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Earlier this year I was curious if there was really that much difference between the lower priced Matcha from China I was seeing on Amazon and the higher priced from Japan. From the lower cost Chinese brands to the high end Japanese brands there is an over 13x per gram cost difference. I decided to order 5 different brands ranging in cost and do a comparison between them. I made my purchase in March 2016 so for review purposes I will be using the prices from that order date, though the prices do fluctuate. I also did the comparison & photos at that time though its taken me awhile to post the review
For my review I used American Weigh Scales GEMINI-20 Portable MilliGram Scale, 20 by 0.001 G and SEOH Plastic Hexagonal Weigh Boats Micro Dish 100pk to weigh all the samples within .01 grams of one another. I used the same 5 exact cups with water all the same warm temperature for tasting purposes cleansing my palette between each sample and then redoing them again.
The following is the brand name, the price for the quantity I purchased, the quantity in grams in that container, the final price per gram (at time of purchase), and the country of origin. These are listed from cheapest to most expensive. The photos are listed in the same order from left to right - cheapest -> most expensive
Matcha DNA 19.95 283.45 .0704 p/g China
One Organic 19.95 250 .0798 China
Use Matcha 25.25 113 .2235 Japan
Midori Spring 26.47 30 .8823 Japan
Kyoto Ippodo 38.99 40 .9748 Japan
First you will notice that the cheapest "Matcha" comes from China with a substantial increase in price for Japanese Matcha. Also in the photos of both the powder and the liquid there is a very clear transition from left to right from a browner darker green to a brighter more vibrant green - One Organic being the outlier which looks the brownest and as if it would belong farthest to the left. What I found a little surprising was that the level of bitterness seemed to almost directly correspond to the color of the matcha which also almost completely corresponded to the price. Again from left to right the cheapest on the left was the most bitter with the least bitter the very expensive Kyoto Ippodo on the right - One Organic being the outlier here again and being the most bitter, and most brown, more so then the Matcha DNA. I also found the ease with which the Matcha mixes follows the same trend - from left to right the powder becomes finer and easier to mix with One Organic the outlier.
So which is the best? Well I'm going to give all of them 5 stars. Why? Because a single rating system as we have here on Amazon creates conflicting ratings depended on the reviewers criteria. If you are rating on an absolute scale of Taste Kyoto Ippodo would be the 5 and One Organic a 1. But the Ippodo costed over 12x as much as the One Organic when i purchased it! Personally I'm going to attempt to rate these based on what I paid for them. The One Organic at my time of purchase costed more then the Matcha DNA and was both aesthetically less pleasing, mixed worse, and was more bitter so it deserved a lower rating but if it were to price itself less it would be a better buy. Checking now as of 8/8/2016 the Matcha DNA is now $19.94 (one cent lower then at purchase) but One Organic is now 14.95 making it a substantially better buy depending on your criteria.
If you want Matcha for traditional ceremonial Tea you will probably not want to go lower then the Use Matcha and quite likely the Midori Spring or Higher. For making lattes & shakes Use Matcha may be your sweet spot - needs far less sweetener then One Organic but more than 1/3 less the cost of Midori Spring. For baking purposes it depends again on how much your baking, how bright green you want it without food coloring, and how much sweetener you are willing to add.
Personally in the future I do not think I will consider anything below the Use Matcha quality. Perhaps China has some good Matcha but the difference in bitterness between these two and the Japanese Matcha in this review was substantial. As for the other health properties of Matcha - anti-oxidants / improving alertness. While anti-oxidants can probably be measured fairly straightforward with the right equipment science seems to be increasingly mixed on whether more is really better since it determines when & where these anti-oxidants are delivered in the body. Increasing alertness & clarity can be difficult to objectively measure since many other factors would skew results. But it does make me wonder if these properties would follow the same trend.
I also wanted to note that I purchased all of these myself. I've seen quite a number of reviews where people were being provided these products free - and who knows how many more where they did not disclose it.
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Farming practices
Made with materials harvested from responsibly managed farms.
