Pure Matcha Black

Amount used: ½ tsp

Water: Tap water, 180 degrees

Teaware: Big ceramic cup & saucer

Ordered from: Pure Matcha

I was updating my status on Steepster last week when I saw a review of Pure Matcha Green go by. The Matcha I had here was old and not really tasting all that fresh, so I was looking for another company to try. Then when I read that Pure Matcha sold not only green, but black and rooibos matcha as well, I was very intrigued, and ordered a set right then and there.

Setting aside the fact that I had issues brewing this at first due to water temperature problems (brewer error), I really like this tea. It’s a blend of Assam and Darjeeling, and while it’s got a dryer mouthfeel than I normally prefer, it’s naturally sweet when brewed and drank at a cool temperature. Too hot and it goes bitter pretty quickly, but that’s true of all matcha. I normally prefer our hard tap water to filtered, but I may try filtered water next time with this to see if it smooths out a little.

It’s got a nice kick of caffeine to it, and a sort of tangy feel on the tongue. One cup wakes me right up, and it’s quickly becoming my “go to” tea on weekend mornings when I’m too lazy to brew a pot of leaves, but don’t want to turn to soda just yet. Because the water really does need to be pretty cool, it takes no time at all to whisk up a cup.

One other thing – this tea doesn’t foam up like green matcha (or I haven’t been able to get it too over the several times I’ve made it). Not that that’s important, just an interesting side-note.

Normally I would have used my matcha bowl for this, but I wanted to show the color, and my matcha bowl is black. Good excuse to buy a new matcha bowl, eh?

I don’t drink coffee at all, so I can’t compare this to expresso (except to say it smells a lot better). If you’re looking for a good wake-me-up tea though, do try this. I’m happy I did!