Art of Tea | Matcha Powder | 1.4oz Organic Ceremonial Matcha Powder Tin

I love making iced matcha lagers. This matcha tastes great. It is nice and earthy and boasts a light green matcha. It is fresh, and an easy blendable fine powder.

The packaging was great, it's sourced in Japan, it has a vibrant color, and organic. This matcha was good but i was caught off guard by this bitterness on my first brew that I hadn't really experienced drinking some other ceremonial matchas. it's smooth but this slight bitter punch is what docked this down for me.

So ... I kinda did a double take when I received it because it's a small tin, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand if you have bigger hands. But after learning about the difference between culinary and ceremonial matcha, it made sense - this is ceremonial matcha, made from younger leaves and generally regarded as the highest grade.The matcha is a fine powder that easily puffs into the air if you aren't careful with putting the foil/silver coated plastic bag back into the jar. Smells nice, but I didn't want to make a mess, so I ended up just gingerly screwing the metal (probably aluminum) lid back onto the tin.I think I messed up the proportion of powder to water, because a good amount didn't dissolve and stayed at the bottom of the bowl. Even so, the taste was enjoyable - very light, with a refreshing sensation afterwards. Not bitter, either. The instructions suggest one teaspoon powder to 8 ounces of water, but I just kinda poured some powder into a bowl. The powder is a bright, light green, so it's obvious the leaves were harvested young and not given time to oxidize (this is good, ceremonial matchas aren't supposed to be dark).If you want to bake with matcha, this isn't the right type to use. You want the culinary matcha (a lower grade) - ceremonial matchas like this one are intended to be whisked with water and drank straight.

I noticed that all of the reviews on this product page are for the Matcha Fresca tea, but the variety I ordered is the ceremonial grade matcha green tea powder (Both varieties are listed on the same product page). I have tried other teas from Art of Tea and I have also tried many varieties of matcha green tea powder. I would say that this one falls in the middle compared to others I have tried. It's good, but it's not the best I have had. This type of tea is great whether you drink it plain in the traditional Japanese style or you use it to make green tea ice cream or a green tea latte.

I am just learning my way around making and drinking Matcha tea, so my impression here is admittedly not that of an expert. I am still acquiring a taste for it. I am normally a black coffee and unsweetened tea drinker. I opted to make this cup a cold latte. I used about 3 teaspoons of matcha, and used a little hot water to whisk it, to get any lumps out then I poured in about 12 ounces of almond milk, and added some cinnamon, honey, vanilla, and a little carob syrup, and then I used a battery powered frother stick and whipped it all together. The end result is that I could definitely drink this, once I get used to it, due to it being new to me. What I did make I think tasted pretty good! The tea itself tasted a little gritty and stringent to me, but other matcha tea I have tried and tasted before had the same impression on me. Again, I think it is an acquired taste. I did not know really what to rate this at, but, since this experience was more about me, than the tea, I gave it a 5 star rating. I don't think there is anything wrong with this tea! Next time I will try it hot!

I'll be comparing this against three other ceremonial grade matcha teas and their prices at the time of this review. I prepared the matcha with 2oz of 185F water and one teaspoon of matcha.A) SASZ (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09N2VC57B) - $14.95B) DoMatcha (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B086L4NVXF) - $25C) KOKORO EN (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09NVFZ9HF) - $19.90This is one expensive matcha, but it's a good one for those looking for a more complex profile. Do I think it's worth it in the $30 price range? Not at all. Take a look at Kettl for high-end matcha. The best value ceremonial matcha would be SASZ. It comes in around $15 for a 30g tin.This matcha will have grassy notes. It's smooth, but there will be some small astringency. The complexity will come in the tail end, which will make you go, hmm, what's this flavor? If you don't enjoy matcha, you should probably stay away from this one and stick with SASZ, which everyone will enjoy since it's milder.DoMatcha is third on my list, being a bit more plain, but they sealed the matcha in individual to-go pouches. You can skip Kokoro, it's on the cusp of being culinary matcha.

I've drank matcha before, however it was never ceremonial grade and there is definitely a difference in quality. This is an extremely fine powder, and only a small amount is needed for a burst of flavor. It is HOT in Texas right now so I can't tolerate hot drinks at the moment. I decided to mix this in with some soy milk to make a latte instead, and it tastes amazing. Pretty darn similar to Starbucks' green tea latte, which is a positive thing in my opinion. The melon gives it some natural sweetness on its own, and the powder, being as fine as it is, mixed quickly and easily into the soy milk. I was originally going to comment on the high price, only to realize this is quite standard for the higher quality of ceremonial grade matcha. It's a small bag but will yield at least half a dozen or more drinks; if you compare that to the cost of Starbucks you're actually coming out ahead 😁