Coconut Matcha

Raising the rating on this one…. I mixed this up today into an iced latte and it is just SO very good. Sweet milky creamy coconut all the way here. The aroma in the dry state is a bit too much but the flavor is stellar!
This totally hit the spot today and took care of my sweet tooth!

My matcha from Red Leaf has arrived! Yay! Their service is speedy! I love that I can order something from them and it arrives within a week. That’s totally awesome!

With the huge assortment of flavors from Red Leaf to choose from, it’s difficult to narrow it down to 4 flavors. There were so many that I wanted to try … but something about this coconut kept calling out to me. I guess I’ve been on a bit of a coconut frenzy lately.

I ordered the basic matcha with the distinctive level of flavoring. This has become my own default ordering … and so far, it hasn’t disappointed me. Only one of the four matcha teas that I ordered from Red Leaf this time is not at distinctive level … and that one I shall talk about at some point in the future.

My first couple of sips were enjoyable, but, they weren’t quite all that, you know? But now that I’m about halfway through my bowlful, I am finding it difficult to stop sipping, it has one of those “contagious” kind of flavors, that just sort of creeps up on you … starting out just OK and then slowly becoming absolutely scrumptious.

YUM!

I’m nearly out of this flavour so I thought I would focus on drinking it to make room for other matcha flavours!

I whisked it with a dash of hot water, then added more for a cup. Looks like it was still a bit lumpy because my cup wasn’t wide enough. Maybe I’ll whisk, then pour in the future.

When I placed my last order at Red Leaf Tea, I was really debating the 4th type I was going to get. The first two were easy: Cookies and Cream and Bavarian Cream, since they were on sale! The third, Pear, I’ve been wanting to try for a while thanks to LiberTea’s reviews. But what for the 4th? There are so many I want to try, and Cotton Candy almost won out. But for some reason I was feeling like celebrating the end of summer, and tropical flavors seemed perfect for that! Though I almost went with the Pina Colada, I picked Coconut instead for simplicity’s sake. My matcha was composed of the following:

Size: Small (30g)
Matcha: Starter Grade
Flavoring: Distinctive

Distinctive is kind of my go-to flavoring now, though I do plan on trying Robust for Tiramisu since it is my all-time favorite dessert and I want a TON of that flavor packed in there! For this one, I am really glad (once again) with my flavor level choices: there’s just enough coconut. In fact, it’s not really that strong…. at first. While it smells very coconut-y in the bag, the first sip only had a trace of coconut. “Oh no!” I thought, but since I have faith in Red Leaf’s flavoring I soldiered on.

At the end of the cup, I found myself wanting so much more. It is SO coconut-y, which is funny since I found myself kind of going “where’s the coconut?” at first. It’s not a toasted, bake-y coconut, but a fresh young coconut taste. If I didn’t know better, I would swear this was made with coconut milk instead of water! Well, water and regular milk. I did this as an iced latte: mixed up the base with water, then poured in cold milk and whisked some more for that tasty foam layer. That seems to be my preferred way of drinking matcha, though I do like hot lattes, smoothies, and of course matcha just made with water! It’s fun that you can do so many things with it: I think baking or candy making is up next, maybe some matcha toffee? Ice cream seems almost too easy, just add matcha to a custard base! It has to be custard, I’m so spoiled I find Philly-style bases a bit meh.

Back on topic, this matcha is tropical heaven. I close my eyes while sipping it and I could seriously be sitting on a beach, stretched out on the sand! I dunno if they drink matcha on beaches, but damn they should. I am so happy I got this one, it’s delicious and I think it will mix really well with the ones I have and plan to get. Coconut Mango, Coconut Cheesecake, yum yum! You can get this matcha here:

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

Robust. From CrowKettle.

This is indeed coconutty. It’s not toasted coconut like DavidsTea’s coconut oolong, it’s more of a sweet baking coconut.

