In the last wave of summer weather, I brewed up a cup of matcha from ZenTei. It was an easy choice, after my eye caught a glimpse of its beautiful packaging on my tea shelf. This matcha is a hand-ground, organic green tea.
The powdered tea is smooth and green, though a bit muted in color. Matcha is best at its freshest and greenest, and I should note that I’m tasting this sample after a friend, so it’s possible my sample was just a little past its prime.
In the warm weather, I tried this iced, unsweetened and without milk. The matcha is very vegetal, leafy, and grassy. This is a culinary grade matcha, so it’s best when paired with other flavors in baking, or when mixed with juice smoothies, or in a foamy milk latte.
I definitely preferred this tea as an iced latte with vanilla almond milk. The sweet, nutty, frothy milk helped add more dimension to the grassy matcha, and added a touch of much-needed sweetness.
This is a versatile tea. Mix it in your next batch of cookies, prepare it in a traditional whisk and bowl, or shake it up in a milkshake bottle. Just don’t shake up a hot latte or you’ll be dealing with a matcha bomb; cold water matcha-shakes only. Perfect for a high-caffeine, iced latte, pick-me-up on a hot summer morning.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Matcha
Where to Buy: ZenTei
Description:
Culinary-Grade Matcha has a stronger tea flavor than a traditional Ceremonial-Grade and allows the Matcha flavor to shine through even if mixed with other ingredients. Traditionally whisked into a frothy beverage, Matcha can be blended into smoothies, green tea lattes or green tea lemonade. Matcha is also perfect sprinkled over fruit or yogurt, added to salt to create a savory seasoning, mixed into baked goods recipes or added to ice cream.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Raspberry Matcha from Tea’s Me. . . . . .
I love Matcha tea. I love the vibrant green color, I love the grassy green flavor and I especially love the health benefits. I also love raspberries. They are in my top three favorite fruits.
So I was very excited to try raspberry matcha tea. I made a pitcher of this over ice because the weather is warm and I like my fruit teas served cold.
First of all, as soon as I opened the package I smelled a strong raspberry smell which made me very happy. And mixing this was a breeze, no clumping issues at all. Now on to the taste.
This is a perfect matcha tea for someone who wants the benefits of matcha but doesn’t like the flavor. I’ve heard that from a lot of people. This has a delightful, crisp raspberry flavor. It tastes like real raspberries, not raspberry flavor. It’s sweet and slightly tart just like the berries.
It’s absolutely delicious and a perfect summertime drink. I would make a big pitcher for a picnic and put lots of fresh raspberries in the add color and flavor and fanciness.
This tea is full of antioxidants, and it’s vegan and gluten free. It’s so nice to have a beverage that is delicious and very very good for you. It does have caffeine in it, although of course much less than coffee or black tea. This is definitely going to be a staple in my life this summer!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Matcha
Where to Buy: Tea’s Me
Description
Whether you want a boost of energy, refreshing drink orhealthy cooking ingredient, Tea’s Me raspberry matcha is here for you. Matcha is one of the healthiest drinks on earth and now boasts an amazing taste. All of our Matcha is sourced from Japan, the birth place of Matcha 500 years ago. Great for cooking, lattes, smoothies and of course tea.
Ingredients – 100% Organic Matcha, Cane Sugar and Raspberry Extract
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
U Matcha Single Sips from The Republic of Tea. . .
It’s that time of year, when you long for tea but the thought of a hot cuppa after being out in the heat and humidity makes you cringe.
Republic of Tea to the rescue! After gardening a while, I needed to hydrate. I reached for the convenient single serving pack and added it to a glass of cold water and used my aerolatte to stir the heck out of it.
These packs are intended for use with a 16.9 ounce water bottle (or 8 ounces hot water if you aren’t broiling like I am right now!) so you can have matcha on the go. Perfect for my son, the Crossfit trainer! Instructions say to pour off a wee bit of water – or just take a sip or two – and add the powder, replace the lid and shake shake SHAKE!
But how does it taste? Like matcha! While this is probably not ceremonial grade matcha, it isn’t bitter and this has monk fruit and organic agave inulin – which they advertise as being prebiotic – added. It is grassy and fresh, and just became available in June!
It was good and refreshing, went down super fast, and should give me the energy I need to do a bit more in the yard before retiring for the day. My son and daughter both carry water bottles of cold matcha in hot weather. This is a good way to keep it handy if you need to mix on the go.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Matcha
Where to Buy: The Republic of Tea
Description
This unique innovation allows Citizens to make premium organic matcha tea easily and conveniently, whether at home or on the go. Featuring a touch of monk fruit and the prebiotic agave inulin, each Single Sip makes a slightly sweetened cup of matcha with just 15 calories.
Add a Single Sip packet directly to a bottle of water for a chilled matcha — simply pour, shake and sip! If you prefer a freshly made cup of matcha wherever you are, add a packet to hot water then give it a stir; no need for fancy whisks or frothers. Each recyclable PET canister includes 14 individual Single Sip packets for a two-week supply.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Organic Yerba Mate Matcha Tea from The Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co. . .
