Super Tea (Matcha Green Tea) from Pure Chimp

It’s about time I review a Matcha – don’t you think – so what not Super Tea (Matcha Green Tea) from Pure Chimp!?

The Pure Chimp Crew sent us their Super Tea (Matcha Green Tea) for consideration and let me tell you – boy oh boy have I considered – Super Tea (Matcha Green Tea) from Pure Chimp!  I CONSIDER it to be a very good straight-up Matcha!

The aroma – once the water was added – was quite ‘green’ but it a semi-creamy sort of way!  Super Tea (Matcha Green Tea) from Pure Chimp tastes like it smells!  It’s a medium vegetal green flavor with a certain natural creaminess to it.  I have to make special note of the aftertaste of this one!  It’s clean and crisp for a Matcha.  It’s not bitter, it’s not stale, and it’s not too dark-vegetal that THAT is the only thing you taste in the aftertaste.  I really appreciate that about this Super Tea (Matcha Green Tea) from Pure Chimp.

I’m VERY pleased with this straight-up matcha – Super Tea (Matcha Green Tea) from Pure Chimp!  I see that they have flavors like Lemon and Mint.  I would LOVE to try those as well!  Those might have to go on my wishlist!


logoHere’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Matcha (Green Tea)
Where to Buy: Pure Chimp
Description:
  • Boost your metabolism – great for losing weight
  • Clear your head – matcha has positive effects on mood, memory and focus
  • Steady energy levels for up to 6 hours – no more peaks and crashes
  • Delicate green tea flavour, completely natural and vegan-friendly
  • Mixes easily with hot water, or into smoothies

Our matcha tea is slightly different to regular green tea. It’s grown under cover for the last two weeks before picking, which fills it with extra goodness, and makes it (we think) the best drink in the world.

The specially grown green tea leaves are then carefully ground down to form a fine powder. This enables you to consume all of the natural goodness.

  • Rich in skin-clearing antioxidants (more than blueberries, goji berries and walnuts)
  • Only 24p per serving
  • Caffeine without the anxiety (35mg per serving)

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Peach Matcha from 3 Leaf Tea

PeachMatchaTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Matcha

Where to Buy: 3 Leaf Tea

Tea Description:

With it’s fruity aroma and juicy taste, you won’t want to put this peach matcha down! Crisp and light the peach flavor mingles with the vibrant green taste of matcha.
Preparation & Recipes: 
Hot Latte: Whisk 1 tsp of matcha with 1 tsp of sugar in 2 oz of hot (170°F) water. Add 6 oz of hot milk and stir.
Iced Latte: Whisk 1 tsp of matcha with 1 tsp of sugar in 2 oz of hot (170°F) water. Add 6 oz of cold milk and stir. Pour over ice.
Traditional: Whisk 1/4-1/2 tsp of matcha in 6 oz of (170°F) water.
Smoothie: Add 1 tsp matcha, 1 banana, 1 cup milk, handful of ice, and 1 tsp sugar or honey into blender. Blend until smooth.
Orange Juice: Add 1/2 tsp of sifted matcha to 1 cup of orange juice in a shaker bottle. Shake well until matcha is fully blended.
Food: Sprinkle matcha on top of yogurt, cottage cheese, granola or add it into a recipe (check out our recipe page for ideas!)
Tips:  
  1. Traditionally, a bamboo whisk, also called a chasen, is the preferred tool to whisk matcha. A chawan, or matcha bowl is also used. If those items are not available, a small metal whisk and a wide bowl or mug to accommodate room for whisking can be used.
  2. Water temperature is important for the matcha to maintain it’s sweet flavor and avoid turning bitter. Water temperatures below 170° F are recommended.
  3. Matcha is stored best in an airtight, light proof container. To maintain maximum freshness, store in refrigerator.
  4. Sifting matcha through a fine mesh strainer before use helps remove clumps and creates a smoother consistency.

