Does anyone here on Steepster remember Red Leaf Tea’s Caramel Matcha!? I’m pretty sure that was one of the first ever flavoured matchas I fell in love with, and while it has been years since I last had it… I remember it quite fondly.
I enjoy this matcha a lot – I’m not sure why, but despite the fact that caramel is insanely challenging to capture as a flavour in LLT it seems to work really well when you combine it with matcha – and so I think DT carrying some kind of caramel type of matcha was really only a matter of time. I enjoy the caramel in this a lot – it leans more into the creamy elements of a good caramel and it feels pretty rich and gooey despite not having a “darker” or “deeper” density to the flavour. As with most of DT’s matchas, this is pretty sweet (from the added sugar) but I expect that from a caramel profile. Still, I do personally find the recommended 5-6 Matcha Spoons a bit much.
An important thing to remember, this is a Salted Caramel matcha and you can definitely taste the salt in the tea! I mean, not surprisingly IMO since there is actual salt mixed in with the matcha powder. It mostly present in the initial sip, as a salinity that leans into the umami and vegetal matcha notes and then that hit of salt breaks into the sweetness of the caramel. When this tea was being developed, we debated a lot about what the “right amount” of salt was, and there were actually version that were significantly saltier than what we settled on. I really like the addition of the salt, as it makes the flavour much more dynamic and layered feeling and transitioning from salt to caramel really does make the sweetness and richness of it pop more.
Absolutely delicious on its own, but in my opinion this matcha is at its best when made as a latte!! I totally recommend trying it that way!
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.
