Matcha of the Day: Cosans Coffee's matcha latte

Matcha is becoming so popular (in Asia at least - though there's now a Tsujiri in London - and I've noticed it's catching on among health-fad types in the US and across Instagram) that most cafes will offer an option now. 

And although most are not up to par with the Japanese originals like Nana's or Tsujiri, some are not all bad. Today's try was at one of Cosans Coffee's outlets in Malaysia. And this time I had a hot matcha latte, instead of my frequent ice-blended. 

The verdict: 
Not at all bad, flavour-wise. It was not far off Tsujiri's hot milk matcha latte in fact, with a definite bitter tea edge while also being quite creamy. Sugar syrup is automatically added, and I don't know if you can ask for it without here. But the sweetness was about right for me. (Unlike Starbuck's where it's too sweet even with 'no syrup' requested!) 

The downside: Cosans' high price and small portion. Compared to both Japanese and non-Japanese outlets, where you can get a far larger and better-value cup-full. I was actually quite shocked when a small, cappuccino-sized cup appeared! And very irritatingly (I think all over Malaysia?) the price up on the boards is BEFORE any kind of tax. So you can basically add RM$2 hidden dollars on to the price of your drink. 

I probably won't drink it again, because of the cost:portion factor. But it was worth the try to satisfy my curiosity! Hopefully I'll get to try out a couple more new venues while I'm here in Kuala Lumpur.