Matcha is a fine green powder made from whole tea leaves. Instead of steeping the leaves and throwing them away, you whisk the powder straight into hot water and drink everything. That is the core difference between matcha and every other tea, and it explains most of what makes matcha special: the taste, the colour and the price.
The word itself is Japanese and simply means "ground tea". Behind that simple name sits a craft that goes back about eight hundred years, and once you understand a few basics, it is much easier to buy good matcha and enjoy it at home.
How is matcha different from regular green tea?
Regular green tea is made by steeping loose leaves or a tea bag in hot water for a few minutes. You drink the flavoured water and the leaves go in the bin. With matcha, the leaf itself is ground into a powder so fine that it mixes into the water, which means you drink the whole leaf.
The plants are also grown differently. In the weeks before harvest, matcha plants are covered so that most of the sunlight is blocked. That shade changes the chemistry of the leaf: it builds up more chlorophyll and amino acids, which give matcha its bright green colour and its soft, savoury sweetness. Regular green tea is grown in full sun and tastes lighter and more grassy in comparison.
Where does matcha come from?
Matcha as we know it comes from Japan, and the craft grew up around Uji, a valley just south of Kyoto where farmers have grown shade-covered tea since the 13th century. Tea is grown in other regions and countries too, but Uji is where the methods were refined and where many of the best fields still are.
Our own matcha comes from a single estate in that valley, and you can read the full story of how it is grown and ground on our matcha page.
What does matcha taste like?
Good matcha tastes smooth and slightly sweet, with a savoury depth that tea people call umami. It should not taste harsh or bitter. If your first experience with matcha was bitter, the powder was probably low quality, or the water was too hot, because both things push the taste in the wrong direction.
You can often see the quality before you taste it. Fresh, well-made matcha is a bright jade green, while older or cheaper powder looks dull and olive. We wrote a separate guide on how to spot good matcha if you want to know exactly what to look for.
What is inside matcha?
Because you drink the whole leaf, a bowl of matcha contains more of what is naturally in tea than a steeped cup does. A standard 2g serving carries roughly 60 to 70mg of caffeine, which is a bit less than a regular cup of filter coffee. Matcha also contains L-theanine, an amino acid that occurs naturally in tea leaves, along with chlorophyll, which is where the green colour comes from.
How do you drink matcha?
The traditional way is called usucha: you sift 2g of powder into a bowl, add 75ml of water at 80 degrees, and whisk briskly for 20 to 30 seconds until a fine foam forms. It takes about a minute once you know the steps, and our ritual guide walks you through the whole thing.
The other popular route is the matcha latte, where you whisk the powder into a small amount of water first and then add warm or cold milk. If that sounds more like your speed, start with our matcha latte guide.
What do matcha grades mean?
You will mostly see two grades. Ceremonial grade is made from the youngest, most shaded leaves and is meant to be whisked with water and drunk on its own. Culinary grade comes from later harvests and is made for cooking and sweetened drinks. The difference in taste is real and worth understanding before you buy, so we compared the two honestly in ceremonial vs culinary matcha.
FAQ
Is matcha the same as green tea?
They come from the same plant, but they are different products. Green tea is steeped and the leaves are removed, while matcha is the whole leaf ground into powder that you drink. The growing method also differs, because matcha plants are shaded before harvest.
Does matcha have caffeine?
Yes. A standard 2g serving contains roughly 60 to 70mg of caffeine, somewhat less than a typical cup of filter coffee.
Why is matcha more expensive than regular tea?
The shading, the hand-picked first harvest and the slow stone-grinding all take much more time and labour than regular tea production. We break the costs down in why is matcha so expensive.
Do I need special tools to start?
A bamboo whisk (chasen) gives the best result, but you can start with a small kitchen whisk, a milk frother or even a shaker bottle. Good powder matters more than the tools.
Ready to taste what real matcha is like? Start with our 30g ceremonial matcha from Uji, single-origin and stone-ground.
