Finding The Best Matcha Green Tea Snacks You’ll Want To Try

What’s better than matcha? Not much, but these matcha green tea snacks may come close. I went to my local Japanese grocery store and scoured Amazon for the best matcha snacks I could find. 

So I may have a serious sugar rush now but I tasted all the matcha snacks I could find. I was surprised by what matcha could be put into, and some of them worked really well… while others… not so much! So what’s the best matcha snack?

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Disclaimer

Please keep in mind these are my opinions only! You may taste something entirely different. So please don’t hate.

I did try to share these matcha snacks with as many people as possible between friends and family. I wanted to see if I was the odd one out or if my opinion was shard among other people as well.

Matcha Vs. Green Tea: What’s The Difference?

You may notice that some of these matcha snacks say that they’re matcha, green tea, or matcha green tea flavoured. 

Matcha is a type of green tea! Matcha and green tea are typically not very similar at all. Matcha is green tea leaves that have been crushed into a powder. You brew it differently and there’s an entire ceremony attached to drinking it. 

But, Matcha green tea snacks seem to use them interchangeably.  No matter what the label says (matcha vs. green tea), the ingredients list is almost always green tea powder. 

A benefit of matcha is that because it’s a powder, it’s very easy to bake with. That’s why they aren’t using green tea leaves in these snacks!

Do Matcha Green Tea Snacks Contain Caffeine?

Matcha obviously contains caffeine, I mean it’s one of the things we love most about it… right? But do these delicious matcha flavoured snacks also contain caffeine?

Out of all the matcha snacks that I tried, only one said if (and how much) caffeine it contained. No surprise it was the Dark Matcha Kit Kat, and it did contain caffeine. This was one of the strongest matcha flavours out of all the matcha snacks I tried.

It wouldn’t surprise me if some other (if not all) the green tea snacks contained caffeine as well. I had trouble sleeping when I first tried the green tea ice cream after dinner so I have a suspicion that that could be why.

Haagen Daz responded to an inquiry about the caffeine in their green tea ice cream and said there’s about 25 mg of caffeine per 1/2 cup serving. 

If these treats do contain caffeine it’s definitely irresponsible to not mention it at all on the packaging. I’d really love to know the caffeine content of some of these matcha snacks are, especially the hard candies – I feel like they may be packed with caffeine (good to take on the go with you if you need a pick me up mid-day!) 

Rating Scale

Before getting started on reviewing and finding the best matcha snack, here’s what I rated them on. Each category was out of 5 (1 being awful, 5 being truly amazing!).

Taste: How is the overall taste of this snack regardless of it being a matcha flavoured snack.

Matcha flavour: To be the best matcha snack, it has to obviously taste like matcha. So does it taste like match, if so, how much or how little? Am I tasting just a hint of matcha, is it making me crave a latte, or does it completely satisfy my matcha appetite.

OG Comparison: Do they have an original flavour? If so, how does their matcha flavoured versions compare, is it better or worse?

Caffeine level: Matcha is a caffeinated beverage, so is there caffeine in matcha snacks? Is the caffeine indicated on the label, if so, how much caffeine is there in this snack?

Individually Wrapped: I’ve noticed, a lot of Japanese snacks are individually packaged in a large bag. Maybe you’re trying to avoid buying these products altogether or it’s beneficial for you. It’s good to repackage (bring for lunch?) but obviously it’s also terrible for the environment. 

Purchase Again: At the end of the day, how likely am I to buy this matcha snack again if I saw it?

What’s The Best Matcha Snack? Quick Review

If you’re in a rush, I had a few favourite matcha flavoured snacks. The best matcha snack was the Dark Matcha Kit Kat, and Loacker matcha wafer. These tasted the most like matcha and just had a very well balanced flavour. I could eat either of these all day!

The matcha green tea ice cream is also delicious and makes for one of the best matcha snacks! If you’re already a fan of Pocky, Green Tea Pocky did not disappoint either!

