Tradition Pure Green Tea Powder, Matcha Tea Powder, Product of Taiwan, 8.8 Oz

After reading some of the negative reviews, I'm wondering if anyone has ever really tried matcha in a true tea ceremony? It's something you need to really sip and it's not an everyday drink...and it takes TIME to prepare. You're not going to get that quality or quantity for the price of this green tea powder, so let's get that out of the way. Is this true matcha? No, it's probably more along the lines of sencha. It's advertised as "matcha" but unfortunately, branding something as "sencha" doesn't sell to an average customer...not a fan of the lack of transparency there, though, but I knew from the start what I was getting...true matcha in this quantity, as mentioned above, would be PRICEY. Is it drinkable straight? Yes, but it's quite bitter when compared to matcha...for me, that's fine. Now, I bought this mainly for cooking...to make green tea ice cream with my ice cream machine and to replicate the Starbuck's smoothie as well as other smoothies I've come across (because let's be honest...any smoothie or sweet that says it's made with "matcha" is most likely made with "sencha" because PRICE). I've had PERFECT luck with it. For baking, 100% I recommend it. And if you don't mind a green tea with a bit of a bitter taste, it's fine to drink straight...I might recommend adding a little milk. I also recommend storing this tightly sealed in the fridge after opening and it will last A LOT longer. For the price, you're getting a LOT of tasty, versatile product that's also fairly healthy. When I bought my bag, it came as shown so no problems here...I read some people got their's in an unmarked black bag...that's sketchy and I'd return that ASAP!

Yummy

The matcha tea is great. Before you purchase this, there are couple of things you'll need to know. First is that traditional Japanese green tea has pretty strong taste and can be bitter to some. If you are used to drinking English style tea, or green tea like the ones from Lipton, which really doesn't taste like traditional Asian green tea, you may not ready for the taste. Second,match,which is power form is going to have stronger taste than the tea bag (sencha) style anyway. Because instead of getting the flavor out of the tea leaves, you are actual drinking the ground leaves. Also, you don't need a lot of powder, which is why, I think, some people do not like the taste. For tea bags, Kirkland Signature Japanese Green Tea is great. Now, regarding the brand, it's actually a well known brand in Taiwan. Don't hesitate if worry that this is not from Japan. Taiwan produces some of the finest tea in the world due to it's geology, weather and culture. You can do some research regarding competition tea in Taiwan and the cultural influences by Japan

I won't expound on the virtues of green tea powder since you probably already know what they are or you wouldn't be looking at this in the first place. Anyway, compared to most green tea powders this seems to be just as high a quality as the more expensive stuff but at a far lower price tag. I have no idea what the packaging says (it's all in Asian (Japanese? I wouldn't know)). But the flavor is the same as several more expensive Matcha (labeled in English and imported from Japan) that I have tried. The pouch is a nice thick plastic to keep it fresh and has a standard ziplock to reseal it. Just be slightly careful opening it initially as it can be easy to rip off the ziplock portion if you are trying to take the top off quickly the first time you open it. I've used this for brewed matcha by itself, as an additive to other tea infusions, or just added a teaspoon to fruit smoothies. It's a nice versatile green tea powder at a reasonable price.

GREAT price, but the taste is much more bitter (rather than that fresh green/leafy/grassy like other matcha I've bought/had). Also it is very clumpy and the little ones don't dissolve in liquid so you have bitter little gobs floating on top. I the packaging doesn't have much English so I don't know if there are preservatives giving that awful bitterness, but it's enough to make me gag. I'm no stranger to unpleasant veg taste and just dealing with it (I love all veggies, and broccoli so much I used to cry when we were out, as a toddler), but this one is wise to me then anything I've had (including vibrant health green or whatever it's called). Unfortunate, because a blended matcha almond milk protein shake is how I have time for a delicious breakfast most days. Just not delicious anymore. Single tear.

I like to made mocha flavor dessert, so I usually have the mocha powder in my kitchen. I used to buy them from the Asian market which is about two hours drive from my town. Since Amazon do free shipping and this one has nice price, I decided to try it. Compare to those I got from the Asian market, this one tastes fine, just like the other mocha powder that I brought from the Asian market. However, it doesn't have the tea smell when you open the package, and the color doesn't look nice as those made in Japan. But for the price, I think it's good enough.

Glad that this is available again. It is slightly cheaper than the Japanese version. We can't tell the difference between matcha from Taiwan and that from Japan. We drink it as a tea and use it for baking. Love the stuff.