Organic Ceremonial Matcha 60g by Matcha Direct
They finally arrived! As I said in another post, I became aware of the company Tsuji Riichi Honten aka Matcha Direct via a YouTube documentary. Their matcha and production looked awesome, and their promise was to deliver your matcha within about a week, worldwide, free shipping. All of them are Ground-To-Order. This one is the Organic Ceremonial Matcha 60g by Matcha Direct; their #032, to be precise. They have two, and one is a bit cheaper and described as elegant bitterness, so probably less shading than this one, which is more expensive and described as umami & harmonious.
I was notified about the steps on the way with an e-mail each. This matcha was allegedly ground on Thursday, 16th January 2025, then shipped out on the 20th, and it arrived on the 22nd for me. If that is true, this makes it the freshest matcha I've ever had; others I buy in shops or shelves are likely preproduced weeks in advance. I wonder how Matcha Direct manages to have enough harvest at all times of the year for this, it is very impressive to me.
General Info
The shop page says it uses organic matcha made from 100% first-harvest tea (April to May). Admittedly, I am not entirely sure how that is organized in the company when I order in January... I have sent them an email about it to find out. I will update this when they respond. Maybe they store the leaves all year long? I wonder how a matcha tastes that is freshly harvested and freshly ground!
Edit: They responded very fast! The email says:
Hi Ava,
Thank you so much for your recent purchase, and for reaching out with your question. We hope you’re enjoying your freshly ground matcha.
Yes, we do store enough first-harvest tea to supply orders throughout the year. You can think of it similarly to coffee beans, which are typically harvested > once a year and kept as green beans until they’re roasted as needed.
In the case of matcha, we keep the tea leaves in their unground “tencha” form under cold storage.
This allows for long-term preservation.
Once ground into matcha, the surface area increases dramatically, causing the quality to change more quickly. That’s why we only grind right before sending it to our customers.
Now you know!
Their shop page information is very thorough and the most detailed I have seen so far:
With a price of €44,90, it is a little up there, but not the most expensive matcha I had. It's also 60g instead of the usual 30g you'll often get elsewhere. That makes their tins massive:
Here's a comparison of the two Matcha Direct I ordered, and a usual 30g tin by Cha-Do. The decaf review is coming soon!
The tins have a nice, sturdy, luxurious feel to them.
Color and Smell
The color is a nice, bright green. I would have expected it to have a bit of a darker tint because higher theanine matcha (more shading, more umami...) is usually a little bit darker. But the color is still good.
The smell is something that stuck out to me from the first time even opening the foil bag inside - so flowery, so intense but pleasant. No overt bitterness or grassiness, but still very fragrant matcha scent. It's similar to opening the rice cooker when you have cooked fresh jasmine rice, even more so when the matcha is heated up by the water. Usually, when I review matcha, I have to specifically sniff the powder and tea cup while writing these, but with that one, I was squealing and running to my fiancée so she could also smell it way before I made the first cup and before I even started writing, and it is very memorable. I wonder if it is because of the freshness?
Taste
The taste is appropriate for a ceremonial grade matcha of the first harvest - reduced bitterness and a harmonious, roasted-nut umami taste. It is lacking the amount of subtle, natural sweetness I have had in other high grade matcha, but that's fine for me.
Conclusion
I like that this is an option for people all over the world to enjoy fresh matcha. The price is reasonable for what you get, especially with double the amount you'd usually get elsewhere. The taste is elevated and worthy of being called ceremonial, and the smell is divine. Compared to my other 5-bowl-ratings, I'd say taste-wise, it is a little better than the Cha-Do and Teaclub, but a little worse than the one by Noritual Lab. That one still has the best color and taste profile to me so far of the reviewed ones.
🍵🍵🍵🍵🍵 5 out of 5 matcha bowls.