Oi Ocha Matcha Green Tea by Ito En
Trying something new this time: A prepackaged beverage.
I saw this in my local goasia shop. I had a previous bad experience with Ito En on this blog, but this didn't deter me.
General Info
The packaging says it is unsweetened, has no additional flavouring, and is supposed to have a mellow taste. The ingredients are green tea extract and matcha. I wish I would have read the packaging more carefully, because they even show an image of what it looks like and make clear it is green tea with matcha (a little confusing), but I was somehow under the impression that this would be a simple matcha, so matcha powder with water. I was unsure how they would handle the clumping and all, but the secret is that it only has 0.01% matcha in it, per the ingredients list. So, do not make the same mistake I did: It says matcha, but this is not really matcha. Just green tea, that includes an atom of matcha to be able to call it that.
Color and Smell
Color is the one you'd expect for a green tea. Smelled the same, too.
Taste
After the initial disappointment that it wasn't matcha without latte, I actually liked it. I put it in the fridge beforehand, which definitely helped; I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much when lukewarm. I guess it works as a pick-me-up on the go and can be rather refreshing, but eh. I wish it actually had... matcha.
Conclusion
I'm not sure I can rate it anything really, as there was no matcha despite it being called that. But I wanted to include it here anyway, since I had already bought and drank it, and it does contain it in the name.