Encha Latte Grade Matcha Powder - First Harvest Organic Unsweetened Matcha Green Tea, From Uji, Japan (500g / 1lb) Premium Powder for matcha Latte, Smoothie | Caffeine, L-Theanine

Encha Matcha is by far the most superior matcha I have tried. I am a loyal purchaser from their website, but am thrilled to see it now on Amazon for the times I NEED it delivered a little bit faster :) However, their shipping is still very fast.I will say that the company has the most gracious, generous owner. If you join the Encha Facebook page, or subscribe to their e-mails (encha.com) you will be kept apprised of their occasional sales and specials. When he runs a special, it is beyond worth it! It is very rare these days to come across an honest business owner, who also cares so much about his customers, and I feel like he gets great enjoyment sharing his wealth with the customers by offering such amazing offers during certain times of the year. You will also get questions answered very quickly and they never make you feel like you are bothering them.First I will start out about the quality. You know exactly where this matcha is coming from, straight from the farm in Japan. This company actually has reports you can access showing the testing done on his products to ensure they are not only all ORGANIC (very important), but also safe from any dangerous contaminants that so many people need to be concerned about from products overseas.Next, the product is in a BPA-free package. I saw a review someone posted about wanting them to put the product in a tin. No thank you! Last place I want my organic, healthy matcha stored is in an aluminum tin.The QUALITY of this matcha is first rate. You will notice immediately by the color that it is far superior to other brands. And another thing that is rare with this brand is that there is very little difference between the Ceremonial grade and the Latte grade as far as quality, color and taste, in my opinion. I could easily drink the Latte grade just with water. With most matcha brands there is a huge difference between the grades. I think most other brands labeled as ceremonial aren't even of equal quality to Encha's Latte grade. The difference with Encha is both Ceremonial AND Latte are first harvest! Find that in another brand. If you're concerned about price, go with the Latte grade. I use 1 teaspoon a day and I think the 60-gram container lasts me a full month. You can certainly use less.A lot of people say they don't like green tea, so they won't like matcha. Try it! It does not taste like the brewed green tea you are used to.Cost -- everyone seems to be up in arms about the cost of matcha, in general. Yes, it is expensive, but you WILL get what you pay for with matcha. If it's cheap, it's going to be a horrible grade and it's also going to taste horrible. With that said, Encha is no more expensive than any other top brand, and I guarantee you're going to find the quality is way better than a similarly-priced brand.Another thing I have found comical in some reviews is people complaining about there being matcha powder left in the bottom of the cup/bowl. Matcha is not a powder that dissolves! It's as simple as that. Afterall, one of the reasons it is so healthy is you are ingesting the actual ground-up leaf. I personally place my powder in a small sifter and then whisk it in some water before I fill the bowl with more water. If you prefer, you can use a latte frother to make it easy. I used to use one but I don't like the foam. A matcha whisk works quite well if used properly. Also, swirl your cup or bowl between sips to remix the powder at the bottom. Then you won't have much accumulated when you get to the bottom :) No big deal. I actually like that last swallow with the powder in it because I feel like I'm getting an extra burst of healthy goodness.Finally, I want to share a personal health benefit I have had since I started drinking matcha. I am a small, nowhere close to overweight woman. For quite a few years my bloodwork at my physicals has come back as having extremely high triglyceride levels, with sometimes high cholesterol. There is no physical reason for this. I eat quite healthy, don't eat a lot of meat or sugar, and am a healthy weight. For the first time in years last year my bloodwork came back at normal levels! Honestly, the only thing I had been doing differently is I started drinking a cup of match every day. There are MANY health benefits to drinking matcha, from weight loss to improved skin, and from my experience, now healthy blood values :) The main reason I started drinking matcha is for all the anti-oxidants and other good stuff in it to hopefully avoid cancer, and I got the nice surprise of the normal bloodwork.So bottom line is try Encha Organic Matcha. You're going to wonder why you ever drank low-quality matcha. If you don't like it, you don't like it, but I would be surprised. You've got nothing to lose by trying one package. If someone doesn't like it, they probably just don't like matcha in general. If anything, get Encha brand for the superior increased health benefits. You will easily be able to convert yourself from coffee to matcha. Make lattes or other yummy drinks with it if you don't like the taste of matcha, to at least help yourself become more healthy :)

The Way of Tea starts here - with one of the finest ceremonial grade matchas that is very much a work of dedication and art.An organic first harvest that is both delicate and complex, Encha matcha has a beautiful creamy froth and a rich smooth body like liquid jade. The flavor starts fresh and crisp then soon develops subtle notes of sweet meadow and green mineral before the wonderful round umami. When the tea is fully developed, there is an underlying aspect close to orchid or vanilla. I could drink this tea all day, and my best descriptions would need some poetry; you'll taste something very elemental and peaceful and happy making here.Matcha, like other high grade green teas, benefits from a technique incorporating cooler water. Boiling scorches and embitters. Most guides recommend 80°C/176°F, but I prefer somewhere between 60°C/140°F and no more than 70°C/160°F. A simple rule of thumb is to bring the water to the lightest boil, then wait thirty seconds to two minutes before pouring. Or to pour the water into a second vessel (lowering the temperature by about 10°F), then back into the kettle before making your matcha. The traditional bamboo whisk (chasen) is not needed. Place ½ tsp to 1 tsp matcha in an empty mug. Pour a bit of water (1/4 cup) and with a fork, taking care not to crush the powder, whisk in a W pattern, for approximately thirty seconds, then add more water as needed (a good ratio is about ½ tsp matcha for every half to one cup of water) and raise your whisking fork as the foam rises. Other matchas require two minutes of whisking, but Dr. Li Gong's matcha does not need that much time. For those interested, I've included three pictures showing the different blends / foams produced by different utensils: image one, a fork; image two, a traditional bamboo whisk; image three, an electronic whisk. For those who prefer sweeter tea, this matcha does take on dessert-fruit notes if blended for the full two minutes - not unlike banana, berries, vanilla.On a practical note, I simply enjoy authentic quality tea, and was in no way solicited to write this review, and paid full price through Amazon. For about fifteen-years years I was an avid coffee drinker – dark roast, burr grinder, French press - before totally giving up coffee for various green teas. Although I like different greens at different times, I was searching for an absolute favorite, and certainly found mine here.To paraphrase the Song of the Seven Cups by the Tang poet Lu Tong:The first cup moistens my lips;The second, breaks my loneliness;The third, when I think, opens five thousand unwritten volumes inside me;The fourth, with a light sweat, causes all the wrongs of life to pass through my pores;On the fifth I am purified;The sixth calls me to the realms of the immortals;The seventh – but I can take no more! I feel the cool wind at my sleeves. Where is heaven? Let me ride there on this sweet breeze.