Nearly two years ago, I started this website with a showdown of the top five matchas on Amazon. Since then, I’ve reviewed dozens of matchas. Some were delicious while others were undrinkable. Given all of the matcha tasting experience I’ve gained over the last few years, I’ve decided to follow up, by comparing and re-tasting the top five matchas I’ve reviewed so far.
Top-rated matchas included in the Matcha Reviews 2015 Matcha of the Year Award showdown, in order tasted, not ranked.
How the showdown tasting worked:
- I re-purchased five top-rated matchas (across both ceremonial and culinary grades) to compare side-by-side and re-review. See the official Matcha Reviews Matcha Tasting Guide for review rating definitions and printable version.
- Each matcha was created using ½ teaspoon of sifted matcha and 2 ounces of filtered water.
- Each matcha was whisked for 8 seconds using the Kukpo electric frother.
Top-rated matchas included in the Matcha Reviews 2015 Matcha of the Year Award showdown, in order tasted, not ranked.
1) DoMatcha Organic Ceremonial Matcha
This matcha is bright warm green, has a nice froth, fresh hay smell, smooth and silky texture. The body is creamy. It has a smooth and balanced flavor with a slight bitter note on the end.
Price Per Ounce: $25.57
2) Coastal Tea Company Organic Ceremonial Matcha
This matcha is a deep bluish green, with a nice froth and fresh cut grass smell. It has a balanced flavor but is less smooth and more astringent than DoMatcha Ceremonial and Rishi Teahouse Ceremonial.
Price Per Ounce: $13.68
3) Rishi Teahouse Organic Ceremonial Matcha
This matcha is a deep bluish green with a smooth and subtle milk chocolate aroma. It has very nice froth and bubbles. It’s the most full-bodied, smooth and creamy matcha I’ve tried. Rishi Teahouse has a well-balanced, complex flavor with a slight bittersweet note on the end.
Price Per Ounce: $24.21
4) DoMatcha 2nd Harvest Culinary Matcha
It has a bright warm green color, more muted than that ceremonial grades. Very nice froth. It’s smooth for culinary grade, but drinking it on its own, definitely has a bit more astringency and bitterness in the aftertaste.
Price Per Ounce: $6
5) Maeda-En Culinary Matcha
This matcha is medium yellowish green in color. It is less aromatic than the others compared. Has a nice froth, but very earthy, bitter flavor. It’s very astringent, it really sticks with you and I wouldn’t recommend drinking this on its own.
Price Per Ounce: $8.33
Matcha Reviews 2015 Showdown Results
Awards were given in two categories:
Best Quality: My favorite matcha, purely based on how it tastes
Best Value: My favorite matcha that is affordable to the average reader for daily consumption
The 2015 Best Quality Matcha Award goes to Rishi Teahouse Organic Ceremonial Matcha! It was neck-and-neck against DoMatcha for this award. However, I found that I personally preferred the full-bodied, smooth and creamy texture of Rishi TeaHouse.
Buy Rishi Teahouse matcha on Amazon »
The winner of the 2015 Best Value Matcha Award is DoMatcha 2nd Harvest Culinary Matcha! The fact that it tastes decent and is so versatile (can be drank on its own or with milk), and at such a low price, gives this my best value matcha for 2015. Coastal Tea Company was a close runner-up for its Ceremonial grade quality at half the price of the other matchas compared.
