Matcha Matsu (Organic)

Tea type
Matcha Tea
Ingredients
Not available
Flavors
Bitter, Grass, Creamy, Freshly Cut Grass, Roasted Nuts, Seaweed, Smooth, Sweet, Toasted, Umami, Spinach, Vegetal, Asparagus, Astringent, Wet Moss, Plants
Sold in
Bulk, Loose Leaf
Caffeine
High
Certification
Kosher
Edit tea info Last updated by Roswell Strange
Average preparation
165 °F / 73 °C 4 min, 0 sec 2 g 12 oz / 343 ml

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92 Tasting Notes View all

  • “I picked up some matcha to experiment with after Sil pointed me towards a great deal at Red Leaf. I’ve never made matcha myself but I enjoy the flavour of it in other food and beverages I’ve come...” Read full tasting note
  • “Matchaaaaa! My local DT finally had some in stock, I was so happy! I eagerly got a cup (as I bought my new pink flowered bubble teapot!) And then it got busy at work, and I didn’t get a chance to...” Read full tasting note
    93
  • “Nom nom nom. Still whisk-less, but I did a better job with the fork this time. Mixed it with a bit of hot milk and agave, then added cold unsweetened almond milk. Learned last time that almond milk...” Read full tasting note
    92
  • “I finally made my first matcha ever. I just received the bamboo whisk I ordered from Teavana along with a double walled glass bowl. I told myself after watching a youtube video, girl this is...” Read full tasting note

From DAVIDsTEA

As of January 2024 this matcha is certified organic.

In Japanese, “matsu” literally means “pine tree”. But it’s also a term that indicates excellence. This powdered green tea lives up to its name. Quality this high can only be graded as “matsu”. Strong in taste and aroma, this matcha is pure indulgence – perfect for cleansing the palate during a fabulous meal. Whisk it into almost-boiled water and enjoy. (MK Kosher)

Ingredients: Matcha green tea from Nishio, Japan.

About DAVIDsTEA View company

DavidsTea is a Canadian specialty tea and tea accessory retailer based in Montreal, Quebec. It is the largest Canadian-based specialty tea boutique in the country, with its first store having opened in 2008.

92 Tasting Notes

1429 tasting notes

I picked up some matcha to experiment with after Sil pointed me towards a great deal at Red Leaf. I’ve never made matcha myself but I enjoy the flavour of it in other food and beverages I’ve come across.

This is freaking delicious, in a smooth grassy way, but I failed so hard at making it. Taste is good, consistent and thick, no clumps, but also no froth. Today is going to be dedicated to whisking, sifting, and measuring abilities, my dear tea companions.. >.<

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C
Sil

haha sounds like a productive use of your time. I still suck at the froth part of whisking matcha.

Fjellrev

DId you end up making a Red Leaf order? I’m almost finished my Caramel, but if you still want to try it, I can always leave some. :)

BoxerMama

Did you sift? Your water is too hot as well. I usually prepare mine around 70 C.

Crowkettle

OK! I have the sifting, temperature, and whisking mostly down now, but I’m still working on the water to powder ratio. I think this is becoming one of my favourite beverages despite my sad attempts!

I ended up placing an order at Red Leaf and picked up “5+2 free” with 50% off (I couldn’t resist). I think I chose a few that are off the beaten track but I felt like this was a good time to order things I wouldn’t otherwise. I’m still up for sharing teas though, Incendiare; I’ve too much tea to possibly finish before it goes stale.

Fjellrev

Ha! Well, I’m happy that you made an order. And I know what you mean. I have so much to finish and can’t justify getting more (says the person who just made her first Verdant order earlier tonight, ugh) yet I still want to try more.

Crowkettle

I keep telling myself I won’t order anymore tea online and then Verdant releases something new or gives me a deal. I’m not doing very will with my goals.

BoxerMama

I’m the same way. I wont say out loud that I wont order anymore, just in case there’s a really good deal! lol

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93
1473 tasting notes

Matchaaaaa! My local DT finally had some in stock, I was so happy! I eagerly got a cup (as I bought my new pink flowered bubble teapot!)

And then it got busy at work, and I didn’t get a chance to grab anything to eat until three hours later, so I drank about half of this on an empty stomach. Never again. I was flushed and dizzy and hyper and blegh. That energy boost was nearly the end of me.

I asked them to add agave, and so they did. To the bottom of the cup. And then they poured the matcha on top and it didn’t mix in until a few hours later when I swirled the bitter cup to try and, well, make it smoother.

It was bitter, true, but I saw great potential in it and I am eagerly awaiting my matcha set from Teavana…should it ever arrive. But that’s another story. I see many, many matcha smoothies in my future.

