Whether you are a seasoned tea drinker or an absolute beginner here is something that you should definitely try.
Not a big fan of green tea?
To be honest, I find most green teas sold in my local groceries too bitter and I only drink premium quality loose leaf teas from China and Japan.
But the Kirkland Matcha Green Tea is not your average tea bag. Made with high-quality Japanese tea leaves it has a refreshingly smooth and sweet taste.
Kirkland Signature Ito En Matcha Blend Overview
The idea of this product is to combine two excellent Japanese green teas to produce premium tea bags with a sweet and pleasant taste.
The result is one of the best green teas available in tea bags that I have tried!
Ingredients
This tea is made with 100% Japanese green tea.
Japan is known to produce some of the best green teas in the world. While Chinese green teas often have floral flavors the Japanese greens are known for sweeter and slightly grassy or seaweed-like notes.
The Kirkland green tea has two components:
Matcha: A type of Japanese tea made with powdered green tea grown in shade. When you drink matcha you actually consume the powdered leaves completely instead of just steeping them to dissolve flavors, caffeine, and other compounds into the water.
Sencha: The most popular type of tea in Japan, sencha is made with steamed and rolled tea leaves grown in direct sunlight. It’s known for its fresh green color and mild grassy taste.
How to Prepare It
Preparing a nice warm cup of Kirkland Signature Ito En Matcha Blend is easy.
Here is how to do it:
- Put the teabag into a cup (save the plastic wrap).
- Heat water to about 176°F / 80°C and pour into the cup.
- Let it steep for about 30 seconds and remove the tea bag.
- Now, there is probably some matcha powder remaining inside the plastic wrap. You can empty it into the cup.
- Enjoy!
Additional tips:
- Use fresh, good quality water that doesn’t contain lots of minerals.
- Never brew this tea with boiling hot water. You can use a variable temperature electric kettle to get it just right.
- If the tea is too mild or you have a large cup, you can steep it a bit longer or use two tea bags instead of just one.
Check out our recommended tea cups for serving your green tea in style!
Cold Brew
Kirkland Matcha Green Tea tea also makes an excellent cold brew.
Instruction for making cold brew green tea:
- Add cold water to a glass or a pitcher.
- Add 1 teabag per one cup of water. You can also try adding more if you want to make it stronger.
- Put into refrigerator for about 6 hours or more (NOTE: the package says to brew only 2 to 3 minutes but I don’t think that’s enough time for cold brewing).
- Remove the teabag(s) and enjoy!
This is one of my favorite drinks on a hot summer day!
Kirkland Green Tea Benefits
This green tea is a high-quality product full of antioxidants and other natural compounds with research-backed health benefits.
Here are the most notable health benefits of Kirkland green tea:
Energy Boost: Green tea contains caffeine and L-theanine. This is a combination that increases physical energy levels and boosts brain functions including memory, reaction time, and focus.
Weight Loss & Fat Burning: Consuming green tea regularly can be an excellent aid in weight management and burning fat more efficiently.
Cancer Prevention: The antioxidants found in green tea prevent oxidative damage and may reduce the risk of several types of cancer.
Brain Protection: Green tea is rich in catechins that can help protect our brain from aging and several neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Heart Health and Diabetes: Frequent consumption of green tea can improve cholesterol levels and prevent cardiovascular diseases. It can also improve our insulin sensitivity and help prevent type 2 diabetes.
So this is definitely a healthy option, especially when compared to some canned products like Arizona Green Tea.
Tasting & Review of Kirkland Matcha Green Tea
Ok, so now we know what this tea is made of, how to prepare it, and how healthy it is.
But how about the taste and other important things like value for money?
Taste
Some green teas taste quite strong and bitter. Especially certain cheap green tea bags have a taste I don’t really appreciate. That’s why I usually buy only high-grade loose leaf green teas.
I had a tasting of the Kirkland Matcha Green tea with two of my friends. I am a tea enthusiast but my friends don’t drink tea frequently and are not especially fond of green tea.
After tasting this tea we all came to the same conclusion — the Kirkland tea has a mild and pleasant taste with grassy and sweet notes. There was no unpleasant bitterness.
Both hot and cold-brewed versions were refreshing and enjoyable. Just make sure that you don’t make the tea too strong and never use boiling hot water to brew it.
This tea has also received excellent reviews on Amazon. From over 1,000 the average rating is 4.7 out of 5.
Packaging and Value for Money
Each tea bag is individually packed in plastic wraps to keep them fresh and to avoid the matcha powder from leaking all over. The tea bags are made of food-grade nylon, which allows faster infusion — you only need to steep the tea for about 30 seconds.
This might not be the cheapest green tea around but the box contains 100 premium quality tea bags. I think it’s definitely worth the price.
So if you have not yet tried it, I can warmly recommend the Kirkland Signature Ito En Matcha Blend. Click here to order it from Amazon.
Enjoy your healthy Japanese green tea!
-Joonas
Kirkland Matcha Green Tea FAQ
Is Kirkland green tea good for weight loss?
Yes, according to research green tea can help with losing weight and burning fat. It also boosts energy levels so you can exercise more.
Just remember that you should frequently drink at least three cups per day to get the best effect.
How much caffeine is in Kirkland green tea?
The caffeine content of Kirkland Matcha Green Tea is about 25 milligrams per cup. Note that this is not an exact value but an estimate.
If you brew the tea for a longer time or use more than one bag per cup, the amount of caffeine can be much higher.
What are the ingredients of Kirkland Japanese Matcha Green Tea?
This tea is 100% Japanese green tea.
However, it has two components — matcha (powdered green tea) and sencha tea (typical Japanese green tea).
Why can you not use a boiling water for the tea?
Hi Marie,
You can use boiling hot water to brew your Kirkland Matcha Green Tea and see how it will taste. Using boiling water will result in a stronger and more bitter brew. So I don’t recommend it because most people (including myself) find this bitterness unpleasant.
If you want to experiment, why not try brewing it with boiling water and then next time according to my instruction and see which one you like better!
-Joonas
Can the tea bag be used more than once, since it’s only used for 30 seconds.
Yes, you can use it more than once but the second brew will be milder.