Matcha Beginner's Review of Davids Tea Matcha
A while ago, I wrote a post about my favorite teas from DavidsTea. I organized it by type of tea, but I had not yet tried any of their matcha. Almost six months later, I received some for Christmas. Today I’ll be reviewing Matcha Matsu and Vanilla Matcha from DavidsTea, plus a bonus matcha recipe from the DavidsTea blog.
Vanilla Matcha
As someone who has only had matcha lattes from coffee shops, I thought it was probably best to start with a flavored matcha. DavidsTea has so many flavors, but I went with Vanilla Matcha because I thought it was the most simple and basic of the choices and because I enjoy the vanilla matcha from Argo Tea.
I also thought it was best to start by making it as a latte (or at least with milk). Following the directions from DavidsTea, I started by whisking my matcha the traditional way in a chawan (matcha bowl) and chasen (matcha whisk). I found the whisking processes far easier than I thought it would be. I was able to break up all of the clumps (I think putting the mix through a seive first helped) but I wasn’t sure if I got enough froth. Then I poured it into a mug and topped it with some frothed milk (although frothed is a strong word, my mason jar and microwave method isn’t really cutting it anymore). Overall, I was really happy with my latte. I didn’t get a distinct vanilla flavor, but it was definitely sweet and delicious. As far as first times making matcha go, I feel like this was pretty good.
A few weeks later, I went to make another Matcha Vanilla latte and realized I had gotten rid of the mason jar I was using to froth the milk because it was leaking. Instead of making a latte, I figured I would just drink a bowl of matcha. I totally missed that DavidsTea actually had directions on this, and I wasn’t sure if typical instructions would apply due to the sweetener and flavoring in the mix. So, I just added more water before mixing. That was not the “right” thing to do, which I had a feeling at the time because it made almost no froth, but it still tasted good. This was my first time having matcha not as a latte, and I enjoyed it—although I do think the sweetener and flavoring helped with that.
Matcha Matsu
It was also important to me to have a basic, somewhat traditional matcha in my collection. DavidsTea has three—Matcha Matsu, Ceremonial Matcha, and Organic Ceremonial Matcha. Matcha Matsu is the cheapest of the three, so I went with that one—even though I was aware it meant it was the lowest quality of the three.
After my success of the first matcha latte, I decided to make one with the Matcha Matsu. This time I definitely got more froth when I whisked it. I learned after that flavored matchas usually don’t make as much froth because the flavorings and sweeteners make it harder, and this made a lot of sense based on my experience. This was another good latte—definitely not as sweet as the Vanilla Matcha but still yummy.
Most recently I tried a bowl of Matcha Matsu. This time, I followed the directions from fellow tea blogger Kimberly of Tea Is a Wish Your Heart Makes and her Matcha Monday Masterclass series. I started by making Koicha (thick tea), then added more water to make Ushucha (thin tea). I feel like I got less froth than the first time I made Matcha Matsu, but I didn’t take a picture of that first time so I might be making that up. Drinking the bowl of Matcha Matsu was very different from the bowl of Vanilla Matcha or even the Matcha Matsu latte. It was very strong and grassy. This is how matcha is supposed to be, but I definitely had to add a bit of honey for my taste.
Chocolate Chunk + Matcha Cookies
DavidsTea has tons of recipes on their blog including matcha, and I plan on trying a bunch of them. The first one I tried (even before I drank the matcha) was the Absolute Best Chocolate Chunk Cookies. As I went through this recipe, I thought to myself “Wow, this went a lot better than most recipes I get from DavidsTea.” Then I was cleaning up, and I realized it never told me to add the vanilla. Vanilla enhances the chocolate flavor, so I didn’t think the cookies were going to taste good without it. They ended up tasting okay—the bigger issue was definitely that I burnt them slightly. The chocolate definitely could have had a stronger flavor (I also used chips instead of chunks), but the matcha added a nice flavor. I wouldn’t really say it tasted like drinking matcha, but it was good. I would definitely consider making this recipe again and just be sure to add the matcha and not burn the cookies.
To fill in the gap left by that list of DavidsTea favorites, I would have to say the Vanilla Matcha is my favorite of the two. I am really excited to keep drinking and experimenting with both flavors though. I would love to try both flavors as an iced latte, and also try some more recipes.
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