Indigobloom

oh dear, that doesn’t sound like fun :/
Hope your feeling better

teaNsympathy

I love the teavana set! The whisk is amazing, and be sure to check out matchasource for a whole bunch of recipes (anything from lattes, smoothies, and even matcha cupcakes with matcha buttercream frosting) all of which are too delicious to be believed!

Tina S.

I’m getting more and more curious which DT you visit, since it sounds like they don’t make many of their drinks well in-house. And that is a sad sad thing!

Daddyselephant

Indigo, I felt much, much better after I ate XD. I was warned about an energy boost, and I knew drinking it on an empty stomach was a bad idea, I just didn’t have a lot of options.

tea – I hope it gets here soon, but I won’t be ordering from Teavana ever again. But I am crazy excited for matcha smoothies…I’m a smoothie slut XD.

Tina – Well, I’m picky as heck about how I like my tea, and it seems to be an issue with Davids everywhere that their made-in-store teas are subpar. But hey, I still love them! And there are some teas that just cannot be messed up, so I tend to stick to those. I’d rather work around the corner from a Davids (Sherway Gardens, by the way. Love the employees there!) and occasionally deal with a bad brew than a Tim’s where the tea is just plain awful XD.

Tina S.

Oh God, yeah Tim Hortons needs to just stop selling it, or at least stop ruining the name of tea.

If you’re ever in the area, pop into the Brampton DT. I’ve found that they make it better than any of the GTA locations I’ve been in. (Although they’re sold out of matcha right now, which makes me sad!)

Daddyselephant

My mother in law drives me up the wall. “Want tea?” “Oooh, yes!” “Okay!” pulls into a Tim’s. “….” booooo. Not tea. Rocket fuel.

My job does have an office in Brampton, so I may find myself in the area, who knows! If I do, I will definitely stop in!

Cattibrie

I had a great tea latte at the Scarborough David’s Tea on Monday.

Tina S.

Okay, there are enough of us local people on this thread I’m tempted to ask if people want to do a meetup!

Indigobloom

a meet up would be fun!! count me in :)

Cattibrie

I wish I lived closer. We were in Pickering to babysit my neice and nephew for the weekend. I almost made it to the First Canadian Place store on the Friday night too. But we had to go back to the car to get a doll to take to the Raptors game.
But if you do a meet up let me know just in case we are visiting that weekend.

ohlady92

I added 1/2 a teaspoon to my smoothie and got the most intense “buzz” from it and I ate it with a solid meal! I totally feel ya on that weird feeling I think I will add less to my smoothie next time and slowly ease myself into more.

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92
6105 tasting notes

Nom nom nom. Still whisk-less, but I did a better job with the fork this time. Mixed it with a bit of hot milk and agave, then added cold unsweetened almond milk. Learned last time that almond milk does not microwave well.

Anyways, still quite happy with this one. I do need to get a tin or something for it though; I don’t like it being in a bag. It’s irritating.

Preparation
Iced 8 min or more
Missy

I totally understand the tin thing. I really like to have my teas in their own tins all tucked away in the cupboard immediately.

Kittenna

I’m actually usually ok with the baggies, but for this one, since it’s so powdery, I just hate it being in a bag and poofing all over the place :D

Missy

Hehe, poofing reminds me of when I tried to make vanilla sugar. I found a recipe that said just put sugar and vanilla bean into a coffee grinder. So I grind away and then I lift the lid to inhale sugar power. Great experiment. I’ll never do it that way again….

Kittenna

Hahahahahaha, bet your lungs appreciated that one!

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359 tasting notes

I finally made my first matcha ever. I just received the bamboo whisk I ordered from Teavana along with a double walled glass bowl. I told myself after watching a youtube video, girl this is something you can do! I’ve only had matcha at the sushi restaurant, and I never felt the need to try and make it myself, thinking I wouldn’t know what to do with it… After reading a comment from Eisenherz, I’ve decided what the heck, I’m giving it a shot.

So here we are… matcha and I, staring at each other. I have everything ready for it, and Mr Right is watching, already amused at what is about to happen. “What, you don’t think I can’t do this???” He smiles: " Oh, you’re gonna do it alright, and I will laugh…" OK, now he’s hurting my feelings. Is he referring to the fact that I can be a little messy in the kitchen? I’ll show him how it’s done!

I try to do everything as I remember on the video. About 1 1/2 teaspoon of the pretty jade powder for about 8 oz of hot water. I pour a bit of water and whisk slowly to turn the precious powder into some kind of muddy mixture, then I add the rest of the water. I start whisking frantically, in that W motion I have witnessed. What happens next is not my finest moment… the bowl is too small? By the time I stop whisking, MY KITCHEN COUNTER LOOKS LIKE A GOLF COURSE!

