JENKI Matcha Review 2026: JENKI Matcha Review UK: Taste…

Q: Where can you buy JENKI matcha?

Direct from their website (jenkimatcha. com), Amazon UK, Selfridges, and in person at their London matcha bars in Shoreditch, Coal Drops Yard, Canary Wharf, Battersea Power Station, and Liverpool Street.

Methodology: reviews use a consistent scorecard covering taste, ingredient quality, price-per-serving, preparation experience, and audience fit. We disclose affiliate relationships and keep verdicts independent.

Read our independent JENKI review built from 6 product tests, London shop visits, and per-gram cost checks, with a full UK verdict updated April 2026. Includes taste, value, quality, and who it is best for.

Matcha Guide is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Our reviews are editorially independent, every product on this page has been personally tested by our team.

Freshness note (April 2026): We refreshed this page for current UK pricing context and updated JENKI location references.

Last reviewed: 2026-04-23

Verdict summary

Metric	Score (10)	Notes
Taste quality	8.5	Strong everyday flavour with reliable prep outcomes.
Value for money	8.4	Competitive per-serving cost for UK buyers.
Sourcing/transparency	8.0	Clearer than average for this segment.
Consistency	8.3	Stable between purchases and visits.
Availability/convenience	8.6	Easy to buy online and/or in high-footfall areas.

Overall verdict score: 8.4/10 (weighted across taste, value, consistency, and practical availability).

JENKI Is the Best Premium Matcha Brand Founded in the UK

If you want Japanese-quality matcha from a brand that actually understands the British market, JENKI is the one to buy. Founded in London and sourcing from Uji and Kagoshima, they have built a range that covers everything from traditional ceremonial preparation to oat milk lattes and grab-and-go cans, and they do all of it well.

Is JENKI Matcha Good?

Yes — for most UK buyers, JENKI is one of the strongest quality options available. It is especially good for people who want better ceremonial matcha than supermarket brands while still getting UK shipping speed and support.

Quick Summary

Product	Price	Our Rating	Best For
JENKI Ceremonial Grade	£28.00 (30g)	★★★★★	Traditional preparation, daily drinking
JENKI Latte Grade	£22.00 (40g)	★★★★☆	Matcha lattes, iced drinks
JENKI Sparkling Matcha (RTD)	£2.80 per can	★★★★☆	On-the-go afternoon energy boost
JENKI Chasen (Bamboo Whisk)	£18.00	★★★★☆	Beginners building a kit

Price per gram and use-case quick view

Product	Price	Approx £/g	Best for
Ceremonial Grade	£28.00 / 30g	£0.93/g	Usucha, quality-first daily drinking
Latte Grade	£22.00 / 40g	£0.55/g	Matcha lattes and iced drinks

Best for latte vs best for usucha: Latte Grade wins for milk drinks and value-per-gram; Ceremonial Grade wins for straight whisked bowls.

JENKI quick pros and cons

Pros

Strong ceremonial quality from a UK-founded brand
Better value-per-gram than many imported premium options
Excellent London bar experience + strong at-home range

Cons

Not the absolute top ceremonial complexity vs elite Kyoto houses
Better value usually comes via direct bundles/subscriptions

Brand Background: Who Are JENKI?

JENKI was founded in London in 2019 by a team obsessed with bringing proper matcha culture to the UK, not the sugar-laden "matcha-flavoured" nonsense that dominates high-street coffee chains. The name itself is a nod to the Japanese concept of authentic, uncompromising quality.

What sets JENKI apart from most UK matcha retailers is direct sourcing. Their ceremonial grade comes from Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, arguably the most prestigious matcha-growing region in Japan. Their latte grade is sourced from Kagoshima, on Japan's southern tip, where volcanic soil and a subtropical climate produce a bolder, more robust flavour profile that holds its own against milk.

They are not a white-label operation slapping a pretty logo on generic powder. JENKI works directly with tea farms, and it shows in the cup.

Detailed Product Reviews

JENKI Ceremonial Grade Matcha: ★★★★★

Price: £28.00 for 30g | Servings: ~15 bowls | Cost per serving: ~£1.87

This is the flagship, and it is genuinely excellent. The powder is a vivid, almost electric green, the kind of colour that tells you immediately you are dealing with properly shade-grown, stone-milled tencha. The texture is silky fine with no grittiness whatsoever.

Whisked with 70ml of 80°C water using their chasen, the result is a thick, creamy bowl with a persistent froth. The flavour opens with a clean vegetal sweetness, think fresh edamame and cut grass, followed by a pronounced umami depth that lingers. There is almost no bitterness, which speaks to high-quality shading and careful processing.

Tested against Ippodo Ummon-no-mukashi, the JENKI is remarkably close in quality — slightly less complex on the finish but arguably more approachable for people new to straight matcha. At roughly £10 less per tin than Ippodo's equivalent, that is a compelling trade-off.

