Mocha Matcha

1200 tasting notes! woot woot! I thought i’d save it for something special but man every tea is special!

No real sipdowns coming up soon but i’ve resigned myself to that fact, especially in light of the fact that it’s THURSDAY! woot woot! only 2 more days until the fun is here haha. actually it technically starts on friday night but what the hey.

I am once again “helping” my friend drink her matcha down. At this point it’ll be forever until i can drink my own matcha again given that she’s got about 10? flavours that need help. I suspect that she’ll be off of tea for a while but maybe not. I’d forgotten how much i enjoy the mocha matcha, though i do prefer it when i can add a spash of coffee matcha to it to make it just a little less sweet. Of course today i added a splash of caramel matcha….i mean why not!

Thank you Dexter3657 for sending me this tasty matcha! When I took my first sip is was mostly chocolate but I quickly started getting more coffee/mocha notes around the end. As I continue to drink I realized what this reminded me of…a Starbucks Chocolate Chip Frappecino (Frappacino?). Don’t hold me to that because it has been at least 1/2 a decade since I had one but honestly that is what I am tasting. Thanks again, Dex!

Thank you so much Azzrian! For the sample!

Gosh this is soooo good! Its sweet and chocolaty and smooth and yum! Gosh I’ve been missing out I’ve been getting all my matcha in delicate flavor cause I wanted to taste the matcha but this taste so mcuh better. I guess I need to jump on the robust flavor train now. I’m not going to want to go back to delicate flavors after this one. But sooo! good Ièm very sad now that I drank it all :)

Mocha Matcha

Get some here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/mocha-matcha.html

Ohhhh I so love this matcha!
It was way better than a Starbucks mocha latte!
I did however make this in my typical latte manner with ice, milk, and creamer with the matcha base.

I also as always tasted this matcha straight and it sure could have satisfied me without all the additions but habits die hard and I wanted a cool drink.
The mocha taste was so good, a little like coffee, a little like dark chocolate and a whole lot of YUM!

I feel so spoiled with my morning matcha routine and can’t imagine how I ever got motivated in the mornings without it.

The kind of energy boost it gives you is so wonderful – not jittery or excitable but just the right level of boost and it feels like a good clean energy. This is coming from a former Red Bull junkie as well!

Actually I also used to be addicted to coffee as well so this gives me both the energy boost I crave along with the flavor of a good coffee! It does have a good coffee flavor too! Its not too strong of a coffee flavor either although I used to adore strong coffee.

This one is excellent for my morning “fix”.

I realize I have done a TON of reviews on Red Leaf Tea and many people are making their own orders. Deciding which flavor to try first is always a challenge I know and with even more amazing flavors coming out its going to get even more difficult deciding where to begin your matcha journey.

All I can say is I have yet to dislike ANY flavor and out of … geesh… about 23 or 24 or so flavors I have tired I would say only one – ONE of those flavors was a 4 instead of 5 stars! Only ONE. All of the flavors from Red Leaf Tea have been so natural, so true to taste. I most always have got the robust but as most of you know I want an “in my face” flavor. However even at a delicate flavoring I have never been let down.

All I can say is go for it – pick one – any one – Butterscotch so far has been my top favorite I think. But you can’t go wrong with vanilla – and if you love it (you will) you have something to mix with other flavors such as Strawberry Vanilla. Don’t think of vanilla as a flavor that will get muted by another either. I have found it a very nice mixing flavor and it stands out. I got the French Vanilla but have also tried Madagascar, I prefer the French of the two as it is a stronger vanilla but trust me BOTH were excellent.

I mean when you buy one, review it, get the next free, you really can not find a better deal for any kind of tea on the net in my opinion. Plus the customer service and shipping are the best!

Thanks Red Leaf Tea!

My Match Was Composed Of:

Options:
Size : Small
Matcha Quality: Starter (Basic Grade)
Flavor: Robust
Storage: Add Small Metal Tin Container (Holds up to 45g)

I swore to myself that I was not going to try matcha, at least not for a long time. I have too many teas already, I spend most of my personal budget on tea in spite of the fact that I have needed new shoes for forever, and I also know that I will want all the doodads and I have so much tea paraphernalia already that there is hardly room for anything else.

But Azzrian wrote all these amazing reviews, and talked about lattes and pushed me right over the edge! I have tried to justify my purchase – and the ones that I know are soon to follow – by saying that this is REALLY for my eldest daughter, not for me.

My daughter likes “foofy girly coffee drinks” as she calls them but has been drinking green tea for about nine months now for the health benefits. She also uses it to keep her awake on night shift. So the Mocha Matcha was the perfect first matcha to try!

I bought the small 30 gram size but I did not buy the tin this time because I knew I had one small tin that should be really good for it. Next time, I will get the tin because they recommend keeping this in the refrigerator or freezer for freshness, and I feel that their screw on lid is better suited to that than my regular tea tin. I chose robust for the flavor level because I really want her to feel like she is having one of her foofy coffee drinks! I do not have the doodads yet, so I used my powerful Bamix Immersion Blender to mix it, because if that doesn’t do it, nothing will! I can’t wait to buy the bamboo whisk and scoop and the whisk holder and a matcha bowl, though! To buy the matcha, look here:

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/mocha-matcha.html

Shipping was pretty fast! I ordered this on Sunday and it was a holiday weekend with no mail service Monday, yet I still received my tea Friday.

I am having this early in the day because I have been warned that matcha is…very invigorating, to say the least! I literally argued with myself all night because I wanted to go ahead and try it, but I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to sleep, but I wanted it SO BADLY! I even dreamed about tea last night!