And yes, Mr Right is having fun, laughing is head off. He asks “Is this part of the ritual?”

I swallow my pride, and I taste it. Crap, the taste of it is as much of a mess as it was to make…

BITTER, BITTER, BITTER!

Matcha: 1
TheTeaFairy: big fat 0

I’ll be calling for a rematch very soon… no tasting note, for now!

dee

You should add sweetener most of the matcha lattes made in stores use some kind of sweetener

Ninavampi

I’m looking forward to the rematch! : )

TheTeaFairy

Oh, this is not over, that’s sure…There will be delicious matcha in this house…eventually!

Feebs

Calling for a rematch…a?

:)

astrolito

I put agave nectar in mine :)

Daddyselephant

You might want to try less matcha? I don’t ever use more than about half a teaspoon per 8 oz…and I sweeten mine to hell and back XD

TheTeaFairy

Thanks Bigelow for the tip…I rarely add sugar to anything but I will for sure use less matcha next time, maybe a second attempt during week end? to be followed…

canadianadia

I love this tealog, it reminds me of my first encounter with matcha

TheTeaFairy

Canadianadia, you’ve also encountered matcha misfortune? Lol, had almost forgot about this post, it’s been a while! Matcha is just not a good fit for me I’m afraid…have you had any success with it?

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72
357 tasting notes

I really want to like Matcha, but I’m thinking making it myself is not the best place to start? It just doesn’t taste right. Too…I don’t know how to describe it? Grassy? Maybe I’m getting the ratio of water to tea wrong? I know it’s good for me, so I’m determined not to give up on it quite yet.

Alphakitty

Pure matcha is usually pretty grassy. The only one I’ve tried without strong grassy notes is the KaiMatcha, which is more buttery.

softrevolution

Maybe try tossing some in a smoothie? It’s less intense that way but you can still taste the matcha, so it might help you get used to the flavour.

Indigobloom

I tried the matcha at David’s. Couldn’t stomach it. KaiMatcha is amazing, and the flavoured ones from Red Leaf to :)

canadianadia

@Alphakitty and Indigobloom – Buttery is more my thing. I’ll have to give KaiMatcha a try. I’ll have to check out Red Leaf also…once I drink down some of the tea I already have of course ;)

@softrevolution – That’s a good idea. I’ll have to save what I have left for when the smoothie weather returns.

OMGsrsly

I drink my matcha as a latte, pretty much exclusively. Most of the matcha I have is lower quality though. (1 tsp per 12-16oz almond milk, plus sugar to taste)

TheTeaFairy

I hear you Canadianadia, I feel exactly the same as you do… for some reason, Matcha is the ONLY tea I don’t care for. Wanted to love it for so long but just gave up! My supply of it is strictly used for smoothies. But I enjoy so many other types of greens that it doesn’t seem to matter much :-)

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75
709 tasting notes

So, I gave in and splurged on matcha. We got 50 grams of this at Davids, and also picked up their matcha starter set so we have an adorable bowl and whisk. I am not a green tea fan so I was very hesitant, but wanted to know if I like matcha before committing to a Red Leaf Tea order for flavoured matcha, which I am strongly considering. The dry smell of this is very green, but not offensive. I was pleasantly surprised that though it didn’t smell appealing, it wasn’t off-putting. Once I sifted it, added some water and started mixing the smell took on stronger vegetal tones, and a hint of seaweedy earthiness. That was less appealing, but still worth giving it a shot. We did a thinner matcha to avoid and strong bitterness and it was actually pretty decent on it’s own. The beau and I agreed we preferred some sweetening, so we added one of my new grapefruit agave sticks. With that, it was perfect. The slight grapefruit taste masked the vegetal nature of the green tea and added enough sweetness to cut the bitterness but also left the matcha flavour very present. I would call this a matcha success – though I would prefer flavoured matchas to plain. The beau likes it quite a bit and is very excited. I was very impressed at how easy it was to whisk, though that was partially due to the sifting, I assume. I had no clumps and it stayed integrated very well. We only did about 1/3 of the bowl to share between us, but this isn’t the sort of thing I would like to have a lot of at once, I get the impression it has the potential to give me an upset tummy.

Mercuryhime

I’m happy you finally tried matcha and enjoyed it! It is a pretty strong tea if you are not careful. My husband will only drink it as a latte or in smoothies so I can understand that it takes getting used to. And even though I like the good stuff prepped the traditional way, I also really like them in soy lattes. :O Now you can get those tasty flavors on Red Leaf!

