Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Shanti Tea
Product Description:
Matcha tea is kind of like a super-powered green tea—since you’re ingesting the whole leaf instead of just the brewed beverage, you get up to ten times the antioxidant effect and nutritional value of your standard green. Matcha’s rich in antioxidants, as well as chlorophyll and fiber, and has been found to have natural mood enhancing effects. All in all, matcha’s got no match when it comes to healthy teas.
Taster’s Review:
Although they call this a “Cinnamon Matcha Latte” on the website, I am not doing this as a product review like I would do for most latte mixes, because this really only contains matcha and cinnamon, and it can be easily enjoyed as a flavored matcha or a latte, depending upon the drinker’s preference.
I happened to make this as a latte, using half hot water and half steamed milk. The result is a yummy chawan full of cinnamon-ed Matcha goodness that reminds me a little bit of horchata.
Even though the photo above shows a green-colored powder, the color of this dry powder is brown – looking just like the ground cinnamon you might buy in the spice aisle of your supermarket. It whisks up to a brownish-green, thick, creamy liquid with a light froth on top. This doesn’t whisk up to be quite as frothy as some Matcha, but, it is still pleasantly foamy and rich.
The cinnamon in this offsets that slightly bitter taste of the Matcha very nicely, making a pleasantly sweet, warmly spiced treat that is neither too spicy nor too sweet. It is a satisfying matcha that really energized me! (Although I don’t want to clean the garage or anything, despite the extra energy)
If you like a sweeter latte, try adding a little bit of turbinado sugar and it becomes a cinnamon toast latte! Seriously YUMMY!