I tried it hot and plain first, and had some chocolate milk standing by, icy cold, to pour it into after tasting it. My Bamix will froth plain skim milk with Nesquik added into a decent semblance of a milkshake because it whips in so much air that it feels thick, so I don’t have to add a lot of calories to this to get a great latte, plus these are things my daughter will have on hand when I get her hooked on…I mean, if she decides she wants to make these, too.

And the Bamix worked amazingly well! After just a couple of seconds pulse, the tea has a nice froth. I was a little apprehensive because I didn’t know what to expect, but I sipped the plain matcha and…smooth! It wasn’t bitter, like I was afraid it might be! There were no lumps and it wasn’t sour or grassy.

The first sip plain tasted like chocolate first, then there was a coffee aftertaste, which is exactly how I feel when I have a sip of daughter’s foofy drinks. I added just an ounce or so to my chocolate milk and it tasted a little like a malted or something, so I poured in almost all of it and added ice. Now it tastes like I just went to Starbucks!

I already know what my next matcha will be. Hubby has a demanding job at times and needs energy, but he doesn’t drink coffee, shouldn’t have soda, and just grabs a glass of Carnation Instant Breakfast on his way out the door. I can hardly wait to try the French Vanilla matcha with vanilla Instant Breakfast! I think hubby is going to love it! Next will be the Pumpkin Pie matcha, again for my daughter because she goes NUTS at this time of year buying everything pumpkin flavored and making pumpkin recipes, and she mourns for good pumpkin the rest of the year. I already saw a rave review for the pumpkin pie matcha, so I know she will love a Pumpkin Pie Latte, and she will be ale to make that herself all year long.

I am going to attempt just whisking some by hand later today. If I get good at it, maybe I won’t feel bad for buying a matcha set. And I can’t wait to see if this makes me get all the housework done!

I’m having a nice big mug with 2 hefty scoops of this matcha and a bit of milk to start my day. It is a good one!

Like others have mentioned, this reminds me of one of those Starbucks Chocolate Chip Mocha something-or-others… I’ve only ever ordered one once, although I used to drink their mochas daily. It’s decadent chocolate with the mocha coming in at the very end, and got better as I sipped it.

Heaping 1/4 tsp in 1/4 cup of heavy cream, with a touch of sweetener.

Its all in the preparation?

Yes, I am looking for a way to enjoy this rather than let it go to waste. Today, I added 3/4 tsp to some hot cocoa. It was not terrible. The mocha flavor was light and worked well with the cocoa but I could definitely taste the green tea prepared this way. I am not a green tea drinker no matter how hard I try, so it was a bust.

I know the flavors in the matcha are as much an olfactory experience as taste. I tried the same trick on my daughter (with her knowledge, of course) using Cookies & Cream matcha and putting it in her hot cocoa. She said she could smell the flavor, and it was as much the smell of certain flavors that were not exactly agreeable. The whole experiment was pretty much a fail. We will be sticking with the milk/ice/matcha/sweetener blender drink.

Backlog:

Yum! This is really good. I was kind of skeptical about trying it because I am sensitive about coffee products. But, since this is only coffee flavored and doesn’t actually have any coffee in it, I figured I’d be alright. I used to love coffee, especially creamy, delicious mochas … but, then I discovered that coffee is what was causing my sick at around 11 am feelings every day, so I switched to tea and I’ve never regretted that decision. But I do sometimes still miss a mocha … they’re good too. Not as good as tea, but this Mocha Matcha lets me enjoy both.

Here is my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/08/15/mocha-flavored-matcha-from-red-leaf-tea/

Now, when I was in college, I worked in the campus library. Said campus library also contained a coffee shop where I got an employee discount, so I lived on sugary coffee drinks. I loved them, especially anything mixed with caramel. I learned how to brew coffee at home (yes, it took me until college to learn this), but it was never quite the same, so day after day I bought coffee after expensive coffee. It turns out, my body takes issue with both caffeine and dairy, so eventually I had to give up coffee. Have you ever seen a librarian strung out on coffee? Scary stuff. But considering I only liked it with extra sugar and way too much cream, it was probably for the best. Now, every once in a while my father in law will brew up a two cup pot when we’re at his house and offer me a cup, but I just don’t touch coffee anymore. Haven’t since I started drinking looseleaf tea about two years ago. But occasionally, I miss it. Occasionally I just want a big cup of creamy coffee goodness and I have to tell myself no.

So when I spotted this matcha, I had to have it. The caffeine in matcha doesn’t affect me the way the caffeine in coffee does, and so I am very, very eager to try this. Maybe I’ll even sprinkle in a bit of caramel….next time.

When the package is opened, the smell of coffee hits you square in the nose. Mmm, I miss that smell. That smell only grows stronger as the matcha is brewed…mmm, it smells yummy. Okay, so, it’s love at first sip. It tastes like strong, sweet coffee. It is lovely…there’s even a hint of chocolate! I can’t wait to try this in latte form with some Caramel Matcha…maybe even the English Toffee to bring out the chocolate in both. Definitely begging to be mixed with vanilla soy milk. If you’re a coffee fan, or an ex-coffee fan like myself, this is a matcha to try (found here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/orange-matcha-clone.html). It’s so, so good. It’s like an expensive coffee from Starbucks without the too high price tag and the horrible side effects of coffee! The aftertaste is almost one of roasted barley, which I like. Coffee always tasted burnt to me. But this is lovely. I see a happy future for me with this matcha at my side.