Cheap Vs. Expensive Matcha Taste Test

Is expensive matcha really worth it? Let's talk about that. Good Mythical Morning. We're about to see if expensive matcha. actually tastes better. But first, this portion of today's episode. is sponsored by Cook Unity, a chef powered marketplace. that delivers freshly prepared meals. inspired by global cuisines. Now, you know I love to go out to eat,

but I also like saving money with Cook Unity. I was going-. Don't be aggressive. No, it was another five. Okay, yeah, celebrate. With Cook Unity, you get restaurant quality meals. by award-winning chefs. And when I'm busy, the last thing I wanna do is cook. And when I'm not busy, the last thing I wanna do is cook. That's right. I mean, especially something healthy or flavorful, because I don't know how to do that. Yeah, that's true. That's where Cook Unity comes in. Look, it's coming in right now. Boop, boop, boop. Yes.

Here it is. The Al Pastor Pork Burrito Bowl with black beans and rice. by Chef Andres Mendez. Now this features a pork shoulder. marinated in pineapple juice and adobo. It sits atop a bed of black beans, rice, and it's topped with a medley of fresh ingredients. Let me get some of that, Link. Eat that. It is very, very, very good. You can enjoy hundreds of meals with a diverse selection. of global gourmet flavors that fit every palate. Even mine. So head to the link in our description now.

to try Cook Unity. That's good. Did you burp? I said that's good. Oh, good, 'cause that's not... It's not good to burp during an ad. Yeah, it's not good to talk about it either. He didn't burp. He said it was good. Which is a good thing to say during an ad. That's right. So what I was saying was, go to the link in our description now to try Cook Unity. and get 50% off your first order. of fresh, chef made meals, delivered straight to your door. Use our code GMM50 to get 50% off. And thanks again to Cook Unity.

Thank you for sponsoring this portion of today's episode. Now, matcha has taken the world by storm, so much so that there is an actual global matcha shortage. Oh my goodness. A nice tin of matcha these days. will cost you a pretty penny. But does higher priced matcha actually mean better matcha? As you can see, we can't. Okay, boys, the Mythical Kitcheneers.

made you two hot matcha teas. One with an expensive matcha, one with a cheap matcha. So go ahead and try both. and then I'm gonna have you guess which was made. with the expensive matcha. Lily, can you put your culinary degree to good use today. and explain to those who don't know. what matcha is, what it is. And of course, that's not me, but... I'm pointing at the people. who don't know what matcha is. I put it to good use every day, first of all. But matcha-. I know you do. Yes, I work-.

I wasn't insinuating that you don't. Yeah, that's what it seemed like though. Mm-hm. Matcha is a type of green tea. that comes from the matcha leaf. It's then steam dried out and ground very fine. And then after it's processed, it's called tencha, and it's ready to use. Why does it taste like of the ocean? It does have a very bitter, earthy taste, 'cause it comes from the ground. Why does it taste fishy? This one, I don't think this one tastes fishy, but I do have... I have tasted some that taste fishy. It's not for everyone.

It's not for every... But I've been misinterpreting it. And now that you tell me. that it's from the earth, not from the ocean... I thought there was a seaweed kind of thing happening. Hold on, you didn't realize. it was just tea leaves ground up? No, because it tasted like oceanic to me. and I didn't like that. Like, some sort of seaweed thing. Oh no, it's just tea that's ground up. And instead of like just making tea in a bag, you're literally just putting the ground up tea. and drinking that straight up. And it's caffeinated. Yes. Yeah. But it's a different-. I'm talking to Lily. I'm trying to put her culinary degree to use.

Well, I mean, I go on the internet, man. Do you have a culinary degree? No, but I know about matcha. But you use it every day anyway. I do. You wanna drink the other one? I gotta say, I'm not a matcha lover. I'm a matcha, like... Coffee upsets my tummy sometimes. And so sometimes when I'm going through. one of those tummy upset times, I turn to matcha. And it also has... Its caffeine is-. Ooh. Less intense. It has a less intense caffeinated experience.

I believe that I could acquire the taste for it. once I stop being so emotional. No, because you've educated me with your education. Now see, this one that I just tasted, the second one, Link, that's the one that tastes like fish. But you know what it actually tastes like. I've never tasted it. But you know, Desitin, the stuff that you... The diaper cream that you would. put on your baby's butt growing up. Yeah. It tastes like Desitin smells.

