Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
The well recognized and much loved taste of sweet almonds can be heightened and made vibrantly unique by adding the exotic Matcha blend. Almond Matcha makes a slightly sweet treat that can be perfect for those looking for a combination of the nutty flavor combined with an interesting twist of oriental Matcha. Almond Matcha is perfect for many desserts, cakes and any other snack because of its naturally sweet taste that blends well with most snacks. This makes it a very popular treat for young kids anytime of the day or night.
Learn more about this Matcha here.
Taster’s Review:
I guess it’s no big secret by now that I LOVE Matcha, and I have really loved all the flavors that Red Leaf Tea has to offer. It seems like it would take a LIFETIME to actually try all the matcha flavors and combinations that Red Leaf Teas has … in fact, just thinking about it makes my head spin! So let me just put it this way: You are bound to find a flavor that appeals to you – because there are just SO many flavors from which to choose!
This Almond Matcha may just be the best one that I’ve tried yet! I know I’ve probably said that a few times with a few other flavors … but, I don’t just say it without meaning it, either. The ones that I say are the “best” … well, they are really worth getting excited over! And I’m really excited about this Almond Matcha from Red Leaf Tea.
I prepared this latte style using a ratio of 2:1 (2 parts water to 1 part milk), and it is just heavenly. It tastes like the sweet almond paste that bakeries use to make the cute little flowers on top of cakes. Sweet and creamy, the flavor of the Matcha and the flavor of the almond seem to work together to accentuate the strengths of each element. It is rich, slightly vegetative, deliciously nutty, and sweet and decadent like a dessert.
This particular Matcha was crafted using the classic grade of Matcha and the Robust level of flavoring, and while I can taste both the Matcha and the sweet, nutty flavor of the almond, I think that I’d go with the distinctive level of flavoring on the next batch, because I’d like more Matcha flavor to shine through. I might even upgrade to a higher quality of Matcha with this one. And there will definitely BE a next time with this Matcha, this is one I want to keep on hand.
Pumpkin Pie Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
Despite its unique name, pumpkin pie tastes very similar to sweet potato pie. It is sweet on the palate and when combined with the enriching hints of exotic Matcha, becomes more balanced and delectable on the palate. Pumpkin Pie Matcha can be adapted to suit the occasions of young children because of its sweet beckonings and also the occasions of adults because of its delectable taste. This understated delicious snack can be an excellent choice as an in between meal snack for those who are not afraid to experience true adventure. It’s surprisingly sweet taste both delights and enriches the palate with unexpected pleasure.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
After thanksgiving dinner, after the turkey and all the trimmings … you want dessert, right? And what’s more traditional than a slice of pumpkin pie? But … after eating the turkey and all the trimmings, do you really want to consume all the calories in that slice of pumpkin pie?
Pumpkin Pie Matcha to the rescue!
This Matcha tastes very much like a slice of rich, creamy pumpkin pie that’s been liquified and added to a bowl of Matcha! YUM! I taste the sweet yet savory pumpkin goodness, I taste the spices, I even taste a hint of the buttery crust! This Matcha gives you the goodness of that delicious thanksgiving pumpkin pie … and you don’t have to wait until thanksgiving rolls around to enjoy it.
Because Red Leaf Tea lets you customize each batch of Matcha, you get to control just what goes in to your Matcha. Want a stronger pumpkin pie flavor? Choose the robust or “There’s Matcha In There?!” level of flavoring. Want more green tea taste with just a hint of flavor? Choose the delicate level of flavoring. Want an ultra high quality Matcha as the base? Choose Royal or Imperial Matcha! You can even choose black tea Matcha or White Tea Matcha or the naturally caffeine free Rooibos Matcha! I love the choices … I love being able to customize my Matcha!
For this batch of Matcha, I chose the distinctive level of flavoring with the classic grade of green tea Matcha, and it is a delightful balance between smooth, creamy green tea and rich, decadent pumpkin pie.