I haven’t had too many Yerba Mate Matcha’s to date so I always welcome them when the come along. Recently I sipped on Organic Yerba Mate Matcha Tea from The Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co. In short, it was a pleasant sipping experience.
But let’s expand on that a bit. I took 1 flat teaspoon of matcha to a tea bowl and mix with a couple of drops of water to make a smooth paste then whisked more water to fill my matcha cup. I followed the instructions on the company website. Personally – I could taste a strong Yerba Mate first and foremost. So it tasted like a green grass and green pea type taste to me. It was a little bitter but the bitterness was welcome. According to the company website it’s best for mornings which makes sense because Yerba Mate is a natural energy booster. (More on that below) It does have an intense flavor.
Next time I am thinking about adding a slight squeeze of lemon juice to it. Another way I can see myself drinking this is iced. This was a pleasant sipping experience. I look forward to experimenting more with this and sharing it with the other Sororitea Sisters!
Now let’s get to the additional information about Yerba/Yerba Mate and how it works in this Matcha Blend.
The caffeine found in Yerba is said to provide a coffee-like buzz but without the unpleasant jitters or the crash afterwards. It’s a myth that is does not contain caffeine and the stimulating effects come from a compound called Mateine, In actual fact the term Mateine is actually coffee and it said to have derived from the Mate plant. Yerba also contains theophylline and theobromine similar to cacao, which are natural vasodilators and helps relax blood vessels and is used to combat high blood pressure. Yerba is said to have over 90 per cent more antioxidants than green tea, with immune boosting capabilities, it can also slow aging, reduce stress and insomnia. Using Yerba as as Matcha is a fast, and efficient way of squeezing it in to your every day routine, whether you sprinkle it on your cereal, smoothies or soups or use it as an every day drink. Using the whole Mate leaf will put a spring in your step for the whole day!
All of this info is also mentioned on the company website! I found the additional info wonderful! I LOVE learning!
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Yerba Mate/Matcha
Where to Buy: The Kent & Sussex Tea & Coffee Co.
Description
Yerba does contain caffeine! However, the caffeine in Yerba is said to provide a coffee- like buzz but without the unpleasant jitters or the crash afterwards. It is a myth that is does not contain caffeine and the stimulating effects come from a compound called Mateine, In actual fact the term Mateine is actually coffee and it said to have derived from the Mate plant. It also contains theophylline and theobromine similar to cacao, which are natural vasodilators and helps relax blood vessels and is used to combat high blood pressure. Yerba is said to have over 90 per cent more antioxidants then green tea, with immune boosting capabilities, it can also slow ageing, reduce stress and insomnia. Using Yerba as as Matcha is a fast, and efficient way of squeezing it in to your every day routine, whether you sprinkle it on your cereal, smoothies or soups or use it as an every day drink. Using the whole Mate leaf will put a spring in your step for the whole day!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Matcha Done Right. . . . #KissMeOrganics
Kiss Me Organics! LOVE the name of the company! And I have to say they have one of the most comprehensive websites I have seen in a while. Everything is very nicely done – from the multi-media to the colors and theme to the info and beyond!
They have some really sleek and trendy tools and tea gadgets on their site, too, but today I want to share with you my experiences with their Organic Matcha Culinary Grade Green Tea Powder from Japan.
The company markets it as an all day energy and metabolism boost, something that increases your focus, improves skin health, and offers up to 137 times the EGCG of brewed green tea. I personally am not focused on the claims – I’m more interested in the texture and taste but it each it’s own!
Moving on to the texture and taste I have to say both are incredibly impressive! While whisking – it only bubbled up for a milli-second or so before the bubble/froth diminished. More importantly for what I was looking for while preparing my matcha recently was to make sure that it was completely smooth without any lumps or clumps or grit. I had all the success in the world! It was very easy to whisk and turn the powder into silky liquid matcha with little effort!
The color was a vibrant, solid, green with slight grey shadow to it. The taste was AMAZING! It was ‘green’ tasting but creamy and smooth, too! It was delicious! It was strong without being bitter. It was everything I was looking for in a straight-up matcha!
For our readers- Kiss Me Organics is offering a 10% coupon-use SororiTeaMatcha.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea/Matcha
Where to Buy: Kiss Me Organics
Description
Our Japanese-grown, 100% certified organic, Culinary Grade Matcha powder contains 137x the antioxidants of brewed green tea. Matcha is a potent antioxidant and consuming it can increase thermogenesis (the rate at which our body burns calories) by 30 to 50%. Our green tea powder contains a potent amino acid, L-Theanine, that helps reduce stress while providing a steady energy boost (for up to 6 hours), without the caffeine crash. Kiss Me Organics Culinary grade matcha is made from 100% certified organic ingredients and comes in a BPA-FREE Packaging with resealable zipper pouch. Ideal for blending, baking and cooking. 100% customer satisfaction guarantee.
Contains caffeine: All matcha contains a combination of caffeine and L-Theanine, which provides a calm, long-lasting energy boost.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!