Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Midori Spring on Amazon.com
Tea Description:
Midori Spring’s Ceremonial Gold Matcha is rich, smooth and creamy with a hint of sweetness when brewed traditionally. Only the best and darkest tencha are used for Gold Class. Gold Class has a fresh, sweet, green-vegetable-like aroma and the colour is a vibrant emerald green – a trait only high quality Ceremonial Grade Matcha encompass.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
From the moment that I opened the canister of this Ceremonial Gold Class Organic Matcha from Midori Spring – I was excited! I was anxious to try this beautiful powdered tea!
The dry powder is a bright, vivid green color – the color green that Matcha enthusiasts would immediately recognize as top-notch Matcha! This is the color Matcha should be!
I got out my chasen and chawan and scooped out a couple of scoops of Matcha with my chashaku – one scoop using this bamboo scoop is just enough for one serving of Matcha, but I wanted two! Then I placed the Matcha into my sifter (I just use an inexpensive wire mesh strainer for this) and sifted the Matcha into my chawan. I added hot water (160°F) and began whisking. I don’t have a precise measurement for the water – I use the eyeball method and then I taste it after I’ve whisked it. If I need more water, I add some.
This Matcha whisks up BEAUTIFULLY. The color of the tea in the photo above is quite accurate – that is the same color of the liquid that’s in my chawan right now, although it’s difficult to see it since it’s beneath a thick cap of foamy froth. This tea froths up so well and it maintains the froth for a long time after you’ve finished whisking.
The flavor is outstanding. This is a really top-notch, high quality Matcha. This is the kind of Matcha that is used in Japanese tea ceremony because it’s of the best quality. Sweet! Not a hint of bitterness. Smooth and buttery. No chalkiness or gritty texture. The flavor has hints of berry and cacao in it’s complex layers. It’s vegetal. It’s a bowl of Matcha perfection.
If you’re a fan of Matcha – I highly recommend trying this one the next time you need to stock your cupboard. You’ll be happy you did!
Raspberry Matcha from 3 Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green/Matcha
Where to Buy: 3 Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Vegan, Gluten Free
Ingredients: Matcha, natural flavors
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
This is a fairly new company, and one I actually wanted to order from since they’ve got a pretty diverse selection of flavoured matcha and I was interested in seeing how it differed from what Red Leaf Tea offers. Unfortunately they don’t yet ship to Canada, so it was great that my fellow SororiTea Sister TheLastDodo was able to send some for me to try!
Instead of my usual matcha in milk I prepped this cold shaken in a DAVIDsTEA timolino with plain old water. Since this is a new company to me and I’m not familiar with their base matcha I wanted as much of a “plain” taste as I could get.
Visually the matcha is a really bright green colour – exactly what I want to be seeing! It smells really intense, and maybe a little bit artificial? That’s something I don’t want to be getting from this one. Hmm; I kept my expectations really neutral going into this.
I actually liked it a lot; I thought the raspberry was very sweet and natural tasting with just a tease of natural tang to it. It also didn’t seem to eclipse the flavour of the matcha itself which tasted subtly grassy and very, very floral. It had me thinking loosely of both orchids and peonies. The artificial smell I was picking up didn’t cross over into the flavour – hooray! Plus, the flavour and base together worked very well – the floral components absolutely complimented the natural tasting raspberry.
It definitely makes me wish I could try more flavors from this company – in particular I’m curious about the pineapple matcha and the apple matcha. I love the pairing of pineapple and floral flavours like orchid so I can see that working really, really well. Basically, I’m saying people should give this company a little bit more love because hopefully then they’ll be able to expand their shipping into Canada!
Product Review: Cranberry Blood Orange Instant Matcha Green Tea Mix from Jade Monk
Product Information:
Where to Buy: Jade Monk
Description:
A wake-up call in every cup. Before the first drop hits your lips, the bright aroma of our Cranberry Blood Orange powdered green tea will have you amped.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Browsing my local grocery store’s funky drink isle is one of my favorite pastimes. I came across this little green packet and tossed it in my cart for giggles. I am intrigued by the flavor, the illustrations on the front and back, and well, you had me at matcha! I love the packaging of this tea, it really grabs you. The artwork is really fun, the intense eyes of the fierce ogre is powerful, and according to it’s claims, it’s ready to bestow all it’s power to you!
Now, I am not a fan of selling tea as a health product, the camellia sinensis plant is so much more than a diet aid. Sure, it was used as such during the first cultivation of the wild tea trees growing in China, but we have stepped up in our appreciation and cultivation of the lovely little plant. Yes, I do make my own functional herbal blends, but I don’t expect to be cured of cancer, or to have my waistline shrink like plastic wrap in an oven, either.
