Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: 52Teas
Tea Description:
This one I suspect is going to go really fast. This is an awesome blend of genmaicha, cashews and macadamias, with organic cashew, macadamia and honey flavors. Just the smell of this tea is enough to cause instant drooling.
Learn more about this blend here.
Learn more about 52Teas’ subscriptions here.
Taster’s Review:
One of the first things I like to do with any tea when I first “approach” it is to smell it. I like to check out the dry leaf to see what it looks like and more importantly, what it tastes like. This one smells so nutty! It smells a bit like I had just opened a can of honey roasted mixed nuts … and a tin of Genmaicha!
The dry leaf looks pretty much the way it smells too: chunks of cashews and macadamia nuts, green tea leaves, tan toasted rice grains and popped bits of sorghum seed.
I brewed this tea in my Breville One-Touch tea maker, measuring out 2 bamboo scoops of tea into the basket and adding 500ml of water. I set the timer for 2 minutes and the temperature for 170°F. Then I walked away for a few minutes and let the tea maker do it’s thing. I came back to a kitchen that smelled of delicious, roasted nuts and honey.
The brewed tea smells less of Genmaicha and more like cashews and macadamia nuts. I still smell hints of the toasted rice from the Genmaicha, but they’re quite faint.
The taste is an interesting combination of all the components of this tea. I taste the Genmaicha – the sweet green tea and the warm, toasty flavor of the rice – and I taste the nuts and the honey. It all comes together in a very seamless way. It’s hard to say where the flavors start and end … they all seem very melded into one flavor that is Genmacashew!
As I started sipping this tea, I noticed that the honey notes were softer than the other flavors. Not surprising, because honey isn’t usually a very aggressive flavor. But now that I’m about mid-way through the cup, I’m picking up more of the honey. It’s a strong, persistent flavor throughout the sip.
The nut flavors taste more like a medley of nuts. Like I reached into the mixed nut can and grabbed a handful and popped it into my mouth. It doesn’t necessarily taste like macadamia or cashew … but it tastes like both of them, if that makes sense. And I also get a nutty flavor from the toasted rice that melds with the both of them.
The green tea is probably the softest flavor of the components, but it isn’t hidden behind the flavors. I taste that sweet, “green” taste that’s lightly grassy, buttery and I even taste very subtle notes of flower in the distance.
Overall, this is a really enjoyable cup of tea. After I drank a cup hot, I resteeped it and let that cool and enjoyed a cup of this chilled. It’s good both hot or cold!
Macadamia Praline Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Macadamia praline Matcha is incomparable to many other treats because it can be taken with other refreshments or as a standalone treats depending on the scenario. It is excellent for young children because of the health benefits that both macadamia and Matcha rewards their many takers. It bright colored appeal also draws many takers towards the sweet depths enclosed. This great Matcha treat adds its well rounded charm to many main meals during the day.
Learn more about this flavored matcha here.
Taster’s Review:
I love Red Leaf Tea’s flavored Matcha as everyone is probably pretty aware by now … and there is such a vast array of flavors available! This Macadamia Praline flavored Matcha was very appealing to me: I love Matcha, I love Macadamia Nuts and I love nuts that have been caramelized with a crunchy Praline coating. I figured this one would be a tough flavor to beat!
And while I am enjoying this flavored Matcha, I can’t say it’s my favorite. It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but, I’m just not getting a whole lot of the caramelized praline flavor that I had hoped for. I taste the sweet, creamy Matcha, and I taste the macadamia nut flavor, but not a lot of caramelized flavor here. I get a hint of the sweet, caramel notes here and there, but, not enough to where I feel like I can proclaim this as a favorite.
But that’s alright … they can’t all be my favorite. And I am enjoying this. I prepared this Matcha using mostly hot water, but I withheld about 2 tablespoons of the hot water that I would normally use, and replaced that with a bit of warmed milk to make a latte of sorts. The result is a deliciously creamy treat.
The macadamia nut flavor is strong here, and I taste the Matcha, and these two components really work well together. It is sweet, slightly vegetative, nutty, and not the least bit bitter. I do taste a slight (very slight) artificial note to the overall bowl of Matcha, just a bit of chemical-y kind of flavor. It doesn’t disrupt my enjoyment of the Matcha but I would really rather it not be there.
Overall, I enjoyed this Matcha, and I found that the last few sips of the Matcha were even more enjoyable than the first few … the chemical note seems to tone down as I continue to sip, and whether this is because the other flavors have built up on my palate or because the bowl has cooled down, I don’t know … but I do know that I like it much better. Perhaps the way to have this is as a chilled latte then? Yummy!