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.
Matcha Green Tea Powder from Culinary Teas
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Culinary Teas
Tea Description:
Our Matcha is a thin Matcha called Usucha and best for the everyday Matcha drinker. It is the perfect quality for enjoying the genuine taste of Matcha. Our Matcha is a light creamy liquid with a very sweet and mild flavor.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I’ve tried quite a few different Matcha teas over the years. And while I must admit that the best Matcha teas are those that come from companies that specialize in offering only the very best Japanese teas, I’ve quite enjoyed Matcha teas from other sources as well. Like this Matcha from Culinary Teas.
To prepare this Matcha, I used my chashaku to scoop out three scoops of Matcha powder into my sifter (I just use a basic wire mesh sieve that I picked up in the grocery store in the kitchen utensil aisle for a couple of bucks. It’s small enough to fit in my tea bowl and it’s got a couple of “feet” on it that hook onto the edge of the bowl, a plastic handle and a wire mesh “bowl”.) I then sifted the powder.
Now, I don’t consider myself a Matcha expert by any stretch of the imagination, so I’ll just offer my opinion as to why Matcha is sifted. I think that it not only eliminates clumps (clumps will turn into lumps of dry powder in the finished product and that doesn’t sound very yummy) but I believe it also aerates the powder a little bit – lightens it? So that the proper flavor and texture is achieved in the final product. That’s my opinion and not necessarily fact but I do know that I find that I prefer the Matcha when I sift it.
After I’ve sifted the powder, then I add hot water (160°F) and here’s where I become less useful to the beginner/novice Matcha drinker, because I don’t measure out the water. I eyeball it. Yeah, I told you that it wouldn’t be helpful, didn’t I? I pour in about what I think is the right amount, aiming for “less” than “more” than the right amount, if you get what I’m saying, because you can always add a little more water but you can’t really take it away once it’s been poured into the bowl (chawan).
Then I whisk away. I whisk with my chasen vigorously in a “W” motion until I’m confident that all the powder has been incorporated. Then I give it a taste and see if it needs more water. Usually, I need a little bit more because as I said, I tend to aim for “less” than I need than more than I need. And I did today. Now that I’ve added a final splash of water to the Matcha, I whisk again and then I enjoy!
The color of this Matcha is not quite as bright and vibrant as some of the pricier Matcha teas that I’ve tried. But it does whisk up well and the powder stays incorporated until I’ve finished the last sip. The tea froths up nicely with lots of bubbles. It’s more of a bubbly, dry froth than it is a silky froth. If you’ve consumed many different types of Matcha, you understand what I mean by that. Some Matcha has a very fluffy, bubbly kind of froth, and some of it is a very silky froth with very fine bubbles.
The froth stays around for a little while and eventually disappears. The flavor of this Matcha is nice. It’s got a smooth, buttery flavor and a creamy smooth texture. I notice notes of raw cacao, which I like Matcha to have. Its sweet with some bittersweet notes.
Overall, I found this Matcha to be quite enjoyable and the price of this Matcha is extraordinarily affordable! If you’re one who wants to drink Matcha everyday but find the prices of some Matcha offerings to be to excessive, you should give this Matcha a try! You’ll get more Matcha bang for your buck!
Matcha to Go Stick-Packs from Aiya
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Aiya
Tea Description:
Similar to Aiya’s flagship Ceremonial Matcha, Matcha to Go is intended to be used with water exclusively so as to enjoy the pure, smooth tea flavor. Either cold or hot, simply open the single-serve stick, add directly to water and quickly stir – there is no need to sift first or even whisk!
Matcha to Go Sticks are designed to make Matcha drinks as quickly and easily as possible. By blending Matcha with dietary fiber, we have eliminated Matcha clumping, making it easier to mix into hot water with just a spoon. For an Iced-Matcha on the go, just pour the stick into a bottle of water, shake and enjoy!
All of our Matcha is grown and produced in Nishio city in Aichi prefecture, known the world over as the cradle of the finest Matcha for more than 800 years.
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
I have enjoyed many different teas from Aiya, so when they approached me to sample their new Matcha-To-Go sticks, I was excited. They have some of the VERY BEST Matcha that I’ve ever tried so if this new product was anything like the Matcha teas that I’ve sampled in the past, I knew it was going to be really good.
And it is!
The product label states that this Matcha can be enjoyed both hot or cold, and for the purposes of this review, I decided to try this tea both ways. First, I tried it cold. I grabbed my 16.9 ounce water bottle that was chilling in the fridge. Then I added one of the “pixie” stick packs of the Matcha into the bottle, screwed on the cap and gave it a vigorous shake or two.
Mmm! Tasty! I’ve tried quite a few of these convenient “pixie stick” Matcha packs at this point and some are better than others. This one is one of the very best that I’ve tried. I can taste the quality of the Matcha here. This is a really top quality Matcha! It is sweet and it has that silky texture that you expect from a high quality Matcha. No bitterness whatsoever!