If you’re looking for the strongest matcha flavoured snacks though, the winner by far is Puchao Matcha Chewy candy. You might like the taste, but I’ll warn you, it’s STRONG!

	Overall Taste	Matcha Flavour	Purchase Again	Caffeine Content	Detailed Review
Pre-made Matcha Latte	1/5	3/5	No	Unknown	Click Here
Lotte Green Tea Choco Pie	0/5	2/5	No	Unknown	Click Here
Mochi Cookies With Cocoa Chips & Matcha	5/5	3.5/5	Probably Not	Unknown	Click Here
Pocky Matcha Green Tea	4/5	4/5	Yes!	Unknown	Click Here
Loacker Quadratini Matcha Green Tea Wafer	4/5	4/5	Yes!	Unknown	Click Here
Dark Matcha Kit Kat	5/5	5/5	Yes	Yes 25-48 mg polyphenol (tea catechin) per bar	Click Here
Tirol Matcha Green Tea Chocolate With Mochi Filling	Chocolate: 5/5 Mochi Filling: 0/5	Chocolate: 6/5 Filling: 0/5	Probably not	Unknown	Click Here
Prana Matcha Magic	2/5	0/5	No	Unknown	Click Here
Puchao Uji Matcha Chewy Candy	0/5	6/5	Never	Unknown	Click Here
Hokkaido Matcha Milk Candy	5/5	6/5	Yes!	Unknown	Click Here
Kanro Matcha Milk Hard Candy	4/5	4/5	Maybe	Unknown	Click Here
Monteur Uji Matcha Waffle Cake	4/5	3/5	Maybe	Unknown	Click Here
Monteur Uji Matcha Roll Cake	4/5	0/5	Maybe	Unknown	Click Here
Matcha Mochi	4/5	4/5	Yes!	Unknown	Click Here
Matcha Mochi Sorbet Bonbons	4/5	5/5	Yes!	Unknown	Click Here
Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream	5/5	6/5	Yes!	25 mg of caffeine per 1/2 cup of ice cream	Click Here

The Best Matcha Snack? Detailed Review

Pre-made Matcha Latte

This is just a simple pre-made matcha latte. I’ve seen these before for cappuccinos but never actually tried it. When I saw a matcha latte though, I had to have it!

It’s a very well designed matcha latte to go. They give you a straw that you can poke through the cover, so you can prevent spills. It’s a great design!

The taste though… no so much. Off the bat, the colour threw me off. Resembling brown more than green. The taste wasn’t terrible, just too sweet for me. If you enjoy sweet drinks then this is for you. I don’t use any sweeteners when I make my matcha latte so this was way too much for me to handle. There was only a hint of a matcha aftertaste.

It almost felt like they tried to mask using bad matcha with tons of of sugar. (I think this also had the most sugar out of any of the matcha snacks I tried… which is impressive because I tried matcha candy!).

This product also definitely contains caffeine, but there’s no mention of it anywhere…

Lotte Green Tea Choco Pie

I think I had really high expectations for the Lotte Green Tea Choco Pie. I’ve never tasted the original, which is two round cakes sandwiching a marshmallow, all covered in chocolate. The look reminded me of a Whippet or May West.

To turn the original Choco Pie into a matcha snack, the cake part became a matcha cake. Although it didn’t taste like matcha at all. 

I don’t know if I had a bad batch but these were awful. The cake itself was dry and somehow the marshmallow was too. The chocolate was the best part of this matcha snack.

Mochi Cookies With Cocoa Chips & Matcha

Mochi Cookies are a different take on the traditional mochi. Mochi is a Japanese rice cake that’s filled with bean paste. With mochi cookies, a chocolate chip cookie is filled with matcha mochi instead. 

It was…interesting. I can’t say I’ve ever had anything like it before.

The chocolate chip cookie itself was actually really good. It was soft and chewy, just the way I like chocolate chip cookies! 

The mochi filling actually made the cookie quite light to eat, I didn’t mind it. I didn’t get a lot of matcha though, the cookie was too overpowering. Some bites may have had a matcha hint. But it was an odd combination when you tasted it.

