Surprisingly, this is one of the better bagged green teas I've had. A store brand for Costco, it's not expensive; so I assigned a good "value" rating despite receiving it at no extra cost in a package of teas provided by lodging.

Bags are individually plastic-wrapped. Upon ripping one open, an unmistakable matcha+green tea aroma wafts from the dry product. A silken-textured plastic sachet holds the green tea leaves, which look well-colored amidst few, if any, stems. It's apparent Costco is contracting with a green-tea provider who (at least in the batch from where my bags came) uses fresh, well-prepared, good-quality leaves. [EDIT: After posting this, I saw some of the reviews below and now wonder if they use different contractors, or have high batch-to-batch variability.] Although the "Signature Green Tea" is listed here separately from a specifically labeled matcha variety, this brand also contains some matcha.

The instructions on the packaging say to empty remaining matcha from the "outer bag"—presumably the plastic packaging—and surely enough, a thin strand of green powder lies at the bottom of the packaging, eagerly awaiting recombining with the tea. [Playing Peaches and Herb's "Reunited" in the background is optional.]

The resulting products act like they both are so excited to be reunited. A remarkably bright, dense green hue permeates the brew, and toasted scent wafts through the steam that becomes even more pronounced as an accessory flavor. I'm not a big fan of the explicit addition of toasted rice to a couple of teas that I've had so far (combination seems disjointed to me), but this is more like a background layer of taste from grandma's home-baked bread toast. Whether intended or not, somehow that enriches and not detracts. The green/matcha combo is quite richly flavored in its own right. One certainly could do much worse if buying bulk green tea to serve at meetings, clubs, motels, conventions, or just for home consumption.

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