Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I’ve been drinking matcha for many years and learned what separates the good from the bad. Have always been up to try new brands and saw this one was highly reviewed and said all the right things - organic, Japanese, from Uji, stone ground - and for a really approachable price. Unfortunately, this was too good to be true. The color is a bit dull compared to what I consider ceremonial grade, and the flavor left so much to be desired, almost no umami, with an unpleasant bitter finish. The kicker for me is when brands say stone ground when their matcha really isn’t. This is easy to identify with the smear test - just make a pile and rub your finger down through the matcha. True stone ground matcha leaves a beautiful, smooth, continuous line. Industrial machine milled matcha leaves a disjointed, gritty line. As you can see in the picture, this Akira matcha is the latter. Disappointed.