Organic Matcha Green Tea Powder by Kiss Me Organics

One thing I am learning fast about Matcha ... not all Matcha is the same. I was spoiled by my first experience, where I did a review of what turned out to be a superior grade Ceremonial Matcha. I was sent a different brand awhile back that I have yet to review on here that came in individual packets so

You can purchase this here
http://bit.ly/MatchaKMO

I assumed it would be decent drinking Matcha, but it turned out to be pretty poor quality....very disappointing.

Well, my faith in Matcha has been restored. Kiss Me Organics has done a great job of turning a very respectable "Culinary Grade" Matcha that is still good enough for drinking.... not Ceremonial grade, but certainly good enough for day to day drinking as well as for cooking and smoothies.

While this tea is not as bright green as the Ceremonial Grade that I got elsewhere, it's a LOT greener and brighter/better tasting than a brand that I got
that came in individual packets (which inferred that it was a drinkable grade). I can see myself using this for my day-to-day beverage needs... and for those "special" times (company/personal ceremonial moments) I'll appreciate the higher grade tea all the more. The flavor of this "Culinary Grade" matcha is not as "bright" and perhaps it's mildly earthy but not in a way that takes away from the tea experience.

Matcha is great as a straight up hot or cold tea, in Lattes (think Starbucks Green Tea Crème Frappuccino!), Smoothies, and even for baking! Rather than being a "solution" where you remove the leaves, Matcha is actually a powder that becomes a "suspension" ... so you get ALL the goodness of the tea leaf ... up to 137x more antioxidants than you will find in regular Green Tea! 

And for those who are wondering about the source, it's from Japan: This comes from the company's Amazon page question section.

"The home of our Organic Matcha - both Culinary and Ceremonial - is now located in Shizuoka, Japan, within a tea region recognized by the United Nations as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System. Harvested from a family-run tea farm in operation since 1915. Our farm has been certified organic since 2000, synthetic chemical free since 1994, and reduced chemical usage since 1975. Now you can enjoy great quality Matcha from the place it all began - Japan."

Given that the bag has the USDA seal, it's pretty certain that the product has been grown to a standard where there are no concerns about radiation, heavy metals, or chemicals because the company will be required to prove that they have tested for all these contaminants. This has been a big concern since the Fukushima Reactor meltdown ....In fact, you will see references to the source of the tea as being from China in earlier questions on Amazon. The company switched to Chinese Green Tea after the disaster, but recently have (like many companies) gone back to Japan because the tea is not only superior to the Chinese grade, but they are testing all their product for radiation (and other contaminants) on a very regular basis (a requirement for USDA certification) and have not found any signs of contamination from their sources.

So for me, it's a Two-Thumbs-Up option for general, every day drinking... but if you are a "Matcha Snob", you may want to pay the premium for a Ceremonial Grade tea.

You can purchase KMO's Matcha here: http://bit.ly/MatchaKMO

I received this in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.