Sweetened Matcha

BlueKittyMeow sent me some of this matcha, along with some other matcha goodies. This is the same matcha they use to make the matcha lattes at Starbucks. Unfortunately, you can’t actually purchase the matcha powder anywhere; you just have to find an employee of Starbucks. I’ve had this tea a couple times now, but this is my first official tasting note.

While I’m generally a tea purist, matcha is one of the few teas I do sweeten hot. When it’s cold, I can usually drink it without needing sweetener, although I’m referring to the flavored matchas.

Anyway, I made a nice mug of this the traditional matcha way (it had been awhile). I didn’t bother to sift it, but I really didn’t have any issues with grittiness. The nice thing about this kind of matcha is that you don’t have to worry about adding any sweetener afterwards. I found the matcha was plenty sweet. The problem, of course, is that if you think the matcha is too sweet right off the bat – TOO bad. I enjoyed it as is with just hot water, but decided to throw in some skim milk to help round out the taste. The milk added some nice creamy notes to it, but I think I actually prefer this matcha without it.

The matcha itself tastes very mild. I would not recommend this for someone who actually likes the taste of matcha. This is more for the people who want to drink it but don’t want the typical “green tea” taste.

I’m a barista at Starbucks (a tea lover in a coffee world), and decided today to try our matcha with hot water, since I find it entirely too sweet in lattes and frappuccinos. Sadly, the sweetness comes from the powder itself. I’ve never had matcha before, so I don’t feel qualified to rate it yet, but it was not my cup of tea, so to speak. I got some vegetative notes, but these were drowned out by the taste of sugar (and a slight fish flavor, as well; kind of like kipper or sardines). Not something I would have again.