Product Information:
MatchaBooster is a ready-to-use matcha-based powder. It mixes easily in your favorite drink and can used as a cooking ingredient.
Boost up your lifestyle with Maeda-en MatchaBooster♪
Where to Buy: Maeda-en
Description:
Yuzu is a tart yellow citrus fruit that goes surprisingly well with matcha. Try the combination yourself and see!
Learn more about this MatchaBooster here.
Taster’s Review:
Mmm! This is good. Just as I enjoyed the other MatchaBooster varieties from Maeda-En, I find myself enjoying this Yuzu flavored MatchaBooster.
For the purposes of this review, I first prepared it using 8 ounces of cold water and adding 1 level tablespoon of MatchaBooster powder. I poured the water into a glass and then added the MatchaBooster and gave it a vigorous stir. (I seem to have lost my favorite water bottle and haven’t had a chance to replace it!) There was no froth to speak of with this particular preparation.
While I do find this to be a tasty drink, it is quite sweet. If I were to change one thing about that, that’s what I’d change, I’d either want it to go lighter on the sugar or to cut the sugar all together and just have the Matcha, Maltodextrin and Yuzu Citrus Powder.
That said and trying to allow myself to see past the sweetness of this, I find this to be very tasty. The citrus flavor is strong, and it tastes a lot like orange to me. Maybe a slightly tarter orange, perhaps orange with a hint of lemon. The sugar does cut through some of the tarter notes, though, I’m sure!
Because it is very sweet, it’s difficult to taste much of the Matcha, and this tastes a lot to me like they’re trying to ‘mask’ the flavor of the Matcha for the people who don’t like Matcha but want the health benefits of it.
Personally, I like the flavor of Matcha and I find myself missing it. So for my next preparation (read: experiment), I used 16 ounces of water and used 1 tablespoon of this Yuzu MatchaBooster and 1/2 teaspoon of the Unflavored MatchaBooster.
Now, this is more my speed. With the sugar cut in half, I can taste the Matcha. The Yuzu is obviously a softer flavor too, but it still comes through nicely. I really prefer this product prepared this way.
Another great way to prepare it would be with 16 ounces of coconut water, 1 tablespoon of Yuzu MatchaBooster and 1/2 teaspoon of Unflavored MatchaBooster. The coconut and Yuzu taste so good together!
Product Review: Genmai MatchaBooster from Maeda-en
Product Information:
MatchaBooster is a ready-to-use matcha-based powder. It mixes easily in your favorite drink and can used as a cooking ingredient.
Boost up your lifestyle with Maeda-en MatchaBooster♪
Where to Buy: Maeda-en
Description:
Genmai is roasted rice often used in tea. Its savory, toasted flavor goes nicely with matcha.
Learn more about this MatchaBooster here.
Taster’s Review:
I like! I’ve tried at least one or two other powdered Genmaicha teas in the past and have enjoyed them. I really like how well this MatchaBooster mixes in to the cold water in my water bottle! It makes a really good drink to go!
For the purposes of this review, I grabbed my water bottle (which holds a little more than 16 ounces of water) and filled it about half way with water. Then I added a level teaspoon of the Genmai MatchaBooster powder to the bottle and secured the lid and shook it until the powder was well-incorporated. Then I topped it off the rest of the way with water and shook again. Now it’s time to enjoy!
No lumps. No unincorporated particles of tea. It mixes thoroughly – quickly! And it stays incorporated. You don’t need to shake it every time you take a drink. I did shake it a couple of times while I drank, but this wasn’t to incorporate the tea (I didn’t notice any settlement during the time that it took me to finish the bottle), it was to sort of aerate the tea and try to froth it.
Because that’s probably the only thing that I felt was missing. When I drink Matcha, I do like that froth. This doesn’t have a lot of it.
That said, this does have a really good flavor and the lack of froth isn’t keeping me from enjoying it. Yeah, I miss the froth, but I like the energizing feeling I experience when I drink this, and I love the sweet, toasty flavor of the Genmai together with the light, grassy and buttery notes of the Matcha. It’s a tasty drink!
