Premium Organic Japanese Matcha Green Tea Powder - Barista Grade, No Sugar Added, 1.1 lb (500g) - Perfect for Matcha Lattes, Baking & Healthy Smoothies - by AprikaLife

I’ve got years of experience drinking matcha pretty much daily. I’ve tasted ceremonial grade in Japan and at a Japanese tea ceremony decades ago. I’ve had delicious matcha lattes in Korea. I’ve tried at least half a dozen culinary-grade Matcha brands from Amazon, as well as at Star Bucks, Pete’s coffee, and Whole Foods. For the price, this one is it! (IMO, the Whole Foods selection of Matcha have been terrible, so far, smelling rancid and being super bitter — if you can even swallow it!).Quality-wise, I put this AprikaLife Matcha in the same category as Eco’s premium culinary grade Matcha (on the left in the photo). They’re both very close to ceremonial-grade.AprikaLife doesn’t have a very strong fragrance like the Eco brand (which has a smell that reminds me of fine black tea before it has been brewed), but it still smells fresh, not rancid like some culinary-grade matchas. It also dissolves quite well (I just use a spoon to mix in a small amount of water before adding more liquid). Use an egg-beating type of motion with the mug tilted for better mixing. A bamboo whisk would of course work best, but I don’t want to bother having to clean that every day.As you can see from the photos, the color is excellent and slightly darker than the Eco brand. Both of these matchas have a far superior color compared to other culinary-grade matchas, others being more yellow or ashy in color. When mixed with milk, it is a beautiful light vibrant green, a sign of quality.I detect no bitterness when drinking it as a latte in organic 2% milk. I add about 1/4 teaspoon organic ginger powder and a tiny spritz of organic powdered cardamom to the dry mix, add a very small amount of moderately hot water (155F) until it’s completely dissolved, mix in a small teaspoon of honey, then fill the rest of the mug with the milk.This is all the caffeine I consume for the entire day, and I work really long days! No jittery spike followed by the dragging crash. No gastritis, but it does help your system work! In fact, my advice is that if you tend to get irritable bowels, start really light at about a 1/4 to a 1/3 tsp per moderately large mug, at first, then work your way up. Matcha does have caffeine, but it also has L-theamine, which causes a “slow-release” effect on the caffeine.I took a chance and got the 1lb bag of this Matcha due to the great reviews. For the price at 1lb, I’m not aware of any better deal at this time! Well worth it and I put this one on an automatic re-order.Update 4/23/2022:I’m not going to any other brand and have this on auto-order. I have yet to get a single disappointing batch! Fantastic job Aprika! ?Update 1/9/2024:I just tried another matcha (VitaXtra) because I miscalculated the timing of the auto-delivery for the Aprika Life and needed something to tie me over. Aprika Life is still my favorite compared to at least 7 (likely more) other brands that I’ve purchased/ tried over many many years, now. Only some ceremonial matchas that I tried in Japan and at a Japanese tea ceremony in the US in years far past surpassed Aprika Life, which is impressive considering this is their culinary grade!