Matcha Kei Master's Tribute by TeeGschwendner
Today I wanna talk about one of the available matchas by Tee Gschwendner, the 'Matcha Kei'. It is part of a series of matchas they have, including 'Matcha Sei' and 'Matcha Jaku'. When I bought the Kei about three weeks ago, I was in Nuremberg and exploring their store selection. Back then, if I remember correctly, they also had a fourth one named 'Matcha Ryu'(?) that I cannot find anymore online. It was the most expensive one of the selection at 75 Euro per 30g and I would love to try it some time if they restock it.
General Info
This matcha is organic and is from Kirishima in the Kagoshima prefecture. 30 grams cost you 48,80 Euro at the time of this writing, which makes it the currently most expensive matcha TeeGschwendner has available (since the Ryu seems to be gone). The product labeling says it was harvested in spring and shaded for a lengthy period of time, which is reflected in the price - shading usually increases the price and quality of matcha.
Color and Smell
The green is powerful and a little bit darker than my daily driver matcha from Cha-Do due to more shading and therefore more chlorophyll. It is also very very fine, which you can see in how the powder sits on my finger and embeds into the little creases in my skin. You have to be careful with little clouds of matcha dancing through the air if you open the container too abruptly. This one takes a little more effort to effectively blend into the water and even then, you might find a few small clumps remain on the surface because they clump up again after or while adding more liquid. It is also one that settles more quickly to the bottom, so be sure to stir between your sips.
The smell, compared to cheaper matcha, is already a bit less grassy/freshly mowed lawn and more deep; instead of some sharp, almost citrus notes, it gives off a full-bodied, wooden scent. You can already smell that this matcha had a longer shading period and therefore has more umami flavor.
Taste
When I had this matcha for the first time, I was underwhelmed. It tasted to me like it was shaded just enough for the bitterness to reduce, but not enough to produce significant amounts of sweetness and umami flavor. That left it pretty neutral, almost bland. I kept trying it and it got better. What I found is that you need to be really careful with this one in terms of water:matcha ratio and especially milk:matcha ratio - the slight umami flavor and reduced bitterness this matcha has is very quickly drowned out by too little matcha powder, too much water or a little more milk. While other matchas' more pronounced grassiness, bitterness or umami flavors can withstand a bit more variation in the ratios to your liking, this one is really sensitive. If it gives you nothing flavor-wise, you need to adjust the ratios.
Where I found it really shines despite ratios is in iced matcha. The umami taste comes through much better when enjoyed cold with or without milk.
Conclusion
All in all, I think this one is okay, but I wouldn't personally purchase it again. It is nice, especially for iced matcha, but it's not giving me enough flavor for the price. I've had ceremonial matchas for a similar price that had more body and robust flavors.
๐ต๐ต๐ต 3 out of 5 matcha bowls.