Rich Berry Pie Matcha

Afternoon pick me up! I’m almost out of this one…only a couple of tsps left! I really enjoyed this flavor though and think I would pick it up again. Not at all artificial tasting. Rich pie-like flavor! Today’s hot latte included 3/4 tsp matcha and 3/4 tsp white sugar whisked in 8oz warm milk. GOOD STUFF. Plotting a matcha order as soon as I have enough money :)

Ah, flavored matcha. You’d think after the roughly 5 thousand flavors I’ve tried (okay, not really, but over 20 for sure!) I’d be worn out and ready to settle down with my current selection of favorites (maple, butterscotch, caramel popcorn, pumpkin pie, and macadamia nut). But no, my tastebuds still seek out adventure and exploration! And since pie is one of my favorite things I snapped up the two new pie-themed flavors the instant they went on sale. Apple Pie was fantastic and I was hoping for the same deliciousness from Rich Berry Pie.

In the bag this smells like… cinnamon? Super heavy duty spices! Which is weird, I don’t think they are mentioned in the description. But pies often have cinnamon or nutmeg added, so I suppose it’s not unusual: I am just used to spice-free berry pie.

I think this would probably be best as a latte but I went with the shake-it-in-a-water-bottle method for my first go-round… mostly because I’d already consumed two lattes that day. Matcha overload! I did add a splash of milk for that creamy quality.

Mm, this really does taste like pie! I think the pie-like qualities of buttery, flakey crust aren’t quite as prominent as they were in Apple Pie but this matcha is also more complex. There’s the multilayered berry flavor (I get mainly raspberry and blueberry) along with the cinnamon and nutmeg. I think perhaps Spiced Berry Pie might be a more accurate description for this one, but either way I am totally loving it! I think it would be especially good mixed with the cheesecake or caramel matcha for that extra rich element. You can get some here:

http://www.redleaftea.com/matcha-tea/rich-berry-pie-matcha.html

A sample from Roswell Strange, who helpfully fixed me up with some flavoured matcha. Why is it so hard to come by in the UK? The first thing I have to say about this one, though, is “oh man” – it’s SO good. I wasn’t really expecting it to taste exactly like a mixed berry pie, especially since dry the scent was mostly cinnamon and vegetal green tea. It does, though! I can definitely taste strawberry, with flashes of blueberry, raspberry, and a touch of black cherry. If you imagined those berries warm, in a thick, rich red-berry sauce, encased in buttery, cinnamon dusted pastry, then you’d have this tea. It’s that flavour accurate, and that good.

I made my cup as a latte, whisking 1/4 tsp of matcha into about an inch of boiling water, topped off with hot milk. At first, I only got the berry flavour – and I’ve no complaint about that because it’s incredibly flavour accurate. As I sipped, however, I did begin to notice the cinnamon, and then the buttery “pie crust” element came to the fore. It kind of creeps up on you, until you’re not drinking berry matcha anymore, but rich berry pie matcha. Best effect ever!

There probably aren’t words to describe exactly how much I’m enjoying this one. It’s my favourite of the Red Leaf matchas I’ve tried so far, and I’ve liked a fair few so that’s a definite compliment. For the record, my sample is of the distinctive flavouring level.

Thanks again to Roswell Strange for introducing me to this wonder :)

So my birthday was on Sunday and it was a pretty shit day thanks to my family. Luckily though, I always have my friends, both my real life ones and those I have made here on steepster. Seeing as my family neglected to even get me a single birthday card, it was especially nice when a lovely blue and white box arrived Monday evening from my amazing tea twin, Roswell Strange!! She sent me a tea book, lots of tea samples, a giant bag of one of my favorite rooibos blends, and an amazing pickle birthday card that sounded oddly like a cross between your typical old jewish man and my own dad. It really put a smile on my face so thank you so much Roswell!!!

Anyways, after the events of my birthday, my family decided that they just weren’t going to talk to me for a couple of days which meant I tended to stay in my room, cut off from my tea and my kettle :(. Today they started talking to me again and though it isn’t exactly a warm welcome, I can at least feel comfortable enough to make myself some tea so that’s what I did.

I decided to go for a matcha because I haven’t had one in a while and I thought it might be fun to dump it into my milk frother and see what happened. I wanted a warm drink though so I tried to choose a dessert flavor for an after-dinner treat but I also aimed for something that wouldn’t be weird hot. This seemed like it should fit the bill so I pulled it out of my birthday box, courtesy of Roswell Strange, and whipped it up (literally I guess as that’s what the frother does :P).

Unfortunately, this matcha + warm, frothy skim milk has led to a drink that is much, much more pie than berry and not in a good way. It has almost taken on a yeasty/buttery type flavor like undercooked pie crust. I can smell the berries but I’m not getting much of them flavorwise, though every now and then I get a dose of cinnamon which I can’t decide if that’s good or bad. Anyways, as a hot cup, this is not for me but heres hoping that the berry comes out more in a cold brew.

In other news, one good thing that happened Sunday is I just happened to break my kindle while my dad called to wish me a Happy Birthday. Granted, the breaking my kindle part sucked as I have basically been reading a book a day for the past two weeks (though it still functions, just now I have a sad button that makes it a little troublesome to browse/buy books) but since it happened while I was talking to my dad, he offered to buy me a new one for my birthday. So now I am in research mode trying to decide if I want the Kindle Voyage or the Kindle Paperwhite. If anyone has an opinion, I’d love to hear it!

Happy Belated Pi(e) Day!

For people who don’t/didn’t know – Pi Day is March. 14th, and named so because the date is “03/14” – like the mathematical term. And, this year was extra special because the date was 03/14/15! I think I first learned about this fun pseudo holiday from a math teacher in highschool? But, ever since it’s been something fun to celebrate by going out and buying a pie and eating the whole thing with a few friends. Which is what I did yesterday; bought an apple pie after work and shared it with Tre.

I also wanted to drink pie tea – but couldn’t actually think of anything I owned that was pie related. That is, until this morning when it struck me that, duh, I have this! So, I drank it a day late – but it’s still in spirit of the holiday, so it totally still counts, right? I think so.

Whisked up in matcha; was really tasting the cinnamon pastry notes, with more of a berry aftertaste. It was good though; super frothy!

And – not Pi(e) day related, but it is matcha related! We got confirmation from Rikyu today that Birthday Chawan choice #2 is now officially mine! Hooray! It’s gorgeous, and I’m so excited for it to show up! Now just the hard part; waiting for it to arrive…

(This is the one I got: http://www.rikyucha.com/item/list2/104031/)

Oh, and PS. Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! Definitely added a lot to my day!

What an interesting flavour. The scent and flavour profile is simultaneously intriguing me and making me feel ill. I have a weird relationship with berries. I love them individually, but any sort of berry mixture in tea never goes over well. The cinnamon here seems to create the pie effect, at least in my cold shaken milk, and I think that’s what is allowing this flavour to work for me. Perhaps a warm latte would work better?