Starter Matcha

With all the tasty flavored ones, I haven’t been using this one. But I figured it would be good in a smoothie. I forgot I bought strawberries, so in they went along with some frozen mango and pineapple, and coconut milk to smooth things out, along with a big scoop of this matcha.

I’ve been mixing up the flavored ones in smoothies lately but it gets too be too many different fruits haha. Oddly I can’t taste much of the matcha in this compared to the ones where I used like peach and orange together. And I used the same amount of matcha. Of course I’ve also had it for a really long time at this point, since March, but it’s been in an airtight jar kept in a drawer.

I think I can taste it, it just makes it taste sort of flat. Like it’s pulled from the sweetness. I’ve never understood adding sugar to smoothies because what is fruit, but this one I almost feel like I should.

Guess I’ll stick with crazy blackberry-raspberry-cherry-pineapple-banana with orange and peach matcha smoothies?

This one I’m gonna relegate to baked goods already. I keep telling myself I’m gonna bake with matcha and I don’t do it. Well if this one is less tasty in drinks then it’s time to do it!

Traveled for work again. This time I had different colleagues and the trip was much better. Much longer flight though. It’s a trade-off I guess.

I brought only this tea with me. Matcha is so easy. You just stir it into whatever water you have, be it hot or cold. Most of the time, I just added a some into my water bottle and shook the heck out of it. Frothy and delicious. I would have liked it better hot, but it’s still tea. Can’t complain. :) I also love the color of matcha. It’s such a lovely green. It makes you feel positively healthy. :)

grandma made shortbread cookies with starter matcha from “red leaf teas”. all i can say is, mmmmm.

https://instagram.com/p/8oGMJYp443/?taken-by=kirkoneill1988

This matcha was slightly sweet, with a somewhat nutty flavor and grainy texture. It ended up being the least expensive of the samples in the matcha blind taste test I’m taking part in, but isn’t among my top picks as far as matcha goes. I think it’s worth exploring some of the slightly more expensive options from Red Leaf Tea.

You can read the full results of the blind taste test on my blog:
http://www.notstarvingyet.com/index/2015/7/13/tuesday-tea-blind-taste-test-6-matcha-teas-compared-sponsored

This is from the recent Red Leaf Tea side by side blind taste test. If you were included but haven’t completed your survey yet stop reading now.

Last weekend we rented a cabin on the lake in a nearby state park. It was our 34th anniversary. I grabbed one of my numbered matcha samples from the test that I really liked – Kiss Me Organics. First thing each morning I mixed a heavy tsp of it with 12oz of cold milk and a double shot of Splenda Sat on the porch swing and watched as the misty rain washed across the lake. Beautiful and relaxing. The cold frap was more delicious than one from Starbucks because even with two packets of Splenda, it was not sickening sweet like SB. I thought it could not be any better. While the setting and circumstances had a lot to do with it, I really did like that culinary grade matcha.

This morning, back at home, I grabbed Starter Matcha from Red Leaf and mixed a new glass with the same amounts. The results were even more delicious, in my opinion, though the scenery in my den was not as exciting. Seriously, this makes a dark green tea with a nice grassy flavor and long smooth aftertaste. The best part is, this is one third the price of the previous matcha and even cheaper than the Tradition brand matcha I have been using on a daily basis by about a fourth (1.31/oz my old matcha compared to $0.94/oz Red Leaf).

I know my daily matcha in the past has been a slight bit of a compromise, although I wouldn’t drink it everyday if I did not like it. With this Starter Matcha, I am getting way more wonderful flavor and it will save me money. I actually rated this second highest in the blind test – before I knew what a great deal it is.

I put a pound of this and a pound of the Deluxe Matcha (my highest rated in the test) in the cart. Placed my gift certificate order. Went to Amazon to order some unrelated stuff, came back to my email to make sure the Amazon confirmation had been sent, and discovered the Red Leaf order had already been processed and shipped! Don’t know if they are always this on top of it but that was fast. That was a late afternoon. Two days later the package arrived. I now have enough matcha in cold storage to last a year. I’m a happy den camper.