It’s really good with just plain water, but if you’re looking to elevate it – try it with coconut water! Wow! I love the combination of this Genmai MatchaBooster with coconut water. The coconut water adds another level of creamy sweetness! It’s a very refreshing and rejuvenating beverage!
Product Review: Sweetened MatchaBooster from Maeda-en
Product Information:
MatchaBooster is a ready-to-use matcha-based powder. It mixes easily in your favorite drink and can used as a cooking ingredient.
Boost up your lifestyle with Maeda-en MatchaBooster♪
Where to Buy: Maeda-en
Description:
Refreshing green tea flavor with a light sweet taste!
Learn more about this MatchaBooster here.
Taster’s Review:
Not long ago, I reviewed the Unflavored MatchaBooster. Now, I’m going to try the sweetened version of this tea product from Maeda-en. The sugar to sweeten this MatchaBooster adds 60 calories to each serving (a serving size is one tablespoon), whereas the unsweetened MatchaBooster has no calories per serving (a serving size of the unsweetened version is 1/2 teaspoon).
I outlined the versatility of this product in that previous review, so for the purposes of this review, I decided to start simple and add 2 tablespoons of product to my favorite water bottle (which holds 16 ounces of water) and give it a vigorous shake.
Even with the sugar addition to this product, it still mixes up easily. But because you need to add a bit more of the powder to the water bottle, I recommend starting with half a bottle, pouring in the 2 tbsp. of MatchaBooster and then shaking it (this leaves plenty of room for the shake!) and adding more water after the powder is well-integrated. I was actually surprised at how easily this amount of powder mixed into the water – I expected sediment to settle at the bottom of the bottle quickly but it didn’t.
Not surprisingly, it’s sweet. The sweetness is a little jarring, really, because I think that there’s too much sweetener in this. I’d be happy with about half the amount of sweetener used. Then again, I have often said that I prefer to sweeten my tea – or not sweeten it, if I so choose – and on the rare occasion that I do sweeten my tea, I usually go with a light hand. It almost reminds me of a cane sugar soda – it’s that kind of sweetness but without the fizzy bubbles.
But even though this is sweet and I can actually taste the flavor of “sugar” here, I can also taste the green tea goodness of Matcha. It is light and vegetal, buttery with notes of cacao. It’s an invigorating drink.
Where this product would really excel – I think – is in recipes, like the Frappe. This is going to be like the coffee shop’s Matcha blended ice drinks – only for a fraction of the price. Really, the price of this package at $5.90 is probably about what you’d pay for a “tall” drink at the coffee shop. (It’s been a really long time since I’ve bought one of those drinks so I really don’t remember how much they cost!)
In my opinion, this Sweetened MatchaBooster really is a little sweeter than I like my Matcha to taste, so, I recommend mixing this with the Unsweetened MatchaBooster to “boost” the sweetness of the unsweetened without going super sweet. I prefer it with about 1 tbsp of this Sweetened MatchaBooster and 1 tsp of the Unsweetened MatchaBooster in my water bottle with 16 ounces of water. This has been my favorite way to enjoy both of these products. I like the combination of the two products better than I like either one on its own! It’s sweet but not too sweet and I get more of the Matcha flavor that I adore.
Product Review: Unsweetened MatchaBooster from Maeda-en
Product Information:
MatchaBooster is a ready-to-use matcha-based powder. It mixes easily in your favorite drink and can used as a cooking ingredient.
Boost up your lifestyle with Maeda-en MatchaBooster♪
Where to Buy: Maeda-en
Description:
Green tea’s smooth and fresh green flavor. Enjoy traditional Japanese green tea!
Learn more about this MatchaBooster here.
