#24daysofmatcha

[alittleyellowdinosaur]

David’s Tea Matcha Advent Calendar Review

Day 23: Salted Caramel Matcha

Awwww heck yea! I was so pumped for this one because it sounds amazing and guess what? It tastes amazing too! It’s so creamy and decadent and sweet it’s the perfect desert matcha... though you shouldn’t actually be drinking matcha late at night. Well, it’s a great way to start your day off sweet too! It’s got that salted caramel taste of being sweet, but not tooth rotting sweet, and more complex than just pure caramel candy. It’s not too salty, frankly you can’t even taste any salt which is good, but you can taste the caramel and the matcha. It’s really amazing, and I loved it. 10/10.

Also, the listing on David’s Tea linked above states that this supports the Ethical Tea Partnership, which most but not all of their teas state. I thought I’d mention it now though, as it’s almost the end of these reviews, but generally, the Ethical Tea Partnership is similar to Fair Trade coffee and chocolate - it’s a membership organization that works to implement living wage, equal rights, and sustainable farming practices amongst tea farming communities world wide. They work to help end gender violence in these communities, to minimze their carbon footprint, and generally are just a good sign to look for when considering who you buy tea from, which has always been a feather in David’s Tea’s cap for me.

You may be wondering “hey, what happened to Day 22? Elliot did you forget another one?” To which i say - no I didn’t forget the matcha again.... I forgot to buy milk again. But considering I already know what tomorrow’s is (process of elimination and all that), and I know I will not be drinking it at all, I’m just going to make yesterday’s matcha be what I drink tomorrow. And yes, there’s still two I haven’t reviewed, but I’ll get to them at some point I swear. Now, happy day before Christmas Eve, and I’ll see yall tomorrow!

[alittleyellowdinosaur]

David’s Tea Matcha Advent Calendar Review

Day 21: Chai Matcha

Well to start with, Blessed Yule everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful Tuesday. 

Now that that’s been said, onto the review! Basically, this is a chai. I know I’ve been going on about how i like tasting the matcha in the flavor instead of having it buried, but this time, I like the drink AND there’s barely any matcha flavor. It tastes like a green tea based chai and it’s fantastic. Heavier on the nutmeg than some chais, but comparable to tazo chai/Starbucks chai if you’ve had that. You can’t really taste the matcha, but it’s fine in my opinion. It’s a nice, sweet chai that wouldn’t be out of place in a coffee shop and i’d definitely recommend. 

HOWEVER - and pay attention now - to find it DO NOT SEARCH FOR “CHAI MATCHA DAVID’S TEA” ON GOOGLE. The first link that pops up is for a prepackaged verious that doesn’t look to be on sale anymore, which is a damn good thing because apparently, that product exposes you to lead. I’m guessing it is just the packaging on the product or the specific batch due to some spices in it (which according to CA.gov can have lead contamination when from Mexico or Asia) because the listing i linked above and what comes up when you search specifically for chai matcha ON THE DAVIDS TEA SITE has no warning. California also has much stricter rules for what counts as a carcinogen or toxin so it probably passes federal inspection (as a funny story, E6000 glue is carcinogenic in California only, which was a joke in the art department of my school and we called in cancer glue!) That being said, i would NOT RECOMMEND THIS to anyone who is breast feeding or wanting to get pregnant soon. If you’re already pregnant, you shouldn’t be drinking matcha in the first place because of the caffiene content. If you’re not, I wouldn’t worry too much because again, the link I included leads to a product with no warnings and the one with the warning isn’t for sale anymore making me think they’ve fixed the problem. But knowing it was a problem in the past, I’d recommend for people dealing with infants or potential pregnancies avoid out of an abundance of caution. You do what is best for you, though, and if you think it is okay, then i would recommend this matcha because it’s a really good chai and definitely a good morning drink if you love chai’s but want something with a bit more caffiene to get your day started. 9/10 for taste, 6/10 for safety testing. 

