Kettl
Saemidori Matcha
Tasted October 2020
About Kettl: Kettl is a fantastic company for any matcha nerd! They pride themselves on their fresh products and strong relationships with their suppliers in Japan. Their founder, Zach Mangan, previously worked for a large green tea company, which brought him to Japan where he first experienced the freshness of matcha. This sparked a desire to create a shorter supply chain of fresh tea to the United States. Zach spent the next two years building relationships with tea farmers. He established headquarters in Fukuoka, Japan, and in 2016 opened a shop and gallery in Brooklyn, NY. There are now two retail locations offering a variety of Japanese teas, matchas, and tea ware. Their close relationship with tea farmers allows Kettl to provide incredibly detailed product descriptions. The Kettl website offers a plethora of tea options, as well as a unique chart describing Tasting Notes for each of their products.
About Blend: Kettl describes Saemidori from Uji as “rare to come by” as it is derived from a single cultivator. Because of its vibrant green hue and overall balanced flavor profile, Saemidori is often combined with other green tea varieties to create ceremonial grade matcha blends. The Tasting Notes chart ranks Saemidori as extremely light in astringency with lower levels of umami, rich in sweetness, with a rich green color.
Price: 38$ per 20 grams
Scent: Smells of dried nori snacks, which was delicious and a first for me.
Kettl Saemidori Matcha
Color: A bright, vibrant green. Points 4
Foam: The matcha had a silky mouthfeel that was full and brothy. I found this to be a very pleasant sensation. The foam formed quickly and evenly, creating a soft cloud like layer that was perfect in height without being too thin or fluffy. Points 5
Taste: My first thought was that this blend is smooth and mellow. It took time for the different flavor notes to come through. Slight notes of roasted rice at the end of the sip introduced a light astringency and almost unnoticeable bitterness. A roasted seaweed flavor lingers for some time on the palette. There was a noticeable light sweetness throughout each sip. Mellow vegetal notes of baby pea shoots can be tasted in each sip. Points 4.25
Final Score: 4.4 out of 5 points
Thoughts: As you read this review, you may note that it is very similar to Kettl’s description of Saemidori on their website. This is a rare find, as in my experience websites often play up the flavors of their matcha with lengthy adjectives that don’t always translate to actual tasting experiences. Saemidori has been added to my favorites list and is a definite recommendation for matcha beginners and experts alike. For beginners this blend will be smooth and mellow, allowing for enjoyment of a traditional matcha without the overpowering notes of umami or bitterness. For matcha experts this blend will be a pleasant and relaxing drink, while providing a foundation for understanding tea plant variety and matcha blending. Given the delicate nature of Saemidori, it is best suited for water preparations and is a bit wasteful when used as a latte ingredient. Although this is absolutely a top favorite of mine, I recognize that flavor intensity is a top requirement for 5 out of 5 score, which makes Saemidori the ultimate example that a score doesn’t always reflect suburb quality.