I'm posting this as inspo since I think there is some work still to be done on this.

Trader Joe's has this Sparkling Matcha Lemonade that I 'discovered' a few weeks ago and like. The other day I was passing through and decided to grab a couple; one to drink and one to spin.

I decided to try this with my base vanilla which starts with 7 oz of Fairlife whole milk and 7 oz of water. I just wanted to swap the water with the Matcha Lemonade. However, with a 12 oz can, I decided to turn it into two batches with 6 oz in each. Which bumped the milk up to 8 oz each. And I think this may have been a mistake.

A few things I did to prepare the drink:

1. I poured the drink into a jar and loosely put a lid on to allow it to go flat. I've read enough about the mishaps of freezing carbonated creamies to want to avoid that.

2. After a few hours, I put it cold into the milk and let it sit. I was worried that if I started messing with it right away that the citrus would curdle the milk (I've been through that already with a creamsicle recipe).

Then I batched it up and froze it for 20 hours before spinning. I usually go longer, but it was a timing thing.

Texture was fantastic. The sugar in the drink probably helped.

I actually had a different creami slotted for earlier today, so I went ahead and put it back in the freezer. I wanted to see if it would remain scoopable. After 7 hours back in teh freezer, I think it will remain perfectly scoopable.

The problem is that the overall flavor is weak. Between the vanilla in the protein powder, the 2 tsp of added vanilla extract, and the 8 ounces of milk, I think the Match Lemonade was just overpowered.

I like it enough to try again, but next time, I'll use less (or maybe no) vanilla extract and I'll probably increase the amount of Matcha Lemonade to 8 or 9 ounces and adjust the milk down accordingly. Then I'll just enjoy the rest of the drink still carbonated over ice.

Trader Joe's Matcha Lemonade