Butterscotch Matcha from Red Leaf Tea

Butter-Scotch-MatchaTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green/Matcha

Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea

Tea Description:

Butterscotch Matcha lends its creamy velvety taste to many baked products and also different ice creams. Its sweetness is also excellent for many candies and other snacks. It is the perfect choice for those with a compelling sweet tooth who want to make it a worthwhile experience. This makes it an instant favorite with the young who love all things sweet and tasty. For special occasions, Butterscotch Matcha lends its sweet appeal to any palate looking for the ultimate sweetness elixir.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

The third from the “Choose Your Own” Matcha sampler!

This one has been on my personal wishlist for a while and I was very excited to get to try it recently. Like the others from the sampler, I made it in cashew milk.

The dry matcha smells very strongly of butterscotch; it reminds me of Butter Ripple Schnapps, which is a favourite drink of mine. It’s a little grassy too from the matcha itself.

This was very delightful; the butterscotch flavor really comes through and creates a sugary sweet drink that reminds me of melted down Butterscotch Ripple ice cream; it’s not nearly as boozy anymore so it’s reminding me less of Butter Ripple Schnapps. The mild nuttiness of the cashew milk compliments the sweetness very well also, and there’s a gentle vegetal note from the matcha itself – it’s not as grassy as the dry leaf smelled but it is present.

This one was very interesting and tasty and I’m really happy I finally got to try it. I imagine it would also work wonderfully in a hot latte as well – butterscotch is a very adaptable flavor. So far, this is my favourite of the matchas from this sampler that I’ve tried

 

Coffee Matcha from Red Leaf Tea

Coffee-matchaTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green/Matcha

Where to Buy:  Red Leaf Tea

Tea Description:

When the easily recognizable and well loved taste of deliciously aromatic coffee is combined with the wildly popular regal Matcha, the resulting Coffee Matcha treat leaves its many takers delightfully breathless with pure palate sensations. This all-day treat provides the best companion for many days when work becomes too heavy or too boring and a person needs a delectable snack to carry them through the tedium. Coffee Matcha’s unforgettable taste and delicious aroma is irresistible to many coffee lovers.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

The second matcha sample from Red Leaf Tea’s new “Choose Your Own” sampler!

I’m not a coffee person so on the rare occasion that I do decide I want to partake in some java I usually go for actual coffee, not coffee flavored tea. To me those two things are separate, and for a reason. However, I still couldn’t resist trying this flavour – I had this gut feeling that it was going to be done well.

Like the previous matcha from this sampler, I made this in cashew milk. It mixed up such a bright, cheery green too and the smell was definitely freshly brewed coffee; quite roasty.

I was surprised by just how strong and sweet this one is; and I know that sweet kick isn’t from the cashew milk either since it’s unsweetened – but with the level of rich sugaryness it made me think I was drinking more of a Iced Coffee/ Iced Cappuccino type drink like you can get from  Starbucks or Tim Hortons or whatever your coffee shop of choice is. At the same time, though it was quite sweet, it maintained a nice level of roast in the flavor and had some surprising caramel notes. And of course, from the milk, there was a faint nuttyness that worked really well with the coffee flavor. It probably only made the idea of drinking some sort of fancy sweet coffee drink stronger, if I’m being honest.

I wouldn’t buy this one again if I’m being honest; I just don’t do coffee – but it was surprisingly more nuanced than anticipated and like my gut told me it was in fact well done. So I do recommend trying it if coffee and sweet coffee drinks are your thing.

Cranberry Matcha from Red Leaf Tea

Cranberry-MatchaTea 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!

Eggnog Matcha from Red Leaf Tea

Eggnog Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Eggnog Matcha from Red Leaf Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Matcha, Green Tea

Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea 

Tea Description:

Despite its name, eggnog is a delicious and sweet drink which can be combined with other beverages to make it truly delicious and unforgettable. Combined with exotic Matcha, Eggnog Matcha can easily become a favorite especially at many social occasions where people want to appear trendy and adventurous at the same time. This interesting and sweetish vanilla-like drink is perfectly blended to suit many audiences both young and old and because of its lingering taste, can be very sumptuous on the palate. It can be taken both night or day depending on the audience and occasion.

Eggnog Matcha, despite its name, does not taste at all like eggs but borders more on the taste of vanilla or even custard. This taste is refined by the balancing effect of Matcha to make a mellow treat that is very pleasurable for the palate. Its thick creamy feel in the mouth makes it an easy favorite for those wanting to treat their palates to pure leisure and unforgettable pleasure. It can be an excellent companion to many snack alternatives because of its sweet base and sumptuous feel on the palate. Eggnog Matcha is a heavenly snack for those occasions where guests deserve to relax and enjoy a full bodied sensation on their palates.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

When I want something really frothy and creamy, Eggnog Matcha from Red Leaf Tea fits the bill!

So I am trying to slim down my matcha stash, not because I want to get rid of it, but rather I want to order some of the awesome new flavors that Red Leaf Tea has! So I looked over my matcha stash and saw this Eggnog Matcha sitting there beckoning me. I decided that it was what I was craving! Thick, creamy, very frothy, and heavy in the mouthfeel. It reminds me of custard, just like the description says. I like making mine with vanilla almond milk to give it a bit of a sweeter taste, but the flavors are dead on for Eggnog, and who says that it has to be the holidays to enjoy eggnog? Not me that’s for sure.

I like my flavored matcha from Red Leaf Tea cold, or made into an iced latte personally, and I have only had eggnog served cold as well, so it makes sense to me to prepare it cold.

There is a distinct vanilla flavor to eggnog, but also a slight nod toward nutmeg as well. What I really love about this flavor is that the matcha flavor is not lost in the blend. I can taste all of the matcha goodness here too! I would suggest you consider ordering the robust or at least distinctive blend in this specific flavor because it is not as strong as some of the other Red Leaf Tea flavor options. That is not to say you can’t taste the Eggnog flavor, you can, but if you really want that punch in the face flavor you need to at least go with Robust. When I order this flavor again it will be in the “There’s Matcha In There?” option.

I have enough of this left to do one more thing with it that I have been dying to do, and that is make an Eggnog Shake with it! This is one of those flavors that is a must try with ice cream!