Taster’s Review:
I was very excited to receive my shipment of MatchaBooster products from Maeda-en. I have all four “flavors” – Sweetened, Yuzu, GenMai and this Unsweetened – and I figured that I’d start off with the basic Unsweetened variety and go from there.
This is a very versatile product! Unlike traditional Matcha, it requires no sifting. Just add it to whatever you want to boost with Matcha!
For the purposes of this review, I started out simply. I made it in my favorite water bottle that holds 16.9 ounces of water.
It was very easy to prepare. To promote your humble bottle of water to a bottle of Matcha on-the-go, just add 1/2 teaspoon to each 8 ounces of water. So, for the typical 16.9 ounce bottle of water, I took a swig of the water – it leaves enough “mixing” room that way – and then I add 1 teaspoon of this unsweetened MatchaBooster to the bottle and gave it a vigorous shake. It mixes quickly and easily. Instantly even! There are no lumps and no sediment at the bottom.
It tastes a lot like I added Matcha to my water bottle. Only I didn’t have to sift it, and when I add Matcha to my water bottle, inevitably … there are lumps. Little ones, but still, there are lumps and/or sediment at the bottom of the bottle. (Exception: when I’m using a Matcha product like this that’s intended for cold water bottle mixing – no lumps! That’s what makes this product great!)
It’s a little “lighter” in flavor than a traditional bowl of Matcha. It doesn’t have quite as much of that thick, creamy texture that you’d experience with a chawan of Matcha. It isn’t as dense or rich as that traditional Matcha would be. Instead, this is light and very pleasantly sweet. It’s a natural sweetness and unlike some Matcha, this isn’t “bittersweet”. There is no bitterness at all. It has a pleasant smoothness. It has a light vegetal flavor. It … well, it tastes like Matcha, except that it tastes and feels a little lighter, an extra thin Matcha.
It certainly makes that boring bottle of water taste a lot better!
So I decided to try this product in something else. I grabbed a bottle of pomegranate juice and I took a drink of the juice (again, to make room for the powder and the shake) and then I added 1/2 teaspoon of MatchaBooster to the bottle and shook vigorously. My thoughts: I could taste the Matcha but it wasn’t a strong presence. The flavor of the juice was strong and I could taste hints of the vegetal quality of the MatchaBooster. If you want more Matcha flavor, you would want to add a little more than 1/2 teaspoon.
That said, I certainly felt the energizing quality of the Matcha in the juice! I really felt invigorated after drinking the juice.
And from there, you can let your imagination be your guide. Want to give your orange juice a boost? Add 1/2 teaspoon or more of MatchaBooster powder to eight ounces of juice and stir. Or add some to your coconut water. Or your almond milk. Or your breakfast smoothie.
There are some intriguing recipes on the Maeda-en website. Already, I’m thinking that this would be really good in my tomato soup! Or try stirring a scoop of it into your favorite hummus! This is a great way to add the goodness of Matcha to your favorite foods.
Gyokuro (Tea Bags) from Maeda-en
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Maeda-en
Product Description:
Craving a good cup of gyokuro, but not in the mood to deal with the mess? We have just the solution for you!
Maeda-en is proud to offer you deliciousness and convenience all at the same time: crushed blue-green Gyokuro leaves are packed in mesh pyramid bags for maximum steeping & easy clean up. It brews the beautiful jade liquor Gyokuro is known for, and tastes just like a whole leaf brew!
Taster’s Review:
A bagged Gyokuro? Yes, I had my doubts, which may just be why it took me so long to actually try this tea. I received one of these pyramid sachets as a free sample with my order last year. I stashed the foil package into one of my many tea caddies and forgot about it until last night while rummaging through my stash. I decided it was time to give it a try.
And even though I’ve had this for a year, the flavor is still intact. And it is VERY good. Yes, even though it’s bagged. It has a mouth-watering, brothy vegetative taste that is sweet and clean. And to tell you the truth, had I not brewed this myself, I don’t know that I would be able to tell the difference between this and a loose leaf Gyokuro.
I’m very impressed.