Matcha NOW is one of the latest products to use this format, with a proprietary cap that holds 5 mL organic Japanese matcha, topping a 12-oz bottle of purified water.
Matcha NOW brand owner, Budda Teas of Carlsbad, CA, has been offering matcha tea, known for its health and antioxidant benefits, since 2010 in stick-pack and teabag formats. Wanting to give consumers a way to enjoy the health benefits of matcha on the go, Budda Teas recently began working on a RTD option.
“Once we started developing the formulation, we quickly discovered that matcha is difficult to work with and store in a bottle,” explains Budda Teas founder and CEO John Boyd. “The problem is matcha is a powder that does not dissolve in water, rather it disperses as a suspension. When matcha is mixed and sealed in a bottle, within a few minutes, it settles to the bottom of the bottle, and then within days, the product turns from a vibrant emerald green to an oxidized brown/green color. All of these things affected the flavor and appeal of the product and were problems we had to solve. Enter the cap! By putting matcha in the cap, we are able to preserve it fresh until time of consumption. This creates the best RTD matcha experience on the market.”