[alittleyellowdinosaur]

David's Tea Matcha Advent Calendar Review

Day 20: Berries and Cream Matcha

So I'll be honest, first impressions of this tea were not good. Just opening the bag and smelling it i could already tell there were some pretty artificial berry notes to it. I hoped that maybe, it'd still be okay once mixed into milk and water, but no luck. The first sip tastes pretty good, but then there's this awful aftertaste that lingers for so long. it's super artificial and a bit like your mouth feels when you first wake up, like gummy and awful. And it wasn't just me waking up first thing, I had it after being up for 2 hours, brushing my teeth, drinking water, and eating cookies, so it really was this tea. I couldn't get more than a couple sips in before i gave up, it was just... really not good. Do yourself a favor and don't buy this tea. 0/10

[alittleyellowdinosaur]

David’s Tea Matcha Advent Calendar Review

Day 17: Orange Dreamsicle Matcha

I’m going to be really honest with y’all, this morning has been rough and chaotic and frustrating so my matcha got scarfed down in a rush without thinking much about it. It was tasty, but I admittedly couldn’t really distinguish any orange flavor to it because of the rush. It may have been there, it may have not been. It was definitely good, but from what I remember, it was a very, very subtle orange flavor and was more like a slightly brighter matcha flavor instead of the typical heavier earthy taste. So definitely good but not super distinct. I’d say more but I don’t remember more from in between my rush. Sorry. I’ll give it an 8/10 to be generous, because it was definitely tasty even if i dont remember much. now if youll excuse me, I’m still in a rush.

[alittleyellowdinosaur]

David’s Tea Matcha Advent Calendar Review

Day 15: Maple Matcha

If you’ve ever sweetened your matcha latte with maple syrup, then you’ve tried this matcha. It’s got that strong maple syrup flavor layered with the matcha, but neither is really more dominating then the other. It’s nicely balanced, not too sweet or too bitter, and the maple definitelly tastes like they mixed maple sugar into the mix, not like it’s an artificial sweetener. Personally, I’m not really the biggest fan of it, I’ve always prefered honey as a sweetener, but if you like using maple syrup to sweeten things then this is the matcha for you because it definitelly tastes like it. 7/10, not a personal preference but still tasty

Day 16: Matcha Spoon

So I was very surprised today to open my little box and find that I didn’t get another matcha, but instead a matcha spoon. I thought for sure the “surprise” the box claims would be on the 24th, but apparently, it’s on the 16th. I’m sure for some this would be really disappointing, and does make me wonder how they are going to make the 24th box special if it’s just going to be another matcha. But for me, I’m currently fasting before I have to get my blood drawn in an hour, so I don’t really mind not being tempted by a yummy looking matcha. 

For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about when I say a matcha spoon, I’m referencing one of David’s Tea’s special matcha accessories. You’re unlikely to find them elsewhere since you can pretty much use any spoon to scoop matcha, as I have been doing for years and years. But David’s Tea sells these things to make your lattes a bit more uniform. Each matcha they sell has a little thing on the label that tells you how many of the little spoonfuls of matcha they recommend, kind of like some tea companies will say “1 tsp per 8oz” on their labels. They have a bigger tea spoon for their loose leaf teas that is essentially the same. They come in really pretty colors and can be themed, so the one I got is this beautiful forest green with golden sparkles Christmas themed one. Typically they are $4 to $7, depending on if you get the boring silver one or the pretty ones. But generally, I would not recommend buying one on your own unless it happens to come in a starter kit or heavily discounted. II won’t give this a rating because its, you know, a spoon, but I’m still glad I got one that I didn’t have to buy individually.

