Tag: Matcha

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Nittoh Tea’s Matcha Au Lait

Matcha Au Lait by Nittoh Tea
Green Tea (Matcha) / Flavoured
$6.99 for 120g (10 x 12g servings)

First Impressions

Nittoh Tea’s Matcha Au Lait was a fun little Asian grocery store find, it was staring me right in the face because it was eye level. The package doesn’t show off much – there’s an image of a bowl of matcha on the front, and clear side that show off the individual packets. There’s 10 packages in the bag, each containing 12g of powder.

The individual packets are light weight, after I opened it, I found that they feel a bit metallic in nature (the packaging). The powder itself is light green with a very light aroma – a bit grassy. It’s very mild. Matcha Au Lait consists of: sugars, dextrin, palm oil, whole milk powder, green tea powder, salt, sodium caseinate (milk), carboxymethyl cellulose, sodium lactate, soy lecithin.

Preparation

The packaging for Matcha Au Lait has Japanese text on it, with a printed English and French label across the back (to adhere to language laws in Canada to make it eligible to be sold). I did have to find the preparation instructions online, which recommend using 120ml of hot water for a hot matcha latte or cold water for an iced matcha latte. I didn’t find a temperature recommendation, so I used 175°F (79°C) water.

First Taste

Matcha Au Lait becomes a spring green cup of matcha. It dissolved and suspended quite easily with hot water with the stir of a spoon in my cup. I found that the aroma is milky and grassy at the same time. The flavour of Matcha Au Lait is sweet, with a light creaminess throughout, and grassy notes from the matcha base. It lacks the creaminess that I would have created in a matcha latte from scratch, but it is also possible that I was a touch heavy handed with the water when preparing it.

A Second Cup?

As Matcha Au Lait is a suspension, there are no second steeps with the same powder.

My Overall Impression

I liked Nittoh Tea’s Matcha Au Lait. It’s an easy preparation to make, and the additive of whole milk powder makes it easy to have a matcha latte on-the-go. I found it not as sweet to my liking, nor as creamy if I had prepared a matcha latte from scratch. However, I think it’s an easy way to make a matcha latte when out and about, so the rest of the package will definitely be making their way into my work bag so I can have an easy matcha latte during breaks.

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Glico’s Pocky Green Tea vs. Pocky Dark Rich Matcha

Pocky Green Tea & Pocky Dark Rich Matcha by Glico
$2.49 for 70g / $2.99 for 65g

First Impressions

I’m a fan of green tea treats, so when I spotted two different green tea Pocky flavours I wanted to try them both – and also do a taste comparison! Dark Rich Matcha (right) and Green Tea (left) came at different price points. The Dark Rich Matcha was $2.99 for 65g, whilst Green Tea was $2.49 for 70g.

Dark Rich Matcha comes in a two pack, with a dark green packaging while the Green Tea is white. Truth be told, the mild difference in price doesn’t make too much of an impact for me with only a 50¢ difference. The Dark Rich Matcha comes in a matte box while the Green Tea comes in a glossy box, which makes the Dark Rich Matcha appear more luxurious because of the matte feel.

Pocky Green Tea consists of: wheat flour, sugars, vegetable oil, whole milk powder, vegetable oil shortening, green tea powder, artificial flavours, salt, yeast, soy lecithin, sodium bicarbonate, mono- and di-glycerides, carotene, brilliant blue FCF.

Pocky Dark Rich Matcha consists of: wheat flour, sugars, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, palm oil, shortening, tea powder, wheat gluten, salt, yeast, soy lecithin, artificial flavour, potassium chloride, baking powder, and sucralose.

First Taste

Both Pocky green tea varieties are very similar – same length, same thickness in the green coating. The lighter one was Green Tea while the darker one is the Dark Rich Matcha. Both are sweet – Green Tea has a mild grassy taste while the Dark Rich Matcha has a grassy umami flavour to it combined with hints of chocolate.

The biscuit portion has a very mild flavour to it, a fairly plain cookie in itself. The Pocky Green Tea actually has a nicer looking biscuit stick to it – being more golden in colour in comparison to the Pocky Dark Rich Matcha which has a greenish hue to it. Other than colour though, the plain parts of the biscuit sticks taste basically identical.

My Overall Impression

I loved both Glico’s Pocky Green Tea and Dark Rich Matcha. The flavours of both are good, with a nice flavour of matcha. I find that I enjoy the Dark Rich Matcha more due to the chocolate undertones. The small difference in price points doesn’t influence me either way, although I do like the idea of having two packages in one box, for freshness if for whatever reason I don’t finish it in one sitting (although, really, who am I kidding?). I think they both make for a good snack, and would want to have both again (but definitely the Dark Rich Matcha if given the choice of only one).

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Dessert by Deb’s Matcha Key Lime Pie

Matcha Key Lime Pie by Dessert by Deb
Green Tea (Matcha) / Flavoured
$6.50 for 25g

First Impressions

When I spotted Matcha Key Lime Pie in my bimonthly subscription box from Dessert by Deb, I was intrigued. I mean – key lime pie? Hello, that’s a delicious dessert any day of the week.  Mix in some matcha and it’s a good day all around! I really do hope that there’s a matcha key lime pie that exists out there in the real world, because I would dig into that for sure. This Matcha Key Lime Pie comes in a metallic pink pouch with a polka dotted label. Matcha Key Lime Pie is from Dessert by Deb’s Japanese & Asian Patisserie collection.

The aroma from the dry leaf is a strong lime aroma that does make me think of key lime pie. I don’t really smell the matcha or the coconut, but lime is such a strong citrus fruit, that it really does make for a strong flavour profile. Matcha Key Lime Pie consists of: green tea, natural lime flavour, lime pieces & peel, toasted coconut, Canadian maple, and ceremonial matcha – where the coconut, maple, and matcha are all certified organic ingredients.

The matcha powder dusts over all of the other ingredients quite easily. The appearance of all of the ingredients is a similar bright spring green that is the matcha. It is beautiful though, and has a great lime aroma to it.

Preparation

Dessert by Deb recommends preparing Matcha Key Lime Pie in 200°F (93°C) water for 5 to 6 minutes, and also recommended to prepare it as a latte. I opted to prepare Matcha Key Lime Pie straight up with an initial steep of 5 minutes, with the plan to have Matcha Key Lime Pie as a latte later.

First Taste

Matcha Key Lime Pie steeps to a bright spring green, with a strong lime aroma. The flavour of the tea is tart – much like a key lime pie. There’s a good amount of lime flavour, with touches of umami throughout. There’s something about the lime that just sort of coats everything – the flavour of it just permeates the whole sip of tea and definitely over powers the coconut, since I don’t taste it. And I also find that the tartness of lime also takes over any sweetness from the maple that might have otherwise been in my cup of tea.

A Second Cup?

Attempting to resteep Matcha Key Lime Pie resulted in a sad cup of tea that was sorely lacking in the lime flavour, so I would recommend just one steep with these leaves.

My Overall Impression

I loved Dessert by Deb’s Matcha Key Lime Pie. I really enjoyed the tartness and strength of the lime flavour in this green tea blend – I do wish that the coconut and maple shone through more, but I still found that it reminded me a lot of key lime pie so I wasn’t put off by it. I do wish that there was more sweetness in my cup, so I would definitely add some sweetener to it to make it even more of a liquid dessert. Still delicious though, and I think it’s certainly a unique blend because I’ve never had anything like it.

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