The matcha world is producing ever more incredible blossoms! I'm inundated with them every day on Instagram.
Today alone, when I was shopping, there was no escaping it; you can now find something with matcha on every corner.
The craze hasn't even stopped at the supermarket. For example, Oatly has launched an oat matcha drink with a whopping 0.8% matcha!
Sonnentor offers a matcha syrup consisting of 9% matcha, the remainder being cane sugar, water, and spinach extract. When diluted as directed with 10 parts water or milk, the remaining matcha content is 0.9%.
The list of flowers could go on endlessly without getting anywhere. Let's get to the roots instead.
What nobody knows: The term "Matcha" is not a protected designation of origin, meaning anything green and related to tea powder can be sold as Matcha. It doesn't matter what the powder contains, such as spinach extract as a coloring. So don't assume that it contains Matcha from Japan just because it says Matcha on the label. We're assuming from the outset that this tea comes from Japan because "Matcha" is a Japanese word. Matcha consists of two syllables. The syllable “Mat” is derived from “matsu,” which means “ground,” and “cha,” which simply means “tea,” so “ground tea,” quite simply.
Unfortunately, the Japanese government has failed to establish a protected designation of origin for matcha and also to define quality criteria. Within Japan, there are no established values that indicate a specific matcha quality.
Where does the matcha in our cups come from?
The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF) states that a total of 4,176 tons of matcha were produced in 2023, of which about half was exported.
But that's only 6% of Japan's total tea production. China says it will export more than 5,000 tons of matcha by 2025, which is more than half of the matcha consumed worldwide.
Summary: There are two competing narratives – but no reliable, independent source confirms that only 15–20% of the world's traded matcha comes from Japan.
One thing is certain: if no country of origin is stated, the tea powder most likely comes from China.
Which in principle doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but there are There are big differences between matcha from China and Japan. Especially in price! And in taste, too. Even Japanese matcha is very different. As with all foods, the variety, but also the soil, location, climate, fertilization, and processing all play an important role. You can compare it very well to wine. Like wine, most matchas are blends, meaning a mixture of different tea leaves. Only in recent years have single cultivars emerged.
The color
A green craze has also increasingly emerged as a quality indicator, but color doesn't always correlate with quality. Some tea varieties generally have a more yellowish color, and the flavor is generated through many different layers.
Coloring matcha powder, for example with spinach extract, is common practice (you'll learn more about this soon in our article on matcha and health).
An important criterion for determining whether matcha powder has been colored is oxidation. (You can find out more about oxidation here.)
This graphic shows you how to easily determine whether matcha powder is colored:
Moreover, everyone has different preferences. Some prefer something more chocolatey, others prefer floral or grassy, or even malty or maritime.
Ceremonial Grade and what is actually important
The frequently used quality criterion "Ceremonial Grade" also means nothing at all and can, in principle, be used by anyone for any matcha. There are no set criteria, and nothing is monitored.
"Ceremonial Grade" is a marketing term coined by an American that's slowly gaining popularity in Japan as well. Until recently, matcha was primarily consumed in tea ceremonies, and there have been specific criteria for this for centuries: "thin tea" or "usucha" and "thick tea," "koicha." Then there's "culinary" for cooking and baking. Matcha for latte or baking is a purely Western invention.
When someone uses the term "ceremonial grade," they would essentially have to name the tea school, the city, and the tea master who certified that matcha. At the beginning of our search for suitable products for Shinkoko.at, this was also the case for some of our tea farmers, like Chasandai, but that changed within a few years.
However, we will continue to refer to it and use the original terms. We distinguish five types of matcha:
· Koicha grade – pure enjoyment at the highest level for 4 grams and more and 60-80ml of water, at the tea ceremony the experienced guests get this tea
· Usucha grade – pure enjoyment at a high level for 2 grams and 80-120 ml. This tea is available to guests with little experience.
· Usu-Matcha grade – diluted Matcha enjoyment, comparable to a long coffee (coffee (for all non-Viennese: A “Verlängerter” is an espresso that is diluted with hot water, comparable to an Americano. This is how it is often drunk in the West with up to 300ml of water
· Latte grade – ideal for Matcha Latte, due to the intense taste of the milk, the Matcha does not have to be special
· Culinary grade – Matcha for baking and cooking at high temperatures, ideal for cookies or cakes
There are many factors that influence the quality of matcha, as already described: the variety, the location, the fertilization, and of course the processing, and so on.
Freshly ground is half the battle
What many people completely overlook when it comes to the quality of matcha, however, is the freshness of the grind. Tencha, the term for pre-ground tea, should actually be ground like coffee right before drinking. However, this isn't yet possible, or only possible with great effort.
Traditionally, it is milled using granite stone mills with special notches, a very complex and time-consuming process. A mill can only grind around 30-40 grams per hour, and the stones are prone to breaking. Therefore, only specialized companies now mill it.
There are newer developments, but as far as I know they are only used in China.
There are also hand-stone mills, but they don't really achieve the necessary fineness. They are also extremely expensive, and transport to Europe is enormously expensive due to their heavy weight.
However, some companies are currently developing a household grinder. This naturally raises the question of how to obtain the required tencha.
We have therefore refined our logistics so that it only takes a few days from the mill to us in Vienna – and you can taste it!
The market has been very volatile in recent months, and with rising global consumption, prices have also risen. This is generating many additional blooms.
I therefore advise you to take a close look and ask questions!
When tea first came to Japan in the 13th century, green tea was used as a medicinal drink, but more on that in the upcoming second part of this blog.