Irish Cream Matcha

Alright Ashmanra, you got me with all your yummy sounding taste notes of lattes. Today I had to make my own. I got this matcha powder a couple months back. It does smell like Irish cream. I added a teaspoon to Starbucks frappachino double walled insulated cup and added a half cup of water and shook hard. I added water to the first line, added some honey, added milk to the second line, stirred like crazy and then added ice. It was so yummy and creamy. I will definitely be making more of these.

Sipdown! (164/397)

We ran out of coffee in my house and I really need a good caffeine boost this morning as I didn’t get much sleep last night and have an important job application to write up today. So, I was forced to make the effort I’m usually too lazy for and prepare a matcha latte. I went with this one as it’s a sipdown, and I really need to speed up how quickly I’m getting through my teas. This very generous sample came my way a couple of years back from VariaTEA, so I’m not exactly sure what flavour level it is, though my spreadsheet says delicate. I’m not sure why, since it doesn’t say on the packaging and from the looks of it VariaTEA never mentioned it in any of her notes (nor did Cavo, who it looks like VariaTEA got it from). Ah well, I’m going to trust that she told me in a message or a note in the swap or something, and say that it’s delicate. I definitely remember thinking the flavour wasn’t very strong in the past, so dumped about twice as much matcha as I usually would into my cup. This doesn’t really help. The matcha is vegetal, which is weird in a sweet latte, but there is virtually no Irish cream flavour at all. There is some creaminess, but it’s barely distinguishable from regular milk creaminess, just making it seem like I used semi-skimmed milk instead of skimmed. No whisky or alcohol at all, just sweet (I added sugar) creamy milk with a grassy, green-bean like matcha. I don’t think it’s just the low flavouring level either, as I’ve had other delicate matchas from Red Leaf with more flavour, and I’ve seen a couple of notes from people with the highest flavour level saying the same thing.

Thank you for the sample, VariaTEA, but I wasn’t a fan.

Thank you again Sil for sharing some Red Leaf with me a while back.

I saved my last serving of this for a day like today, because out of all the flavours I was able to try, this was the one that felt like a cup of hugs and smiles. A liquid teddy bear of sorts.

I tossed some fresh goat’s milk (that I got from a friend yesterday) in the microwave to warm up, put a light froth to it with my electic frothing wand, added the matcha and a pinch of brown sugar, and frothed til it was green and foamy. It’s sweet and very much irish creamy, the goat’s milk has just enough tang to cut the thickness that teeny bit so it doesn’t simply coat my tongue, but not so tangy that it overpowers the sweet creaminess either.

So thank you again Sil for the cup of comfort on a really uncomfortable day. <3

The first Sil matcha I tried. Didn’t quite get the proportions right, so it was a little thin, but made a mental note for the amaretto matcha I had today and it was much better. I didn’t really catch much Irish Cream in this like I did with the amaretto, but it may be because I made it too thin.

Ehh it’s a tea that I have.
I was craving matcha this morning and this was the first to be pulled out of the bag!
Great tea. Look at previous notes for a decent tasting note :)

((thank you MissB for the sample!))

I was excited to get a few red leaf matcha samples in my mystery pack from MissB and I knew right away I would have this one on St Patrick’s Day. I did and then I had it again tonight. Both times I used 6 oz organic whole milk shaken in a mason jar with 2 ice cubes. They were both yummy but the first one did not taste like Irish Cream. Today I left it in the fridge after preparing it for about an hour and it could just be my imagination but I felt like I could taste a little Irish Cream this time. Thanks MissB

I was so excited when I saw that Red Leaf had an Irish Cream matcha. Irish cream was my favourite liquor until a few years ago when I stopped consuming dairy. Kahlua and Frangelico just don’t always cut it (although Frangelico would be an awesome matcha flavour. I think Red Leaf has a Hazelnut matcha. I’ll have to try that next – maybe it’s close).

I got the classic grade matcha with robust flavouring at http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/irish-cream-matcha.html. I mixed it up with my default of vanilla almond milk and took a sip. It has a very distinctive taste to it. I think Red Leaf’s description calls it sweet and tart. I agree. It’s both, strange as that sounds. There’s no alcohol taste to it, which is good, just the “Irish cream” taste.

I used to mix Bailey’s with Kahlua, and it was awesome. I think I may try adding a splash of Kahlua into this one day as a dessert drink. It would make the Kahlua healthier, right? Oh, and I’ll have to try mixing a bit with caramel matcha. That would be a great mix. Caramel Irish cream. I was already vegan when Bailey’s came out with that flavour. Now I get to make my own. I’m going to try that tomorrow. I’m excited now, lol.

As a side note, my cat was trying to drink my matcha (she likes flavoured matcha!) and while I was protecting it from her I knocked my tin of matcha off the counter. I’m so glad they have the screw tops on them, as it could have been a disaster. Highly recommend picking up a tin.