I find that with this particular flavor, it’s best served as a latte. To make my Matcha latte, I first measured the Matcha into my sieve and then sifted the Matcha into my chawan. Then I added some hot water and whisked it until it was all mixed through, and then I added some warmed milk … I used about the same amount of warm milk to hot water – I never measure my liquids I just kind of eyeball it. This ratio of 1:1 hot water to warmed milk produces a really satisfying bowl of Matcha! The pumpkin pie flavors really seem to come forth with the addition of the milk.
Another great Matcha from Red Leaf Tea!
Orange and Bavarian Cream Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Matcha
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
As childeren we all liked to experiment with flavors. Where do you think peanut and jelly sandwich came from? We think it’s time to try it again, but this time with Matcha flavors.
Pick any 2 flavors and we’ll make your custom Matcha for you.
Some samples:
Vanilla-Chocolate
Chocolate-Mint
Mango-Banana
For those that do not like the “grassy” taste of Sugar Destroyer Matcha, but would like to keep it’s great benefits, how about:
Mango-Sugar Destroyer
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I blended Orange with Bavarian Cream matcha and oh my goodness it is so delicious! Did you ever have orange cream soda, or orange and cream candies? Well that is what this is like! You can even make a soda drink out of it by adding some sparkling water if you want to!
I always prepare my matcha into a creamy latte with milk and sweet cream non dairy creamer but with some, like this one I do add some sparkling water to give it a bubbly burst.
I absolutely love my mixture and there are so many blends you can create on the Red Leaf Tea Site! Literally thousands of combinations and if you want to get really inventive you could even add a third flavor!
The Orange and Bavarian Cream blend harmoniously together. I had considered getting one of their two vanilla flavors instead of Bavarian Cream but I am glad I choose Bavarian Cream this time. Next time I may play with the Madagascar Vanilla or French Vanilla matcha instead.
Such a decedent treat any time of day and a real pick me up. I love how matcha gives me such a special energy boost without dropping me down low after.
All of Red Leaf Tea’s Matcha are naturally flavored. I look forward to playing around and mixing up a lot more blends!
Peanut Matcha from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
When the distinctly nutty taste of peanuts is mellowed by the velvety touch of oriental Matcha, the resulting Peanut Matcha treat is truly satisfying for any palate. Peanut Matcha is a treat that is perfect for any age because it is tasty enough to quench the rising appetites of energetic youngsters and also mellow enough to fulfill the well developed palates of older adults and senior citizens. It makes an exceptionally delicious addition at any festive occasion where people want to experiment with different nutty favorites.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I wasn’t too sure about trying Peanut flavored Matcha. Oh sure, I ordered it. And yes, I had every intention of trying it but I still doubted whether or not I’d really like it. I’ve been on the fence really about peanut flavored drinks. It just sounded too odd to me. I don’t know why. I mean, I’ve tried a lot of odd flavored teas … have I not? In fact, I actively look for unusual flavors!
So what is it about the humble peanut that freaks me out so much? I like peanuts. I even like peanut butter. But, peanut butter flavored tea? I’m not so sure about (Oh… and Red Leaf Tea does make a Peanut Butter flavored Matcha in addition to this Peanut Matcha. Sound interesting? Here’s the link to that one.) I even often crave foods that include peanuts in them, like Pad Thai and Kung Pao Chicken. I love peanut butter and marshmallow cream sandwiches (I don’t like peanut butter and jelly though).
I don’t know what it is, exactly. But, recently, I had tasted something that kind of brought me around to wanting to actually try a peanut flavored tea or even a peanut butter flavored tea. This magical something? Taffy. Salted Peanut Taffy, to be exact. It was the best taffy I ever tasted. And I thought if I could enjoy that taffy so much, maybe, just maybe I might also enjoy other peanut flavored things. So, I summoned up my courage and I ordered some Peanut Matcha. This Peanut Matcha from Red Leaf Tea that is in my chawan. (I should add that I was still just a little timid when I ordered this, ordering the delicate level of flavoring rather than my distinctive level that I usually order)
And it is YUM! I really like this. It isn’t my favorite flavored Matcha, but I didn’t expect it to be … but I still really like it a lot. It is sweet, nutty and toasty, and the creamy smooth Matcha with vegetative notes seems to meld so nicely with the flavor of the peanut.
