Tea Reviews | It's All About The Leaf

Posts Tagged ‘Bamboo’

DoMatcha Organic Matcha:
DoMatcha Organic Matcha

Bamboo Whisk:
DoMatcha Bamboo Whisk

Whisk Stand:
DoMatcha Whisk Stand

Mike at It’s All About The Leaf sent me some of DoMatcha’s Ceremonial Matcha – which is also organic – along with a Matcha Bamboo Whisk AND what looks to be a Whisk holder/stand (or at least that is what I am using it for) and I am very grateful!  So, it seems I have a LOT to review here.  First, I would like to review the whisk itself.

This is the very first WHISK I can now call my own and now have in my possession.  I’m VERY excited!!!  I guess that truly qualifies me as a tea freak when I am that excited and add 3 exclamation points on the end of that sentence, eh!?  Anyhow, when I first took this whisk out – I examined it for several minutes noting how clean and perfect it was.  The Bamboo seemed to be delicate but was in fact very durable.  The whisk bristles are very sturdy and precise!  At the end of the whisk everything seemed to curl under and I found myself ‘playing with’ it and was mesmerized at how those little bristles curled under ‘just-so’.  The first time I used it I was careful to go by the instructions that were provided.  They were easy to understand and seemed to work like a charm.  I have had matcha in the past but must fuss-up that I have been lazy and not very ‘official’ when it came to preparing my matcha.  Now that I have this whisk I will not look back!  I did find the Whisk Stand to be very useful and I will move on to that next.

The Whisk Stand is totally worth the $5 fee asked on their website!  Now that I am looking at their website and seeing how they have it displayed with the whisk I will certainly try that at some point….over the top of the stand, I mean.  I was using it inside the stand…poking the whisk up thru the hole at the top of the stand.  I would like to note that I don’t think this is incorrect – but – just another way to use the stand…or I will just keep telling myself that so I don’t feel like a moron.  But, seriously, here is why I think you can use these stands either way…when I store my whisk inside the stand verses outside as shown I don’t feel like it is as exposed and it really did help with the potential drips…there were none.  I found that this also helps with the shape of the whisk just as much as it would if it were displayed and dried on the outside of the stand.  So…like I said, I really don’t think either way is incorrect – I’ll just call it an alternative!

Now on to the Matcha!  The first time I tried this…I went ‘plain jane’ with Matcha and Water – whisking, of course.  It smelled like warm broccoli. It’s a dark vintage looking green in color yet very smooth and was very flavorful and smooth on the tongue…almost a milky taste.  The 2nd time I tried this Matcha I added it to something!  I had half of a smoothie left over that I was taste-tasting for a local chain. It was BERRY Flavored and consisted of: Ice, Yogurt, Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, and I ended up putting the same amount of this Matcha in it. Of course, it melted the ice – mostly – but it also was WAY frothy!!! This goes extremely well in a smoothie!  I actually like the the local chain’s concoction BETTER with this Matcha than without the matcha – I felt the smoothie minus the matcha was too tart…this mellows that out a little. This proves to me how versatile this Matcha is and I am eager to try it with other ingredients, as well as stand alone and challenge myself to improve my whisking methods!  There is always room for improve, isn’t there!?  In closing, I just want to say that I have had a lot of FUN with these products and am honored that they were sent to me to try and review.

You can purchase the DoMatcha Organic Matcha directly from the DoMatcha website.

DoMatcha Organic Matcha:
DoMatcha Organic Matcha

Bamboo Whisk:
DoMatcha Bamboo Whisk

Whisk Stand:
DoMatcha Whisk Stand

Suggested Preparation: ~1 teaspoon of Do-Matcha in a large cup or tea
bowl, hot water between 65 and 85 degrees Celsius.

Received a tin of Ceremonial Matcha from DoMatcha, along with a new whisk and a holder for it (nothing better than a new whisk and I really needed a holder).

The tea came in a small tin canister, really cool but it was a bit of a puzzle to get opened. The matcha inside the tin is inside of more packaging – at least I know it’s been sealed up so it must be fresh. The pouch that the tea was sealed in was impossible to open without getting matcha all over my hands. Killing me on the packaging. I get why it’s sealed up but I’m wondering if there might be a better way to keep it fresh, maybe sealing it right in the tea eliminating the foil pack. Anyway, got to the matcha – almost felt like the quest to get to the tea made me more appreciative of it when I finally got there.

The matcha is clearly fresh, smells amazing and it’s a really beautiful, bright green color. Can tell without even tasting it that it’s going to be good -it has the same appearance as when I grind my own tencha, super fresh. Grabbed my favorite chawan and sifted a teaspoon of the matcha into it (I prefer my matcha on the thicker side), then poured the water into the bowl. It started foaming just from the swirl of the water before I even had a chance to start whisking it. Beautiful. Whisked it slowly for a few minutes, enjoying the scent and the ceremony of it all. It foamed up to a light, green, crisp smelling chawan of goodness. Tastes as crisp as it smells with a bit of a bite on the finish. The after-taste is pleasantly minty and it lingers for a bit – makes me feel like kissing someone. Love matcha – matcha promotes love (well, this one does anyway).

All in all, this is a really high quality, organic matcha. Superior in freshness than others I’ve tried and absolutely worthy of a recommendation. It’s probably better than the matcha that I make from working up a sweat grinding tencha leaves but I refuse to admit that (makes me feel bad that I work so hard grinding when DoMatcha is as good without the effort). It’s become my new favorite on-the-go tea – I chill it and put it in my water bottle, gives me a huge boost during the day. So whether you’re looking to indulge yourself in a calm, soothing, always perfect matcha ceremony with your favorite chawan or if you like it iced and on the run, DoMatcha will not disappoint.

You can purchase the DoMatcha Organic Matcha directly from the DoMatcha website.