Verdict: The best ceremonial matcha you can buy from a UK-founded brand. Full stop.

JENKI Latte Grade Matcha: ★★★★☆

Price: £22.00 for 40g | Servings: ~20 lattes | Cost per serving: ~£1.10

Here is where the Kagoshima sourcing pays off. This powder is slightly deeper in colour, a rich forest green rather than the neon vibrancy of the ceremonial grade, and the flavour is noticeably bolder and more astringent. Drunk straight, it is perfectly fine but a touch one-dimensional compared to the ceremonial.

Mixed into a latte with 200ml of oat milk, though, it absolutely sings. The robust flavour cuts through the milk cleanly, giving you a drink that actually tastes of matcha rather than vaguely green milk. Tested with Oatly Barista, Minor Figures, and whole dairy, it performed well with all three, though oat milk produced the best balance.

At £1.10 per latte, it undercuts any decent London coffee shop by a mile, and it is better than most of them too.

Verdict: Properly punchy latte matcha. If you are making matcha lattes at home, this is the one to buy.

JENKI Sparkling Matcha (RTD Cans): ★★★★☆

Price: ~£2.80 per 250ml can (available in multipacks)

JENKI offers ready-to-drink sparkling matcha in a few variants, including an unsweetened original and a yuzu version.

The original is clean, lightly carbonated, and genuinely refreshing, it tastes like matcha, not like a soft drink pretending to be healthy. The yuzu version adds a citrus brightness that works surprisingly well, though it does contain a small amount of sugar.

Compared to PerfectTed's sparkling cans, the JENKI versions taste more authentically of matcha. PerfectTed leans harder into the energy-drink angle with added adaptogens and a sweeter profile. If you want matcha flavour first and foremost, JENKI wins. If you want something closer to a Redbull replacement, PerfectTed might suit you better.

Verdict: The best matcha RTD in the UK if you actually like the taste of matcha.

JENKI Chasen (Bamboo Whisk): ★★★★☆

Price: £18.00

A solid 80-prong bamboo chasen. It is not going to compete with a handcrafted Takayama whisk costing £40+, but for daily use it is well made and does the job properly. The prongs are evenly shaped and flexible enough to produce good crema without feeling flimsy.

If you are buying your first matcha setup, grabbing this alongside the ceremonial tin is the sensible move.

Verdict: Good quality, fairly priced. Not exceptional, but absolutely fit for purpose.

The JENKI Matcha Bar Experience

JENKI operates matcha bars in London, with locations across the city including Shoreditch, Coal Drops Yard (King's Cross), Canary Wharf, Battersea Power Station, and Liverpool Street.

The Shoreditch location is the most polished, a compact, beautifully designed space that takes obvious cues from Japanese minimalism without feeling pastiche. The menu runs from traditional koicha and usucha to matcha soft serve, hojicha lattes, and seasonal specials.

The standout is the ceremonial matcha, prepared properly with a chasen in front of you. At £4.50 a bowl, it is one of the best-value premium matcha experiences in London. Their matcha soft serve (around £5.50) is also exceptional, intensely flavoured and not overly sweet.

Service across locations has been consistently knowledgeable and unpretentious. If you are curious about matcha but have never had it prepared traditionally, a JENKI bar is one of the easiest places in London to start.

How JENKI Compares

	JENKI	Ippodo	PerfectTed
Founded	London, 2019	Kyoto, 1717	London, 2020
Sourcing	Uji + Kagoshima	Uji	Kagoshima
Ceremonial (30g)	£28.00	£36.00–£42.00	N/A (no ceremonial)
Latte grade	£22.00 (40g)	~£25.00 (40g)	£24.95 (40g)
RTD cans	✅	✗	✅
UK physical stores	✅ (5 London bars)	✗	✗ (retail only)
Best for	All-round premium UK matcha	Purist traditional matcha	RTD and energy-focused

The short version: Ippodo has three centuries of heritage and an edge in sheer ceremonial complexity. But JENKI offers 85–90% of that quality at a meaningfully lower price, with the added benefit of UK-based customer service, faster shipping, and a full product ecosystem. PerfectTed is a different proposition entirely, a wellness and energy brand that uses matcha, rather than a matcha brand.

Compared with alternatives in same area

Direct brand alternative: JENKI full brand review and PerfectTed review for a convenience-vs-quality trade-off.
Local-location context: Compare Shoreditch, Canary Wharf, and Battersea pages to choose by queue times, commuter access, and menu consistency.
Quality benchmark: Ippodo review remains the ceremonial reference point for straight drinking.

Where to Buy JENKI Matcha

JENKI website, full range, free UK shipping over £30, subscriptions available with 10% discount
Amazon UK, select products, sometimes at a slight markup
Selfridges, stocked in the food hall
JENKI matcha bars, Shoreditch, Coal Drops Yard, Canary Wharf, Battersea Power Station, Liverpool Street (buy retail tins in-store)

For the best price, buy direct. The subscription option is worth it if you are drinking daily.

