We compared 5 of the best matcha’s available in Australia
EDIT: Updated 19 Jan, 2023
The variety and popularity of matcha has exploded over the last eight years. Aussies are very particular about quality so this expansion for matcha tea means big time competition and a significant increase in the quality and demand for premium ceremonial matcha tea.
In the same way that Australia has embraced our coffee culture there is a growing community that are indulging in refined matcha so we put five of the best to the test, using only the best ceremonial grade from the top 5 retailers in Australia. We tried to be as objective as possible.
Here are our taste test results:
- Happy Matcha
- Matcha Maiden
- Kenko Tea
- Material Matcha
- Mista Matcha
1 – FIRST PLACE: Happy Matcha Ceremonial Grade
Happy Matcha has been around for a long time now (I think it’s around 8 years) and these guys source only the best matcha from UJI, Japan located between Kyoto and Nara. The leaves in this region seem to produce the smoothest matcha experience, combined with the traditional harvesting methods used by the local Japanese community who have been hand crafting matcha tea for decades. It’s currently on sale for $37.95 and the tea itself (ceremonial grade) is intense however it somehow manages to settle in your mouth with a creaminess that no other matcha in this list was able to match-ahh.
2 – SECOND PLACE: Matcha Maiden
Matcha Maiden have worked very hard to produce a high quality matcha tea and in almost all respects they have succeeded. At first we thought that they had put all of their time and money into marketing and advertising, however to our surprise the matcha was really high quality, finely grounded and smooth to taste. With subtle textures we thought this matcha was worthy of second place especially when you consider the price of only $24.95.
Kenko Matcha offer a premium ceremonial matcha tea that was easily the most intense of the 5 best. The packaging suggests a “delicate sweetness with grassy overtones” however we noticed it was very grassy with little to no sweetness. Fortunately it did whisk with a lovely creaminess that enables this matcha to come in at 3rd place. Complimented by the very reasonable $39.90 for 30 grams.
4 – FOURTH PLACE: Material Matcha
Unbelievably good marketing and truly a fantastic matcha. After watching the video by Etienne and Morgan we made early predictions that Material Matcha would be the best. As we unveiled the matcha (MMU01) from it’s impressive packaging we went through the exact same process as the others only to notice a lack of creaminess. It was a bold, sharp flavoured matcha, which we would highly recommend if that’s all you care about. However if you want that smooth, creamy aftertaste we suggest you avoid this matcha or sample some of their other blends.
A 30g premium pack from Mista Matcha will set you back $39.00 which is competitively priced and to be honest we liked everything about mista matcha except for the lack of flavour. Which is kind of a big deal. The taste is smooth, it’s clean and refreshing but this also means it is very light. We noticed that for every tea spoon of Happy Matcha we would need 3-4 teaspoons of mista matcha. To the extent that we thought it was somehow grounded with a completely different type of green tea. We are only speculating that this could be the case but at the end of the day we still recommend Mista Matcha as an everyday matcha especially if you are new to matcha and you want to avoid an intense flavour experience.
Congratulations to Happy Matcha, the best ceremonial matcha tea. And an honourable mentions to T2, matcha ninja, matcha me and matcha zone who didn’t make it into our top 5 but did provide a nice Matcha Tea experience. Lastly, we tried 3 additional matcha teas that were really poor quality so we didn’t list them at all, it’s not our style to criticise these small businesses or even mention their names until we know the whole story.
Do you have a matcha tea (or know of one) that should be on this list? Don’t hesitate to contact us or comment below and we will give it a try.