Tea Review:
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:
Just like in my review of Shanti Tea’s Cinnamon Matcha, even though this is labeled as “Cocoa Matcha Latte,” I am choosing not to do this as a “Product Review” as I would with most Latte mixes, because the only ingredients to this blend are Matcha green tea powder and cacao powder. Since it doesn’t contain dry milk, sweeteners or other “latte” like ingredients, I consider this to be more of a flavored Matcha than a latte mix.
After sifting this flavored Matcha, I noticed that the Matcha green tea powder and the cacao powder separated. Interesting. My only explanation (read: guess) for that is that each powder is a different weight and/or size and they separate while sifting. Perhaps someone with a more scientific brain might know the answer. I’m an artist, not a scientist.
This whisks up smooth and lightly frothy… a little light on the froth, but that’s OK. The first thought that came to my head when I took my first sip of this Matcha latte? Ovaltine. This doesn’t have that “hot chocolate-y” kind of flavor that I might have expected. It definitely tastes more like Ovaltine to me, but I am finding it quite delicious, regardless.
It tastes very rich and chocolate-y and the texture is very creamy. There is a slight chalkiness to this, but it is more like that “powdery” sensation you might experience from tasting cocoa powder than the chalkiness you might experience from Matcha. I do recommend sweetening this just a little (I added the tiniest sprinkling of sugar) as the cocoa is an unsweetened, bittersweet cocoa and when combined with the slightly bitter taste of the matcha, I found myself wanting more of a sweet chocolate taste.
I used a 1:1 ratio of hot water and steamed milk to make my latte, and it turned out absolutely wonderful. Sweet and rich with chocolate-y flavor, but without overwhelming the sweet, vegetative Matcha notes. I notice the Matcha flavor more towards the end of the sip and moving into the aftertaste, with the chocolate-y tones presenting themselves more towards the start. It is creamy and very satisfying, and it even satisfies a chocolate craving (yay!)
YUM!