Ingredients: Matcha, natural flavors

Vegan, Gluten Free

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Today I would like to talk/write about this Peach Matcha from 3 Leaf Tea.  Peach Matcha from 3 Leaf Tea seems to give me the yin and the yang that I am craving in a flavored matcha!  Let me explain…

Upon opening this sample packet of Peach Matcha from 3 Leaf Tea I was smacked in the face with intense peach aroma.  I LOVED the scent of this Peach Matcha!  It made me wonder if it was going to be ALL Peach and NO Matcha when it came to flavor.  Let me tell you that was NOT the case.  Once I whisked my hot matcha up in my cup I took my first sip and what I found was MAJOR defined and STRONG green matcha flavor with an underlying peach flavor!  This strong matcha base is not for wimps!  It’s of the stronger matchas I have sipped on that is for sure!

The peach certainly takes over the aroma but not the taste!  I put these findings in the PRO category of my opinion here!  This is a fantastic cup of matcha!

As a test I did find the less you use of the matcha mix the more you pick up on the peach especially once the water temperature cools naturally at room temperature.  So…moral of the story…if you want to start with a little less and work your way up…I think that would be ok for those who might not like a strong matcha taste.  Lucky for me – I do!

 

Morning Organic Matcha by Grace & Green

morningmatchaTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy: Grace & Green

Tea Description:

A matcha tea with only a slight hint of bitterness. Organically produced, its flavour is smooth and rich. This tea is perfect for everyday consumption, boosting health, energy and concentration.

Produced by Marukyu-Koyamaen (Uji, Kyoto, JAPAN), one of the top tea production companies in Japan. Well respected amongst tea connoisseurs, Marukyu-Koyamaen pride themselves on the excellent quality of their products.

Learn more about this tea here. 

Taster’s Review:

I started this morning in my favourite way – with a matcha latte! Grace & Green kindly sent me a sample of their Morning Organic Matcha to try, and as a matcha fan, I was very keen to give it a try! The matcha comes packaged in a resealable tin, initially with an internal ring-pull style seal. The matcha powder itself is a beautiful kelly green shade, and the scent is delightfully vegetal. You can tell this is quality stuff – the brightness of the powder in itself is a good indicator. I used 1/2 tsp of matcha for my cup, and whisked it up with a little boiling water to make a paste while waiting for my milk to heat. I added the milk once it was near boiling, whisking all the while to ensure the powder was well incorporated. The resulting cup is a startling creamy mint green, almost like mint choc chip ice cream!

To taste, this cup is all the things I love about a matcha latte. The initial flavour is the sweet creaminess of the milk, but the matcha emerges clearly in the mid-sip. It’s very vegetal, as you might expect, almost in the way of freshly cooked asparagus, or wilted spinach. It also has an edge of sweetness, however, that helps it to build an accord with the milk. You’d think they might fight against each other in terms of flavour, but they’re actually very complementary. What I’m most struck by is how smooth this matcha is compared to some others I’ve tried. It’s blended very well with the milk, with only a little clumping evident at the bottom of the cup. That could be my whisking skills, though! There’s also a distinct lack of astringency or bitterness, which is at least partly why it works so well as a latte. It makes for a delightful start to the day.

In the interests of research, I also tried this matcha in a couple of other ways, both of which worked equally well. 1/4 tsp stirred into a small glass of cold water made for a refreshing mid-afternoon pick-me-up. Again, I found it to be smooth, with a minimum of clumping, and no bitterness or astringency at all. The vegetal flavour of the matcha is very apparent taken this way, but as it’s so fresh-tasting and reminiscent of sweet spring vegetables, that’s more of a bonus than anything! My third way of trying this matcha was similar to the above, but stirred into a small glass of apple juice rather than just water. I made a thin paste first with 1/4 tsp of matcha and approximately 1 tbsp of cold water, and then topped off the glass with fridge-cold apple juice. I was actually surprised by how well this worked, but the sweetness and lightly tangy acidity of the fruit juice paired beautifully with the vegetal flavour of the matcha. I’m reminded of fresh garden peas more than asparagus or spinach when tasting the matcha this way, and this would be an ideal preparation for those who aren’t so keen on the intense flavour of matcha when taken alone.

While I enjoy matcha for its versatility, I have to admit to being impressed by this offering from Grace & Green. It lacks the bitterness of some other matchas I’ve tried, which was what used to put me off most. The sweet, fresh taste of this particular matcha is second to none – it’s comparable to the flavour of a spring Bi Luo Chun to my mind, albeit stronger and more concentrated. I also appreciate the ease with which I managed to blend it each time. Although I did experience a little clumping with my latte, it was at a minimum. This would make an excellent matcha for those who like green teas with strongly vegetal notes, or those who are looking for a fresh, high quality, affordable matcha powder. The shipping speed was also excellent, arriving in the UK from Japan in just 6 days. Highly recommended.

