REWE Feine Welt Bio Grüntee Japanischer Matcha 30g
I've been gone for two months because I was very busy, and I'm behind on reviewing three matcha I have tried in the meantime - two German brands, and one from Ippodo. But now I'm back!
This time, we're starting with the Rewe brand matcha. I saw it on the shelf of their supposedly high quality, exotic, cool stuff, and thought: Why not? Let's see if it's as bad as the other grocery store matcha usually are.
General Info
The packaging and location in the shop suggest that this is some high end product, which I will definitely take into account later on. I forgot how much exactly I paid for it and sadly, the website doesn't let me see the price anymore because it is sold out at my REWE location, but I know it was below 10 Euro, likely 4-5 Euro. According to the packaging, the company stick & lembke GmbH is behind it. Otherwise, not much info on it - not from where, not what kind, not whether it should be enjoyed as usucha or koicha or is suitable for both, not if it is rather rich or more astringent. Only the typical German tea advice to boil it to death for a "safe" product. Hmm.
Color and Smell
The color is not that bad, but not that impressive either. I took the picture above when it was almost empty1 because I realized I had forgotten to take one, but the color was marginally better at best, rather stayed the same. It's green, and not beige, not yellowing, but it is a bit muted, a bit older, less vibrant.
It smells rather bitter, not many aromatic notes there - bland bitterness.
Taste
Here, what you pay for is what you get. It doesn't have an interesting taste, no nutty flavour/umami, no other notable flavors, just classic grassy bitter matcha. It's not a bad flavor, but it is underwhelming, has nothing accompanying it and is not a good introduction to matcha. This is exactly the experience that turns people off from it. This is better for cooking and baking, to give it color and a light bitter taste, but not good for a beverage.
Conclusion
I would be tempted to give it a 3, because it isn't downright bad, just a disappointment, and in some ways, it makes sense for the price. But: If the package design and placement in a speciality shelf of premium products all branded in this design pretends this is some sort of super nice product, I consider this misleading. The size too! You can buy 100g cooking/baking matcha for the same price that tastes and looks the same way, no need to get such a tiny tin pretending it is one of the more special matcha when it isn't. You can skip this one and get something else for a better price.
🍵🍵 2 out of 5 matcha bowls.
I use up all of my matcha, no matter how much I like it or not. I do have some of the gross ones I have reviewed saved for baking, though, because I can't drink it.↩