Bubble Gum Matcha

I don’t like bubble gum, and this tastes somewhat like it, definitely strong and fake. I shared with two other people, and the consensus is that it’s fake, weird, and bad. As it sits, the flavor gets even faker and grosser. It tastes a bit fruity, but not good at all, just artificial and bleh. I only had a few sips, and that was plenty for me.

During my days off I got lazy and didn’t make my breakfast smoothies (they are so handy before work when I can just pop downstairs, grab it out of the fridge already made, and gulp down before heading out!) so now I’m back to Smoothie Town. I currently have a big bag of frozen mango in the fridge and not wanting to pair the Mango Matcha against it (SO MUCH MANGO!) I was looking for something else that might go well. Since the concensus from everyone was that this tasted “fruity” and not like bubblegum, I figured, why not try it?

The dry powder does smell fruity, but a super sweet, candy-like fruity rather than anything resembling actual fruits to me… like blue raspberry Jolly Ranchers, something along those lines. Whisked one teaspoon of matcha in a cup of cold coconut milk to sample first before adding the other smoothie ingredients (mango and a bit of yogurt). I don’t prefer sampling with coconut milk since the coconut carries such a strong and sweet flavor itself, but I really need to use that carton up before it goes off, so it is what it is!

Oof, that is sweet. Granted, this is a sugared matcha in a sweet milk, but… how did Daylon describe it? A “diabetic’s suicidal wet dream”? Yes. That. And that over-the-top sweetness is probably the one part that does make me think of bubblegum… though the flavors are still pulling me toward other sugary sweets. I’m getting a very artificial/candy-like berry flavor (it doesn’t bother me, but I definitely notice the “chalky” nature of the flavor that others described), and, oddly enough, a sweet pineapple note… I do wonder if the coconut milk is just tricking my brain into tasting pineapple from it since they so often compliment each other, though.

Added the mango and yogurt and smoothied for the morning. I could smell the matcha perfectly from the mixed smoothie! Took a quick sample taste and it is still there… still that candy-like berry, but I think it tastes even a smidgeon more pineapply to me now. It’s honestly not so bad smoothie-fied.

I don’t think I hate it as much as others, but it isn’t something I’d ever feel the need to stock for myself, either. I’m actually glad I got to try it… I love bubblegum and I think it would be interesting if I ever found a tea that actually nailed the “pink bubblegum” flavor down (I love pink bubblegum ice cream!)

DAVIDsTEA Matcha Advent Calendar – Day 23

I haven’t watched Geek Steep in FOREVER because I wanted to spend time picking awesome teas that I think suit the fandoms perfectly and I did not have time to do that during exams. However, today is a rare day where I have the main space to myself while my sister, brother-in-law and the baby are all napping. It’s also advent time so most, if not all my teas, are predetermined by that. Yet, I wanted to watch (listen to?) Geek Steep so I did something a little different today and decided to pair an episode to what I thought would best suit the tea I made.

I have never had this matcha but it seems fruity and fun and I made it as an iced latte topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. I also have not seen several of the fandoms covered but for some reason I thought this would pair well with Princess Jellyfish. Both seemed to have that flirty and fun vibe to them based off literally nothing more than names. I could be completely off the mark.

While making this matcha, I will say (1) I had not heard great things and (2) it smelled like a crappy fruit punch, so I don’t have high expectations going into this. Drinking it, I can confidently say I am not a fan of this matcha. That crappy fruit punch smell turned into crappy fruity gum in taste. Like juicy fruit that has been chewed slightly and then spat out into the grass. Wow…that was harsh…its not that bad but all those elements do sort of make sense for this matcha.

Here’s hoping this Geek Steep episode goes better than this matcha. So far so good…

DAVIDsTEA Matcha Advent Calendar – Day 23

Oh, boy… This is the one that everyone in the Instagram chat group has been dreading. I don’t hate bubblegum, but am still not thrilled for this flavor. But thinking about how I would enjoy it most, I thought of Ramuné, which to me has a sort of bubble gum-esque flavor. And I happen to have some lemon lime sparkling water in my fridge, so I decided on tea pop! I mixed the matcha with an ounce or so of warm water, then poured over ice and topped with the sparkling water.

I wish I would’ve checked the tea entry before I decided on this, as it turns out this isn’t actually bubble gum flavored… It has apple, pineapple, and vanilla flavors instead.

