In 2024 I prepared matcha at home a lot to save money. I was able to try various cultivars and brands. I focused on matcha that can be an everyday drink, balancing taste and cost.

Here are some shots of the teas I prepared in 2024.

Asagiri from Koyo Tea

Origin: Fukuoka
Cultivars: Saemidori, Asahi

This is a blend from Koyo Tea, a Thai distributor. I didn’t make notes of the taste note, unfortunately, but I do remember that it’s just so good nothing else from this year can compare.

Prepared in cold-whisked latte it’s very creamy. I would prefer this one on the weekends rather than as an everyday drink due to the price and its high-profile taste.

Saisho from Midori Hayate

Origins: Kyoto, Fukuoka
Cultivar: Okumidori

Midori Hayate is a very popular tea house and distributor from Khon Kaen, Thailand. Saisho is a blend of Okumidori from Uji, Kyoto and Yame, Fukuoka. The taste note is smokey, a bit dark choc, intense taste, mild umami with no bitterness or astringency.

This one can be an everyday drink: it is strong enough to power me up in the morning, high enough in quality to satisfy my matcha needs, and comes at a reasonable, affordable price.

Hoshi no Kagayaki from Osha Ocha

Origin: Fukuoka
Cultivars: Tsuyuhikari, Okumidori, Saemidori, Okuyutaka, Yabukita

This 5-cultivar blend from Osha Ocha is perfect for a cold-whisked latte. The matcha comes from Hoshinoen, a matcha producer from Yame, Fukuoka. It has a strong body with a roasted taste note, strong umami and mild dark chocolate.

Hikari from Matchalabo

Origin: Shizuoka
Cultivar: Saemidori

This single cultivar matcha is clearly in the bright, floral tone with mild umami, no bitterness, no astringency, and creamy when made as a cold-whisked latte.

Matcha for Everyone from MTCH

Origin: Fukuoka
Cultivars: Okumidori, Yabukita

MTCH is a very popular matcha cafe in Bangkok. Matcha for Everyone is a blend of Okumidori and Yabukita. It gives a dark chocolate taste note, umami and a hint of edamame.

Yame Classic from Chaen

Origin: Fukuoka
Cultivars: Yabukita, Saemidori

Chaen is another notable teahouse in Bangkok. This Yame Classic blend is in the nutty tone, mild umami, mild astringency and a bit of the green, grassy tone.

It is good for latte and can be an everyday drink.

Gokou from Chaen

Origin: Kyoto
Cultivar: Gokou

This Gokou from Wazuka, Kyoto is in the green, floral, cereal tone with little sweetness, little saltiness and mild umami. It can get a little bitter depending on how it’s prepared. For me, warm water is best.

This one is also good as an everyday drink: can be made into cold-whisked latte and classic (layered) latte. Perfect balance of taste and cost.

Matsu no Shiro from Ryuoen

Origin: Kyoto
Cultivar: Unspecified

Ryuouen is a tea producer in Uji, Kyoto. They have been in business since 1875. This Matsu no Shiro blend is in the vegetal side of the graph with a hint of salt, vegetable soup, grassy and mild umami.

Kirioi no Sono from Izumien

Origin: Kyoto
Cultivar: Unspecified

I’m not sure how to pronounce the name of this tea because I can’t read the kanji (霧生の園) but the store uses this hiragana “きりおいのその”.

The taste note is into malt, salty, greenish and less umami. It is better prepared as usucha rather than a latte because it is not strong enough to pair with milk.

Chiyo no Kotobuki from Mitsuboshien Kanbayashi

Origin: Kyoto
Cultivar: Unspecified

This matcha is from the famous 3 red dot store in Uji, Kyoto. It is a starter matcha so expect little bitterness and astringency. The flavour profile is green, malt, cereals, not so umami. It pairs well with milk especially when cold-whisked. Classic latte is just alright because the tea is a little bit bitter.

Thai tea (Black tea) from Kyobashi

Origin: Chiang Rai

This black tea is grown in northern Thailand. I wanted to brew Thai tea from tea leaves rather than using powdered Thai tea, so that I can control what went into the tea.

This tea is made specifically for Thai tea. The tea is strong, a little bit bitter and astringent. It pairs OK with milk but you will need to add some sweetener to make the perfect Thai milk tea.

Tieguanyin from Kyobashi

Origin: Chiang Rai

Another tea from Kyobashi, a tea producer in Chiang Rai, Thailand. I boiled the tea with milk to make milk tea. It has a hint of roasted tea, subtle sweetness and is strong enough to be prepared as milk tea.

Tieguanyin from Peace Oriental

Unfortunately I didn’t write a detailed profile of this tea but I can remember that it worked well as milk tea. It has the unique smell as expected from tieguanyin.

Tieguanyin from Thoro

I wanted to try tieguanyin powder because I was lazy to brew tieguanyin milk tea from tea leaves. This one is suitable for milk tea. Although not as good as the tea leaves, this one is OK enough for an easy day when you want something light. The tea is not so strong, a bit astringent but not bitter.

That’s it for my home cafe list from 2024. I hope to try even more tea this year but it looks like matcha is in limited supply right now due to huge demands. Even in Thailand some shops are already limiting purchases per buyer. Let’s see how this goes…