I chose this matcha green tea drink mix because of it’s convenience. I needed something that would give me that boost without waiting for water to boil and tea to steep. I was in a hurry this morning and whipped this up on a whim. I found the first fault to this mix when I took way to long to shake up all the little clumps of matcha. Mixes instantly? Not quite. Maybe my water was too cold?
The color of this match is an encouraging shade of key lime green. The smell is really quite nice, fruity, citrus, and refreshing. I take a sip and the first thing to hit my taste buds is sugar. Oh. Well. The first ingredients in this is sugar. While it is much, much too sweet for me, my ravenous thirst assists me in finishing my 24oz. bottle in no time.
The smell of the powder in the packet smells very matcha, but the finished product is lacking somewhat. The flavorings were very much there, in all their juicy citrusy glory. For me, If I wanted a flavored instant matcha, I’d like for the first or even second ingredient to be matcha. but of course if I was completely new to matcha, or didn’t like the taste, I would be all over this concept like brine flies to a can of soda.
Raspberry Truffle Matcha Green Tea from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green Tea (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Raspberry Truffle Matcha is the perfectly designed treat that literally melts in the mouth with its mix of sweetness and Matcha undertones. This treat can make the perfect in-between meals treat that is perfect for enticing the taste buds to want much more. It can also make the perfect desert when people want to sample the different alternatives that are available for the palate to partake. For children, this exceptional treat can be one of many favorite offerings on their special occasions.
Raspberry Truffle Matcha is not for the faint hearted because of its deep rich taste sensation on the palate. It is a good alternative for other normal sweet choices such as chocolate or other candies. It also forms a great accompaniment to many foods and drinks with its sweetly inviting appeal and unforgettable flavor. This is a good treat for making a lifeless day unforgettable with its hints of pure pleasure and understated appeal.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Firstly, for those not familiar with Red Leaf Tea’s amazing and varied selection of flavoured matcha, this company offers probably the widest selection of flavours I’ve ever seen in addition to offering a choice on the level of flavouring (starting at delicate and going up to robust) and grade of matcha. If you want to get especially fancy, you can also get different tea types for your matcha as well, such as white or black tea.
The specifications for THIS matcha are the basic grade of green matcha and a robust flavouring level. It is important to note that my preparation was also not the traditional way even though I used a traditional chawan and chawask. This was prepared in cold milk, instead of hot water. That’s my personal preference when it comes to almost all matcha flavours as well as straight matcha.
You can definitely tell, just from the smell, that this is robust flavouring; if you focus hard enough you can actually pick up on the scent of the raspberry before even opening the resealable bag it comes in. And once it has been opened, you’re going to be flooded with the sweet smell of a confectionery-like raspberry with a dark chocolate backdrop – it’s 100% Raspberry Truffle in scent.
As I was whisking this one, it frothed up a great deal more than the average matcha and that thicker, frothy texture didn’t let up easily; for the first half of the chawan I probably could have consumed it with a spoon. It was that frothy! Considering how strong the smell is before being prepared, the flavour is actually surprisingly light – but there are some things about it that tip me off that it’s robust flavouring. I’ve noticed with other robustly flavoured matcha that some flavours tend to get a sort of chalky note; one that reminds me of children’s chewable vitamins or Tums. It seems particularly bad with flavours with fruit in them. This certainly isn’t the worst offender I’ve encountered (I think Orange probably wins that spot, or Boysenberry) but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t noticed it at all.
Otherwise, the flavour is pretty good. I’m a touch surprised that the raspberry is coming off a lot stronger than the chocolate though; when I think of truffles I absolutely picture the over the top, dark, rich, fudgey chocolate notes with the ‘extra’ flavour kind of infused in as more of an aftertaste or undercurrent. You could say the opposite is true here! The raspberry doesn’t have any tartness or tang to it; more so it’s a bit of a sweet and confectionery type of raspberry; like what you’d have in a raspberry danish for example. The chocolate is obviously creamy from the milk but has a distinct ‘dark chocolate’ taste to it. It’s maybe a touch fudgey. The notes from the matcha itself are still present, though quite lightly. But that’s to be expected given the flavour level.
Overall; I’m quite happy with this one! It’s gonna do wonders for satisfying those late night sugar cravings and I’m already picturing how well this would taste lightly sprinkled over top cereal or popcorn. If I had to really emphasize anything to potential buyers though it’d probably just be to expect that the raspberry is going to taste stronger than the chocolate.
The Last Dodo’s Mega Matcha Comparison Showdown!
