Sliding into the finish real quick. Been busy with personal stuff (read: MIDTERMS WRYYYYYYY)

Matcha releases March 9th at 1PM PST (4PM EST) during my lunch break. I’ll be posting on Instagram @throwcafe and Facebook as well as Reddit when the stock goes live, if y’all don’t get to it first.

For the conclusion to the Matcha Stress Test, click here. It’s ~12 minutes of me repairing it while talking about yoyo design/assorted handicraft things.

Logo

As a personal project that amounts to everything I’ve wanted in a yoyo, I also wanted the Matcha’s packaging to be unique. There’s a distinctive art style I’ve picked up over years of doodling, and I put it to work here. Sketched it out on paper before converting it to vector graphics.

Unlike your normal images, vector graphics can be scaled (practically) infinitely. Fonts are vector graphics of some form as well. The only “problem” is that they work best with patterns and logos rather than photos. More complex shapes are harder to make. But when you want a clear design with a simple shape, that’s basically the perfect situation for vector graphics.

Each finish has slightly different logo colors, for convenience of packing and labeling.

Labels

Just like there’s multiple ways to make logos, there’s at least two methods of putting them onto paper. And just as many ways to do stickers. For this run, I was going for economy, and I felt that the Matcha “banner” wouldn’t work well as a sticker anyway, so it was just printed out on paper.

I tried using an inkjet on photo paper at my workplace office, but that felt sticky and image resolution wasn’t the best. I went with professional laser printing on 60lb cover paper. Not only did it look good, it wasn’t that much more expensive. Unfortunately, this didn’t include cutting+trimming services, so I did all of that at my local FedEx as well.

Accessories

Despite the crazy low price, I wanted to get as much cool stuff in the package as possible. Two containers, string + response for my signature setup, and candy of course.

The container that the Matcha comes in can hold any yoyo up to 57mm or so, though any dust in there could scratch your yoyo as it rattles around. With padding, you can probably fit a 55mm yoyo in there. It’s the same size as the one used by the Axis Pulsefire. The smaller vial is the perfect size for holding a bearing for cleaning. Both of these containers are fully resistant to acetone as well as isopropyl alcohol.

I like using the Matcha with a set of IRPads, widely considered the highest quality response pads in the industry. They start out a little grippy, last an incredibly long time, and are used in YYR’s product line as well. I bought as many IRPad sets as possible to include in this first run and will be including them in the first 20-odd orders that go out! I will probably not be doing this in the future for cost reasons (a set of IRpads is $4). They also work in any yoyo that takes regular 19mm response.

I also dabbled in string making in the past, and all of that stemmed from wanting to unravel the secrets of YYSL Type X. I’ll be honest – it’s my favorite bulk string. Slightly thicker than normal, super durable, a bit shorter that what people like. While I can respect that most companies choose not to pick favorites, I’m also kinda a one-person operation, and an incredibly casual one as well. I think y’all would be okay if I picked favorites, no? You will be getting a piece of Type X in its most iconic colorway, Butane Flame.

Last but not least, a piece of Green Tea White Rabbit candy will be in the package as well. The original milk-flavored one is pretty much a classic Chinese candy, this one is matcha-flavored. It’s the size and shape of a mini Tootsie Roll, but wrapped in a thin layer of translucent rice paper that dissolves in your mouth. Just unwrap and remove the outer printed paper. The trick to enjoying it is to let it soften up in your mouth before biting in.

Long Story Short

tl;dr: jojo is made, spins gud. Goes live March 9th, 2017 at 1pm PST (4pm EST).