Matcha Green Tea

I have been drinking this matcha these past two days thanks to The Tea Spot and I must say I am happy I had the chance. I have had several different types and grades of matcha and find this one best suited for homemade matcha latte’s. I simply used heated milk, a little sweetener, and about one teaspoon of matcha. It is such an easy recipe and completely adjustable to your liking. I found it to be very satisfying. The natural sweetness of the matcha came through first and strongest. I also noticed mild vegetal notes. The matcha seems great for making speciality drinks and I’d venture to say even matcha infused ice cream. I would recommend better packaging that would help contain the matcha better. If drinking this in traditional fashion I would consider it a nice starter matcha.

I did like this tea…it was sweeter than other matchas I’ve tried; I tend to like the grassier, vegetal tasting aspect of teas, with a little astringency to them. This one caught me off guard a little with the sweetness so prominent in the forefront. Whisking it up took a little effort, it never really produced the creamy foam unless you vary the amounts used or took your time in preparing it, you never really get a rich, dense, creamy foam.

The Tea Spot’s matcha is a good “starter” matcha because you get a little more than the average size for the price.

For the matcha connoisseur, I would not recommend this tea. It’s tasty and sweet but a little too much for me…Not my cup of tea!

So here’s why I didn’t give this tea a higher rating: 1) Matcha should be fresh tasting, smooth, slightly bitter, immensely vegetal, and FRESH tasting, this tea simply was not, 2) the tea was delivered in a tin with the green tea pouring out of the tin when it arrived (of course the tea was “sealed” with a plastic wrapper, 3) the tea was not hermetically sealed which, for matcha green tea, is a big no-no. Now onto tasting note: this brew was a ratio of 1 tsp to 6-8 ounces. The tea aroma was moderately fresh smelling, but on the slightly flat side. The tea liquor was granular/powdery forest green in color. Usually, my other matchas are more of a lighter green than this with the same ratio. The taste of the tea was VERY bitter, the kind that you associate with drinking dish-washing soap, not the good kind of astringency normally found in quality matcha green tea. I honestly don’t know what to do with this tea except dilute completely in colder water and try it that way, or put on food as one might use culinary-grade matcha. I feel very sorry, however, that at the cost of imperial (ceremonial-grade) matcha, I now have a small tin of low-grade culinary matcha. For a better quality matcha buy from Teavana. I rarely tout this “tea” store for anything, but they must be commended for their high-quality, ceremonial-grade matcha.