Black Cherry Matcha

I put half a teaspoon of this into a water bottle today and sipped it all the way until I got to work. It tastes like cherry candy! I only got the normal amount of flavoring (delicate?) but I was still surprised how much of a flavor it had. This is a pretty good way of drinking matcha without getting too much matcha taste.

I’ve packed it in my new awesome Teavana travel kit so that once I get to the airport I can put it in a water bottle in there. My boyfriend thinks that part of the kit looks like a shank so I’m hoping it really doesn’t get any attention drawn to it. Meh. I thought it seemed very useful especially because it means I have limited myself to only taking three teas (and three tea bags) with me. Left to my own devices it would have been at least 6, an infuser basket, and who knows what else.

Made this as a matcha latte this morning, as per the norm for me. I didn’t love it, I think that’s because I prefer my matchas to be NOT fruity. I might have liked it more had it been cold, or perhaps without milk, but it’s not one I would order for myself. I will stick to the creamy, sweet flavors like vanilla and caramel.

I am glad I got to sample it, thanks to Starfevre!

I made this and the French Vanilla matcha as lattes for Hubby and myself to share this morning because I couldn’t bear having one left untasted for single day, and certainly not Black Cherry! Black Cherry anything reminds me of my dad on the other side of the world and so is one of my all-time favorite flavors. I was thrilled to see Red Leaf Tea bring it onto the matcha list and doubly so when it won its race against Pumpkin Pie to be on sale. I simply wanted it available as soon as possible—the sale price was an added bonus! Here’s where you can get yours, and believe me, you should:

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/black-cherry-matcha.html

For this order I upped things a bit, getting a large size in the basic grade regular matcha (you can get organic now, if you like) and went for the Robust flavor level. When I opened the pack I was in Black Cherry Heaven. I could almost taste that great black cherry ice cream I had at Biltmore House a couple years ago—the last time I had anything black cherry. (It’s not a flavor that’s arrived to Australia yet, the poor things.)

Made as a latte, the scent reaches your nose before the bowl reaches your mouth and you’re smiling before you’ve had the first sip. Well, you keep smiling as you drink it and the smile gets bigger. Truth is, the smile comes back when you think of it again to write a review! That’s how good it is: like a memory that makes you smile every time.

Figured I’d best give the other matcha that Lala sent me a fair try before I rule it out as a tea type that I don’t like, and since I spent a fairly busy day grocery shopping with Tre and am WAY too sore (recently started an “at home” exercise routine type thing – basically 10 minutes when I wake up, consistently whenever my electric kettle is boiling something, which is often, and 10 minutes before I go to bed; I am SO out of shape it’s not even funny) to actually cook or to go through a more elaborate process of making tea tonight this seemed like a good idea.

I’ve read on a few reviews that I good, and easy, way to make matcha cold is to put some into a water bottle with a smaller amount of water, shake the ever living crap out of it, and then fill the rest of the bottle and shake that all up – so that’s the method I tried. The water bottle I have isn’t really specifically for tea, and I’m not totally sure how many ounces is holds. I want to guess somewhere between 10 and 14 ounces? I used about half the sample that Lala sent me to mix up.

Taste wise, this is A LOT better than the MATCHAccino. I’m able to drink this without gagging or feeling like I’m going to throw up – which I think is a plus for any tea drinker (or at least I’m hoping that’s something many of you consider a plus). I believe that what Lala sent me was “Robust” flavouring (I quickly browsed the RLT’s website to see how matcha is sold and the naming/grading/whatever word I’m looking for system they used, and then checked the ratings for this one here on Steepster – I think I recall Lala saying it was robust).

Honestly? I don’t taste any green tea which is a HUGE plus. In fact, if the drink wasn’t green itself I don’t think I’d have remembered it was green tea. Taste wise, it’s reminding me of Nibs with sort of a cough syrupy aftertaste. That might just be the portions I used, though. It’s not the tastiest thing I’ve ever drank – and even though Tre LOVED the MATCHAccino he wont even try this one because he hates cherries. However, even though I don’t LOVE this it’s palatable for sure, and it gives me enough hope to try a few different kinds of matcha from RLT in flavours I like a bit more. I here the Caramel matcha is really good and since caramel is one of my favourite flavours I might give that a go.

Hope is not lost! And I definitely will be finishing off this sample.

Thanks Lala!

001/365

In an effort to maintain my current inspiration, I’m going to take a lead from the truly amazing Roswell Strange and attempt 365 days of tea. That should see me through my current cupboard (92, some of them older than I’d like to admit…), and into a whole, joyful world of brand new tea. What’s not to love?

Starting straightaway, as I obviously mean to go on, this is today’s tea. I haven’t had a matcha latte in fucking forever, so it felt good to finally do something other than dump a tea bag in a cup. I used 1/4 tsp of leaf, whisked into about an inch of boiling water, topped up with milk.

To taste, it’s maybe just a little on the artificial side, although mostly it reminds me of the jam you might find in a cherry bakewell. That, and cherry tunes, and maybe carmex. Let’s face it, there’s absolutely nothing natural about this cherry. Having said that, though, I do like it. It’s deliciously creamy as a latte (of course), and it’s got a candy-like vibe going on that suits my mood this evening. There is maybe a touch more grass to the overall flavour than I’d like, but it’s not too obtrusive.

Now I’m thinking of cherry bakewell, and as I also have a sample of Red Leaf’s Almond Matcha too, that’s something that could really happen…

Watch this space :)

Tasty shaken up in a bottle of cold water, though I prefer it as a latte. In cold water, the cherry flavour isn’t as nicely balanced with the matcha and tastes a bit artificial.

Well I know I had a review of this. I recall writing it. Where did it go?
This happens often to me, it seems. Hmph.

Anyhow, I tried something different today. Milk, water, and a whole lotta ice in the blender.
It turned the ice into a strange frothy cloud that I think would go really well if it had been mint. But the cherry was odd. More floral and not very strong. Oh well. Live n learn.