Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Deliciously tart gooseberries can acquire a more balanced and mellow taste by adding the well loved Matcha twist. A Gooseberry Matcha drink is the perfect refreshment after a hardworking day. It can also be a cool fruity drink on warm balmy days when someone wants to soak in the sun with a trendy drink at hand to sip and relish. This fine drink can easily become the favorite in the special occasions of young children because of its fruity charms and sweet sharp taste. Gooseberry Matcha is also a wonderful addition to any refreshment offering on special occasions.
Learn more about this flavored matcha here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m not sure exactly what possessed me to order this Gooseberry Flavored Matcha from Red Leaf Tea, to be honest with you. I can’t tell you that I’ve ever tasted a gooseberry, because I don’t think I have. Or if I have, I was unaware of it. I don’t know that I’ve even tried a tea with gooseberry in it. And if I have, it wasn’t memorable enough for me to recall at the moment.
But I figured if I am not *crazy* about the flavor of gooseberry, this is always a Matcha that I can add to my smoothies or blend with other flavored Matcha … so I figured, what the heck, why not!
So I prepared this Matcha the way I usually prepare Matcha – first, I scoop the Matcha into my wire mesh strainer to sift it into my chawan and then I add hot water to the sifted Matcha in the bowl and whisk the Matcha with my chasen (bamboo whisk). The Matcha produced a nice frothy cap, and the bubbly froth stayed around. That is, it didn’t disappear quickly. I got to enjoy the foamy froth for a while.
Mmm! Sweet and tart. It has a fruity taste that sort of reminds me of grapes and peaches. It almost has a “candy-like” flavor to it because it is so distinctly sweet and tart, reminiscent of the sweet tart type of candies.
The sweetness starts at the start of the sip, and the tartness comes in toward the tail, and lingers long into the aftertaste. Even a full minute after my last sip, I’m still tasting that tart, tingly berry taste that tickles the tongue after eating a ripe berry. Of course, I don’t know if one experiences that tarty, tingly, tickle on the tongue from gooseberries, but, I know that I experience it with other berries that I’ve eaten!
The Matcha tastes sweet, vegetative, buttery and it has a smooth and creamy texture. For this particular batch of Matcha, I went with my “usual specifications,” which are Red Leaf Tea’s classic grade of green Matcha and the distinctive level of flavoring. These are my usual go-to specifications because they usually produce a flavored Matcha that is a good balance between Matcha and flavor and that is true with this blend. I like that I taste the fruity elements here as well as the delicious taste of Matcha.
Now, I can’t say that this is my favorite flavored Matcha that I’ve tried from Red Leaf Tea – because it isn’t. But I am enjoying it, and I’m really glad I tried it. Definitely a little bit different, but not so different. There are some familiar notes in this one, and I like it.
