Jade Monk explores Matcha green tea RTD potential: 'A modern spin on Japan's 1,000-year-old secret'
One product that caught our eye in the New Beverage showdown final was Jade Monk's ready-to-drink Matcha green tea.
An ingredient to watch in 2015, Matcha is packed with insoluble fibers, antioxidants, and l-theanines, and is now starting to show up in some high-profile products from Häagen-Dazs ice cream to Jamba Juice smoothies.
Matcha is a whole food in that it contains all of the leaf, which is crushed into a fine powder and added to water (cold or hot), unlike regular tea, which is steeped in hot water such that many of its nutrients stay in the pot or teabag.
A 'ceremonial' tea grown in Japan, Matcha is typically sold in powdered form for consumers to add to hot water and mix or 'froth' with a mini whisk. However, several companies - including Jade Monk - have recently developed Matcha based powders with flavors and sweeteners that can be added to cold water for an instant, on-the-go beverage.
Jade Monk's new high-pressure-processed cold brew ready-to-drink product (pictured above) will go national at Whole Foods in March, said co-founders Cort Bucher and Derek Pippin, who described it as a "modern spin on Japan's 1,000-year-old secret".
It starts a new conversation
So were the New Beverage showdown judges impressed?
While some members of the panel felt the flavors were too much alike, and not everyone was happy with the packaging, everyone liked the taste and the concept, and felt it could be consumed on more occasions than rival ready-to-drink sparkling Matcha tea Motto.
They also liked the 'cold-brew' concept: "It starts a new conversation about a product [tea] that's been around forever."
