Matcha Bubble Tea Kit vs Matcha Powder: What You Actually Get
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Matcha kit or matcha powder: the short answer
A traditional matcha set is a tin of loose powder and a bamboo whisk, for making plain matcha yourself at whatever grade and strength you like. A drinks kit like TeaJoy's is pre-measured sachets that make flavoured bubble tea drinks, no whisk needed. One is for matcha on its own; the other is a bubble tea that contains matcha.
What a traditional matcha set actually is
Most matcha sets pair a tin of powder with a bamboo whisk, and often a scoop and a bowl. Powder is generally sold by grade, with the finer grades usually intended for drinking plain and the rest for lattes, baking and mixing with milk. You choose the grade, how much goes in the bowl, and whether it is hot or iced, sweetened or not.
What you are paying for is control: the exact matcha, at the strength you want, made the way you want it. Prices vary too widely by grade and brand for a single figure to mean anything here.
This route suits someone who already drinks matcha regularly, wants a plain hot matcha rather than a flavoured drink, already knows the grade they prefer, or is happy to weigh out powder and whisk it by hand each time. If that is you, a tin and a whisk is the right buy. There is nothing wrong with it, and a bubble tea kit will not do that job better.
What the TeaJoy Matcha Tea Kit actually is
The Matcha Tea Kit is £13.99, vegan and female-founded, and comes with 2 x 18g Matcha Tea powder sachets, 2 x 50g Strawberry Boba sachets, 2 x 50g Strawberry Tea Syrup sachets, 2 x 50g Mango Boba sachets and 4 eco-friendly jumbo paper straws.
Here is the detail worth stating plainly, because it changes what you are buying: this kit makes 2 matcha drinks and 2 strawberry-and-mango fruit drinks, not 4 matcha drinks. The product page itself lists the contents as "2 x Matcha & Strawberry Bubble Tea, 2 x Strawberry & Mango Bubble Tea". Buy it expecting four matcha drinks and you will get two matcha drinks and two drinks with no matcha in them at all.
The matcha drink is made with 300ml milk or a milk alternative, one matcha powder sachet stirred in until dissolved, one strawberry boba sachet, topped with ice. The fruit drink is made with 300ml water, one strawberry tea syrup sachet stirred in, one mango boba sachet, topped with ice. Both use popping boba rather than tapioca pearls. The pack states no boiling, cooking or microwaving is required for either drink.
At £13.99 for four drinks in total, that works out at £3.50 per drink across the whole kit, matcha and fruit drinks combined. There is no equipment to buy, no whisk to wash, and no decision to make about grade, because the matcha sachet is measured for you.
This route suits someone who wants a bubble tea style drink with matcha in it rather than plain matcha, is happy with two matcha drinks and two fruit drinks from one box, and would rather stir a sachet into milk or water than whisk powder by hand.
Matcha set versus matcha kit, side by side
| What you are comparing | Traditional matcha set | TeaJoy Matcha Tea Kit |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | A tin of matcha powder, a bamboo whisk, usually a scoop and sometimes a bowl | 2 matcha powder sachets, 2 strawberry boba sachets, 2 strawberry syrup sachets, 2 mango boba sachets, 4 paper straws |
| Equipment needed | Bamboo whisk, bowl, a kettle if drinking hot | None beyond a glass, milk or water, and ice |
| Preparation | Measure the powder, add water, whisk by hand | Stir a sachet into 300ml milk or water, add the boba sachet, top with ice |
| How many drinks | Depends on the tin size and how much powder you use per cup | 4 drinks total: 2 matcha drinks, 2 strawberry-and-mango fruit drinks |
| What you control | Grade of matcha, strength, hot or iced, sweetened or not | Milk or milk alternative, and whether you use it iced |
| What it costs | Varies widely by grade and brand | £13.99 for the kit, £3.50 per drink |
Which should you buy
If you want plain matcha, hot or iced, and you care about grade or strength, buy the tin and the whisk. It is not our product, and it is still the right buy. Whisking is part of the ritual for a lot of matcha drinkers, and a sachet kit cannot replicate a cup whisked exactly to your taste.
If what you actually want is a bubble tea style drink that includes matcha, and you would rather stir a sachet than weigh powder and whisk it, the Matcha Tea Kit is the simpler route. Go in knowing it gives you 2 matcha drinks and 2 strawberry-and-mango drinks, not 4 matcha drinks. A second kit doubles the same split rather than giving you more matcha, so anyone who wants matcha and only matcha is better served by the tin and whisk.
For the rest of the range, including flavours without matcha, see the home kits collection. If you want the story behind this particular kit rather than the comparison, we covered that in an earlier post about the Matcha Bubble Tea Kit, and the method for making the matcha drink step by step is in our matcha strawberry bubble tea recipe. If it is the boba itself you are curious about, we explain the difference in our popping boba versus tapioca pearls post.