I’m having this as a latte, since that’s how I prefer my matcha. 250ml almond milk, a couple tbsp water to froth the matcha in, about 3/4 tsp matcha, and 1/2 tsp sugar. I sieved this matcha because it’s quite clumpy, I’m guessing that’s due to the flavour.

I do like this, but I think that one flavour level down would be even better. I can’t really tell there’s green tea here, and I’d like to taste it a bit.

Edit: That went down fast. Yum! Now for something completely different…

I ordered this one for my husband. I have to throw something in for him every now and then or he gets upset about how much I spend on tea. lol, Thankfully he LOVES this one almost as much as the Pumpkin Pie one.
When I first opened the package it didn’t smell like a whole lot of anything. I dove right in anyway I got one of those lovely little bamboo spoons for Christmas in the 12 days exchange. I tend to heap them, I love the taste of matcha. Once I released this bad boy from it’s package I got a whiff of a light, sweet coconut mixed with the nutty scent of matcha. It whisked up beautifully in 70 C water, I prefer mine on the cooler side. I also used steamed milk to make a latte. It looked almost as good as it tastes. The taste is like pure, unsweetened coconut. It’s not overwhelmingly sweet and there isn’t even a hint of artificial to the flavour. I have always told myself that I am not a coconut fan, Then I try a tea like this and it completely wows me. If I wasn’t a fan before, I am now.
I purchased starter grade in “There’s matcha in there?!” flavour level.
You can buy it here!
http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/coconut-matcha.html

This is the best matcha! I had it as a frappe late this afternoon to cool off and re-energize!

BACKLOG
I got this from Stephanie as a generous thank you for our recent swap. And guess what little missy?! I loved it!!! Soooooo CREAMY! Sooooo Soooooo COCONUT-TY! And Sooooo Sooooo Sooooo DELICIOUS! I had this as an iced latte and a frapp:) Drinking all these matchas from her lately want me to buy some really bad! But this broke college student has no money to her name seeing as its the end of the month:/ I will have to put money away each paycheck for tea even if its only $5 each time. DESPERATION! ha ha ha. Well thank you for this little thank you package Stephanie.

I want to LOVE this. I want it to be my daily matcha that I never ever run out of. But I can’t – It’s awful. I am reading the other reviews and trying to figure out what happened – maybe I got a bad batch? This and ginger (two flavours that I love) are the only two matchas that I wouldn’t order again (and may not even finish).

The first time I tried it I used warmer water and added a bit of coconut milk. I was so turned off by the taste that I didn’t try again until now, months later. But the funny thing is, I blamed the coconut milk; I had just assumed that it was “off” somehow. So today I made it as an iced latte (my favourite way to drink flavoured matcha) without anything added at first. I had to pour it down the drain and start again with a different kind.

The smell and taste are the same – plastic-y, chemical tasting, nothing like coconut (fresh, dried, toasted…it doesn’t matter. Nothing like it!). A few people have mentioned sun screen but I love the smell of sunscreen and would gladly eat something that smelled like it (as long as it was edible) and this just isn’t it. I’ve tried twice prepared two ways – I’ve had a lot of flavoured matcha – so I don’t think it’s me. Did anyone else get a funky batch of this? I don’t even feel like I could put it in a smoothie to keep myself from wasting it. I adore my other flavours from Red Leaf Tea so I won’t let this stop me from trying some new kinds but I am starting to think I am just not meant to find a perfect coconut tea!

Coconut is my favourite flavour, so I just HAD to pick this one. I got the buy three get one free option. I couldn’t wait to open my new matcha teas to check out the aroma. I was pleasantly surprised since the aroma was of a definite coconut smell. It was the perfect balance between coconut and matcha, so the coconut did not overpower the matcha and vice versa. I gave some to my 13 yr old daughter and she loved it and thought it was the same kind of treat as you would have in a hot chocolate. I found the same balance of matcha and flavours in the other three matcha teas I got from Red Leaf.