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I’m back in NY, and disappointed to find out my house still doesn’t have power. Unfortunately I have an electric stove, so I am SOL when it comes to trying to make tea at home. Also it was freaking cold last night (low of 33°F overnight), so my now-unheated apartment was not pleasant.

I schlepped all my matcha-making equiptment in to work today (it’s where my variable-temp tea kettle is anyway), except of course my almond milk, which sadly did not make it in my fridge. I got a package of Red Leaf matchas not long before I left last weekend but I never got around to trying them because I was so busy, and then they just sat on my table. I brought this one in today to try.

I chose this one to try out the black matcha base because I was intrigued by it and figured hazelnut would pair well with a black base. I got this one with robust flavoring, because that’s how I roll. You can find it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/hazelnut-matcha.html

When I opened the pouch on this one I immediately smelled hazelnuts and black tea, but then an odd fruitiness crept in as well, almost like I might expect if this was a green matcha. When I whisked it, it produced the thickest, most luxurious foam I’ve ever had for any matcha I’ve tried. I sipped it while it was still hot and didn’t taste much, which could be more to do with the hotness of it than anything else, but I still went ahead and put in about a tsp of sugar. The result is nutty and smooth and delicious. There is maybe a hint of fruitiness but I am unsure whether that is a quirk of the hazelnut flavoring or the black matcha. I am enjoying the black matcha base and will probably get it on any future matchas that are chocolately flavored. When I got down to the bottom of the bowl it was a little grittier with a little more fallen pieces of tea than the green, but it really wasn’t bad at all. Can’t wait to try this one as a latte (eventually).