Once you taste matcha from Material Matcha Uji you’ll find it hard to drink any other matcha. The others are fine for smoothies and cooking leave MMU for drinking on it’s own. Anyway, MMU01, this is a weird place to start but I’m really enjoying the aftertaste. It’s sweet with a unique grassy umami. Kinda almost reminds me of the aftertaste in a ginseng oolong. It’s so good. It has a sharpness to it unlike the other two thanks to the higher intensity of grassy flavors. Still not grassy like a green tea though. Now that I’ve had all three I have to admit I’m surprised at how different, even though subtle, each can be. MMU03 is still my favorite but MMU01 is a very close second.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Matcha
Where to Buy: Material Matcha
Description:
A sharp blend of Okumidori, Zairai, Samidori and Yabukita.
Sharpness is what characterizes MMU01 immediately, an intense blend of green tea varieties: we complemented native Uji “Zairai” leaves and the balanced Yabukita variety, with the confidence of Okumidori and the class of Samidori, one of Uji’s native and most exclusive variety used for “shaded” tea.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Matcha Black Soybean Rice Tea / Lupicia. . . . . .
Well this is unique.
Genmaicha with black beans.
I’ve seen some interesting versions of genmaicha but this is the first I really want to cook with. Too bad it’s only a tea bag.
The aroma as you open the bag is both ‘ricey’ and nutty. Be careful of the steeping times with this one. The suggested high-end is 1 minute.
Luckily if you do go over a minute, as I did, it won’t be ruined with bitterness and astringent absurdness. The liquid color is a cloudy yellowish-green and has a very mellow flavor.
The soybeans/ black beans help the tea develop some unique, almost nutty characteristics. The grassy flavors are mostly undertones but they work so well with the rice.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Lupicia
Description:
MATCHA BLACK SOYBEAN RICE TEAis a blend of genmaicha (rice tea) with Matcha and high-quality black beans. Enjoy the harmony of sweet roasted black beans and mellow matcha. “Mame” is Japanese for “beans” but it also means “healthy.” This tea was created with a wish for everyone’s health.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
MMU02 from Material Matcha Uji. . . .
Characterized as balanced and round.
This is the second of three matchas produced by Material Matcha Uji. I’ve already tried MMU03 and it’s amazing how different their flavor profiles are. Both have a sweet umami (which by the way is a crazy, complex word), but MMU02 I find to be a bit more subtle.
The middle child that doesn’t really care to stand out among the other two siblings. The dry powder is a lovely green accented with a somewhat chocolaty aroma. Maybe I’m crazy but that is what I think it smells like.
It’s a balanced matcha that would pair well with a high end chocolate mousse.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Matcha
Where to Buy: Material Matcha Uji
Description
When conceiving MMU02 we chose to go in the direction of extreme smoothness and balance: Okumidori’s roundness and moderation had to perfectly complement the depth and flamboyance of “shaded” tea favorite, Uji’s very own Samidori variety. The result is a fruity, smooth and all round balanced blend.
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Endurance Citrus Mint from Sportland Tea Co. . . .
This is my first time brewing matcha powder and leaves together, and I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. I didn’t want to whisk fibers out of the leaves, but I also didn’t want to lose out on any matcha goodness in a filter bag. I settled on using a gravity brewer to trap the leaves but let matcha through.
This Endurance citrus mint brewed a unique opaque army green. We start with a definite mint smell, but I don’t taste it…and it’s subtle on the green tea … perhaps my tastebuds are too busy with the strong lemongrass flavor? There’s a soft aftertaste tingle on the tongue that travels down the throat with a gentle ginger zing – hello, I’m awake now! The density of the particles in this tea causes a heavier, fuller mouthfeel, to the point where I felt as if it were starting to coat my tongue. This was especially true on those last, sediment-rich sips.
I love the idea of matcha teas as a midday or workout time pick-me-up. I’ve seen some brands who sell pure fine-ground matcha, who also sell this hybrid with larger flavor bits at a lower cost. Though I am frugal, I’m too much a traditionalist at heart to be able to fully embrace this ”best-of-both-tea-worlds” bag and powder offering from Sportland Tea Co.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green Tea and Matcha
Where to Buy: Sportland Tea Co.
Sportland Tea Co.’s Endurance Blend is a unique mix of matcha green tea and herbs. With ginger, mint, and ginseng. This blend is an invigorating option any time of the day.
Drink approximately 15-30 minutes before a workout, run, or when you are having a long day at the office. Try it over ice for an even more refreshing and hydrating option!
Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!
Matcha Ice Cream from DAVIDs Tea. . . . . .
There’s no doubt that matcha has been all the rage in recent years. Brewed in traditional ceremonial style, mixed up as a latte, flavoring everything from macaroons to yogurt, you kind of can’t go anywhere *without* seeing it in some capacity. I’ve been a fan of matcha lattes especially for a while now– something about the verdant green-ness of the powder balanced with the creaminess of milk is especially heavenly. You can imagine, then, when I saw David’s Tea’s most recent matcha re-imagining included a matcha ice cream flavor– well, I was all about it.
The dry leaf is beautiful– matcha powder-coated green tea leaves, with big slivers of almond and tiny swirls of what I’m assuming is white chocolate candy (I mean, it’s *ice cream* tea. It was never going to be healthy). What I pictured: dreamy, vanilla-almond creamy green, perfectly balanced with a dash of milk. What I got: kind of vanilla-almond-y, with OMG STEVIA, YOU GUYS STEVIA IS HERE JUST IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, STEVIA. (Isn’t that how stevia always shows up in tea? Loud and proud?) I’m not an across-the-board stevia hater, but here, it just doesn’t work well for me. It’s harsh and takes me out of the otherwise lovely flavors, and leaves that funky-sweet almost aspartame-y aftertaste that’s just not my jam. Now if you’re wondering– why even review this tea if you’re thinking it’s just super not for you, Mary? Let me tell you, friends– the one saving grace of this particular blend is that is *does* work well with milk, which helps temper the stevia taste fairly well– particularly when it’s foamy, latte-style milk. Overall, once this sample is gone, I won’t be re-purchasing. I think I’ll just stick to my matcha ice cream by the scoop, please and thanks.
Here’s the scoop!
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: DAVIDs Tea
Description
This white chocolate and almond green tea contains a double scoop of healthy matcha.
