Flavoured matcha powders are a perfect option if you either can't get used to drinking pure matcha or like tasting different flavours. While flavouring matcha is a novelty trend, rather than tradition, Vanilla Matcha tea from Vahdam feels like a truly classical blend.
What's in Vanilla Matcha?
Vanilla Matcha is a tea powder blended with Japanese matcha tea from Shizuoka and Madagascar vanilla. Shizuoka is the largest tea producing prefecture in Japan, however, most of the tea produced is sencha. Many matcha powders from Shizuoka that are available in western countries are of the culinary grade that are perfect for blending with other powders. Culinary grade matcha is typically used for baking or preparing different drinks.
Vanilla Matcha powder from Vahdam is a culinary grade matcha too. It's best used for non-traditional drinks, such as lattes, iced teas with or without milk, or for baking. This matcha has a beautiful vanilla scent that's so strong it will fill the entire room. If you love the scent of vanilla, you'll love this tea too. Another significant benefit is that it doesn't contain any artificial or natural flavourings or colour, only pure powders. Powder itself is slightly darker and not as intensely green as most pure ceremonial grade matcha teas, however, it's worth keeping in mind it's blended with another powder. That said, vanilla powder will influence not only the flavour, but the colour too.
How to prepare Vanilla Matcha?
You can use flavoured matcha powders for making different drinks such as hot or cold lattes or iced teas. Although you can prepare this powder traditionally, it won't froth so much when using a chasen. In that case, an electric hand frother may be a better option. It will create lots of foam that won't disappear so fast.
Vanilla Matcha is an unsweetened tea that feels sweet because of vanilla. It has a wonderful balance of green tea bitterness and vanilla sweetness and is great for tea drinkers that want something a bit different, but still with no natural or artificial flavourings.
The best way to use it is perhaps for making matcha lattes or boba teas. Prepared with full fat milk, it will offer just the right amount of sweetness. If you enjoy sweeter teas, some honey or regular sugar are a wonderful choice.
Since vanilla matcha from Vahdam is blended with culinary grade matcha, it's better for baking or making lattes than for preparing tea traditionally. However, this doesn't mean you can't enjoy it pure.
Vanilla is quite dominant in this blend, blending nicely with bitter and green taste of this matcha powder. It's not as vibrant, sweet or complex as some ceremonial grades Japanese matcha teas, but it has a perfect amount of sweetness, matcha grassiness and an incredible vanilla aroma.
This is a great tea if you want to include matcha into your tea routine but can't quite get used to the matcha flavour. It's also amazing for lattes or different desserts. And if you love vanilla, you will absolutely love it.
Tea Recap
Water or milk? Water or milk
Day or night? Day
Hot or iced? Hot or cold
Sweetened or pure? Pure or sweetened
Caffeine? Yes
What's the price? £9.98 on Amazon or $9.99 (Vahdam site).
Where to buy? Get it from Vahdam website (USA) or Amazon.co.uk