Yerba Mate from Chi Whole Leaf

YerbaMateChiTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Yerba Mate

Where to Buy:  Chi Whole Leaf

Tea Description:

A perfect addition to your morning routine, Yerba Mate is beginning to catch on as a extremely healthy substitute to coffee.  This tea has a sweet, earthy taste that will keep you coming back for more!

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

The last of five samples from Chi Whole Leaf!

I’ve been on a bit of a Yerba Mate kick these last few weeks, so I’m both very excited to try this blend but also kind of feeling like I’ve overdosed on yerba mate and need to take a break from it for a few weeks. What’s better than a powdered caffeine buzz though? Hell that’s half of why I love matcha so much – so I’m ignoring those feelings of being all yerba-d out, and excitedly trying this!

The dry leaf doesn’t smell anywhere near as fragrant as the other four samples have been; just subtly grassy. My observation thus far is that the blends from Chi Whole Leaf fall on one side of a spectrum, either “very intense” or “surprisingly muted”. I’ve yet to really find a blend offered by them that rides the middle, and if I had to guess I’d wager this is going to be a bit more muted.

Like anticipated, this is pretty mild as far as Yerba Mate tastes; it’s grassy and earthy with a touch of natural sweetness. However, the licorice root and ginseng are definitely stronger – actually, they do a great job of finding a happy medium between tasting mild or robust. The combined sweetness of both begin to creep in at the end of the sip in a typical licorice root fashion. It almost has a honeycomb taste to it. However, if someone dislikes licorice root, ginseng or both they’re really going to be turned off by that taste.

Interestingly, I found that of all five samples I had the biggest issue with the dry powder for this one. It was really, really clumping together but it wasn’t as sludgy at the bottom of the cup as I was drinking it.

Again, I have to really thank Will from Chi Whole Leaf for the samples! I had a really fun time exploring them, and while I definitely didn’t love them all I was surprised by a few which I thought I’d dislike but where really, really good. Namely Floral Herb!

Oh, and just an FYI; right now you can check out the Chi Whole Leaf website and click the “free samples” button there, fill in your address and you can receive a free sampler to try out as well! Since you’re not even paying for shipping it’s definitely worth checking out!

Green Mint from Chi Whole Leaf

Green MintTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Green

Where to Buy:  Chi Whole Leaf

Tea Description:

A cleansing blend of Chinese Green Tea, Mint Leaves, Indian Eucalyptus and Milk Thistle Seed from Bulgaria.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Thanks again to Will at Chi Whole Leaf for the samples!

I’ve decided I’m going to review 3/5 here on the blog, though all five will be reviewed on my Steepster account. If you’re interested in learning about the 2/5 I’m not reviewing on this blog here they are: Ginger Chai & Chamomile. I had a few biases going into those tastings, which is why I’m leaving them out on this blog.

This was one of the samples I was pretty stoked about; I really like eucalyptus (if I could be reborn as an animal it’d probably be either a Sloth or a Koala) and the pairing of eucalyptus, mint, and green tea makes me think of a day of being pampered at a Spa or hot spring; cool, refreshing and very stress relieving.

Normally I think this is a blend I’d have opted to try cold, but since I’ve made the other three blends I’ve tried hot I did the same with this one just to have some consistency. I thought dry this smelled pretty minty, but as I was tasting it the green tea base was actually the strongest flavour with both the eucalyptus and the mint providing a refreshing, cooling aftertaste. It was very pleasant and did have a calming “Spa” sort of affect. However I personally didn’t feel totally satisfied with the flavour either; I liked the level of grassy, vegetal green tea notes but I really craved a stronger more “menthol” feeling mint notes, and a touch more eucalpytus. I think both were a little light handed for what they could have been.

That said; I enjoyed the blend and I did feel like my hope of a refreshing hot spring-esque tea was met. And again, I can’t stress enough how much I really like the convenience of these powdered teas; it’s a huge part of why I’m so drawn to matcha as well. But unlike the flavoured matchas I enjoy, these ones a more nuanced and layered instead of fairly monotone flavours!

If nothing else, I’m a big fan of the concept.