Cranberry Matcha

Ugh. I have a headache.
So of course I made a smoothie, what else is there to do!?
Hmph. I can’t taste any of the berry at all. Boo.
First time I used this, it didn’t turn out that great. Thus, I’m letting it settle a bit before making another go at a regular cuppa.

Btw, does anyone know of some fun/interesting web shows? Pretty much just regular tv, posted online/youtube… A friend was asking me about them but I could only think of a few.
Also, does anyone else stream television from the internet? I use CH131.com or tv-links.eu but I’m always looking for options. (that can be viewed from Ontario that is)

Cranberries are tasty. Mostly they remind me of Thanksgiving and Holiday-like festivities. Like most things that remind me of the US, is it very hard to find cranberries in Ecuador. If you do find them they are in dry form or in super sweet drink concoctions. I was surprised to find out that 95% of all cranberries are used in fruit drinks and sweetened dried fruit. No wonder that is the only way I can find cranberries in Ecuador!

When I opened the golden packet of cranberry matcha, I did get a hint of cranberry scent. It reminded me of fresh homemade cranberry sauce; it was quite inviting and festive. It even had a promise of tartness to the scent. I love the way the scent of the green matcha stands through the flavoring of all of the Red Leaf Tea Matcha I have tried so far. I always order delicate flavoring to make sure that I don’t miss out on the deliciousness of the green tea flavor!

Once prepared and nicely frothed (no sweetener in my matcha!) the scent became more delicate, almost like a shadow of the strong scent that the powder had. Each sip was a short stroll through all the flavors that showed up in this tea. Upfront stood the cranberry, it filled my nose and taste buds just for a second, immediately after the flavor of green tea took over. Sweet and smooth the green tea flavor finally gave way to a tasty fruity aftertaste. It wasn’t quite cranberry in the aftertaste, mostly just fruitiness. There is no doubt that it tasted like cranberry, but what made it exceptionally good was the fact that there was more than just one layer to the cranberry flavor. Thankfully, there was no tartness in the flavor, tartness just doesn’t work in matcha for me. I am particularly happy with this tea. I don’t think I could have though up a better tasting cranberry if I had tried!

All the tastiness plus the fact that it is good for you makes this tea something you really should try! You can get some for yourself here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cranberry-matcha.html

So when I decided to get this one I was worried about it being waaaaay too tart. It smells delicious. I’m pretty certain I added way too much water. I just kind of guessed with my new little matcha bowl. I’m not really getting any cranberry flavor. Just a watered down smartie taste. It’s still yummy, but I’ll have to try it again and pay attention to my water. Until next time… I still give it a good rating :)

Cranberry. Cranberry is another one of those flavors that brings out very distinct memories for me. Thanksgiving at my grandmother’s house, not for the cranberry sauce (which I loathe), but for the cranberry juice she always had on hand. I loved it! And she’d mix it with a bit of ginger ale for me and oh, I felt so grown up…my first cocktail! Virgin, of course. We lost her the year I started college, so every time I taste anything with cranberry, I think of her. Then growing up, my mom taught me how to make this delicious cranberry-orange bread with fresh cranberries, and that bread is why I always have cranberries in my freezer. I made it for my in-laws the first Christmas after the wedding and now they look forward to it every year. Maybe after I’ve tried this straight I’ll need to try it with some orange juice. But cranberry is a flavor very near and dear to my heart, so I am very much looking forward to trying this one. The health benefits of cranberries aren’t such a bad thing either, and since I don’t drink juice anymore, this might be a good way for me to get them (found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cranberry-matcha.html).

This blew my socks off. The scent when the package is opened is a sweet cranberry, not the tart berry I was looking for, but I can’t bring myself to complain. I put about a quarter of a teaspoon in a small mug, added about 75-80 C water, some sugar, and frothed it up. Then I added robots (by which I mean ice in the shape of robots) and a touch of cold water to make a beautiful iced tea. I am so far from disappointed it hurts. This is lovely. I didn’t expect to like this one nearly as much as I do, but I am in love. I’m definitely seeing the berry in cranberry, but there’s also a hint of tartness in the middle of the sip. I am so surprised, I honestly didn’t expect to be wowed by this. But I am and I am going to restock on it ASAP. I can’t wait to try it blended with some vanilla matcha or some orange juice…yum. I don’t have a lot of experience with cranberry outside of the little fruits baked into muffins, but I think I need to branch out and try some new things!

Sipdown (123)!

Finished this one off hot in plain water yesterday at work; I worked a 3-11 shift – the first I’ve done in weeks. I actually love working evenings/late nights – but because I’ve got a very open availability I get scheduled all over the place and lately I’ve been doing 9-5 shifts; definitely not my favorite thing.

I think this was marginally better hot/in water – while it still tasted very floral, especially given this is cranberry matcha, it was also much less artificial/perfumey tasting. I definitely continued to get an “unsweetened cranberry juice” vibe from this one. I’d totally drink it again; but I can’t see myself actually ordering more. There are so many other flavors that appeal to me more.

It looks like I’m the odd one out here but this one isn’t for me. Inspired by Fjellrev, I mixed it with plain yogurt, but it has a bizarre perfume flavour happening. I can’t quite put my finger on where I know the perfume from – but I do know it from somewhere. The only problem is, I would have to take another bite in order to find out. The scent was the same, so I don’t think I’ll give it a go in milk.

Thanks MirandaGou for the sample! It’s always awesome to be able to try different matchas, even if they don’t work out.

Also, I searched specifically for “Cranberry Matcha” and only 52Teas came up. I went to enter it into the database and it gave me the message: this tea is already entered, find it here. Uhh, why didn’t you just show me when I searched it? Hmm.

I’ve always been a fan of cranberry flavored juices. Our family keeps a bottle of cranberry juice cocktail in the fridge at all times. Imagine my delight when I discovered that my favorite beverage had been combined with my other favorite beverage- tea! This matcha is the perfect treat to refresh with on a hot afternoon… I love it! Subtle notes of sweet and tart make this tea absolutely wonderful when put on ice. I love the “lightness” of the flavoring because you can still taste the tea leaves, it’s a perfect balance. Every time I get a chance to brew up a big pitcher of Red Leaf’s cranberry matcha, I can be sure that it will be gone by the end of the day. I haven’t had a chance to try cooking with any kind of matcha yet, but I suspect this particular flavor would be a good one for making matcha ice cream or some kind of chilled dessert because it’s so refreshing. I’d like to add that Red Leaf’s matcha products all have a wonderful bright green color to them that makes for a very aesthetically pleasing glass of tea. Definitely worth a try for tea lovers of all kinds. It can be purchased here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/cranberry-matcha.html