Kenko Matcha Review - Ceremonial Grade Green Tea

Matcha was once quite a unique and niche product that was difficult to find in the modern world, however, nowadays, almost any cafe, health food store or supermarket can offer you a cup or pack of matcha green tea.

If you're a matcha lover though, you'll know that a good one can be still very hard to find - with nearly every brand differing in terms of flavour, colour, aroma and overall quality.

After serving, sampling and selling matcha blends for many years, I can confidently report that Kenko Matcha's ceremonial grade green tea is one the best you'll find anywhere.

Vividly green with a beautiful aroma, silky texture and super clean taste - there are so many things to love about this particular Ceremonial Green Tea Powder.

Read on as we review Kenko Tea's ceremonial blend in-depth and take you through everything you'd ever need to know.

Table Of Contents:

1. What I like about Kenko Ceremonial Matcha
2. What you should consider
3. Where to buy Kenko Tea
4. The key health benefits of ceremonial matcha
   
5. How Kenko Tea matcha is produced
   
6. How to prepare Kenko's ceremonial matcha
7. Key product details 
8. Customer Reviews 
9. Any alternatives I think are worth considering. 

KENKO MATCHA CEREMONIAL GRADE GREEN TEA REVIEW - DARCY: THE BIRCHER BAR FOUNDER

What I Like:

Flavour - Kenko ceremonial grade matcha powder is one of the best-tasting matcha powders I've had. It froths up beautifully for a silky mouthfeel, is beautifully aromatic and has an amazingly clean, fresh and slightly sweet taste. If you're looking to make ceremonial matcha tea in a simple and traditional way - then this is one of the best powders you'll find.

A Calm Energised Focus - While it does contain caffeine, this matcha has a very different effect than coffee or black tea. Drinking it gives a level and steady lift in energy, leaving you with a deep feeling of calm and presence - great for yoga and meditation practice. Simply put, it leaves you feeling energised, healthy and happy.

Colour - Anyone who knows anything about ceremonial grade matcha green tea knows that it should be an intense bright and vibrant green. This is because a true high-quality ceremonial grade matcha is made from very young green tea leaves which have a higher chlorophyll concentration. Kenko's ceremonial matcha green tea powder is as bright as green gets (not literally, but you get my point).

Quality - With a business philosophy of "do one thing and do it well" - Kenko Tea's emphasis on product quality is second to none. All of Kenko's matcha is traditionally produced and cultivated using sustainable practices in Japan's southern Nishio region. Kenko doesn't hold stock and purposely sources in small batches to ensure any matcha you purchase has been processed within the last month and is as fresh, aromatic and lively as possible.

What You Should Consider:

Price - If you're looking for a cheap matcha powder, then Kenko is not your brand. With matcha, it's truly a matter of 'you get what you pay for'. Producing a premium quality stone-ground ceremonial matcha traditionally and sustainably should carry a price tag to ensure everyone is paid fairly and the quality is as pure as can be.

In my opinion, Kenko Tea ceremonial matcha isn't over-priced, it's just what it costs for matcha of this quality. If you're interested in using your matcha for smoothies, desserts and baking more-so than ceremonial tea - you can consider Kenko's culinary grade matcha powder to save a few dollars.

In Summary:

Pros:

• One of Australia's best quality ceremonial grade matcha powders.
• Vibrant green and a super smooth flavour profile with no astringent tannin taste.
• Sourced and produced by one of the most ethically minded companies in the business.

Cons:

• Can't be considered cheap, but that's for good reason as discussed above.

WHERE TO BUY KENKO MATCHA GREEN TEA POWDER?

You can head straight to Kenko Tea and get it as fresh as possible from the source by clicking the big red button at the top of this page, or by clicking any of the banners throughout this review.

Before you do that though, we do have a special offer for our readers – all you need to do is join our email list and you’ll receive a code for a minimum of 10% off your entire order with Kenko Tea (as well as a bunch of other great subscriber bonuses).

WHAT ARE THE MAIN HEALTH BENEFITS OF CEREMONIAL MATCHA GREEN TEA?

Matcha green tea is famous for its various health benefits - most notably it's super high levels of antioxidants (also called its ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity) value). When compared to its close cousin, green tea, studies show that matcha boasts an estimated 137x boost!

Aside from one of the highest antioxidant levels in the natural world, research also shows that matcha green tea powder may deliver a handful of other impressive health benefits such as:

1. Increasing HDL cholesterol (the good one) while reducing LDL cholesterol (the bad one).
2. Helping to lower blood glucose levels
3. Lowering liver enzymes
4. Helping with cognition, focus and brain function. Unlike coffee, matcha provides a 'smooth and relaxed alertness due to containing the amino acid, L-theanine.
5. Increasing fat oxidation rates and speeding up metabolism.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, these are just a few of the key benefits that science is currently discovering!

HOW IS KENKO TEA CEREMONIAL MATCHA PRODUCED?

A 'true' Ceremonial matcha green tea powder is produced from the youngest tea leaves available on the top of shade-grown Camellia sinensis plants. The stems and veins of the leaves are carefully removed so the only remaining portion is the flesh of the leaf. This is what makes high-grade ceremonial matcha so silky smooth and naturally sweet.

This is obviously a labour intensive and costly process so unfortunately, many ceremonial grade matcha powder producers will try to cut corners.

