Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
The licorice plant is native to southern Europe and parts of Asia. Licorice is well known for being used as a sweet additive that is added to many types of candy. It is thought to be as much as 50 times sweeter than sugar. However, licorice has many more valuable uses than as a sweetening agent. In fact, Licorice is a powerful anti-inflammatory that can help to soothe arthritis. It also works to help the stomach make more mucus for its lining. This reduces problems with upset stomachs, ulcers, and acid indigestion. Apart from all these benefits, licorice can be a valuable herbal medication towards living a healthy lifestyle.
Learn more about this Matcha here.
Taster’s Review:
I must admit that I was a little afraid of this Matcha.
I love licorice (I’ve never really made any secret of that), however, Red Leaf Tea has a very active presence on Steepster and some time ago, they were asking for input on possible new Matcha flavors that the Steepster members would most like to see made available at Red Leaf Tea. And among the proposed new flavors was Licorice (Improved Flavor) … and that scared me a bit. Is that suggesting that the current licorice flavor is not good? Since that was a flavor I was planning on ordering very soon, I was a bit worried that in tasting the “old” flavoring, it might not be very good because there was a proposed improved flavor.
BUT … this is wonderful! It tastes like Matcha with liquified black Jelly Bellys (one of my very favorite flavors) thoroughly mixed in. The licorice flavor is really remarkably good. It tastes sweet like licorice candy, with its delightful sharpness and spice. I don’t think I could get a better flavor if I were sipping on Matcha and popping a black Jelly Belly into my mouth in between bites. It is so, so good!
And with as strong as the licorice flavor is – and it is strong, the aftertaste sort of reminds me of the Altoid’s Liquorice candy with its almost minty-like, spiced overtones – it doesn’t overpower the sweet, leafy flavor of the Matcha. At least, not completely. The licorice flavor IS stronger than the Matcha but, the Matcha does come through – and I like the way these two work together.
Given that this was the old flavor that has been proposed to be replaced with the new and improved licorice flavor, I considered getting the delicate flavor instead, but I’m really glad I didn’t. This is absolutely wonderful. The balance between Matcha and licorice flavor works well for this licorice lover. Now, I’m just wondering how much better this could get … given that there is supposedly an “improved flavor” … because I’m loving this just the way it is!
My order specifications for this Matcha is similar to most of the other Matcha teas I’ve tried lately from Red Leaf Tea: the classic, basic grade Matcha with a distinctive level of flavoring. And it turned out fantastic! The flavoring here is spot-on so if you’re a licorice lover like I am – these are the specs … and this is the Matcha for you!
