The Brand Behind Costco's Kirkland Signature Green Tea

Green tea is one of the most popular kinds of tea in the world, whether it's enjoyed for the unbelievable health benefits or the refreshing, balanced flavor. Some people even enjoy green tea as a smoothie addition, adding a fresh taste to an already elaborate mixture of fruits. When you're making your way through the aisles of Costco, you may notice the bulk container of Kirkland Signature green tea. If you look a little closer, you'll see that the tea blend is a collaboration with Ito En.

Coming in at about $.14 per bag, the 100-count box of green tea is partly a Kirkland Signature creation and partly an Ito En creation. Ito En, the beloved Japanese tea brand, is Japan's number-one producer of canned and bottled green teas, so it's not surprising that Costco turned to this well-established tea manufacturer to produce its green tea bags. The Kirkland Signature Green Tea Bags are a mixture of sencha and matcha and can be brewed hot or cold, though everyone knows the best temperature to brew green tea is between 175 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit. If you recognize the Ito En name, it might be because the brand has been around for over 60 years, working its way into the hearts of green tea and matcha lovers across the globe.

Ito En was established as the Japan Family Service back in 1964, changed to the Frontier Tea Corporation in 1966, and eventually became Ito En in 1969, a story similar to how Costco's Kirkland brand was almost called something completely different. Japan is the number-two producer of green tea in the world, just behind China, and many people credit Ito En's bottled green tea as the product that revolutionized green tea around the world. In 2019, Ito En's sub-brand, Oi Ocha, landed a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records as the top-selling tea beverage in the world.

The Kirkland Signature Green Tea Bags are made not just from sencha, which is Japan's most popular type of green tea, but also from matcha. According to Ito En's website, the brand's matcha provides a "rich, velvety taste" while the sencha adds an "herbaceous flavor." Customers agree that this combination is what makes the Kirkland Signature Green Tea stand out, with reviews on Costco's website saying that "If you like green tea from an Authentic Japanese restaurant you will not be [disappointed] with this product." 

Several reviews do express concern about the green tea's plastic packaging, saying that "If Kirkland switched to eco-friendly materials this tea would be perfect." Maybe Kirkland Signature should take a page from the book of these 12 popular tea brands with compostable bags and make the Kirkland Signature Green Tea Bags even better.