That's the only way I can describe it. And that happens sometimes with green tea. You definitely just ruined it for me. because I'm trying to have an open mind. This one on the left, it has almost more of a texture to it. Like I can almost feel it on my tongue. I have no idea which one's more expensive, the one that tastes more like Desitin. or the one that doesn't. I like the one on the left more. It certainly has more flavor. When you say the one on... Okay, you like the one in front of you. Okay, okay.

The one on your right. Well the one on Link's side. The one on my side. Yeah. Tastes like Desitin to Rhett and I like it more. Yeah, 'cause he likes Desitin. He would steal him a little squirt every once in a while. But I like it because it's not as smooth. I would say this one over here in front of Rhett. is more smooth. Oh, you don't like the smoothness. Interesting. I don't think it's... Now that I know that there's no seaweed in it, it's a new world.

Okay, I'm gonna have you put your hand. over the one that you think is more expensive. I don't know. In three, two, one... I just figure the more flavor is more expensive. Mm-hm, me too. Okay, so you're both on Link's side. You can go ahead and take your-. But I don't know anything. Okay. The more expensive matcha is on Rhett's side. Yeah, look how green it is. Is that... Okay, so yeah, the bright green is... 'Cause it's smoother. This actually makes me feel good. because the thing that I don't like about it. is actually it turns out is, I think...

I must just get cheap matcha more often. Well, so the one on-. Because this is smooth. Your side Rhett is Ippodo Tea's Ummon Matcha, which costs $63 an ounce. And then on Link's side is the cheap one from Matcha DNA, which costs $1.50 an ounce. Well that's for me, right there. That is a huge price difference. Yeah. That is wild. So something happens in this, like... This is probably what they would call. like ceremonial quality or whatever.

Something happens in the processing of like, you know... Do you know, Lily? More stuff. Yeah, I actually do. Let Lily talk. Okay, let's hear it. Okay, use that culinary degree. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you're right about the ceremonial. The cheaper one is culinary grade. The ceremonial has younger leaves, so it has more chlorophyll in it. And then the culinary grade is picked. in like the second harvest. Oh, so this is like extra virgin. And what is the... Which is what we both were for a really long time.

Extra and virgin. What was I gonna ask? I was just a virgin. Yeah, I was extra. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I guess the question is like, with that price differentiation... Is it worth it? Is the cheap one still good? To me, of course. I think that the only thing. I don't like about matcha is the fact. that it tastes like Desitin and this doesn't have it. So I do think that it's worth it.

Next up you have matcha tiramisu. Hmm. And I will let you know. on the side of your desk you have limeade, because the citrus is supposed to be. a good palate cleanser. So if you need to palate cleanse in between your misus, go ahead. Oh, oh, it's... It's like a sundae. Yeah, yeah. We came from the bottom. Now we're on top. It's like a sundae. That felt like a... This feels like a big bite. I couldn't even find my mouth.

Wow. Whoa. Hmm. This is good. That is quite good. I wanna eat all of this. That is quite good. Hmm. What is it? Mousse? Tiramisu. Oh yeah. Mousse... I need a... I think I might need a different spoon. Hmm. I'll clean it off. That's good. That is really good. Ew.

Okay. And then where's my... Was that ew for Link? Where's my talent... Of course. Where's my talent cleanser? Talent cleanser. Talent cleanser. Watch out, I'm about to lose whatever talent I had. Okay. No difference, they said. Understood. Oh yeah. Palate cleanser. Okay. Yeah, that's what I meant by that. Okay. Going into the other... Oh. You know those restaurants where you eat. completely in the dark?

We should go to one. I'll tell you, I'm there. With what? Speaker phone. I'll be at home in bed. And this is made exactly the same way, it's just using a different one? That's right. Made in-house? Made in-house. Made in-house by a culinary professional? Yep. With a degree in... Uh-huh.

I'm going back. That's my hand. Oh. Still my hand. What is that? Stop, man. That's your hand. Are you on-. No, it's not. Are you on speakerphone? You picked up my thumb. I don't even want it now. I know which one's better, but... Me too but I don't know if that means anything.