[alittleyellowdinosaur]

David’s Tea Matcha Advent Calendar Review

Day 14: Peach Matcha

I was a little nervous with this one, because some peach teas can taste so overpoweringly peach-y that it tastes artificial. Peaches don’t really have that strong of a taste really (nectarines tend to be sweeter in my opinion). But I almost had the opposite problem with this matcha. The peach was so subtle you could barely taste it. It was there, if you thought about it, but otherwise it was just a matcha with an amorophous fruity flavor you could just sorta make out if you were looking for it. Certainly not bad, I personally found it wonderful and drank the whole thing before I even remembered I should do a review. But if you’re looking for a strong peach flavor similar to that of iced peach teas, this is not the matcha for you. If you’d like just a slightly lighter matcha and a good summery drink, then this is a perfect choice for you. I think it’d be ideal as an iced matcha, so it’s definitely one I’ll be keeping on my summer lattes wish list. 7/10, would have liked more peach but it’ll be a perfect summer drink.

[alittleyellowdinosaur]

David’s Tea Matcha Advent Calendar Review

Sorry I’m a bit behind, it’s been finals week and traveling home for winter break so I’ve been busy as heck! Let’s go get up to date, shall we?

Oh also, I thought I’d mention some other, cheaper matcha sampler products. The Single Serve mixed bag and a cozy single serve mixed bag which have a big variety, alongside a summer sampler. One sampler has has bubblegum, which I’ve yet to see elsewhere. There’s a holiday sampler, a fruity sampler, and a few other products with a couple basic matchas (matsu and vanilla usually) that also come with matcha makers if you were interested. This is far from a comprehensive list, but if you’d like to try one of the matcha’s i review, check out the samplers because they might be in there and I’m only linking where you can get the individual matcha (unless i can find it in a sampler and no where else like the wild honey one below).

Day 11: Wild Honey Matcha 

Soo.... more technical difficulties. I still had no milk, so I went to the dorm kitchen where there was milk. It said it wasn’t expired and I thought it smelled fine in my very, very sleepy, late for work state, but uh... it was chunky and nasty and I didn’t notice until I’d already ruined the tea. Whoops. I did get matcha that day, but it was from Dunkin so no review for you. -20/10 don’t drink spoiled milk friends

Day 12: Mango Matcha 

Oh my giddy aunt this was amazing. You could taste that wonderful earthy matcha flavor but there was this deliciously sweet mango flavor that would stay on your tongue and was just so good. Fruity, but not overwhelmingly sweet, this was the perfect tropical matcha mix. Yet another one I would gladly buy in bulk, because this was just wonderful. Really made my chilly morning just a bit sunnier and I loved it. 10/10 for sure. 

Day 13: Vanilla Matcha 

This was the most classic matcha drink I’ve had so far. Tasted very reminiscent of a Starbucks or Dunkin matcha, though less sweet then both of those, and noteably less sweet then the other drinks so far (except the matcha matsu). Still definitely good, and if you’re a fan of the chain restaurant matcha’s then this is the one for you. Just a good ol’ basic matcha with that touch of vanilla I always love. 7/10 nothing special but still very good.

[alittleyellowdinosaur]

David’s Tea Matcha Advent Calendar Review

Day 8: Lavender Honey Matcha

For those of you who aren’t aware, lavender honey is one of my favorite sweet flavor profiles (in case you’re curious, the list goes lemon, peanut butter, chocolate, molasses, lavender with honey or lemon, the two are tied). I love lavender, the scent, the plant, the taste, all of it. I know some people doubt aromatherapy but for me, lavender truly calms me down. So needless to say, I was looking forward to this flavor, and dang did it come at a good time. Wednesday’s are my busy day, and on this, the last Wednesday of classes, I’ve been extremely anxious. Having lavender honey pop up for today was the best outcome I could have gotten. 

This was only made better by the flavor. By golly does this taste good! You’ve still got that beautiful matcha flavor that’s perfectly balanced by the sweetner, not too much, but not too little, with this subtle lavender background that lingers on your tongue. You can’t taste the honey much, its mostly a lavender matcha, but that certainly doesn’t make it less good. The lavender is present, but not overpowering which is a difficult thing when it comes to lavender and making sure it’s not going to taste like soap. I think this would be amazing with just a swirl of lemon honey, though it’d make it sweeter than it had to be. Either way, I’m relaxed, caffeinated, and ready to power through today. the only downside? it’s not sold individually. @David’s Tea, get on this!! 10/10 would recommend.