Tag: Matcha

Posted on

Rose Matcha Latte

I recently tried a rose matcha latte at a cafe and it tasted like drinking perfume (and I don’t like drinking perfume, or potpourri…). But I was really intrigued by the idea of a rose matcha latte that didn’t taste like a dried bouquet so I set off on determining the right ratios of rose to everything else in order to get the flavour profile balanced, so I hope you enjoy trying out my Rose Matcha Recipe!

Bonus fun fact! Today (August 22nd) is One More Steep’s birthday! I’ve been posting reviews and recipes since 2015. To date, I have written 336 reviews, and this is my fifth recipe!

Rose Matcha Latte Recipe

1 tablespoon matcha
100mL water
1-2 tsp Rose Simple Syrup (see recipe below)
250-300mL milk (or dairy-free alternative), frothed
1-2 crushed petals from rose buds.

Sift the matcha into your bowl (or blender bottle if you’re using that).
Whisk with the heated water, and then pour into a cup.
Stir in the Rose Simple Syrup.
Froth milk – use your milk frother or (my personal favourite method) shake up a mason jar.
Pour milk into the cup of tea, spoon foam over the top.
Sprinkle crushed rose petals over top.
And enjoy!

Rose Simple Syrup Recipe

1 cup sugar*
1 cup water*
1 Tbsp dried organic rose buds

* You can make more or less simple syrup depending on how often you want to have a Rose Matcha Latte, as long as you use equal parts water and sugar. You will want a clean jar/bottle on hand to store the Rose Simple Syrup.

Combine sugar and water into a saucepan and place over medium heat.
Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Allow syrup to simmer for 1-2 minutes.
Add rose buds, stir, allow to simmer for an additional 2 minutes.
Remove from heat.
Once cooled, strain/remove rose buds
Pour Rose Simple Syrup into a jar or bottle and refrigerate.
The Rose Simple Syrup will keep for at least 2 weeks in the fridge – don’t forget to label it with the date!

If you make this Rose Matcha Latte, I’d love to see your photos! Be sure to tag me on Instagram (@onemoresteep #onemoresteep) or comment below with a link to the photo!

Posted on

Purdys Chocolatier’s Matcha

Matcha by Purdys Chocolatier
Green Tea (Matcha) / Chocolate
$11.00 for 6 pieces (70g)

First Impressions

I love chocolate as much as the next girl, but when it comes mixed with tea? You know I had to give it a try! If you’re not familiar with Purdys, they are a chocolate company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Their stores feature chocolates, candies, ice cream, and more. The purple and gold store fronts can also be found across Canada, and I picked up this box of Matcha at a store near me.

Inside the box, there are six beautiful chocolates. Each one has a unique speckled design on it – according to the product page, Purdys uses a spirulina-based dye mixed with cocoa butter to create the colours. Matcha is a unique truffle that consists of a blend of white chocolate and matcha green tea powder, inside of a milk chocolate shell. Each chocolate is nestled in its own brown paper cup. The aroma that I get from the chocolate is milk chocolate.

The ingredients in Matcha are: sugar, milk ingredients, cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate, coconut oil, matcha powder, natural and artificial flavours, soy lecithin, turmeric, spirulina concentrate, apple concentrate, titanium dioxide, water, sunflower oil, maltodextrin, and citric acid.

First Taste

I cut my first Matcha chocolate in half. The green centre of the Matcha has a sweet, grassy aroma to it. The flavour reminds me a lot of a matcha latté – there’s a touch of honeyed sweetness, grassy notes, a touch of saltiness, and the milk chocolate shell just melts in your mouth. Despite it being a fairly hefty chocolate, it’s quite light in terms of the mouthfeel – there’s a nice decadence to it.

My Overall Impression

I loved Purdys Chocolatier’s Matcha. I think that the matcha flavour really shines through. The speckled decoration is beautiful, and I really like how they used natural dyes to create the colours. The milk chocolate shell is superb, but as someone who’s grown up eating Purdys, I don’t expect anything less. These are nice for a treat, at the price of $11 for 6 pieces, it’s definitely not something that I’ll have around all the time, but they’re quite tasty and I would recommend trying it out if you’re a fan of matcha and chocolate.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.

Posted on

Thinktea’s Matcha Set

Matcha Set by Thinktea
Ceramic, Bamboo, and Oak
$29.99

First Impressions

Last year, I was wanting to branch out and start preparing and reviewing matcha at home, which is the primary reason why I purchased this set from Thinktea (a brand available via Stokes Stores). This four piece matcha set consists of a matcha bowl (ceramic), whisk (100 bamboo prongs), a long handled bamboo scoop, and a Japanese oak spoon (where 1 spoon = ½ teaspoon). The one piece that I would say it probably missing is something to sift the powder to break up any clumps prior to whisking.

All the pieces seem pretty solid, the bowl has a lovely floral design on the inside and outside of the bowl. I’m not that familiar with what the difference is between the scoop and the spoon, so I’m not sure why both would needed.

Preparation

I gave everything a quick rinse under hot tap water prior to usage, you just never know how long everything’s been sitting in storage for or how many people handled it.

First Use

I am not a matcha expert, nor do I play one on television. The first time I used this matcha set, I used the scoop to transfer the matcha to the bowl and I wound up spilling some on my counter. I found the oak spoon a lot easier to use (and less spillage!), so my novice self thinks that the reason why both are included is that one is for novice matcha makers and one is for more experienced tea ceremony masters.

I whisked the matcha in an M (or W) motion until it seems well mixed and has some bubbles on top. You do have to whisk quite vigorously to get some foam action happening, so it’s both an exercise in making matcha and a small arm workout. I learned about preparing matcha from Kimmy of Whisk Matcha (when I met her at the 2017 Vancouver Tea Festival) so I’m somewhat confident that I’m doing it somewhat properly.

Overall Impression

I loved Thinktea’s Matcha Set. I kind of wish it came with some instructions for the very novice beginner, but I think for $29.99, it makes for a great beginner set. If you’re new to matcha, you don’t necessarily want to be spending a lot of money in your teaware right away because what if you decide that you don’t like matcha or you decide that your preferred way to prepare matcha is in smoothie.

For $29.99, you get a bowl, spoon, and scoop that’ll last you for quite a while (possibly forever if you don’t drop or break anything), and a whisk that’ll be decent for whisking up some ceremonial matcha. You could easily spend that much on a fancy matcha bowl alone (or a lot more). Of the four piece set, the only item that I can see having to be repeatedly replace would be the whisk, since it’s not meant to last forever, which makes this Matcha Set a modest investment in my matcha journey.

Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.