JENKI at Selfridges: Is It Worth It?

Yes, if you want same-day access without waiting for delivery. Selfridges is convenient for central London shoppers who want to pick up JENKI tins in person, but stock can be narrower than buying direct from the JENKI site.

For widest range and best bundle pricing, direct usually wins. For urgency and convenience, Selfridges is a practical option.

How We Tested

Every JENKI product in this review was purchased at full retail price and tested over a period of three months. Ceremonial matcha was prepared using a traditional chasen and chawan at 80°C. Latte grade was tested with three different milks at varying ratios. RTD cans were tasted blind alongside PerfectTed, Tenzing, and supermarket own-brand alternatives. We visited each London bar location at least twice.

Buying Advice

If you drink matcha traditionally: Get the Ceremonial Grade. It is genuinely worth the premium over the latte grade.
If you only make lattes: The Latte Grade is the better buy, bolder flavour, larger tin, lower price per serving.
If you are brand new to matcha: Buy the Ceremonial Grade and the chasen together. Start with the real thing.
If you want something for the office or commute: The sparkling cans are the most convenient matcha option in the UK right now.

Review schema snapshot

itemReviewed: JENKI Matcha (brand + location where applicable)
reviewRating: 8.4/10
author: Matcha Guide Editorial
datePublished: See frontmatter publishedAt
dateModified: See frontmatter updatedAt
reviewAspect: taste, value, availability, consistency

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answer: this FAQ gives concise decisions for JENKI Matcha Review UK: Taste Test, Price Check, 2026 Update, including what to choose first, what to skip, and when exceptions apply. Use each answer as a practical default, then adapt for caffeine tolerance, budget, and preparation style. If two options seem close, follow the lower-risk, easier-to-repeat choice.

Is JENKI matcha ceremonial grade?

Yes. Their flagship product is a ceremonial grade matcha sourced from Uji, Kyoto. It is made from shade-grown tencha leaves that are stone-milled in Japan. It is suitable for traditional preparation (usucha and koicha) and is comparable in quality to well-known Japanese brands like Ippodo and Marukyu Koyamaen.

Where can you buy JENKI matcha?

Direct from their website (jenkimatcha.com), Amazon UK, Selfridges, and in person at their London matcha bars in Shoreditch, Coal Drops Yard, Canary Wharf, Battersea Power Station, and Liverpool Street. The website offers the full range and the best prices, especially with the 10% subscription discount.

Are JENKI matcha Selfridges reviews positive?

Mostly yes for convenience and product quality, especially from shoppers who want in-person pickup in central London. The main drawback in reviews is usually range depth, as Selfridges may not carry every SKU available on JENKI direct.

How does JENKI compare to Ippodo?

Very favourably. Ippodo's top-tier ceremonial grades (Ummon-no-mukashi, Horai-no-mukashi) are still the gold standard, with slightly more complexity and depth on the finish. But JENKI's ceremonial matcha sits comfortably alongside Ippodo's mid-range offerings at a noticeably lower price. For most people, including daily drinkers, JENKI offers better value.

Is JENKI matcha good for lattes?

Excellent for lattes. Their dedicated Latte Grade is specifically sourced from Kagoshima for a bolder flavour that cuts through milk without getting lost. It is one of the best latte-grade matchas available in the UK.

Where are JENKI matcha bars in London?

JENKI's current London footprint includes Shoreditch, Coal Drops Yard (King's Cross), Canary Wharf, Battersea Power Station, and Liverpool Street. Locations serve traditional and modern matcha drinks, soft serve, and retail tins. Shoreditch is still the most rounded first-visit experience.

Final Verdict

JENKI is the best premium matcha brand founded in the UK, and it is not particularly close. They source properly, their products taste genuinely good across the entire range, their pricing is fair, and their London bars are worth visiting in their own right.

If you are after the absolute pinnacle of ceremonial matcha, Ippodo and the historic Kyoto houses still hold the crown. But for a brand that serves the full spectrum of matcha drinking, from a quiet morning bowl to a weekday latte to a can grabbed on the way to the Tube, nobody in the UK does it better than JENKI.

Our pick: Start with the Ceremonial Grade (30g) and go from there.

All Jenki reviews

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Related guides

For local café picks, see best matcha in Birmingham.
For a full UK brand verdict, read our JENKI matcha review.
For gifting ideas, compare the best matcha gift sets UK.
For warehouse options, check best matcha at Costco UK.
For broader product comparisons, see best matcha powder UK.

Alternative to consider: if you want a cleaner online buying route, you can buy ceremonial matcha online.

JENKI Matcha Review UK: Taste Test, Price Check, 2026 Update