matchabzzz

I found this matcha to be very rich, creamy, and smooth with a deep rich green color. The aroma was delicious, evoking warm memories of miso soup or tempura dipping sauce. While it froths up very well and has strong umami and nutty notes, I found the bitterness a bit too prominent for my personal taste, especially in usucha. In a latte with oat milk, it performed well, becoming rich and creamy, though I preferred adding a hint of agave to balance the flavor. At $1.30/g, I felt the price was slightly high given the notable astringency.

This powder has a lovely sweet and umami aroma with minimal astringency. I found the texture to be pleasantly silky, reminding me of tofu with slight edamame notes. In a latte, it had a prominent grassy flavor. While the quality is there, I would lean more towards the Premium Grade as a better middle ground for price and complexity.

I personally liked this grade the best out of the three! It offers a great price for the quality with a more complex flavor profile than the Classic Grade. I found it to be slightly sweet and floral with nice grassy and umami notes. In a latte, it was quite sweet and nutty without needing any added sweetener. While there is slight astringency, it is much less than the Classic Grade.

I found this matcha to be a reasonable price for the quality, though it was a bit too bitter for my everyday drinking preference. The powder had a decent green color with a slight yellow tinge and a very pleasant aroma featuring creamy, dark chocolate, and fruity notes. However, the taste was definitely bitter and astringent with strong umami. I personally think this works best with sweetener, making it a decent option for beginners or lattes where you add sugar.

This culinary grade option had the least vibrant green color with a slight yellow tinge. It definitely had the most prominent bitterness and astringency, which is expected for this grade. Interestingly, it had a sweet aroma and taste strongly reminiscent of haw flakes. I would suggest using this in desserts or drinks with heavy sweetener like syrup and cream to balance it out.

I found this blend to be the most mild in taste and aroma of the bunch. It was the least bitter, but I didn't get as much umami from it compared to the Organic Ceremonial Blend. It has seaweedy notes and is the most savory option, but given the price point and the simple flavor profile involving some chalkiness, I feel the value is just okay.

This was my personal favorite out of the three blends I tried. It has the most vibrant green color and a prominent seaweedy, umami taste that really stood out to me. While it has a slight bitterness and astringency, it froths quite nicely and smells like haw flakes. I would recommend this one to beginners looking to start their matcha journey, though I prefer it with some sweetener rather than as a plain latte.

My matcha journey actually started with a gifted 20g tin of this tea. It was honestly a blessing and a curse because I found it to be the best matcha ever, which set a very high bar for everything else I tried.

The reviewer tested this single-cultivar Saemidori, finding it "pricey for the quality" at $1.24/g. While the powder was "a bit dull in color" and performed poorly as usucha due to bitterness, it excelled as a latte where the "sweetness comes through clearly." They recommend it specifically for those who "enjoy their matcha with milk," noting flavors of chocolate and hazelnut.

I found this to be a great staple matcha to have in my rotation. While I usually prefer stronger flavor profiles, this was sweet and mild, making it perfect for everyday use. The powder had a decently vibrant color and a slight seaweedy aroma. In a latte with oat milk, it was very sweet and creamy with prominent nuttiness. Overall, I found the price to be reasonable for the quality.

Despite the quite dull and yellow-green color, I found this to be an impressive powder for the price. It offers sweet, fruity, and floral notes, though it is quite astringent and bitter when prepared as usucha. Like the other blend, the flavors get lost in a latte, so I suggest concentrated ratios. It is a refreshing and pleasant option for beginners.

I was pleasantly surprised by this matcha, finding it to be a very reasonable price for the quality. It has a beautiful color and sweet smell, tasting like a flower garden with lovely jasmine notes. While it is smooth and creamy, the flavor tends to fade in lattes, so I recommend using more concentrated ratios. Overall, it is a good everyday balanced matcha with umami and seaweedy notes.

I found this Ceremonial Shizuoka Blend to be overall pleasant, mellow, and refreshing when prepared as usucha. It had distinct sweet, nutty walnut, and vegetal pea notes. While there was some slight bitterness and astringency, it wasn't in an unpleasant way. I used a ratio of 2g matcha to 60g water for my tasting.

I personally preferred this matcha as I gravitate towards bolder, full-bodied powders. The powder itself was an impressive green with a sweet, creamy scent and strong umami notes. As an usucha, it offered a lovely warm and nutty taste, though with more pronounced astringency. In a latte, it featured bold savory notes and a hint of nuttiness.

I found this to be a reasonable daily matcha, particularly for beginners who prefer mild flavors. The powder had a nice green color with grassy and umami notes, though it carried some astringency. In an usucha, it was earthy and vegetal, which I found pleasant and refreshing. However, in a latte, the flavor tended to disappear in oat milk, so I would recommend using more concentrated ratios.

I found this single-origin matcha from Uji to be a mixed bag depending on preparation. While I wouldn't reach for it often for usucha due to the prominent bitterness and astringency, I really enjoyed it in a latte where those notes balanced out. The powder had a surprising dark chocolate scent and produced a creamy, vegetal flavor profile with oat milk. At around $0.83/g, I think it's a reasonable price for the quality, though I'd recommend it specifically to beginners or those who prefer a punchy, vegetal matcha.

Overall, I don’t think I will be reaching for this that often. While the scent is quite grassy and umami with hints of nuttiness, the taste profile didn't work for me. I found it to be a very floral matcha, but those notes came across as perfumey and soapy, which wasn't enjoyable. It is a mild matcha that disappears easily in a latte, so I would mainly recommend drinking this as usucha.

The reviewer includes this product in their list of items they would repurchase. They specifically note they "would purchase the bulk set for lower prices."

I reserve this matcha for special moments because it is definitely worth drinking and savoring on its own. The powder is a beautiful green and rich with umami and sweetness, balanced by a slight bitterness. In an usucha, I found it smooth with vegetal and nutty notes, while the aroma reminded me of dried jujube. It also works well in a latte with oat milk, becoming smooth and creamy with distinct asparagus notes.

I was quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this matcha x collagen blend! The powder had a wonderful vibrant green color and a strong, pleasant nutty aroma reminiscent of peanut butter. I found the flavor profile to be mild and not too complex, with distinct creamy and nutty notes. It tasted a bit like white chocolate with a hint of saltiness from the collagen, but remained sweet overall. In an oat milk latte, it was super creamy and well-balanced, with just enough slight bitterness that I didn't feel the need to add any sweetener.

The reviewer prefers this matcha specifically for lattes, noting that it outperforms Kinrin in that context. They highlight that its "vegetal umami notes shine through very well" when mixed with milk.

The reviewer loves this powder straight from the tin, praising its lack of bitterness and complex profile. They prefer it prepared as koicha to fully appreciate the "sweet and creamy" and "interesting miso notes," though they note it is also "decent in a latte."