Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green/Matcha
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Sangria Matcha is the perfect answer for those adults looking for a fruity platter treat that has a dash of exotic Matcha and tastes of refreshing spices. This delectable treat is a perfect after hours drink that brings its well rounded charm into the palate. It can be taken with a fine assortment of many snacks and meals to add to their overall flavor and also make things more exciting. This fine treat is great for adults who love the tangy tasty combination of many fruits on their palates.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’m adding Sangria matcha to the many flavours under my belt because I thought it would make for a really great summer flavour to have stock up; and obviously it’s not a flavour that screams “try me in milk” like how I normally prepare my matcha so I made it as a Matcha Soda instead.
This is the ‘recipe’ I used:
– 1 tsp of matcha whisked into approx. 2 ounce of hot water
– Dissolve approx. 1 tbsp. of sugar into the concentrated matcha to create a ‘matcha syrup’
– Cool down the syrup, and add a can of Club Soda
Just being perfectly honest, as soon as I took my first sip I knew that I didn’t like this flavour of matcha. There was a lot that I personally felt was wrong/off about it – for one the fruit flavours are incredibly muddled on top of tasting really artificial. I know Sangria is a combination of different fruits but I couldn’t pinpoint any of the individual fruits that traditionally make up Sangria. In addition, the vegetal/grassy notes of the matcha were far too pronounced for my liking (despite this being Distinctive flavour level) and took on a ‘swampy’ kind of flavour when compared with the weird/chemical tasting fruit notes.
I’m definitely disappointed by this flavour; it’s nothing like I’d hoped it would be and if you’re looking for an accurate Sangria flavour I think you’re best off looking elsewhere. The worst part is that I’m almost certain that Robust flavouring would taste even more chemical/artificial since that’s the way fruit flavoured matcha tends to go but, while delicate level flavouring might reduce the fake fruit flavour, I think it’d make the Sangria flavour even less distinct than it already is.
Using the rest of this will certainly be a challenge for me.
Cranberry Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green/Matcha
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Cranberry matcha is an excellent drink for those who need a splash of brilliant flavor in the even-toned drink. The bitter aftertaste of the cranberry is toned down by matcha’s velvety goodness to bring about a tea that has a hint of excitement and exquisite flavor. Cranberry matcha is ideal for any official or social gathering where people appreciate nature’s abundant choices and varied charms. This is the tea that cannot go wrong as far as savvy crowds are concerned.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Recently, Red Leaf Tea has started to offer a sampler of their flavored matcha. You can chose from a selection of preselected flavors, This is definitely a very cool way to let new and returning customers try different flavours before purchasing a larger 30 gram amount and, with my latest order, I included the smaller size of this sampler in my order. I will be reviewing each of the samples I received.
This is the first of five flavors, all with the default basic grade of matcha and flavouring.
I’ve never really thought of cranberry as a flavour that I needed to experience as matcha; however when I saw it as one of the options for the sampler I knew I had to try it out. Cranberry is a consistent favourite flavour of mine in teas. Opening up the sample packet, it definitely smells pretty strongly of cranberry – like an unsweetened cranberry juice.
I prepared 1/2 tsp. of the matcha in my chawan, but with cold cashew milk instead of regular milk or water. The cashew milk doesn’t froth very well, but it gets very thick and it takes a long time for the matcha to resettle and separate.
This definitely nails cranberry right on the head, but with a very floral and perfume like component. I think this is in part from the matcha itself, but also from the flavoring used. Sometimes Red Leaf Tea’s fruit blends have a tendency to taste somewhat chemical or artificial and I think that’s happening a little bit here. While I don’t mind the floral notes, the “perfume” is very fake tasting and detracts just a little from the overall flavor. I would absolutely be nervous trying this one as a flavor level like “Robust”. I can’t even imagine what it would be like at the “There’s matcha in there!?” level – probably bad.
It is weird experiencing the flavor cold and paired with the light flavor of cashew (from the milk) but in a pleasant way. Harney & Sons has a blend called Boston which is the pairing of cranberry and almond, and the pairing of flavors here reminds me of that tea. This aspect of the matcha works well for me; though obviously not everyone is going to have access to cashew milk to try it this way.
I think I’ll have fun tinkering around with this blend; there’s room for improvement for sure, but if you like the taste of cranberry it’s absolutely worth giving this one a shot!
Hard Candy Tisane from DAVIDsTEA
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Herbal/Tisane
Where to Buy: DAVIDsTEA
Tea Description:
Looking for a new way to satisfy your sweet tooth? This sweet and tangy tea is where it’s at. With sour cherries, kiwi and coconut, it has all the taste of a candy shop treat – at next to no calories. Brewed over ice, it’s a deliciously fruity, kid-friendly summer treat. And brewed extra-strong then topped up with sparkling water, it’s an unbeatably refreshing TeaPop. How sweet is that?
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is part two of a five part review of the DAVIDsTEA Summer Collection.
This year I found myself relatively interested in all five teas offered from DT’s Summer Collection so I decided to do a review of the whole collection here on SororiTea Sisters. Not all the teas are going to be prepared the same way; I decided to go with my gut and prepare each in the way I thought that they were best suited for. Now, because DT has marketed/designed these blends to be prepared iced that does mean most of the five teas were tried in a cold preparation style.
This is not an exception; for my first taste of the summer collection I decided to cold brew this one. Based on the initial stream of reviews on Steepster this blend seems to be pretty well liked; as of writing my review there aren’t really any bad reviews of this tisane. That’s definitely unusual, and it has me quite curious especially since this is the blend I was least interested in initially.
Dry I think this has a really intense aroma, and it reminds me a lot of Lipsmacker’s Strawberry Kiwi flavour. It’s very over the top, and really candy sweet. And as long as this doesn’t mysteriously pick up a ‘waxy’ taste then I think that’s a good thing because candy is obviously what DT was going for. I’m not totally sure where I’m getting strawberry from though since that is definitely not one of the ingredients in this: but it’s distinctly strawberry and NOT cherry or cranberry.
Steeped up and strained this has a powerful flavour; it’s incredibly sweet with just a hint of tartness. The first thing I noticed was actually the absence of a flavor – coconut in this case. DAVIDsTEA is really heavy handed with coconut as an ingredient, in fact three out of five of this seasons blends have coconut as an ingredient! It’s only the returning blends that don’t, and I can’t help but wonder if they were maybe so popular because of the lack of coconut. I definitely anticipated the coconut to be strong though – and I’m not getting it at all. It’s really weird, actually. And thinking about it, I don’t remember seeing any coconut shreds in the measured out leaf either.
The first flavor I’m actually tasting though is the kiwi – it’s much strong than I thought it would be. It’s followed closely behind by very plump, juicy cherry, cranberry and – yes, strawberry notes too. It tastes A LOT like Strawberry Kiwi Lipsmacker, no matter how hard I try to shake the comparison. Another popular comparison with this one is Jolly Ranchers; both cherry and watermelon. I can understand the comparison, but I don’t necessarily agree with it. Although, it’s reminding me a lot of a summer cold brew favourite of mine: Prickly Pear from Tea Desire, and now that I’m thinking about it not only do both teas have intense kiwi flavour but Prickly Pear also has a rich melon flavour so maybe I am subconsciously drawing melon comparisons too.
I may be the first ‘negative’ review of this one though; while I didn’t think it was bad I did think that ultimately there was too much going on about about half way through my cold brew I was just getting really sick of the intense sweetness and artificial fruit flavours. I get why it’s getting good reviews so far, it’s different from a lot of other tisanes from DT; but I’d call myself neutral at best. It’s not going to be a restock for me.
