Setting aside the blatant commercial appeal to hipster New Age hocus-pocus in the labeling's verbiage and art, the composition of this tea showed promise on the shelf. I like coconut a lot, and have come to tolerate matcha-infused green tea, so this looked like it was worth a try when I saw it discounted at Sprouts.

Quality-wise, it was. The dry-bag aroma offered an expected overlay of ricey matcha and modest coconut. Curiously, and happily, the coconut flavor (and subsequent wet-bag aroma) were considerably more prominent. This was a very satisfying tea! I'll finish the tin glad to have discovered this blend. Then I'll finish the tin off with a sledgehammer before recycling. Next time some is on sale, and I can remember to bring my pipe wrench inside the house, I'll have to try some more. Wait...what...sledgehammer...pipe wrench?

A word (or more) about the packaging...and from photos on their website, I see this is the case for many of their other teas as well. The product comes in a steel tin with 22 disc-shaped, stringless pouches, stacked inside like Pringles potato chips. That part is fine. What's not good is the lid: very tricky to open and not intuitive whatsoever. Visually, it's not obvious at first that the metal lip is not part of the lid, so I was pulling, tugging and yanking on that sucker while growing ever more frustrated that it refused to budge. Then when I discovered that the lid fit *inside* the lip and *inside* the can, instead of around an unseen top part (like most such lids), I thought I had hit the jackpot. But no...the texture of the lid was so smooth—a fine-meshed matte finish, very difficult to grip with dry hands—that it was hard to twist, given how tightly the lid is seated inside the cylinder. It's not a strength thing either; I can crush the can sideways easily, in one bare hand. It's the packaging!

That shouldn't have required a learning curve. The only place I can think to deduct for that needless "designed to irritate" factor is in the value category. Simple but prominent directions atop the label, "TWIST LID FIRMLY AND PULL TO OPEN", would help, and making the lid edge rougher would complete the solution.

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Comments:

Delores wrote: on November 6th, 2018

Well, I am so delighted to find this post --- I struggled for two days at different periods of time in the day -- I could not open the tin -- no matter what I did -- and yes, a sledgehammer or a pipe wrench was next! with all my might -- and with your post -- I got it! I got it opened!!! Whew --- what a struggle! The tea was fine -- a little more costly than the tea I buy for a local company --- I liked it fine -- Coconut Matcha -- however -- the company seems to have gone out of business or something -- The Coconut Matcha tea has been discontinued -- I am disappointed - in finding the tea -- Now 'finally' - getting the top off to reveal the tea bags -- and the company is gone! Hummmm - I never heard of the company and I guess this will be it for tea from them -- I'm saddened for them, as I am for myself ---- BUT, so proud I learned how to open their cans -- what a struggle I had no matter what I did -- Grateful for this 1st review -- I almost lost my mind in not being able to open their lovely can!

Tchuggin' Okie wrote: on March 17th, 2019

Glad to help you to properly reassess your sanity as good and whole -- even if the tea company has closed down. ;-)

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