I also found it kind of odd that the packaging heavily promoted the fact that it was artificial matcha that they used. But then when you read the ingredients list it says green tea powder (which is matcha). 

Pocky Matcha Green Tea Snacks

Pocky seems like such a classic Japanese snack these days. The classic Pocky is a chocolate covered biscuit. So simple and so delicious!

Instead of a chocolate covering, it’s matcha cream to cover the biscuit to turn this treat into a matcha snack.

Green tea Pocky did remind me of matcha. It was subtle but very enjoyable (even if you aren’t a huge fan of green tea). It did have a refreshing, almost citrusy aftertaste that I wouldn’t normally associated with green tea as well. But it somehow worked!

This matcha snack did not disappoint. In fact, they’re quite dangerous for me, I could see myself snacking on these all day.

Loacker Quadratini Matcha Green Tea Wafer

I think these are one of my new favourite matcha flavoured snacks I’ve ever tried. If you like wafers and matcha, then you have to try Loacker’s Quadratini matcha green tea wafers. 

The wafer is a normal wafer cookie but they’ve filled it with matcha green tea cream instead of hazelnut. The wafer itself isn’t the best, it has a bit of a dryer texture and more cardboard taste than I normally like.  The matcha green tea filling though, has a very nice well balanced matcha taste. 

I’d buy these again in a heartbeat. They’re honestly just very enjoyable to eat. I swear, I could eat the entire bag. They’re also in such convenient bite sized pieces, making them a little too easy to snack on!

You may like these even if you aren’t the biggest fan of matcha because they aren’t bitter or overpoweringly matcha.

Dark Matcha Kit Kat

Have a break, have a Kit Kat… a Dark Matcha Kit Kat that is! The matcha addition to a classic Kit Kat was AMAZING!

It was only the chocolate covering that was matcha flavoured, so it still has the same chocolate wafer crunchy inside.

Not only did it compliment the Kit Kat wafer but the matcha flavour was the most on point out of any of the matcha flavoured snacks I tried.

They even nailed the more bitter matcha aftertaste. They didn’t try to hide it with extra sweetness (although it still has it’s fair share of sugar!). I think the dark matcha Kit Kat is tied for the best matcha snack I’ve tried so far!

 The best part about the Kit Kats were that the packaging was different for each one and they were all so cute!

Tirol Matcha Green Tea Chocolate With Mochi Filling

The TIROL matcha green tea chocolate with a mochi filling is exactly what it says it is; matcha chocolate, with a mochi filling. 

 The chocolate is very matcha-y, but also very sweet. It isn’t bad, in fact, I quite like it, but I have to warn you, it is quite strong.  

The downfall for me was the mochi filling. It’s not a secret that I’m not the biggest mochi fan, but this filling was strange. It was less mochi, more harder clear jelly with an off taste.  When I eat these now, I just eat the chocolate and leave the filling.   

Prana Matcha Magic

Prana’s Matcha Magic (shop it here) was a very disappointing matcha snack. It’s meant to be dark chocolate with matcha powder, crispy brown rice and sesame seeds. In the end, it’s really just dark chocolate with some crispy bits inside. 

The chocolate itself isn’t bad, but I don’t think there’s any matcha in this.  I don’t taste it at all. 

The packaging shows that the brown rice or sesame seeds are green, so I’m not sure if that’s where the matcha is supposed to be. But the crunchy parts were all pretty white for me, maybe with a few exception. Did I get a faulty batch or is this just false advertising? 

Puchao Uji Matcha Chewy Candy Matcha Snack

Puchao is a chewy candy, the most similar comparison would be to Starbust or Hi-Chew.

Right when I opened the bag, I was hit in the face with strong matcha aromas. This was the only package to have any matcha smell at all.

It’s marketed as using real Uji matcha, and you can tell that it does. The matcha flavour was as strong as the smell for this matcha snack. Unfortunately, it was also quite bitter (as matcha typically is). There was barely any sweetness. As someone who loves matcha as is (even culinary grade) this was too bitter for me.