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84
49 tasting notes

I love this matcha! I find it holds up very well drinking it straight or mixed in to other things. I just had it now in a very delicious smoothie.

You should try making it! I used:
- 1 ripe banana
- about a cup of frozen peach slices
- about a cup of almond milk
- 1.5 tsp of matcha
blended together and served in a tall glass. A perfect way to enjoy this matcha.

Sadly, I’m almost out. There are more expensive matchas out there and I’m tempted to try them, just to see if I can tell the difference between them and this matcha.

TeaBrat

I love matcha smoothies!

ScottTeaMan

I’ll have to try this sometime…….sounds really good. I love Matcha plain too. :))

pyarkaaloo

your recipe sounds great! gotta try it..

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88
464 tasting notes

Got this To-Go hot, with a little bit of skim milk and honey from the Upper East Side DavidsTea. I told the guy making it about how I like to use the protein shaker bottle to mix up my matcha at home and he really wanted to try that out.

This matcha was pretty good! It mixed well and stayed mixed. The taste was like fresh spring leaves. There was no bitterness at all even though it was only lightly sweetened. It acted as a great morning pick-me-up!

I’m slowly trying to convince myself that I need to make an order from Red Leaf since I’m enjoying matcha so much. I wish their matcha came in slightly smaller packages. Getting so much of one flavor seems like such a big commitment.

Lala

I was a bit worried about ordering so much from Red Leaf but it actually works out really well. I usually only drink it at work. I work 4 days per week. It takes me anywhere between 2 and 4 weeks to go through one small package depending on if I use 1/2 or 1tsp of matcha – it depends on the flavour for how much I use. I just keep the rest in the freezer until I open a package. So if you drink it often, you go through it fairly quickly.

Stephanie

If you like coconut I promise that you’ll LOVE the coconut matcha from red leaf. It is droolworthy! :)

Fuzzy_Peachkin

Lala- It’s good to know that someone actually CAN get through those packages . :-)

Stephanie- And yes, do like coconut!

Stephanie

I do have some coconut “matchaccino”. If you would like to try it before you buy it maybe we could do a swap someday :)

Fuzzy_Peachkin

I would love to swap. Gotta update my cupboard, but take a look and if there’s anything you like, you can tell me. I’m also in NYC, so I have easy in-store access to Harney & Sons, Kusmi, Davidstea, and a bunch of others and I wouldn’t mind buying in store to send off trade samples.

Stephanie

Cool!! It might be a while till I actually have time to go to the post office…the next two weeks are going to be INSANE for me. I will definitely save some coconut matchaccino for you though and let you know when I am free enough for a post office trip. You can check my cupboard too and see if you want me to save anything else for ya. PM me with a list! :)

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85
110 tasting notes

OK! Now I’ve tried matcha! And you know what? I liked it! I used 1/4tsp in 6oz water. Whisked it up with my wire whisk and poured it into a nice new double-walled clear tea glass.

I found it smooth, not bitter or astringent at all. I was careful not to use too much or heat the water too much because of some advice I’d read on the forum here. I found it to be beautiful to look at and have a nice grassy flavor.

I could see using this when I need a quick pick-me-up and don’t have time or the inclination to go through a whole steeping ritual. Also looking forward to trying it as a latte and in a smoothie.

Cool!

P.S. I know I made it very weak. Just easing into it… It seems like the amount most people use would be so strong!

Preparation
160 °F / 71 °C
yappychappy

I use roughly FOUR times that much matcha haha

Rachel J

Hahaha!!! I know I made it very weak. Just easing my way into it. Will try it stronger and stronger until I find my limit. :)

gmathis

My only experience up to this point was with plain green tea powder, bought at the bulk herb store. Not knowing how to prepare it, I measured it like it was dry leaf…pfeughhh! I can still taste the nasty thick spinachy mess on my tongue!

Lala

Glad you like it!

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96
286 tasting notes

The first time I tried this I had it to go as a hot soy latte, just to see what this matcha was about. I recall my first sip and thinking, I am drinking grass clippings, and oddly enough it doesn’t taste terrible! Now every time I go to David’s I have one to go.

On one of my visits I finally purchased some, and am so glad I did. I just wish I knew that a little goes a long way, because I purchased too much. But after reading some notes, I put some of it in the freezer to keep fresh.

I now drink this every morning. I put 1 or 2 teaspoons in my David’s iced tea to go cup with almond milk and ice. Give it a shake and good to go. I wish I had tried matcha a long time ago, and can’t wait to try other matcha’s.

TheTeaFairy

Glad you like it…Oh, I’ve had baaad sessions with it!! I came to the conclusion that Matcha isn’t for me. (Not a fan of lattes, but I ended up using it in my morning smoothies)

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