aprikalifeOrganic Matcha Powder, USDA & JAS Certified, No Sugar Added, Authentic Japanese Cafe Grade Matcha Green Tea Powder Perfect for Matcha Lattes, Smoothies & Baking, 3.5 oz/100gUSDA Organic

This matcha is really good. Nice vibrant color. No bitterness. Good flavor. Lots of low-priced matcha on Amazon now and that usually means low quality. This Aprika is a nice middle-ground in terms of quality and price. I have ordered Jade Leaf matcha a couple times and this is almost identical in taste, quality, and price.

As a 'cafe grade' matcha, this exceeded my expectations. To me, it is better than some of the ceremonial ones I've had, and a LOT more economical, so I drink it daily since I quit coffee. My ancestral home is in the same Mie prefecture as Yokkaichi city, where this tea comes from. The tea from Mie is known as "Ise-cha" and is known for its quality. The tea whisks well (just don't use boiling water, needs to be around 165 F / 74 C), and it's also good in lattes, iced or hot.

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!

UPDATE: added details for the ceremonial grade version.Cuilnary Grade: Great quality for culinary grade matcha. The matcha powder is very green, but it wasn’t a very vibrant green. It’s good that it’s not brown in color. Taste-wise, it’s bitter (I see this as a positive) and has your typical green tea aroma.The only downsides with this matcha is that it’s a little chalky and doesn’t foam as easily as some other matcha brands I’ve used (also culinary grade), like Ito En’s.Ceremonial Grade: The matcha has fresh green color, although it's a dark green rather than a bright, vibrant green. It mixes very well in warm water and isn't chalky, and has a "leafy" and pleasant smell. It tastes rich and has noticeable umami, with an almost unnoticeable bitterness. It does not have a creamy texture like some of the very high quality ceremonial grade matcha though. Overall, this matcha is a relatively good ceremonial grade matcha.

I have tried so many matchas on Amazon, a lot of the cheaper matchas don’t mix well and usually have a fruity after taste which I hate. This matcha has a nice green color that isn’t brown like most cheap brands. It is very smooth and mixes well and tastes like real matcha but isn’t bitter. I am surprised it was so good and I only used less than a teaspoon and the color was still nice dark green! Usually you have to use a whole tablespoon for other matchas to still have the green color after mixing with milk. I loved it so much and I’ll never buy another brand again. 10/10🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼

I liked it very much. The hot water becomes very green. A very strong green. Make me feel like I am consuming something really good to my body. I liked the taste as well.

Love this matcha so much! A lot of matcha for the price you pay! I subscribed to receive this monthly as I’ve switched over to just matcha drinking vs coffee. It has great health benefits including more energy, less caffeine crashes, variety of nutrients and vitamins. It is easy to make, I recommend buying a matcha whisk set along with this. Size is worth the price, such a delicious drink and has made me feel more healthy. The tea quality is exceptional! Functionality wise it’s better then most matchas I have had.

My sister and I had been using this matcha for around 2 years and loved it so much for the good quality and low price. We recently bought a new pack and as many reviewers have mentioned the quality went down. Really sad because I was ready to use this brand for many more years.