Hokkaido Matcha Milk Candy

I’ve never tasted a green tea hard candy before, but Hokkaido matcha milk candies are exactly what I would have expected. It gave me all the matcha feels.

These are the perfect matcha snack if you want a little bit of matcha without having to make it.

Kanro Matcha Milk Hard Candy

Kanro Matcha Milk Hard Candies are marketed as premium green tea milk candies. It tasted like a matcha latte in hard candy format. It was incredible. 

You could tell that it was heavily sweetened though. There were three layers to this candy, milk at the forefront, matcha, and then sugar!

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say they were good. But, having tasted the Hokkaido at the same time, those seemed more like the premium candies. I would go for Hokkaido over Kanro if you’re looking for a more green tea flavoured snack and less sweetness. 

Monteur Uji Matcha Waffle Cake

I found Uji Matcha Waffle Cakes from Monteur in the refrigerated section at the Japanese grocery store, so you won’t be able to order these online.

This matcha snack reminded me of Italian cannolis (gelato wrapped in a thin waffle cone). These have thicker almost cake-like waffles, more of a cream inside, and they aren’t freshly made.

It didn’t taste overly matcha-y when you ate it all together. Until you taste the creamy centre on it’s own with the waffle pastry, then it tasted like green tea ice cream.

Monteur Uji Matcha Roll Cake

Uji matcha roll cakes, also by Monteur, I found in the refrigerated section at the grocery store. It’s a roll cake with a cream filling.

As a cake, the roll was really moist, and the cream filling was tasty. But, I didn’t taste any green tea at all in the cake! It was almost like they just added green food colouring. Even when you just ate the cake I couldn’t taste anything remotely matcha.

Matcha Mochi

Mochi is a traditional Japanese rice dessert. The outside is rice cake, and it’s typically filled with bean paste. The ones that I bought were matcha mochi with matcha flavoured red bean paste.

If you like mochi, you’ll most likely enjoy these matcha mochi snacks. This was only my second time tasting mochi and just couldn’t get on board with the texture of it. It’s hard to describe, it’s almost like eating uncooked dough.

But, my partner loves Mochi and fell in love with the matcha mochi.

Matcha Mochi Sorbet Bonbons

I didn’t really know what to expect when I saw these matcha green tea snacks. They were in a box in the freezer. It’s a frozen matcha mochi, filled with green tea ice cream instead of bean paste. 

I actually like these better than regular green tea mochi. You don’t notice the odd texture as much.

It came with 6 in a box, I’m still not sure how you’re supposed to eat them. They melt in your hand but I don’t think you’re supposed to use a spoon either. So far we’ve just been picking them up and biting into them.

Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream

This was the first matcha flavoured snack I ever heard about and tried. Growing up this was always served for dessert at the all you can eat sushi restaurant we went to (shout out to Kanda in Montreal!).

I loved it there and I still love it! It’s exactly what it says it is, green tea ice cream. It tastes like creamy cold green tea. The one I tried isn’t overly sweet either.

Haagen Daz just released a matcha green tea ice cream flavour you can try as well which is supposed to be good!

Matcha Snacks Still On My List To Try…

I am constantly on the lookout for new matcha flavoured snacks to try. 

Here are some others that I’ve stumbled upon that I can’t wait to try:

• Matcha Covered Almonds 
• Meiji Biscuis (Matcha Oreo)
• Hello Panda Green Tea 
• Matcha Shortbread Cookies 

P.S. If you’ve tried/ seen any matcha flavoured snacks, let me know in the comments below so I can try it and add it to my list!

Matcha Must-Haves!

Related Posts

• Understanding Matcha Basics
• Kitchen Alternatives To Make Matcha With (Instead of a Bamboo Whisk)
• Matcha Vs. Green Tea; What’s The Difference?
• Understanding the Difference Between Culinary and Ceremonial Matcha
• What Are The Different Types of Japanese Green Tea
• Sakuraco Review: Bring A Taste of Japan Home

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Last update on 2024-11-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API