This is sweet and buttery. It has a vegetal flavor, of course, with a creamy texture and a buttery flavor to complement the texture.
This is the kind of “instant” tea that I can enthusiastically recommend to those who are looking for the ideal tea while on the go. It is everything that you would expect from a top notch Matcha, but prepared in a water bottle so that you can take it with you.
Then I decided to prepare it hot. After I had prepared it the way I would normally prepare a chawan of Matcha, I wished I had instead gone a less traditional route and tried stirring it in a tea mug or something, like someone who didn’t have the “proper tools” to enjoy Matcha would. But, I didn’t think about that when I started preparing this. I thought: Matcha? OK, I need my chawan. But really, you don’t need a chawan. You can prepare Matcha in a cereal bowl … or as I eluded to above, you could prepare one of these pixies of Matcha in a tea mug or other drinking vessel.
When it came to stirring, I grabbed my chasen (bamboo whisk) and again, I wish I would have thought to grab a spoon instead and tried to stir it the way someone who was less familiar with Matcha might approach their first experience with this tea. Oh well! A spoon would work just fine, although you won’t get very much froth with a spoon.
Then again, with this particular Matcha product, I didn’t get a lot of froth anyway. It does froth up a little bit, but not nearly as much as a traditional ceremonial Matcha would. And the froth disappears really quickly.
But the flavor that I expect from a ceremonial Matcha is there! It tastes great! Sweet with absolutely no bitterness. Smooth and creamy. Buttery notes and hints of cacao that are more noticeable in this hot version than they were in the cold bottle. I don’t notice anything from the fiber except for the possibility of a somewhat thicker texture. It’s barely noticeable and I only noticed it because I was trying to focus on whether or not I was noticing anything from the dietary fiber. So … it could have all been in my head.
Anyway … this is a superb to-go instant tea! One of the best products of it’s kind, if you’re a Matcha lover or just someone who appreciates good tea and wants something of high quality to-go, this product is for you.
Product Review: Matcha Cupcake from Whole Foods Market Bakery
Product Information:
Where to Buy: Whole Foods
Note: this cupcake is a specialty of the Bakery inside the Mills Plain Whole Foods Market in Vancouver, Washington. I don’t know if they offer anything similar to it in other Whole Foods Markets.
Taster’s Review:
OK, so this is a very local review, because the Matcha cupcake is a specialty of the Mills Plain Whole Foods Market in Vancouver, Washington. (Sorry about those folks who don’t live close enough to make the jaunt.) But I felt like this yummy cupcake deserved some praise.
I stopped by the bakery at my local Whole Foods because my oldest daughter and I have developed quite a fondness for Macarons, so I decided to pick up a yummy Macaron for each of us on my most recent visit. While I was there drooling over the bakery case, I noticed this sign: Stella’s Matcha Cake. And I’m like … WHAT?
So I start browsing the case and I see the Matcha cupcakes. Mmm! I’m glad that they are cupcakes and not large layer cakes because … well, because I’m the only person in my household that would have been willing to try it. I mean, the rest of my family might have tried it, but probably not. I suspect that they would have looked at the green frosting and thought: “That’s weird.” Which means: “I’m not going to try it.”
And I’m really glad I got the opportunity to try this because it’s totally YUM! The cake itself doesn’t taste like it’s got Matcha in it, it tastes like a yellow cake. Moist and flavorful and not too sweet. It has been “tunneled” so that they could fill the cake with the Matcha frosting that tops the cake. The Matcha used in this frosting is Townshend’s Tea Matcha, which is one that I haven’t yet had the opportunity to review, but hope to do so sometime soon.
For now, I must be content with trying it in Stella’s Magical Matcha frosting. No, it’s not actually called that (at least I don’t think it is). But I am calling it that, because this is amazingly good. It’s sweet (most frosting is!) but I like that I’m not overwhelmed by the ratio of sugar and shortening. It doesn’t taste like one of those cloyingly sweet frostings that you’d find in your typical grocery bakery that is more concerned with quantity than quality. You can tell that some love and care went into this frosting.
I like that I can taste this and taste the Matcha, that the sugary sweetness doesn’t overpower the lovely vegetal notes of the Matcha. It’s nicely balanced. I think I can even taste more of the natural cacao notes of the Matcha when used to make a frosting. I also taste a hint – just a hint! – of a citrus-y note to this frosting, like maybe a drop or two of lemon juice was added? I don’t know, but it adds a nice contrast to the sweeter flavors.
This is really good!
So, if you happen to be anywhere near Vancouver, Washington, it’s certainly worth the trip to visit our Whole Foods market on Mills Plain and try one of these divine treats! You’ll be happy you did!