Pineapple Matcha

I used to have an unhealthy love affair with matcha. That is, two huge mugs a day, with coconut or almond milk, and a hint of maple syrup. Always ceremonial grade, and always in a downtown Calgary tea house. The staff knew when I walked in the door what to make me, and would have it ready by the time I’d set up my laptop. The manager once told me that when I was ‘rich and famous’, she’d cordon off ’B’s table’ like they do for Hemmingway in Havana.

Matcha and I had a bit of a falling out, only because I moved around a lot after that and have yet to find a public writing spot that I love as much (and that also serves proper matcha). So when I saw that Red Leaf sells many different, flavored variations of matcha? Oh yes. I’m ordering.

I’ve shared quite a bit of this order already, however this is the first I’ve tried.

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/pineapple-matcha.html
Size: Small (30g)
Quality: Basic
Type: Regular
Flavor: Delicate

Out of the bag, this smells like candied pineapple to me. There’s a hint of a chemical quality to it, however for the most part it’s pure pineapple. I missed how much a ‘scoop’ is (there’s a handy printout that comes with your order), so I winged it and went with 1 tsp for 8oz of coconut milk, and four ice cubes in the blender. Whirrr…. done.

Hm. I think my proportions are off, as the pineapple tastes bit weak and all I really can taste is the matcha. Of the pineapple that I do taste, it’s at the end of the sip and builds gradually. Sweet, fruity, juicy. It’s going down REALLY easily. :)

Sipdown! Thanks, Sil. This was sooooo good!

I’m just having it in water today. I think I prefer it as a latte. I might prefer ALL matcha as lattes.

It’s tart and green and pineappley. It’s nice, but I think I’ll add some warmed milk.

So, I really really love RLT’s flavoured matcha – and of all the different kinds I own this is probably the most versatile: I’ve successfully used it cold shaken in water, whisked into cold milk, in smoothies and milkshakes, and as a matcha soda. No matter how I use it the flavour remains distinctly juicy pineapple. Tonight, I went with matcha soda.

Here’s my recipe:

1.5 tsp. of matcha disolved into about 2 oz. of hot water
1 tsp. of sugar
1 can of club soda

Interestingly, as a matcha soda I find that the pineapple, while retaining some of the natural taste it has, becomes a little bit more like candied pineapple, and in the case of this particular batch it tasted just a little bit like bubble gum – but I enjoyed how different that was, and the added element/dimension it brought to the flavour. It is also possible the added sweetness was more from the added sugar; typically I do not ad d any sweetner to any of my tea, the matcha soda being the exception because I find the sweetner is needed to combat the taste of the club soda.

Just a friendly reminder if you’re gonna go the match soda route; remember to occasionally stir it a little bit because otherwise any matcha that didn’t properly dissolve will end up sitting on the bottom and your last few sips will be really, really concentrated!

And that, folks, is the last of my epic, long as fuck queue – so I can finally go to sleep now, and start fresh tomorrow without any backlog! Hooray! I feel like I’ve accomplished so much.

Well after reading the discussion thread Lala posted about matcha smoothies, I caved and decided to try one for myself. I used 1/2 tsp of this matcha combined with 1/2 tsp of Madagascar Vanilla matcha (both provided by the ever so generous Sil), one frozen and VERY ripe banana, and a glass of cold 1% milk.

More than anything I am tasting the banana but there is the slightest hint of Pineapple. It is also very creamy. However, I think my venture into matcha smoothies was not particularly successful this time around. Next time, I will try with some more matcha in order to bring out the flavors. Oh well, you live and you learn.

ETA: I found the vanilla flavor right at the bottom of the cup. Hmmm…

Sipdown!

My matcha was composed of the following:
Size : Small
Matcha Quality: Starter (Basic Grade)
Flavor: Distinctive

I have a soft spot for the pineapple flavour in life savers. It might be my favourite. Even if it’s not quite actual pineapple taste (which i LOVE), those life savers are my happy place. When i cracked open this matcha – it was like smelling an entire package of those delicious life savers. I was in my happy place. Now, I’ve shared this matcha with a few people but i haven’t yet gotten around to reviewing it. Today, i figured why the heck not!
I opted to drink this as a latte even if some part of me was a little wary about milk + pineapple. Honestly? SOOOOO Good! I think the distinctive level is the right way to go for this one, or possibly delicate. Robust would make this a little too artificial i think.
The milk actually helps to smooth out the edge of the pineapple. Each sip is like the first instant you put a life saver into your mouth. Before i knew it, i had finished up my double mug of this! Even after it was gone, i could taste it, lingering…the best part? the after taste is more like actual pineapple. I think this will likely be a reorder!
Buy it here: http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/pineapple-matcha.html

For months I have been hearing about this mysterious “shake it up in a water bottle” method of making matcha. I wanted to try it since I try to drink a glass of matcha every day, but alas I had nothing to make it in. I drink filtered tap water, and I have been lacking in teaware since I always end up spending my money on tea instead. The lack of a tea tumbler is something I constantly complain about when going out (especially to the movies, how nice would it be to have a hot thermos full of your favorite tea instead of sugary soda?) so my boyfriend surprised me with a wonderful double-walled tea thermos for xmas! Finally, the elusive “shake it up” method is within my reach.

Usually to make a glass of matcha I have to boil water, mix up a starter base with matcha + hot water, and then pour it in a glass with cold water. This way is a lot easier: matcha and water in the thermos, shake it up! Voila! No sifting required, it’s so easy. Today I’m doing it with the Pineapple Matcha I got in a swap with Chuckieroy! It was one I always wanted to order but kind of slipped my mind, so I’m happy to have a shot at it now.

Mmm! It’s softly tropical pineapple, not fake or artificial tasting. It’s just a little bit sweet, and has that rind-y taste I found in the mango matcha. I have enough of this generous sample left to mix it with coconut—homemade pina colada!

Yum yum yum. It has been ungodly hot at work lately, so I wanted a fruity matcha to just shake up in cold water, and this is the first one I came across. I had forgotten how good this is! I loved it. It was nice and refreshing. The pineapple flavor is gorgeous. I think I underestimated this one.

Backlog:

Really good! I absolutely love this Pineapple Matcha. The sweetness and slight tangy note of the pineapple melds really well with the sweet, slightly vegetal note of the matcha.

For this Matcha, I chose the classic grade of Matcha with the distinctive level of flavoring and I’m really satisfied with this combination. The matcha froths up a little. I might be happier with some more froth, but, flavor wise, this is really good. And there is a really good balance of the two flavors. I can taste the pineapple, and I can taste the matcha.

There is a faint chemical/artificial note to this … that gives the pineapple a sort of “candy” like taste as opposed to being something more true to the fruit. I don’t notice it so much when I’m casually sipping, but when I’m really focusing on the flavors, I notice just a bit of artificial-ness to this.

Overall, though, it’s really quite tasty.

Here’s my full-length review: http://sororiteasisters.com/2013/03/29/pineapple-flavored-matcha-from-red-leaf-tea/

on the fly with this one….

thanks to sil, you and i have very similar tastes. sil, do you think that matcha and too loud music can replace sleep? somewhat? possibly altogether? i’ve been performing an inadvertent experiment…… and shortly an exam. yay! there will be irrefutable proof in the paper!

thank you sil!

cold, with xylitol. very nice.

Trying this with O.N.E. Coconut Water with a splash of pineapple(COLD)
I much prefer with milk…I adedd a packet of stevia…
what can I do to make the water version more appealing?
I am wanting to go on a diet…help?