It's really difficult. Okay. Hand over the more expensive matcha. Three, two, one. I mean, I don't think... I felt like the consistency was better. Oh, look at us. Oh... Brother. The more expensive one is... On Link's side. 'Cause look how green it is. It's Kettl's kohata matcha for $74 an ounce. $74? And then on Rhett's side. is the cheap matcha from Micro Ingredients,

organic matcha for $1.75 an ounce. I know about this. So when they ship it, you'd have to dump it out of the thing, which is smart. Okay. All right, well, in this case it's-. It's expensive. Definitely not worth it, because I thought this was better. And I thought it was better. I feel like it has more flavor. I think maybe the whole point of matcha. is it's not supposed to have any flavor. I don't know. I think the reason why we like this one better. is there's some... This one's a little...

It's got more juice in the bottom. Well... Really? Well, it does. They were made the same. They were made the same. They're made the same she says. But look how green one of 'em is. This is just a big bag. You're with us on this Lily, right? Yeah, I mean, the one that you chose was culinary grade. So it's meant for baking and desserts. So what is the ceremony that they're grading for? I think it's just called ceremonial. But, well, they gotta have-. It's like a tea ceremony. You know?

I don't. Yeah, me neither. No, I think it is. I think it's used in tea specifically, not a ceremony of tiramisu. Yeah. I would love a tiramisu ceremony. I think that's... I think that's just a wedding. I would like a tira-masseuse, someone who massages me with custard. Oh, yes. Next week is Thanksgiving. You may be thinking to yourself, what am I gonna cook? I wanna make sure I use all the best stuff.

The best pie crust and instant gravy. and those kinds of things. Vegan turkey? Yes, vegan turkey. All of that stuff that you might need. for the perfect Thanksgiving dinner. is ranked over at sporked.com. Okay? They've done the work for you. and they are always right. It's important work. It's really important work. It'd be a shame for you not to benefit from it, but it costs you nothing. Take the guesswork out-. Except for a little bit of time. But it'll make up. You will even save time because you're not gonna be. looking at everything at the grocery store. Sporked.com.

Okay, in front of you now. you have iced strawberry matcha lattes. with a strawberry compote and they look beautiful. So I'm gonna ask you to take a sip as they are now, and then stir up your drink and take a sip then. 'cause it's like a beautiful layered drink. Do you know what I'm saying? You both look confused in the mouth, 'cause I can't see your eyes, but your mouths are giving confusion. It was kind of open. Yeah. I just didn't know you...

Strawberry matcha? You want us to drink it? Take a sip pre stir and then stir and sip. This is something I didn't know... I mean, I knew that it could be a thing, but I've never tried it. But strawberry and matcha goes together beautifully. I do feel like it needed to be stirred. But doesn't it go together beautifully? I don't know, Rhett. I don't know yet. The jury's still out for me. At my trial. Did I get it? Is that good? Yeah, yeah.

It really is tasty. Are you tasting ceremonial grade though? I'm not gonna tell you that, friend, but I'm gonna tell you-. That is good. A strawberry matcha latte. is in my future. And I'm not just talking about the one. that I'm about to drink on your side. I'm saying that I'm making an appointment. I'm making an appointment. Crap, I just remembered. I'm going to the dentist next week.

I think I'll be all right. So me saying appointment is what did it to you. Yeah. Okay. Hmm. Huh. Hmm. Huh. Whoa. You really need to stir it, man. 'Cause I got a good taste and a bad taste on this one. Yeah, I know. Me too. Does that mean that the one over here is more pungent?

Okay. Alright. Feel like I know which one... I like better. I like better and I feel like I know. which one I think is most expensive. Most expensive in three, two, one... Oh yeah, yeah. Did you like this one better? Nope. Me neither. We've learned, Link. And we were right! Look, it's all green. You are both correct. That was the Ippodo Matcha again.

Which we've already had. Okay, it's definitive. That's three times in a row. Well, maybe not the first one. It was just a tea. But the last two-. Culinary grade, dude. Definitely like the one that's just made for cooking, not first ceremonies. We're not ceremony guys. We don't like ceremony. You know. We don't like pomp and circumstance. The tie is scored. and we are doing something interesting this round. We're going to savory. In front of you you have matcha gnocchi.

