I love Matcha tea powders, and have found that different brands very greatly across many aspects. Therefore, when I was fortunate to receive this product at a discounted rate for the purposes of testing it and posting a completely honest and unbiased review, and was very excited to try it and compare it.

First and foremost, I’d like to address 2 aspects that other reviewers have indicated: USDA Organic Authenticity, and Color. I attached a picture of USDA Organic symbol, clearly indicated on the back of the package, in the upper right hand. Perhaps an older version of this product did not include this icon, but as on August 2015, it can be seen that it is clearly USDA certified organic.

In regard to the color, I have attached an unfiltered photo comparison of 4 different Matcha powder brands colors that I have personally tried and reviewed. The top right photo is this Matcha DNA brand. As can be seen, while it is not brown, it is not a vibrate green as the ONE ORGANIC brand (upper left) or the GreenHouse brand (bottom right) but quite a bit ‘greener’ than the Jade Leaf Organics brand (bottom left). I’d like to thank the other reviewers for bringing this color difference to my attention, as I hadn’t previously attended to this aspect of Matcha powders.

In my experience and research, Matcha powders are usually classified into 3 sub-types of Matcha: Latte mix (mostly sugar), Chinese-culinary-for cooking and mixing with other ingredients, and Japanese-ceremonial- for drinking straight as a tea. While this product indicates that it is of Chinese origin, its does not specify if it is culinary or ceremonial. That being said, this brand does offer another variety indicated as ceremonial, which leads me to believe that this is culinary grade. The back of this bag says it can be made as a tea (ceremonial) or used in cooking (culinary). I followed the Matcha Tea preparation instructions on the back of this bag, and found that this was way too bitter for my taste, and not pleasant at all. This product also states, “sweeten to taste if desired.” I added one packet of raw stevia, and some whipped cream topping, which significantly increased the palatability of this product. I love the energy boosting power of this DNA brand, definitely on-par with the best of the brands I have tried thus far.

The other three Matcha powder products I tried were ONE ORGANIC brand (Chinese culinary), GreenHouse brand (Japanese ceremonial), and Jade Leaf Organics brand (Japanese culinary).

I really like the ONE ORGANIC brand because of the cost effectiveness of the quantity (price per oz), and the very noticeable "clean" energy boost it gave me. However, the ONE ORGANIC brand has VERY bitter taste, and did not have the serving size or directions indicated on the packaging.

I also liked the GreenHouse brand. The flavor of the GreenHouse Matcha is absolutely delicious, much more mild than the ONE brand, while still bold, not AT ALL bitter. However, I did not feel that wonderfully clean energy boost I get from the ONE brand as much. It also love that the GreenHouse brand seems to be a very good company based on the package labeling. It is indicated that they donate 5% of the proceeds to cancer cure research, and the package provides much more information about Match than the ONE brand. However, the cost per oz of the GreenHouse is simply too high to justify repurchasing at full price.

I was quite impressed with the Jade Leaf Organics brand packaging. That brand is the only of the 4 brands compared that has the caffeine content, and storage instructions clearly indicated. Before that product, I had no clue that Matcha powder should be kept in the fridge. The flavor and energy boost of the Jade Leaf brand was nearly an identical experience as with the GreenHouse brand: Fantastic flavor, not bitter at all, yet I didn't find this product to give me much of an energy boost.

In regards to the cost, the following is the current Amazon price per gram of each of the 4 compared brands:
Jade Leaf brand - $0.20
GreenHouse brand - $0.71
ONE brand - $0.07
Matcha DNA brand - $0.09

I do like this Matcha DNA brand product, and would compare it most closely to the ONE brand, as it too is cost effective, and provided an excellent energy boost, but unfortunately very bitter flavor, if left unsweetened. Overall, I would recommend this product to anyone who can tolerate the bitter flavor or willing to add sweetener.

Pros:
+ USDA Organic
+ Sustainably Grown
+ Naturally Gluten Free
+ Clearly indicated, serving size, ORAC antioxidant value, preparation directions, and ingredients
+ Great Value of Price Per Gram
+ Awesome Energy Boosting Results

Cons:
-Bitter flavor, if left unsweetened
-Nutrition facts and caffeine content not labeled
-Not clearly stated as ceremonial or culinary grade

100% Organic Chinese Origin Powered Matcha Green Tea; Never Irradiated - Not From Japan; Rich in Vitamins, Nutrients,Amino Acids and EECG; Delicate and Naturally Sweet Taste; Highest Antioxidant Tea Found Anywhere, I got the product a few days ago and I really don't know why I didn't try it before, I guess i was a bit afraid of it since it was powder and I have never really had powdered tea before, can you believe it? Well after trying it i'm hooked! Thanks MatchaDNA for allowing me to try this product, it's definitely on my top list of tea's now! I can't wait to share it with my friends to see there reaction.