I was a little hesitant at first to buy this starter size pouch because of the price. I wanted good quality but kept asking myself, "What if I don't like it?" The company offers a 100% refund on their product so I went for it. Problem solved!
RANT: The biggest complaint I see from people on here is in regards to the amount you are getting for the price. They are not reviewing the quality of the item within the packaging or the flavor, etc. If you don't review the actual product and focus only on the quantity or packaging, the review is mostly worthless. As consumers, we get enough worthless reviews that are paid for, we don't need more worthless reviews because people only want to focus on the quantity and packaging and not review the quality. All are important in a review but the quality should be what is focused on.
Why is that that because it is a smaller size, people feel entitled to receive it for next to nothing? These are probably the same people that pay almost $2 for a 20 oz bottle of soda while the 2 liter bottle is only $1 and they don't bat an eyelash.
What they fail to understand is that making smaller sizes like this is not very cost effective for them to make. It probably costs them the same, or close to the same amount of money to purchase the bags they use for this size as it does for a larger size. These sampler sizes don't sell as well either. Unlike the bottle of soda that is "personalized" in size for the consumer to grab and go, this is a product that takes time and effort for the consumer to prepare. It is not meant to be a personalized size. If it were, people would have no problem paying for the convenience. Consumers are so spoiled and don't understand the costs associated with what it takes to import, pay the farmers a fair wage, the manpower and materials it takes to package the product, etc. I can guarantee you however, if a fair wage is not paid, someone is bound to call the 5:00 news! If you want sample sizes, fair wages, and the like, the consumer is going to have to pay for them or the company will go out of business really fast.
How many people have purchased an actual vanilla bean? Or saffron? Or truffles? No one seems to have a problem paying a high price for these items but complain about $10 for 30g of quality culinary matcha. Just like those items, a little matcha goes a long way.
It depends on how you plan to use it. If you are going to bake with it, buying a starter size is not cost effective for you.
If you are using it to make a tea latte, which is why I bought it, this is still gives you enough for 15 lattes that are 16 oz in size making them roughly $1.63 each (my recipe for this is below). Costs will vary depending on your ingredients of choice, and the area you live in. My numbers are based on $10 for 15 servings of this matcha and $0.08 per oz of organic vanilla almond milk in Austin, TX. Go to a coffee shop and you will pay at least $5 for a matcha latte of the same size, which is yet another thing buyers won't complain about. OK, RANT OVER...ON TO THE REVIEW!
REVIEW/COMPARISON: I used to hate the taste of Matcha but after years of taste bud readjustment, I decided to give it another try at Starbucks. They use Teavana brand for their lattes which is like Jade Leaf and does not use fillers and is organic. I try to avoid dairy so I used almond milk for my iced latte instead. Neither their tea or almond milk is sweetened so I added 3 pumps of vanilla to their venti size (they usually use 6 if you want it sweetened). Something about their almond milk leaves a bad aftertaste but before that hit, it was really good. Like most people, I can't afford $5 a day for one of these so I decided to buy the powder to make on my own at home (I was a barista in a former life so I often do this with my coffee concoctions too).
What I don't like about the Teavana brand is that it is much more expensive ($25 for 40g) and they claim it is ceremonial grade and yet, it looks and tastes exactly like Jade Leaf's culinary grade. In the brief research I did before buying, not a single self-proclaimed matcha aficionado EVER said to use ceremonial grade for a latte. They all very plainly stated that it was NOT for culinary use and that the taste is quite different. It is also higher in chlorophyll so it is a much brighter green color. That begs the question as to why Teavana, which looks and tastes the same as Jade Leaf is labeled ceremonial grade and being used for lattes when it is clearly the same culinary grade.
This morning, I made my first iced latte with this stuff from Jade Leaf. Using an organic, vanilla (sweetened) almond milk I found it was perfectly sweet and still had the very slight hint of the bitterness that comes from green tea. No weird almond milk aftertaste like the one from Starbucks. Needless to say, in the end, I will be buying this again in a larger size. It does say to store it in the fridge so that is where mine went when I was done with it. I plan to do a juice fast soon and a few recipes I have seen call for green tea for an extra metabolic and antioxidant boost. I plan to use this instead since it is so much more nutritionally dense than regular tea leaves.
RECIPE: They offer some recipe options on their Amazon listing and also on their website, but this was my super simple one that I threw together and was delicious.
Iced Matcha Vanilla Almond Latte:
4 oz (1/2 c) hot water (not boiling but barely steaming to help dissolve the matcha easily)
1 tsp Jade Leaf Organic Matcha
12 oz (1-1/2 c) cold vanilla flavored almond milk, or other milk of choice
Sweetener of choice, to taste (optional, I don't use any because my almond milk is already sweetened)
Ice cubes
NOTE: Sweetening options will have to be done at different steps depending on what you are using. If you are using liquid sugars like Torani or homemade simple syrups, those can go in at any time. Honey, agave, coconut nectar, sugar, and artificial sweeteners, should be blended in when you whisk the matcha into the hot water otherwise they will not dissolve properly and will settle at the bottom of the cup.
1. In a glass measuring cup, add 4 oz hot water.
2. Add 1 tsp of matcha powder and whisk together (see note for adding optional sweeteners)
3. Pour into a 16-20 oz cup over a few ice cubes to cool it.
4. Top off with the 12 oz vanilla almond milk (or other milk of choice) and stir to blend.
Add more ice if desired.
ENJOY Y'ALL!
100% Organic Japanese Matcha Green Tea
