These fruit-infused matcha snacks helped me get through finals week at business school - they have the same amount of caffeine as a cup of green tea

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Jade Leaf Matcha

These fruit-and-matcha bites helped get me through finals week at business week.

• If you're looking to eat rather than drink your matcha, the new Jade Leaf Matcha Organic Matcha Fruit Bites is a great place to start.
• At just $10.95 for a pack of six, these are my new favorite snacks - especially because it has a good caffeine kick.
• I've found that these snacks give me the right amount of pep I need to start (or finish) my day, all without the typical jitters I might get from coffee.
  

Let it be known that I've jumped on the matcha bandwagon. Actually, I should give myself more credit - I was a fan of matcha before it was popular, so it could be argued that I was the creator of the bandwagon.

But credit-grubbing aside, I'm always in search of the next best way to consume my favorite form of caffeine. And my most recent discovery comes in the form of Organic Matcha Fruit Bites from Jade Leaf Matcha, the brand behind the best-selling tea on Amazon.

But as much as I love matcha, I'm generally not a fan of dried fruit, so I ate these new snacks with a healthy dose of skepticism. I've always found dried fruit snacks to be overly sweet or tangy and not particularly satisfying when I'm in need of a pick-me-up. But whether it's the addition of matcha or the pleasant flavor combinations (Apple Ginger, Lemon, and Peach Mango), I'm something of a fruit snack convert these days.

The little green cubes don't necessarily look like the most appetizing snack that you've ever had, but they pack quite a flavorful punch. The natural bitterness of the matcha does a great job to offset the telltale sweetness from the dried fruit, but there's enough tartness to keep me interested without making me pucker. Because each piece is quite small, I've recently taken to having a handful at a time - don't judge.

Jade Leaf Matcha

Each pack contains six single-serving pouches, each with around 25 mg of caffeine. That's the equivalent to a small cup of green tea, or about a quarter of the caffeine found in a standard 8 oz. cup of coffee

Of the three flavors currently available, I'm most partial to the Peach Mango. The tropical flavors marry well with the matcha, and the result is - dare I say? - refreshing. Either way, I constantly find myself reaching for more of this particular flavor. The Apple Ginger is also pleasant, and while the Lemon is my least favorite, it's still something that I would actively choose to snack on - which isn't always the case for other healthy snack foods. These are also organic, gluten-free, non-GMO, and contain zero added sugar.

But taste aside, what really sets these fruit bites apart from other offerings is the caffeine boost. According to Jade Leaf Matcha, each single-serving pouch packs around 25 mg of caffeine. That's about the amount of caffeine found in a small cup of green tea, or about a quarter of the caffeine found in a standard 8 oz. cup of coffee.

I was pleasantly surprised that after eating a few bites, I found myself more alert and focused than before. Whether it's the sugar from the fruit, caffeine from the matcha, or a combination of the two, it certainly helped me get through my last few finals of business school this semester. Plus, unlike with coffee or strong teas, I didn't experience any crashes or jittery feelings - possibly due to the fact that I was eating rather than drinking my caffeine on an empty stomach.

There have been a number of studies that point to the health benefits of matcha too, which is a potent form of green tea crushed into a fine powder. It's high in catechin (a natural antioxidant), which studies have suggested could inhibit cancer cell growth. A study from 2014 with 25 randomized controlled trials found that green tea drinkers saw a significant blood pressure drop over the course of 12 weeks. As with many studies, the findings imply possible health benefits but aren't entirely concrete or definitive.

And, of course, everyone responds differently to various stimulants, so you may have to talk with your doctor before seeing how your body responds to matcha. Since I was a fan of matcha previously and knew how my body would handle its effects, the Jade Leaf Matcha Organic Matcha Fruit Bites were a great next-step in my never-ending quest for caffeine.

They're available for $10.95 for a six-pack, which makes them easy to stock up on for my next finals week.

Buy the Jade Leaf Matcha Organic Matcha Fruit Bites (6-pack) from Amazon for $10.95

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