Culinary matcha. Generally these two words elicit thoughts of low grade matcha with shades closer to olives and bitter in flavor. That is not the case with MMU04. While the color doesn’t stand out quite as much as the other MMU varieties it is still shades better than many other culinary matcha. Nay I would say it even looks more delightful than some premium matchas. The aroma isn’t on the same level as the others either, no surprise there. It is a bit grassy and comes off your nose quicker. The same with the taste. It doesn’t really linger in your mouth and there really is not much umami but it is not bitter like other culinary matcha that I have tried. Yes it is slightly astringent on it’s own which makes it prime for lattes and cooking. To be honest I wasn’t very keen of the flavor on it’s own so I have added a bit of almond milk. Much less astringent. Somewhat grassy and slightly creamy. This one is still in the prototype stage so it’s possible it may change.