We are starting to see the beginning of spring this week, so reviewing a fresh green tea like Tea People Pineapple Green with Matcha is perfect. I have got my hands on a small loose leaf sampler from Tea People to dig into, but this tea is also available in teabags – look out for the links to buy this tea online below.
While pineapple on pizza is delicious (no, you cannot change my opinion on this) I’m not so sure about pineapple in tea. Past experiences with pineapple flavours have left a sickly sweet and generically tropical taste in my mouth. Let’s see if Tea People Green Tea with Matcha falls into that trap.
P.S. if you’d like to have a go at writing and recording your tea journey, I now have a set of downloadable tea review templates in the shop at Immortal Wordsmith. Editable in PDF or MS Word, as well as printable for handwriting your review notes in A4 or A5.
Tea People Pineapple Green with Matcha at a Glance
- Blend: Gunpowder green tea with Japanese matcha, candied pineapple and roasted/popped rice
- Flavour: A perfect balance between sweet and salty, with mellow pineapple notes and salted popcorn
This tea is unusual but artfully balanced and utterly delicious. The contrast of sweetness and saltiness is just perfect with the backdrop of lightly refreshing green tea.
Full Review – Tea People Pineapple Green Tea
- Type: Loose leaf sample
- Tea: Gunpowder green tea and Japanese matcha
- Additives: Candied pineapple pieces, roasted rice, popped rice, flavouring
- Flavour Notes: Light green tea, vegetal, saltiness, popcorn, tropical pineapple
- Aroma: Real dried pineapple, popcorn, salty, umami, seaweed
- Milk or Lemon: Neither
- Where to Buy: Amazon UK or Tea People
Opening the packet, the initial aroma has that not-too-sweet note of dried pineapple chunks – as opposed to the overly sweet pineapple flavouring many brands use to cut corners. The sweetness is met with a slightly salty umami note and unmistakable aroma of roasted and popped corn. If you’ve ever tried genmaicha (found in Teapro’s subscription box), then you know exactly how delicious that is.
Once brewed into a very dusty and murky gold tea, the aroma deepens. The sweet and salty notes battle it out with strong wafts of pineapple and salted popcorn. There’s also a note of seaweed coming through that’s not at all unpleasant.
With the freshness of the green tea providing some hydration, the strong salty and sweet notes in the flavour don’t become overpowering. There’s a decidedly vegetal note to this tea, with the pineapple only swooping into the aftertaste. But the real star, in my opinion, is the popped rice. Adding a good warmth and richness to the tea, it provides a stable body for the lighter, saltier, and sweeter notes to anchor onto.
I will admit, I have struggled to describe this tea in a way that does justice. The unusual combination is hard to imagine, but trust me when I say – it just works. I thoroughly enjoyed sipping this cup of Tea People Pineapple Green Tea with Matcha and I hope you give it a try too!
How to Brew Gunpowder Green Tea
With both gunpowder green tea and matcha listed in the ingredients, it is vitally important that you brew this tea at 80°C rather than boiling. The heat from boiling water scalds the leaves and creates unpleasant bitter notes, so be patient and wait for the water to reach 80°C before you brew.
Use 1 teaspoon of the loose leaf blend per cup, letting it steep for 2 to 3 minutes to taste. Once brewed to your desired strength, remove the tea leaves and enjoy! There is approximately 20mg of caffeine per cup, which is a little on the low side for a green tea – most average around 28mg.
I wouldn’t add any additional sweetener to this tea, as you will risk knocking the artful balance of sweet and savoury off kilter. I’d also avoid eating any foods with it. Instead, brew this tea when you want a flavourful beverage and a moment of calm.
Why Buy from Tea People UK?
Tea People are an ethical tea brand that sells a wide range of tea blends in loose leaf and teabag format. Their products are on Amazon UK, their official website, and other small sellers (I’ve even seen their teas appear in TK Maxx on occasion).
What sets Tea People apart is their dedication to sourcing ethical and high-quality tea, ensuring that the communities that grow our favourite tea leaves are fairly compensated and have a good quality of life. The brand is certified by Social Enterprise UK for this.
Tea People Pineapple Green Tea with Matcha is a ‘Great Taste’ award winner and features some great ingredients. I love the popped and roasted rice elements, although I am a bit disappointed to find out that matcha accounts for just 3% of the ingredients. Like Pukka did with their Matcha Teabags, the word ‘Matcha’ appears to have been added to the name of the tea for marketing purposes alone.
You can see from my photos that all elements are present except the matcha. Perhaps the vegetal notes in the tea are from the sprinkling of matcha powder, but I cannot say for certain. This missing matcha link is my only criticism of this blend.
Summary
Overall, Tea People Pineapple Green Tea with Matcha is delicious and unusual. I think the metal caddy (see the Amazon links) makes a wonderful gift too. I recommend this tea blend for those that love miso soup, genmaicha, pineapple on pizza, and exploring unusual contrasts of tropical sweet and salty savoury.
Tea-Ware Recommendation
I really like the Japanese influence on this tea, with the matcha and rice ingredients. This is the perfect tea to sip from my small Japanese tea bowls, in the colour of your choosing! To match the pineapple green tea flavour, I would recommend the green and yellow designs.