I think my arms are sore. I have been whisking away for two days, testing matcha for it’s various quality. Red leaf tea has graciously asked me to put their matcha to the test. So, how does their matcha compare to the rest? Let’s find out! To make things as fair as I can make it, I used a consistent 1/2tsp to 1/4 c of water. The water I used was filtered and heated up to 80C/175F. Whisk and repeat.
First off, when I was doing the testing, I was unaware of the brands and the prices. I was shipped 12 little sample bags labeled simply, Sample 1, Sample 2, and so forth. It was so much fun, even if it got to be a bit overwhelming at times. Needless to say I am writing this comparison totally wired.
Sample #1:
Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder
Price per bag: $24.95
Price per oz: $6.24
Color: 6
Flavor: 6
Sweetness: 5
Notes: Woah. I had to shorten the name for this one because it was about 15 keywords too long. But hey, first matcha out of the gate! This one had the exact appearance as a bag of steamed asparagus color to me and was bold and grassy.
Sample #2:
Tradition Pure Green Tea Powder
Price per bag: $10.75
Price per oz: $1.22
Color: 4
Flavor: 5
Sweetness: 5
Notes: Much clump I sense in you, matcha sample #2! This sample is a Taiwanese product, so can it be considered true matcha? This one has much more umami going on. There was some graininess to this one, I was not very impressed.
Sample #3:
Price per bag: $24.00
Price per oz: $6.00
Color: 9
Flavor: 9
Sweetness: 10
Notes: This was quite good! I was glad to finally have hit a sweet spot with these matcha samples. The color was of an unripe pear, and the bright spring green was fresh and smooth in execution. The sweetness was much more prominent than the past two.
Sample #4:
Price per bag: $19.99
Price per oz: $2.27
Color: 6
Flavor: 6
Sweetness: 6
Notes: this one was very fluffy! Too bad the green, vegetable broth-like brew was a yawn for me.
Sample #5:
Price per bag: $21.99
Price per oz: $5.50
Color: 6
Flavor: 6
Sweetness: 5
Notes: the ever so grainy army drab matcha was muted, like iceberg lettuce. Very forgettable, unfortunately. The 100 keyword Amazon listing is a bit of a turn off as well.
Sample #6:
Price per bag: $29.99
Price per oz: $8.52
Color: 9
Flavor: 10
Sweetness: 10
Notes: The pistachio colored powder was a bit harder to whisk than the last, it had mad clumps. But where it lacked in whiskablity, it made up in the sweet, fresh and bright brew.
Sample #7:
Price per bag: $16.99
Price per oz: $1.93
Color: 3
Flavor: 5
Sweetness: 5
Notes: Smooth, but bitter and much more gritty than the others. I almost felt bad for this matcha, considering how this one fell short when the previous one was quite good.
Sample #8:
Price per bag: $24.71
Price per oz: $2.47
Color: 5
Flavor: 6
Sweetness: 5
Notes: a bit astringent and rough to drink. Not my favorite.
Sample #9:
Price per bag: $25.00
Price per oz: $6.25
Color: 9
Flavor:7
Sweetness: 8
Notes: this one was not bad, but I did get a little fishy note in the body somewhere, albeit a fleeting one. This would have been great matcha if it wasn’t for that.
Sample #10:
Price per bag: $24.99
Price per oz: $6.25
Color: 6
Flavor: 6
Sweetness: 7
Notes: this was a mild one, it was not bitter, but the flavor fell a little flat.
Sample #11:
Starter Matcha from Red leaf Tea
Price per bag: $14.99
Price per oz: $0.94
Color: 5
Flavor: 7
Sweetness: 7
Notes: I think I was getting a little matcha high at this point but, I remember how smooth this one was, the flavor was nothing to write home about, but there was no harshness, nor muted flavor. Just fresh greens.
Sample #12:
Deluxe Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Price per bag: $24.99
Price per oz: $1.56
Color: 10
Flavor: 10
Sweetness: 10
Notes: Hands down my favorite. I was surprised at how floral this one tasted, I remember writing in my notes that it tasted like one of my favorite things, my city’s Botanic Gardens. Which is high praise coming from me! There was not bitterness to this one, only sweet, smooth goodness!
So there you have it! To break it down, here are some charts to help break down the information into more chewable bites. And who doesn’t love charts?
By looking at this one, Sample 6 and 12 were all around favorites for me. The only one that got close was Sample 3. I may have had higher expectations of the samples that came after each matcha that I really liked, cause the rating dropped a bit!
This chart definitely tells a better story. Looks like I can usually tell a good matcha when I see it! The biggest difference is the last two, in price and quality. They were smooth and whipped up really smoothly. Both of which can be obtained from Red Leaf Tea. The ratio is great, comparably. I was blown out of the water by the contrast in price vs. how much I liked it. Wowza!