Do you wanna go get matcha? Or, do you wanna make it? Here are the best matcha powders for every budget.
I love matcha. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a matcha fiend. It first started when I discovered matcha lattes at RedChurch Café + Gallery in Hamilton. I ordered a hot matcha latte with almond milk and honey… it arrived at my table with a beautiful foamy rosetta on top. It was love at first sip! Earthy, refreshing umami with a perfect balance of bitter and sweet. From then on, I swapped between hot matcha lattes at RedChurch and iced matcha lattes at Starbucks to fuel my newfound addiction.
While it was fun, my wallet was not a fan. I soon arrived at a point in my obsession with this hypnotizingly green bevvy where I felt the urge to take matcha making into my own hands.
I bought a matcha making set, complete with a cute bowl/chawan (with a spout!), bamboo whisk/chasen and holder, a sifter, and a bamboo scoop/chashaku. I started practicing my whisking (in a W-pattern) to get that perfect foam, and trying different matcha powders and milks to go with them. Making matcha at home can sound intimidating at first, but I promise it’s super easy and enjoyable if you have a couple simple tools and good quality matcha powder!
Here are a few tips that you can use when buying matcha powder for the first time. Look out for a ‘Product of Japan’ label on the packaging, as this will verify that it is genuine and made using traditional methods. There are different quality grades of matcha available for purchase, with ceremonial being the most expensive per gram. Since matcha can get pricey, it’s important to get your money’s worth! Because matcha is ground fresh green tea leaves, it can lose its vibrant colour and freshness rather quickly when exposed to the air or light for too long. I recommend buying powders that are stored in a tin rather than a plastic pouch, as the tin keeps the matcha fresher for longer. You can also pop your tin o’ matcha into the fridge to maintain its freshness. Here are some of my favourite matcha powders that I have tried, and loved, over the past few months:
- Aiya Since 1888, Organic Ceremonial Matcha, 30g Tin ($0.83/gram)
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Sold both on Amazon and at Fortinos in the organic food section (get 10% off on Tuesdays if you’re a student), this powder is great if you’re looking for a very vibrant green, smooth matcha with little to no bitterness. It’s a little lumpy, but this can work in your favour because it means it has a bit more moisture than other powders. When you sift and whisk it with hot water it becomes a frothy, creamy matcha shot that you can poor over milk and ice. It is organic which adds to the quality of this ceremonial grade powder. So. Good.
- Jade Leaf Organic Ceremonial Grade Matcha Green Tea Powder, Barista Edition, 30g Tin ($1.07/g)
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Jade Leaf is one of the more well-known matcha brands. They have a wide variety of powders to choose from to select your perfect quality to price ratio. Their Barista Edition Ceremonial matcha is one of their more expensive products, but their latte mix is affordable and great if you like pre-sweetened matcha that requires little to no effort to prepare. Apart from the matcha powder itself they also sell accessories and tools such as whisks and bowls to set you up for matcha making journey.
- Dew Matcha Bar Rich Dew Matcha, 50g Tin ($0.98/g)
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Dew Matcha Bar is a Canadian brand that was created by Cowdog, an amazing café in Vancouver, BC. They sell both ceremonial matcha and hojicha powders in partnership with Cultivate Tea, an established store in Vancouver that responsibly sources high quality teas from small producers in China and Japan. The Rich Dew Matcha is a smooth, refreshing and intensely deep green powder that comes in a healthy-sized 50 gram tin, to give you a lot of matcha. This is a great product for the everyday matcha drinkers. They also offer refill pouches so you only have to buy the tin once, which saves you a couple of dollars.
- Toro Matcha Organic Uji Matcha Powder, 40g Pouch ($0.47/g)
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This powder is named after Uji, a city in Kyoto, Japan, which is one of the most famous producers of green tea. Steeped in rich history, it is believed that the Buddhist monk Myoe of the Toganoo Kozan-ji Temple introduced tea cultivation to Uji in the early part of the Kamakura period between the year 1192 and 1333. This was the first ceremonial grade matcha powder that I bought because it’s good bang for your buck. I liked how vibrant the colour was, and it tasted earthy without being bitter as a lot of cheaper matcha powders tend to be. Toro is a Canadian brand based in Montreal, QC, that sells energy drinks that are powered by organic Japanese matcha. You can order directly from their site, or you can find their products some grocery stores, and on Amazon.
It takes a bit of research and exploration (and money, admittedly) to find your favourite matcha powder, but I promise it’s worth it! Everybody has their obsession; for some people it’s coffee, shoes, vinyls’, vintage tee’s, and the list goes on, but for me… it’s matcha. As Dew Matcha Bar’s slogan says– life’s too short for shitty matcha. If you’re looking to learn more about matcha and how to bring your homemade bevvys to the next level, I think you’ll love @Nekohama; they post awesome tips and delicious matcha recipes every day. Happy sipping!