Kenko Tea goes to great lengths to produce ceremonial matcha that is undoubtedly one of the purest available. These are the key details that make Kenko's ceremonial matcha tea such high-quality:

1. Completely shade-grown to boost chlorophyll levels, L-theanine levels and the antioxidant count. This helps to produce the crucial vibrant green colour, naturally sweet flavour and inherent calming effects.
2. The harvest team are impeccably trained to select only the youngest, greenest leaves available.
3. Harvested leaves are immediately steamed to prevent oxidation and then naturally air-dried.
4. All leaves then go through a rigorous grading process - sorted according to colour, texture, taste, and aroma. Only the top tier make it through to be Kenko Ceremonial grade.
5. Selected leaves then have all stems and veins removed to reduce bitterness, and are then blended for consistency.
6. The selected leaves are then stone-ground to a fine powder using traditional granite grinding blocks. This is the same technique that the original matcha artisans of circa 1,000 AD used and is crucial to producing excellent ceremonial matcha.

HOW TO PREPARE KENKO'S CEREMONIAL MATCHA GREEN TEA POWDER:

There are many great matcha recipes you can experiment with nowadays but if you're dealing with a high-grade organic ceremonial matcha tea powder such as this one, you should really be only be using it to make pure matcha tea or matcha lattes.

Using superior quality matcha like this in deserts or baking is really just a waste of its potential (and dare I say, sacrilege).

With that being said, this is the best way to make a delicious matcha tea in the traditional style:

Ingredients Used:

1x Kenko Tea 6 Piece Japanese Matcha Tea Gift Set

Method:

1. Using the metal strainer provided in your kit, sift your Kenko tea matcha into your bowl. Use the scoop to slowly push the matcha green tea powder through the strainer and remove any large clumps.
2. Slowly pour your hot water on top of the matcha powder. This water should not be boiling, slightly off the boil is perfect.
3. Using the bamboo whisk (called a 'chasen') from your set, whisk thoroughly in a W or M shape to blend the matcha with the water. You will need to be vigorous with this process to properly aerate the mix and produce the classic froth that makes ceremonial matcha so delicious. Keep in mind matcha never completely 'dissolves' and that is not the goal.
4. Use the whisk to clear and pop all of the large bubbles on top, and now, your matcha is ready to drink! Drink straight from the bowl, or if you're sharing with friends, split into small tumblers.

If you'd like to see this process in action, the video below provides an excellent walkthrough:

KEY PRODUCT DETAILS:

Serving Suggestion:

1 bamboo 'chasaku' (serving scoop) of matcha per 75ml of hot water. Approx. 1 - 2g.

Ingredients:

100% organic USDA certified Kenko Premium Ceremonial Organic Matcha Tea. Grown in the Nishio region of Southern Japan, this tea is non-GMO and heavy metal, pesticide, and radiation-free.

Safety:

• USDA certified organic
• Non-GMO
• Raw and vegan friendly
• Gluten and dairy-free
• Tested for heavy metal, pesticide, and radiation

CUSTOMER REVIEWS:

All Kenko Tea products come very highly rated by their customers - none more so than their organic ceremonial grade matcha powder garnering 100's of 5-star reviews. Check out a few of our favourite verified customer reviews below:

• "Instantly noticed how much better quality tea this is compared to other brands. Really special." - Rosalie
• "Love your ceremonial tea! It’s a beautiful & quality product which I bought on the basis that you took the initiative of having testing done for chemicals and radiation. If only every company conducted testing like that! Fast postage also. 5 Star." - Michelle
• "Prior to discovering Kenko Tea, I tried many different brands but the quality wasn't that great. I stumbled upon an ad for Kenko Tea and thought I'd give it a go but wasn't hopeful it would be any good. I was wrong. The quality is fresh, vibrant and tastes great. I've been using Kenko tea for a couple of years now and would highly recommend their products. On another note, their customer service is exemplary. Friendly and very fast delivery. Thanks Kenko Tea for providing great products and service. Kind regards" - Shanna

ALTERNATIVES:

1) Kenko Tea Culinary Grade Matcha

If you're looking to use matcha powder for cooking, baking, smoothies or desserts - then save some money and go for the Kenko culinary grade. The culinary grade is by no means reduced quality, they just come from a lower portion of the plant giving them a stronger taste that isn't ideal for matcha tea ceremonies

2) Happy Matcha Organic Ceremonial Matcha

Much like the Kenko crew, Happy Matcha is another company that produces exceptional organic ceremonial matcha green tea powder of the highest standard. With a slightly different flavour and texture than Kenko's version - this is a great alternative if you'd like to explore the subtlety that can exist between 2 top-grade matcha powders

3) Teelixir Mushroom Matcha Mix

If you'd like to explore an entirely different and unconventional style of matcha, then you need to try Teelixir's Mushroom Matcha Mix. This specialty latte mix combines ceremonial-grade shade-grown Japanese matcha with peppermint and the now-famous Lion's Mane medicinal mushroom to deliver a number of powerful health benefits along with an incredible flavour. Perfect for matcha lattes!

THAT'S A WRAP!

Kenko Tea's organic ceremonial grade matcha is undoubtedly one of the purest, most vibrant and cleanest-tasting ceremonial green tea powders available anywhere.

Offering a brilliant product paired with great customer service and excellent business principles - it's no surprise that Kenko is now collecting numerous 5-star reviews and cementing itself as one the best matcha brands money can buy.

Hope you've enjoyed this review, if you have any questions or comments at all - don't hesitate to get in touch!