Best overall Trending
Ippodo Tea
Sayaka Matcha (40g Can)
8.4Great
Ippodo's smooth, umami-forward 'first taste' blend: a benchmark Kyoto usucha that is pricey and often hard to get.
Ceremonial4$2.50 / serving
Budget pick
Encha
Encha Ceremonial Grade Matcha Powder
Affordable USDA-organic first-harvest matcha at about $1.33 a serving; pleasant and dependable rather than memorable.
7.5
Good
Coffee Reviews score
See the breakdown →
Community
—/10
- Grade
- Ceremonial
- Origin
- Japan (product description cites farms in Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Shizuoka and Uji)
- Harvest
- First harvest (spring)
- Price per serving
- $1.33 / serving
- Umami
- Sweet Cream
- Fresh Grass
USDA Organic
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Last reviewed October 17, 2026 by the Coffee Reviews editors · How we score
Affordable USDA-organic first-harvest matcha at about $1.33 a serving; pleasant and dependable rather than memorable.
Encha's Ceremonial Grade is a USDA-organic, first-harvest, stone-ground matcha that the brand says is made for whisking with water and describes as naturally sweet with creamy umami and no bitterness. A 30 g bag costs $19.99 (15 cups at 2 g), which keeps it one of the cheaper certified-organic ceremonials. Reviews are mixed: some reviewers praise its color, fine grind and low bitterness, while others report lingering bitterness, clumping or a flavor that disappears in sweet lattes. Note that the product description now cites a six-cultivar blend from Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Shizuoka and Uji, while an FAQ on the same page still says all grades come from its farm in Uji.
Best for
- Budget-minded organic buyers
- Daily lattes and casual usucha
What we like
- USDA-organic first-harvest matcha for about $1.33 a cup
- Stone-ground, with third-party purity testing claimed
- Sold in 30 g, 60 g, 500 g and single-serve sticks
- Easy to buy on Amazon
Watch-outs
- Reviewers report lingering bitterness and limited complexity
- Pouch packaging; some find it clumps
- Conflicting origin statements on its own product page
Flavor profile
What it tastes like.
In the maker’s words
“Naturally sweet. Creamy umami. Light astringency. Never bitter. Smooth, full-bodied, delicately grassy.”
- Umami
- Sweet Cream
- Fresh Grass
- umami
- sweetness
- bitterness
- astringency
How it scored
The breakdown.
7.5Good
Cup score out of 10, weighted across five factors.
- Flavor & cup quality30%7.2
Brand notes promise creamy umami without bitterness; testers range from long-time fans to front-end bitterness, a wasabi-like undertone and 'not it for me'.
- Quality & freshness20%7.6
USDA-organic, first-harvest and stone-ground, with third-party purity testing claimed; some users report clumping and undissolved bits.
- Value20%8.6
$19.99 for 30 g (about $1.33 per 2 g cup) is among the lowest prices for certified-organic ceremonial matcha.
- Sourcing & transparency15%7.0
Organic certification and growing regions are stated, but cultivars are unnamed, test results aren't published, and the page contradicts itself on Uji-only versus multi-region sourcing.
- Community love15%7.0
A long-time Amazon staple and frequent beginner pick, but r/Matcha users more often treat it as a budget stepping stone than a favorite.
Creator video reviews
Watch it in action.
2 positive1 mixed
Independent creators, verified with YouTube and TikTok. We don’t pay for reviews and creators don’t pay us.
What people are saying
From the forums.
Verbatim from Reddit, forums and long-term owner write-ups — linked so you can read the full thread.
“On the hunt for a budget matcha ~ Encha is not it (for me) … Not too crazy about this one, unfortunately.”
“I've tried a couple cheap Amazon matchas (Jade Leaf, Encha) and they just get completely buried — end up tasting like sweet flavored milk with barely any matcha flavor at all.”
“Bitterness on the front end that lingers. Not as complex as some of the other ceremonial matchas. A couple sips in, I got a wasabi undertone.”
“I've been drinking matcha from Encha for a while now and I've liked it a lot”
Details
The particulars.
- Origin
- Japan (product description cites farms in Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Shizuoka and Uji)
- Harvest
- First harvest (spring)
- Color
- vibrant deep green
- Milling
- Stone-ground
- Serving
- 2 g
- Sweetened
- No
- Best brewed as
- Whisked (matcha), Lattes & milk drinks
- Certifications
- USDA Organic
- Typical price
- $19.99 for 30 g bag (15 cups) (checked October 2026)
- Servings
- 15 cups at Encha's 2 g (1 tsp) serving; the 60 g bag is $34.99
Community
Member tasting notes & discussion.
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Discussion
No discussions yet.
Own Encha Encha Ceremonial Grade Matcha Powder? Ask a question or share your recipe — you’ll be the first.
FAQ
Good questions.
Where is Encha grown?
The current product description says it is master-blended from six cultivars sourced from farms in Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Shizuoka and Uji. An FAQ on the same page still says all Encha grades come from its farm in Uji.
How many servings are in a bag?
Encha's recommended serving is 1 tsp, about 2 g: a 30 g bag makes 15 servings, 60 g makes 30 and 500 g makes 250.
Ceremonial vs Ceremonial Latte vs Barista grade?
Encha says Ceremonial is first harvest and meant to be whisked with water; its Ceremonial Latte grade is also first harvest but tuned for milk; Barista grade comes from second-harvest leaves for everyday lattes and recipes.
Sources (11)
- encha.com/products/encha-ceremonial-grade
- encha.com/products/encha-ceremonial-grade.json
- encha.com/pages/about-us-our-story
- amazon.com/dp/B06XXQF4DB
- minimalistbaker.com/best-matcha-review/
- reddit.com/r/tea/comments/1lx5t5t/is_my_matcha_still_good_to_drink/
- reddit.com/r/Matcha/comments/z316ac/on_the_hunt_for_a_budget_matcha_encha_is_not_it/
- reddit.com/r/MatchaEverything/comments/1wc5r3n/best_matcha_for_a_sweet_syrupheavy_iced_oat_milk/
- youtube.com/watch?v=zXXapNYoVGA
- youtube.com/watch?v=IUxtUAjhSFw
- youtube.com/watch?v=RM7kAK89-SM
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