Many Ways to Matcha: A review of the many forms in which matcha can be enjoyed

From frappes to refreshers, coffee shops have evolved far past the standard cup of joe — and one of the most popular alternatives is matcha.

My first experience with matcha was a grainy and bitter latte from Starbucks. To top it off, the lid wasn’t on properly and I ended up wearing half of it. After this particularly awful first impression, I’d sworn off the green powder indefinitely. 

However, the matcha craze has only intensified since then. Whenever I express my disdain for it I get the same answer: “You got it from Starbucks? Big mistake,” and suggest that I try a local shop and order it with an alternative milk and honey.  

It’s also been expressed to me that matcha doesn’t only serve as a drink, but that it’s beloved in a myriad of other forms such as mochi ice cream and “life changing” skin care products. 

Always one to give into peer pressure, I’ve decided to give the ugly green monster one more chance after being harassed for years about the endless benefits of ingesting and absorbing it.

I’ve decided to try out the latte, ice cream and face mask because I’m bound to appreciate at least one of the popular forms it comes in — right?

I adore mochi — a popular Japanese dessert made from a sweet pounded rice dough wrapped around ice cream — to such an extent that I could devour an entire box in a minute if it were put in front of me, no matter the flavor. However, I’ve always skipped over the bright green box at Trader Joe’s. 

I got to Trader Joe’s and saw that they had an abundance of matcha mochi — easily twice the amount of any other flavor, which only proved my suspicion that no one liked this flavor. 

I’ll begrudgingly admit that aside from the brain freeze and the sting that hit my teeth the moment I bit into the dough, I was pleased with the earthy flavor of the matcha mochi. The dough around the outside of the mochi tasted as it always does with that soft and sticky texture that isn’t a burden on the integrity of the ice cream flavor that’s inside. 

The ice cream was a lovely sage green shade and tasted more sweet than bitter. It was so smooth and creamy that you’d never guess that one of the ingredients is ground powder. 

Perhaps it was just the green color that I associate with vegetables, but even though this is a treat, I still felt like I’d made a healthy choice after eating six pin-cushion sized ice creams in the span of 20 minutes. Like everything at Trader Joe’s, it doesn’t disappoint and was the ideal post-yoga snack. 

I dove right into the foamy, green deep-end which had turned me off the supplement all those years ago: the iced matcha latte. I stopped at Hattie’s Fine Coffee in Corinth Square to try out the drink.

Every matcha lover I know prefers to go to local cafes to fulfill their matcha craving. I thought it was best to follow in their footsteps and also get the opinion of the ultimate matcha experts: the baristas. 

The barista encouraged me to try out their standard matcha latte made with oat milk — I was skeptical, but was assured that the oat milk “makes all the difference” by naturally enhancing the sweetness of the drink.

I was pleasantly surprised when I didn’t recoil the moment the cold, green liquid hit my tastebuds. The main issue I had with the latte the first time I tried it was the grainy texture, but to my delight the powder was thoroughly mixed in with the milk resulting in a smooth latte. 

Regardless of the improvement in texture, the bitter taste prevailed. Perhaps if I’d ordered it with a bit of honey or chai it would’ve masked matcha’s natural flavor and I would’ve enjoyed it more. 

It’s definitely not my drink of choice — especially at $6 for a small — but after experiencing a more accurate testament to the way the latte should taste, I have a better understanding of why matcha lovers are so obsessed.

While matcha is known for being delicious with food and drinks, its begun to migrate from the food section to the skincare aisle. Matcha lovers rave about the wonders it does for your skin, so I decided to try out the skincare version of it.

Because matcha contains chlorophyll, a natural antibacterial, not only does it help remove excess oils from your skin, but it also helps eliminate the bacteria which cause bacterial acne. Its soothing coolness can help reduce redness from acne, rosacea and other skin conditions, according to medium.com.

Wandering through beauty aisles, you can see products ranging from lip balm to shampoo with the selling point that they contain the rejuvenating supplement — but I personally opted to try a matcha mud mask. 

I ordered the Matcha Clay Face Mask by Shvyog from Amazon, which came with an application brush that made me feel like I was back in freshman year art class working on my oil paintings. The mask went on smooth and didn’t feel sticky or runny on my face. It wasn’t heavy and allowed my skin to breathe as it cleansed — all good qualities I look for in a mask. 

Consisting of all natural ingredients, I felt more comfortable using this product since it wasn’t chock-full of chemicals.

My only qualm with the mask was that taking it off took about five rounds of soap and water before my cheeks were void of a green tint.  

But although it was difficult to wash off, my skin looked cleaner and hydrated afterwards, but wasn’t rid of blemishes. 

I wouldn’t describe this product as life-changing, but it was a quality mask and the matcha did as promised in helping my skin.