sense of what bee pollen tastes like. The powder is a fine, golden green – I imagine from the natural color of the bee pollen. I added about a half teaspoon to a cup of hot water and stirred it until frothy. It smelled very much like my usual matcha, a bit like the sea, fresh and comforting. The color of the tea was more golden, like it appeared in the container. It reminded me of the color of new spring buds.

My first impression was that the matcha was mild with a very subtle hint of honey. I had wanted to taste the bee pollen more clearly, but the matcha was definitely the dominant flavor here, as it was with the honey at the farmer’s market stall. Still, I imagined that I could taste a little bit of the pollen’s sweetness. At the bottom of the cup, I found the flecks of pollen floating about. I didn’t want to waste something that’s so good for me, so I drank it all up at once, not realizing that it would feel like I was guzzling pollen. Be careful because it can be a bit gritty when you get to the dregs.

All in all, it was a rather pleasing experience, but don’t expect to recognize the flavor of bee pollen distinctly. The bee pollen is probably there more for its health benefits and for the pretty color, than for flavor. Speaking of the health benefits, how much do we need consume to really take advantage of this super food? According to the following site, there are different recommended dosages for maximizing the benefits, but the author consumes just one to two tablespoons a day: http://www.bee-pollen-buzz.com/how-much-bee-pollen.html. This page from the same site talks about some of the possible side effects and reactions someone may have from consuming all the different types of pollen in bee pollen: http://www.bee-pollen-buzz.com/side-effects-of-bee-pollen.html.

Happy sipping!

Bee Pollen Matcha to be found here:
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/bee-pollen-matcha.html