I prepared it traditionally, with water and vigorous whisking, and then after a quick sip, I decided I wanted to see what a pinch of salt might add to it. So, I added a tiny pinch of sea salt, and the first thing it did is make the froth disappear. Then I grabbed my whisk and whisked vigorously for about 20 seconds, just to make sure that the salt was thoroughly mixed in. (The froth came back with the additional whisking, by the way!)
The salt really made a big difference. It didn’t make it salty, really, but it enhanced the flavor of the peanut … making it taste more like peanut. The overall taste seemed a little sweeter, with just a hint of saltiness in there.
I really like this one – much more than I thought I would.
Belgium Chocolate Matcha (Black Matcha Base) from Red Leaf Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Black (Matcha)
Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea
Tea Description:
This dessert-like drink will knock your socks off! We’ve combined our fabulous Matcha Tea with cocoa powder to make a drink everyone will love and crave. This is an amazing beverage that can be served any time to anybody. Not only does this tea offer all the health benefits of Matcha Green Tea, it gives a little chocolate kick you are sure to love. This dessert-style beverage is healthy, tasty and will make you smile.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
One of the AMAZING things about Red Leaf Tea’s astonishing array of Matcha flavors that they offer is that you can totally customize the Matcha to be just the way you want it. You can choose the level of flavoring which ranges from delicate all the way to a level called “There’s Matcha in There?!” You can also choose the base of the Matcha. For most of the Matcha reviews that I’ve written from Red Leaf Tea lately, I’ve selected the classic grade of green Matcha, because with flavored Matcha, I feel that the classic grade is just right. However, you can also choose from the higher quality green Matcha such as their Royal and their Imperial green Matcha, AND you can now choose a white, black, or rooibos (red) Matcha base for the flavored Matcha. You can even choose a combination of two different bases (a 50/50 base) if you so desire.
That’s one of the things that I love about the Matcha offerings from Red Leaf Tea – it’s so customizable that the possibilities are nearly limitless!
For this particular flavor, I selected the black base with robust flavoring, since I have previously tried (and reviewed!) this flavor with the classic base and delicate level of flavoring (I’m guessing that this was the specifications of that particular Matcha … this was back before all the options were available!) Also, since this is a black tea base, I wanted the robust flavoring because I felt that the boldness of the black tea base needed a substantial level of flavoring to be able to be discerned from the Matcha.
But given how strong the chocolate flavor is here, I probably would have been just fine with a lower amount of flavoring … but, hey, I am LOVING it just the way it is. I love how strong the chocolate flavor is here – then again, I’m a chocoholic.
This tastes a lot like hot chocolate, but with something a little more to it. It doesn’t taste quite as thick/sweet/rich as a typical hot chocolate would, but, that is not to say it’s not rich. It’s just not that same cloyingly rich hot cocoa taste – instead, it’s rich and complex with tones of malt and caramel beneath that deep chocolate-y flavor.
Prepared traditionally, using hot water (I used 190° F water) and whisking, this tastes amazing. But, there is a slight chemical-y note … almost perfume-y that is detectable not just in the taste but also in the aroma. I assume that this comes from the flavoring because I did not notice it when I tasted the black Matcha from Red Leaf Tea.
It isn’t a strong flavor nor does it so “bad” that it disrupts my enjoyment of the Matcha. It is something that I can look past to enjoy the rich flavor of chocolate and tea. BUT… after adding just a splash of milk to the bowl and then frothing with my hand-held frother, I found that the chemical-y taste nearly vanished. It is still just barely there … but, the other flavors are much stronger and so enjoyable that it is very easy to forget about this taste.
Overall, this is a very enjoyable Matcha – unique and a little out-of-the-box as far as Matcha goes, but, I think that’s one of the things I like best about it. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m still in love with the traditional green tea Matcha – pure as well as flavored! – but, sometimes it’s fun to change things up a bit!