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USDA Organic USDA Organic is protected by law, inspected by experts, traced from farm to store, and shaped by public input. USDA develops and enforces the organic standards, which require products to be produced using farming practices that maintain and improve soil and water quality, minimize the use of synthetic materials, conserve biodiversity, and avoid genetic engineering, among other factors. Crops can be certified organic if they’re grown without prohibited substances such as most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for three years prior to harvest. Livestock are raised on pasture and treated humanely without growth hormones or antibiotics. Organic products do not contain GMOs or artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Products that contain a minimum of 95 percent organic ingredients and use the USDA Organic seal are part of Climate Pledge Friendly.
Organic content
Product contains at least 95% organic material.
As certified by
USDA Organic USDA Organic is protected by law, inspected by experts, traced from farm to store, and shaped by public input. USDA develops and enforces the organic standards, which require products to be produced using farming practices that maintain and improve soil and water quality, minimize the use of synthetic materials, conserve biodiversity, and avoid genetic engineering, among other factors. Crops can be certified organic if they’re grown without prohibited substances such as most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for three years prior to harvest. Livestock are raised on pasture and treated humanely without growth hormones or antibiotics. Organic products do not contain GMOs or artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Products that contain a minimum of 95 percent organic ingredients and use the USDA Organic seal are part of Climate Pledge Friendly.
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Sustainability features
This product has sustainability features recognized by trusted certifications.
Farming practices
Made with materials harvested from responsibly managed farms.
As certified by
USDA Organic
USDA Organic USDA Organic is protected by law, inspected by experts, traced from farm to store, and shaped by public input. USDA develops and enforces the organic standards, which require products to be produced using farming practices that maintain and improve soil and water quality, minimize the use of synthetic materials, conserve biodiversity, and avoid genetic engineering, among other factors. Crops can be certified organic if they’re grown without prohibited substances such as most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for three years prior to harvest. Livestock are raised on pasture and treated humanely without growth hormones or antibiotics. Organic products do not contain GMOs or artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Products that contain a minimum of 95 percent organic ingredients and use the USDA Organic seal are part of Climate Pledge Friendly.
Organic content
Product contains at least 95% organic material.
As certified by
USDA Organic
USDA Organic USDA Organic is protected by law, inspected by experts, traced from farm to store, and shaped by public input. USDA develops and enforces the organic standards, which require products to be produced using farming practices that maintain and improve soil and water quality, minimize the use of synthetic materials, conserve biodiversity, and avoid genetic engineering, among other factors. Crops can be certified organic if they’re grown without prohibited substances such as most synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for three years prior to harvest. Livestock are raised on pasture and treated humanely without growth hormones or antibiotics. Organic products do not contain GMOs or artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Products that contain a minimum of 95 percent organic ingredients and use the USDA Organic seal are part of Climate Pledge Friendly.
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Product Description
CERTIFIED ORGANIC, ALL NATURAL, NO GMOs
WHY ORGANIC
Organic agriculture uses methods that preserve the environment and avoid the use of pesticides, antibiotics or genetic engineering (GMOs).
OUR STANDARDS
ONE ORGANIC matcha is produced to strict USDA National Organic Program (NOP) standards and subject to annual farming and production inspections for quality. We take food safety seriously and utilize an independent lab to verify that the lead and heavy metals content is within recommended limits.
Certified Organic by Organic Certifiers on Sept. 22, 2019.
DISCOVER THE POWER OF MATCHA
Over 100 times the antioxidants of brewed green tea.
HOW TO USE MATCHA
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| One Organic Instant Black Tea Powder | One Organic Instant Green Tea Powder | One Organic Instant Jasmine Tea Powder | One Organic Instant Oolong Tea Powder | One Organic Instant Matcha Powder | |
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| Weight | 4.4oz | 4.4oz | 4.4oz | 4.4oz | 8.8oz |
| Caffeine | 78mg caffeine/1g powder | 63mg caffeine/1g powder | 46mg caffeine/1g powder | 41mg caffeine/1g powder | 15mg caffeine/1g powder |
| Servings | 125 Servings/bag | 125 Servings/bag | 125 Servings/bag | 125 Servings/bag | 250 Servings/bag |
| Organic | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Non-GMO | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
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great for afternoon tea
Upon doing some research, I came to the conclusion that buying organic matcha is the way to go, with that being said I purchased this product which I find pleasing to taste, and honestly can't really compare it to others being that this is my first time trying matcha . however I'm rating it 4 stars for the following reasons1. Product of China( would prefer from japan)2. Matcha green tea powder is not as intense in color as others I have seen.Overall I'm satisfied with the purchase.