Oh! Gnocchi? With a matcha mushroom creamy sauce. I love gnocchi. I'm so predictable. A lot of times I'll say... Oops. I'll look at the menu when I'm with my wife Jessie. and she'll say, "What are you getting?". And I'll say, "You know me, I'm getting the gnocchi.". It's a little saying that I have with her, and she just laughs at me. She thinks I'm so funny. No, she doesn't. She told me-. No, no, she thinks I'm so funny. It's courtesy laughs.

You know me. I'm getting the gnocchi. Matter of fact, she said hey-. You do not have a noodle on your fork right now. Okay. She said, "Hey, Link. Rhett went to the bathroom, I want you to start calling me Curtis.". "Why?" I asked. Because, she said, "Every time Rhett tells a joke, I have to give a courtesy laugh, to the point where I feel like my name. should be changed to Curtis.". Well, you know what, it's worked really well.

for almost 25 years. so she can keep on courtesy laughing at me. This was quite good. Mm. Wow. That is thick and pungent. I gotta admit, I wasn't quite listening. when she told me what it was. Did you actually get a gnocchi. or did you only get a mushroom, Link? 'Cause you were-. Oh, that's what it... That's why. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you dropped yours on the... Gnocchi. Yeah, it should be-. But I was thinking up a really good joke though, and I delivered it. Did you hear it? A jokey?

Yeah, mm-hm. A gnocchi jokey. The one about Curtis. Yeah, I heard that one. No. Okay, you're still not... Do I need a fork? You have a fork. Oh, this is a fork? Yes, just stab one of them gnocchis. Okay. I feel like I have one. It's big. It's big. It's big. Big. Hold on, let me... Let me... Okay.

Mm. Wow, that was big. Matcha gnocchi. That's hot. It's hot. Okay. Okay. Mm, mm. Any difference? Nope. I think there's a big difference. Well, this one's hotter. That wasn't the difference I was thinking about.

Okay. It all comes down to this. Three, two-. I think I know the difference. One. Oh! Oh, good. We differed. Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. The more expensive match is on Rhett's side. Oh, you learned more than me. This is... No, you were right. I was right. This is the first one-. I just learned that. I like this one so much more. It was better. I'm so confused now. Why did you choose it if you liked it more?

Well-. 'Cause we've been liking the cheap one. It was more flavorful. and I think I'm coming around to it. What? Well, that's the exact opposite of what we've been saying, but whatever. Listen. You know, I was guessing. I like this one. Okay, I'll admit it. I was just guessing. And I hated this one. Link won. And we have a card for you. Why do you think this one's better, Lily? After everything that we've... I think there's something about cream,

like enriching food, but also the heat to it as well. The heat will really bring out the bitterness, so you might have tasted more of the bitterness. Oh, so this... Because this is a better quality, it like held up better through this process. Exactly, because it was a heated food. And I'm not... It does taste better. Like, this is excellent, and that, I can't eat anymore of it. That's how big the difference is. So that's what we've learned. Weird. I love you some matcha. Oh, good God. There's a whole lot in here.

"Dear Link, I love you so much. I knew you would read this card today. because I knew you would win. I had faith in you because I love you so deeply. I knew it would happen. I knew it would propel you. It's hard to describe exactly how much you mean to me, but I'll try.". Why are you reading it so skeptically? I just can't... I've never experienced love to this depth and yeah. Wow. "When I look into your eyes, past the aviator glasses, I know I am safe.

I am home. Within your pompadour, I am at peace. With my final breath, I will make sure you know my love forever.". Who is this from? It's not signed. It's not signed. Well, I'm a little unnerved for my friend. Me too. Thanks for commenting. Wait, can we get this printed? And sharing this video.

Fingerprinted? You know what time it is. Fingerprinted. It's already printed. I meant fingerprinted. I'm Darren. And I'm Caitlyn. And we're at the cliffs of Moher in Ireland. And now it's time to spin the wheel of Mythicality. Oh, I haven't been there. I almost went there, but I went to other cliffs. Other cliffs? Yeah, that were closer to me. Okay. We're gonna think of a number. If we think of the same number, it's gonna be a really, really good day.

Between what and what? Between one and ten. Alright. Three, two, one. 10! Listen, we've done it every time! Hold on. Every single time. Everybody thinks that we're making this up. We're not! We're not. We're just in sync. Sync. What are the chances you say 10? I guess a hundred percent, man. Click the top link to watch us build. our ideal restaurant menus in Good Mythical More. Head to sporked.com to find everything you need. for the tastiest thanksgiving ever.