Encha Latte Grade Matcha Powder - First Harvest Organic Unsweetened Matcha Green Tea, From Uji, Japan (30G/1.06 Ounce) Premium Powder for matcha latte, smoothie | Caffeine, L-TheanineUSDA Organic

(WARNING- This is an in depth review of Encha matcha tea. I am writing this for those who like me are researching and wanting to buy the best matcha as an investment. I am purposely going into detail to provide information to help with buying decisions. If you prefer a short summary, see section marked THE BOTTOM LINE)THIS REVIEW WAS DONE ON PRODUCT PURCHASED AT FULL PRICE BY ME AS REGULAR CUSTOMER--------------I have to be honest with you, I really am not a green tea fan. I just don't like it. Flavored, unflavored, it did not seem to matter. I tried everything to make green tea just right and most of the time, I am just not a fan. There is a blend of green and white jasmine tea I do like, but that is not pure green, so probably does not count. So what am I doing trying matcha? Let me tell you.MATCHA EXPERIENCESome time ago I came upon a tea company who has teas I love. So, they had matcha on sale and it was STILL expensive. I decided to look into matcha. I researched and studied what to look for and made only trying Japanese matcha my goal.I tried a few here and there, but they were bitter, icky tasting, and made me wonder why anyone would bother spending money on that stuff- let alone a LOT of money. I found a little tin of PREMIUM organic GO MATCHA at a store on clearance, so I bought it. It was only $5 and the date was very fresh, and it was from Japan. No one in our area has a clue about stuff like this, so they did not buy it. Is that what matcha is supposed to taste like? Blech.WHAT IS ENCHA MATCHA LIKE?I am not one to let things lie until I have explored them to my satisfaction, so I continued to try matcha and more and more I was becoming turned off. I put the temperature between 170 and 160 and was careful to measure, and then I would froth it just right and drink it- blech. I only tried premium or ceremonial quality - if that was high end, I would hate to see low end.I decided to give matcha one last try and purchased the Encha. When I opened the package, I was greeted by what I had thought was a myth. This stuff is a beautiful spring green powder that borders on neon in color. Now THAT is what I heard matcha was supposed to look like! The powder is fine and the fragrance is actually wonderful. It is reminiscent of Japanese Green Magma and some other green drink supplement powders I used to buy from Swanson Vitamins over the years.HOW DOES THIS MATCHA PREPARE?First let me tell you how I prepared this matcha.- I heated water to 160 degrees-I put 1/4 tsp in a cup (I like matcha a bit weaker at this point than the usual 1/2 tsp)-I poured about 4 oz of water over the top of the matcha (no, I did not sift)-I used the Cafe Casa Milk Frother 2 Speed Handheld Drink Mixer - Stainless Steel - With 2 AA Batteries Included (Silver)-I sipped the tea rather quicklySometimes I pour a bit more water over top, sometimes not. It depends on my preference for weaker tea that day.This matcha is delightful. Because I tend to use a bit less powder than recommended, the foam on top is less, but still very nice. The tea itself is delightful. No lumps, no problems at all mixing with the water, and the flavor- WOW. I have to say that this matcha blows all of the others I have tried out of the water. It is amazing.WHAT DOES THIS MATCHA TASTE LIKE?This matcha has a flavor that is most reminiscent of Japanese Green Magma made from young barley leaves- the original Japanese powder in the glass jar. It has a beautiful balance between sweetness and green, but it is a good green, not bitter. In fact, there was absolutely NO bitterness at all in this tea. The balance of astringency and green is perfect. Absolutely PERFECT. When I was done, my mouth was not feeling like someone sucked the water out of it, and it did not linger in a bad way like so many matchas tend to do to me. It was more of a pleasant memory that brings a smile to my face.HOW DOES THIS TEA AFFECT ME?I have a problem with caffeine, which includes in tea as well as coffee. I tend to avoid it. It makes me hurt and sometimes buzzes me so badly that I just have to avoid it and only have it once in a while. This tea, however, has an interesting effect on me. It brings about an ability to focus all day and adds an extra boost of peace and grounding that is elusive much of the time. I know that it is the L-theanine, but this is the first tea that I have experience this level of balance with.I might not end up having it daily over time, but I sure am enjoying it now! The results are really nice.THE BOTTOM LINEI have to say that NOW I understand the reason why people go nuts over matcha tea. This tea is top of the line, there is no doubt about that. It turned me from a green tea resister to a green tea lover and that is HARD to do. The color is brilliant bright green, the aroma and flavor are perfect balance of sweet greens and astringency, and the powder blends into water perfectly. I have to say that the focus and grounding I get from this is amazing and I will probably keep buying this regularly. It is really amazing stuff.RATINGI would give this ten stars if I could. I will update if anything changes or I have any more to add about this amazing tea.

I got into matcha last year and fell in love. When I first started drinking it I went on a hunt for the best quality matcha that my wallet could afford (given my two cups every single day). I tried some good matchas, some really good matchas, some incredibly overpriced ones, some reasonably priced ones that looked like dirt, the whole spectrum. None of those matchas came close to Encha, and as soon as I tried it I knew I had found my daily matcha.Encha's matcha is just very good quality. It is SO GREEN, worlds away from other matcha's at a similar price on this site. It has a pleasant grassy flavor and blends really well. It's my favorite matcha, the latte grade outshining most of the "ceremonial" grade matchas that can be found on amazon. I drink my first cup as a tea with a splash of oat milk, my second cup I'll either have cold-brewed over ice (in which case I don't need any milk - so smooth!) or with some foamed oat milk as a latte, or just another cup with a splash of milk. The latte grade is very versatile, I honestly prefer it over Encha's ceremonial grade for everyday use. I buy the ceremonial grade every so often as a treat, and drink that with only water. In my opinion if you dilute the ceremonial grade with any milk you lose it's more delicate notes and it doesn't taste as good, so if you know you like matcha with milk I would stick with the latte grade.Anyway, I now have my whole family drinking matcha! And most of my friends too. Whenever people ask me about it I always tell them Encha is the best matcha, because it is. They go off and try some others, but without fail a few months later when I ask people what they use now, the answer is Encha. I don't know anyone who I've introduced to matcha who don't use Encha as their regular matcha. And for good reason, Encha is a stellar company. All organic and sourced from Japan, Encha values quality and really cares about matcha. Their customer service is amazing. I recently contacted the company to order the latte grade in bulk (yes, we buy it by the pound now!) and was blown away by the level of hospitality I received from a matcha company. It was really cool. You can order here from amazon, but you can also order directly from Encha's site to avoid amazon's upcharge. They also have a subscription service (every month or every other) that gets you an even better price. An email is sent out a few days before your next pack goes out and it's very easy to skip that delivery or change the date if you aren't yet ready for more matcha.Basically, I really believe in this matcha. I have no affiliation with Encha at all, just a happy customer. So I'll tell you what I tell all my friends interested in the world of matcha; you can try other matchas if you like, but Encha is by far the best.