Mocha Matcha

1/3 in a Matcha Single Serves package that I bought. This is definitely not the best matcha I’ve tasted! This is my second experience with a drink from DAVIDsTEA combining both tea and coffee flavours (the other was Jumpy Monkey, a tea blend including coffee beans) and I’ve concluded that never again shall the two flavours mix against my taste buds. This packet is just…gross.

I’ve been trying more matchas and I keep hoping I will like them, but I honestly don’t. It’s just my own personal tastes I think. I found this one to just be… not my thing I guess is the only way I can think to put it. I don’t know if it was the mocha flavouring or the grassyness or maybe the combo? But for me it just didn’t work.
I really liked the vanilla matcha, but haven’t found another one that I like. Maybe some day I’ll find one.

This is the first flavored matcha I’ve tried, I got it in a mix pack of matchas from Davids Tea. I was definitely the most skeptical of this flavor, but thought I’d jump right in. I made it in a more traditional way, in a bowl, warm, and whisked. The dry leaf smelled like earthy hot chocolate mix. This didn’t froth as well as the other matcha I made, but I think this might be because I overfilled the bowl a bit. This tea is okay, in this method. It tastes good, but a little odd; sort of like a fruity smoothy that was a bit heavy handed on the undertone of kale. This is warm, sweetened with coconut nectar, and flavored with a coffee/chocolate profile. It is sweet and chocolatey, but the green grass smell and undertone is still present. it’s an accurate mix of matcha and chocolate, but maybe not the way I’d pick to drink it all the time. I bet this would be better suited to a cold late with some almond milk for extra sweetness. Definitely still drinkable and a fun experiment.

Used my Frequent Steeper points for this a while back as I didn’t want to spend the money on something that I was unsure I would enjoy. I don’t have the equipment, such as the special whisk or the bowl for matcha. I knew that it was popular to make matcha into lattes. So after a brief Google search I found this, http://www.justonecookbook.com/green-tea-latte/ .

I definitely enjoy this. I think I need a better strainer (or better quality matcha), and a better whisk as I feel this is more watered (milked?) down than it should be. I get the Mocha flavor but not much more than that. I do, however it may be the placebo effect, feel more energized than I previously did this morning.

https://instagram.com/p/2llOMuJnhU/?taken-by=kkpeltzer

A disappointment.

I purchased this with the Matcha Maker as “whoa $8 for 50g is a good deal” considering other flavored matchas go for around $20 for 30g.

First off, this matcha is heavy – 2x heavier than the RLT and 3leaf flavored matchas and you use more per cup, so you aren’t getting much of a deal once you have the actual product. The coloring isn’t that vibrant of green in the picture. Guessing since the first ingredient isn’t matcha should of been a warning sign.

Taste wise is pretty weak and doesn’t taste very matcha like. Sweetness is fine. There’s a hint of mocha. Tastes better with milk. I wouldn’t buy this again despite the price.

This would be an alright matcha to try if you are 100% new to matchas and don’t want to pay a bunch, but honestly it isn’t a good representation of matchas and flavored matchas.

(DavidsTea 2022: 7)
2022 Sipdown 1/365!

Mastress Alita’s Sipdown Challenge January 2022: Latte

First sipdown of the year! And realizing that I’m already nicely behind on any sipdown per day goal I might be entertaining, though to be fair, I don’t like sipping down teas while sick, unless they’re gross or duplicates.

Made this as a “latte”; I think I tasted more mocha than I have in the past, although it was still kind of muted. Wouldn’t turn this down if offered, but not buying more.

(Also, yes I stole the sipdown tagline formatting from Crowkettle – thank you!)

Morning matcha!

We had Pre-Cana yesterday, which went well and was very informative … but also lasted about 12 hours. Lucky me, this came in Friday so I was able to make up a cup before we headed out. I used the electric whisk I have and was so surprised that the matcha blended in and frothed! I’ve only had matcha once before and that didn’t happen, so yay!

Dry, this is very vegetal and unappealing. Frothed up, it’s ridiculously thick, tasting of cheap coffee mixes and maybe hot cocoa. Close enough?

This should be easy enough to finish off (50g is not much – wow!). Now I just wish I’d picked up vanilla and mint matcha too, and I think I’m going to need some Red Leaf Tea flavored matcha too. Hehehehehe.

I nearly bought all three flavoured matchas the other day but they all smelled kind of weird in that top compartment of the tin that you can smell in the store. I could hardly detect any scent from the flavours in any of them, but I went with a bit of this one anyway since the sales associate said she liked it the best. Bringing it home now, I can smell a touch of sweetness in the pouch. Not an obvious mocha but maybe something vaguely desserty and cakey.

It’s pleasant with a bit of organic granulated sugar and 2% milk. I can’t taste any coffee note but only a touch of creaminess. Chocolate? Hmm, I’m trying to search for it but it’s not really there either. It kind of reminds me of some RLT flavours in the way that some of those also have a vague sweet dessert-like fragrance and taste. From memory, however, RLT’s Mocha matcha has a much more obvious mocha flavour. You can taste the coffee and chocolate in it.

This is my first matcha and before I discovered tea, you would have never found me even trying this or any type of matcha, even for free. But now with being a tea lover and david’s tea fan, I am willing to try anything once, even if it had been once out of my comfort zone. The Mocha Matcha to me was a positive experience and I recommend to anyone, especially since we are on steepster because we are tea lovers, to try it. Like the tea adventure, the books to go along with this tea are for people to try to read out of their comfort zone.

Books recommended for this tea are: Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami, Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan, Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo, Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of the Otori #1) by Lian Hearn

I used this tea today to make a delicious smoothie from Vega. Because of the cold weather, I made mine hot. The consistancy was really thick, so I added an extra cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk. It’s not quite a latte like they claim but it’s a great breakfast smoothie full of greeny goodness.

Here’s the recipe, which you can also find on the MyVega website:
With two preparation options, this matcha avocado smoothie can double as a latte during the colder months. Either blend with ice for a cool green tea treat, or warm the almond milk and enjoy as a green tea latte with a protein, greens, and vitamin boost.

Ingredients
1 cup almond milk
¼ avocado
2 tsp matcha
1 serving Vega One French Vanilla
A few drops of peppermint extract

Preparation
Hot: Warm almond milk. Blend with ingredients until frothy.
Cold: Add ice and blend until smooth.