Matcha Outlet

back from the red leaf tea days, this is still surprisingly tasty although the flavour is toned down a little.

back from vacation and my keyboard has broken my ability to use capital letters, apologies – another is in the mail from amazon. i will start logging teas again today. don’t want to disappear again.

Just had this for a morning pick-me-up and it seems to have done the trick. The chocolate flavour is pretty weak but the matcha itself is still okay so it’s drinkable. Maybe next time I will just add more of it.

AND, I just completely updated my steepster cupboard to be accurate. I feel so productive :p Except Second Breakfast by Whispering Pines isn’t on there yet because the page is having one of their mobile caching issues and won’t let me add it. Ah well, for later.

SIPDOWN

I don’t get many sipdowns, not readily anyway. This one I definitely worked for. I didn’t measure the matcha, just dumped the remainder in my sieve and into the mug, added a bit of sugar and hot water and waited for the sugar to melt before I frothed, then added a cup of hot skim milk. Delicious. Tasted really good, this last time too. I will miss it, but I have more matcha in my freezer still, ready to be brought in, should I decide to increase my work matcha collection to 5 again. Down to 4 now.

Not sure it was a terribly good idea to have caffeine today though. I increased my adderall dosage today (with doctor’s permission of course) and the last time I did that, I got the brain zaps for the first day. Haven’t so far today but I have a terrible headache that Aleve isn’t touching. Not to mention still recovering from gallbladder surgery a week and a half ago. Alas, back to work.

Google’s RNG said to drink this cherry matcha this morning (I have 4 to choose from at work since I drank my mint one up). I think I added too much matcha again, I need to watch that. I did used the lower temperature water and heated the milk up for the latte for only a minute instead of 1:15. Still, other than the very matcha-flavour heavy aftertaste, this is pretty good! I think the lower temperature is the trick to this one and I’ll have to keep using my kettle’s ‘white tea’ setting rather than the ‘green tea’ one.

I hope everyone’s having a good day on this evil Tuesday that should not exist because Tuesdays are evil.

Increasing my rating on this since I used a lower temperature and less matcha and it was much smoother and sweeter. Light cherry taste, probably from age, but still very tasty. Nice little caffeine boost in the morning.

Old but still decent. It was flavoured ‘robust’ so that’s probably why I can still taste the cherry despite it’s age. It spent most of it’s life in a sealed package in the freezer, but I’m trying to drink up my matcha, even if it doesn’t taste flavoured anymore. Thankfully this one does. I think I made the initial water a bit hot so it’s a teensy bit sharp tasting but otherwise good.

Made as a latte. Hopefully I’ll wake up now.

This kind of tastes like Swedish Berries. The raspberry flavour is sweet, creamy, characteristically raspberry. I do find the green base used is bitter, but can be rounded out with milk.

Grainy, but definitely nicer than a lot of matchas I have had. No bitterness.

It tastes like a normal red rooibos: minerals, woody, honey/nectar, fruity, dry wood chips. It is much better made with milk, which makes it considerably smoother.

I don’t think this is where I posted my original sample note (can’t find it but then Steepster eats my notes often. I hope they’re tasty).
So I have a ton of this left over, and had promised my friends a tea mocktail. It was easy enough to do! Matcha, OJ, and some fizzy water. Perrier, but I used no-name last time, at home, and it was fine.
I was worried that they would all hate it. But to my surprise, everyone asked for more!
My friend’s boyfriend is Japanese, and knows matcha well enough to offer a true critique… I was most concerned about his opinion haha.
In the end, he delivered kindof a compliment. Apparently the tea was how you would expect OJ and Matcha to taste, only far better. Hey, I’ll take that as a win :D
This was a brunch event, so a few people added prosecco, and they said it was pretty good. I added some bluberry wine and that was a great pairing as well, though the berryness dominated the blend somewhat.
Ahhhh. Tea shared makes for a happy day!!

Also? I now have a giant tea thermos courtesy of the gift steal. Oh and my gift caused the recipient to literally squeal, which made me pretty gleeful heheeee (a micro drone. $25 at walmart!!)

Oops, I accidentally bought some teas from Amoda. (All are caffeine free, though, so they don’t count right?)

That means I really have to finish off some more caffinated teas and noncaffinated teas now. I had one sample of this left and it was definitely a good morning to do so.

Creamy, floral notes (like jade oolong type floral), the soy milk really rounds everything out. The coconut flavour is very strong, but I think that makes it ideal for a latte.

This is one of the best (most accurant and pleasant) flavours from Red Leaf/Matcha Outet.

The coconut is pretty delicious and creamy, lightly floral (perfume) notes, fruity (mango, tropical fruit) flavours, and fragrant fresh coconut. No gross soapy coconut flavours like many other coconut teas (cough DAVIDSTEA cough). I really like this matcha and might purchase more on my next order. The creaminess is only intensified by making this with soy milk…double creamy!

hmm my sample package just says “Toffee Matcha”, so I’m not sure if it is the same as English Toffee.

The base is bitter, but the brown sugar and caramel notes are really good. This is on of the few matchas where I can say I would buy it again.

Even though this is some-what creamy, I didn’t find it tasted like Baverian cream. I’m honestly quite dissapointed. I get a few custard notes, but they are fleeting and quickly overwhelmed by the base (typical green matcha flavour) and some generic vanilla notes.

I don’t really get cheesecake from this, more like milk and cream. No desserty/rich cream cheese notes or sweetness other than the natural sweetness of the tea. The matcha is also a bit bitter without a lot of milk added.

My favorite green tea iteration when in Canada.

I N C R E D I B L E

Delicious green tea

Tried this one cold, whisked into milk. I’d like to say it worked…but it didn’t really. It’s like someone accidentally tipped some cola into a matcha latte, and green tea isn’t a great match for that particular flavour really speaking.

I generally like cola flavoured things, so when I bought this I figured it’d be a hit with me. Sadly, not so much.

021/365

I’ve not yet become a fan of cold matcha, but there aren’t many ways I can conceive of drinking this particular matcha. I think, ultimately, I’m going to end up trying it hot (as a latte), but I figured I’d give cold another shot.

The recipe I used for this one is called “Matcha Fresh” (from T2’s website), and uses 1 tsp of matcha in 150ml 80 degree water, topped up with ice and soda water. It’s more palatable than some of the cold matcha I’ve prepared, although it’s still far more vegetal and grassy than I’m used to tasting. I could use less powder, but I fear that then the cola flavour would be lost – it’s not all that prominent currently as it is.

I’m not sure that cola matcha in a hot latte is going to work, but given that that’s really how I prefer my matcha, I think an attempt is in my future. Cold matcha, for some reason, makes me feel nauseous and lightheaded. I know it’s odd, and I don’t claim to understand it.

The cola flavour here is pretty good, reminiscent of the off-brand supermarket stuff. The soda water is a nice addition – the carbonation makes it that bit more realistic as a cola imitation, and of course it’s much healthier.

Great matcha; still not sold on drinking it cold.

Tried this one as a latte first thing this morning, and it was as good as I’d hoped based on yesterday’s shot. Smooth, creamy, slightly nutty deliciousness. I’d like to get back to some kind of matcha routine, if I can, because it does make me feel more awake over time.

Unfortunately, once my sample of this one is gone, then it’s gone from my cupboard for good. Last time I looked, Matcha Outlet’s shipping prices to the UK had skyrocketed. Fortunately, Bluebird and Teapigs are beginning to come out with their own flavoured matcha, although I doubt they’re in quite the same league as these. Guess I’ll find out!