So it doesn’t really taste like Ramuné. From the matcha I’m mostly getting an artificial chalky note and hints of grass and bitterness. It does seem candylike, but not like bubblegum unfortunately. Harrumph! At least the sparkling water is yummy…

On to happier, jam-filled times! Today it’s Mandarin Spread. Now me and marmalade don’t really see eye-to-eye, so I can’t say I’m stoked about this one… It has quite a bit of bitterness from the peel, which is my main issue with this type of jam. The mandarin flavor is bright and zesty though, and it does taste very similar to clementines, which is the mandarin variety that I eat most often. Still not a favorite though, due to the bitter peel…

(today’s advent teas: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJJTedoAugd/)

Slowly making my way through all of the DT matchas. This is my least favorite of the bunch so far. I don’t get bubblegum really. It’s more of a grape medicine flavor, which I find pretty disagreeable. I made it as an iced latte, but I couldn’t finish it.

SO MANY NEW TEAS!!! It’s very exciting, but also I know it can be confusing too!

Seriously, this may just be a record for the most new teas I’ve seen launch on one day. It’s a lot to take in, so I’m going to try and break it down as best as I can as well as get tasting notes up for all the brand new teas TODAY. Wish me luck. If you don’t care about the break down of everything new you can skip ahead to the bold; but to start lets look at the individual collections and what is/isn’t available in store as well as the teas that will be around for extended time frames.

Worth noting, I’m only going to focus on things that are BRAND NEW as well as returning teas that have been out of stores for a long period of time!

Spring/Summer Teas – Seasonal teas, that will be around for approx 6 months!
Elderflower Oolong – NEW
Blackberry Jasmine Blast – RETURNING
Decaf Lychee Peach – RETURNING
Country Lemonade – NEW
Rainbow Lemonade – RETURNING
Mango Fruit Punch – RETURNING*
Yuzu Matcha – NEW
Raspberry Matcha – NEW
Sticky Rice Oolong – RETURNING (Select Stores/Online Only)
Thailand Black – NEW (Select Stores/Online Only)
Lavender Honey Matcha – NEW (Select Stores/Online Only)
Mango Matcha – RETURNING (Select Stores/Online Only)

*This is a returning blend, but there’s been a change to the recipe. I’m going to write a tasting note for this tea even though I usually don’t for returning teas, to break down what the change has been.

“Fantasy Collection” – All limited edition teas!
Unicorn Dreams – NEW
Bubble Gum – NEW
Bubble Gum Matcha – NEW

Organic Collection – All limited edition teas, EXCEPT for RLB which is Core!
Destiny’s Chai – NEW
Raspberry Leaf Bliss – NEW
Cabernet Bouquet – NEW (Online Only)

TEA REVIEW STARTS HERE:

I was initially very excited about the idea of a bubblegum flavoured matcha, though for me it’s not the first one I’ve experienced – I remember Red Leaf Tea/Matcha Outlet used to carry one, and it was very nice! For me it’s a super nostalgic flavour, and also makes for a KILLER latte! I will admit, I think it’s a little weird to have launched a bubblegum tea and matcha at the same time, especially when I would guess that it’s going to be a polarizing flavour, but I was still personally into the idea!

Between this and the bubblegum LLT, I prefer the LLT by quite a lot. I think it’s got a more accurate flavour to what I picture bubble gum flavoured things to be like. Overall, this matcha was a little more disappointing to me. When I tried it straight up, I found the flavour a little light/thin and lacking the intensity and sweetness that I felt it should have. More so, it tasted a lot more like a mixed fruit flavour than “bubblegum”.

However, adding milk definitely makes a big difference in my opinion. It’s creamier, obviously, but I also feel like it tastes sweeter and richer and that fruity note I was getting before it slightly transformed into something I’d consider more in line with a bubble gum flavour. The taste of the matcha actually comes through a little bit too.

It’s crazy, DT matchas are typically sweeter than I would personally prefer them to be but this is the one type of flavour where I felt like they could have probably leaned in to that profile and sweetness especially hard and I actually kind of feel like they held back/tried to be more restrained. Not to say it isn’t sweet; it is sweet. I’m so curious to see what other people think of this matcha, because bubble gum is such an extremely nostalgic but DEEPLY polarizing flavour.

I know that personally I wont be picking any up for myself; instead I’m going to get some of the LLT version. Will people like this one over the LLT though? Will they prefer the LLT? Will most people line up with me and have one that stands out as better in their own opinion or are the bubblegum fans going to need BOTH? I need to find out!

If you do pick it up though, iced latte is definitely my recommendation for the way to go!

Friendly reminder that I do not numerically rate DAVIDsTEA blends as I’m currently employed there and it would be an obvious conflict of interest. Any blends you see with numerical ratings were rated prior to my employment there. These reviews are a reflection of my personal thoughts and feelings regarding the teas, and not the company’s.