Matcha is green tea in powder form. The tea leaves are grown in the shade for the last few weeks before the harvest, then steamed, dried and ground into a fine, bright green powder. You don’t steep the powder: you whisk it into water or milk, so you drink the whole leaf. A 1 g serving contains about 32 mg of caffeine.
What is matcha made of?
Matcha is made from the leaves of the same tea plant as ordinary green tea, Camellia sinensis. The difference lies in how it is grown and processed. For matcha, the tea bushes are shaded from the sun for the last few weeks before the harvest. The youngest leaves are picked, briefly steamed and dried. In Japan, these dried leaves are called tencha. Only once the veins and stems have been removed are they ground into the powder we call matcha.
Because you whisk the powder into the water, you drink everything that is in the leaf. With ordinary green tea, you steep the leaves and then throw them away. That’s why matcha tastes fuller and has more body than a cup of green tea.
Is matcha green tea, and how is it different?
Yes, matcha is green tea, but you drink the ground leaf; with ordinary green tea, you drink only what comes out of the leaf as it steeps. They also differ in these ways:
| Matcha | Ordinary green tea | |
|---|---|---|
| What you drink | The whole leaf, as a powder | An infusion; the leaves are thrown away |
| Growing | Shaded for the last few weeks before harvest | Usually in full sun |
| Preparation | Whisked with water at about 80°C | Steeped in hot water |
| Texture | Slightly creamy, with a fine layer of foam | Clear and thin |
| Amount per cup | 1 g (half a teaspoon) | One tea bag or a teaspoon of loose-leaf tea |
Where does matcha come from?
Matcha traditionally comes from Japan. The best-known tea-growing regions are Uji (near Kyoto), Nishio, Shizuoka and Kagoshima. Soil and climate differ from region to region, and you can taste that in the tea.
Ekopura Organic Matcha Powder comes from the Shizuoka region, near Mount Fuji. Before the harvest, the tea plants are kept in the shade for a while. This keeps the leaves mild in flavour and deep green in colour. They are picked by hand, steamed, dried and then traditionally stone-ground into a fine powder. That powder is the only ingredient in the pouch.
What does matcha taste like?
Good matcha tastes smooth, fresh and slightly creamy, with a gentle umami note and little bitterness. Umami is the rounded, savoury taste you also know from stock. How matcha tastes in your cup depends a lot on how you make it.
Matcha turns bitter mainly when the water is too hot or you use too much powder. Boiling water draws the bitter compounds out of the leaf more quickly. So use water at about 80°C and 1 g per serving. Still getting used to matcha on its own? Start with a matcha latte: milk makes the flavour rounder and softer.
What is ceremonial grade matcha, and how does it differ from culinary matcha?
Ceremonial matcha is the grade for drinking on its own: made from the youngest, shade-grown leaves, with a smooth flavour. Culinary matcha is meant for baking, cooking and smoothies, where other flavours mask the matcha. It is typically stronger and more bitter.
There is no legal definition of these grades. It is a tea-trade classification, based on use and flavour, so look at the origin, colour and ingredients list as well. Ekopura Organic Matcha Powder is ceremonial grade. You can happily use it in a latte or iced matcha too; you simply taste it more clearly through the milk.
Does matcha have caffeine, and how much?
Yes. A 1 g serving of matcha contains about 32 mg of caffeine. The caffeine occurs naturally in the tea leaf, and because you drink the whole leaf, you get all of it. Use more powder per cup and you get proportionally more caffeine.
| Drink | Caffeine (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Matcha, 1 g of powder | 32 mg |
| Cup of black tea | 50 mg |
| Espresso (60 ml) | 80 mg |
| Cup of filter coffee (200 ml) | 90 mg |
The figures for tea and coffee come from EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority. EFSA says that for healthy adults, except pregnant women, up to 400 mg of caffeine a day, spread over the day, raises no safety concerns. Count all your caffeine, including what you get from coffee, tea, cola and energy drinks. If you’re sensitive to caffeine, don’t drink matcha just before bed.
Is matcha good for you?
There is no approved EU health claim for matcha, green tea or caffeine, so we don’t attribute any health effect to matcha.
A 1 g serving provides about 3 kcal. Ekopura Organic Matcha Powder contains only matcha powder. Any milk, honey or syrup you add comes on top of that, of course.
How do you make matcha tea?
To make a bowl of matcha tea, you need 1 g of powder, hot water and a matcha whisk or a milk frother.
- Sift 1 g of matcha (half a teaspoon) into a bowl; this stops lumps forming.
- Add a splash of hot but not boiling water, at about 80°C.
- Whisk with a matcha whisk in quick zigzag strokes until a fine layer of foam forms, which takes 15 to 30 seconds.
- Top up with hot water to about 100 ml and drink it straight away.
No matcha whisk? A milk frother, a hand whisk or a shaker works too. Add milk and it becomes a matcha latte; with ice and cold milk, an iced matcha latte. Stir in a serving of protein powder and you have a protein matcha latte.
What should you look for when buying matcha?
When you buy matcha, these four things matter most:
- Ingredients list. By law, ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. If the list includes sugar, milk powder or flavouring as well as matcha, it’s a blend, not matcha alone.
- Colour. Bright green powder usually points to young, shaded leaves. Yellowish-green or brownish powder often comes from older leaves, or from a pack that has been open for some time.
- Origin. A specific region, such as Shizuoka or Uji, tells you more than just ‘from Asia’.
- Organic. You can recognise organic matcha by the EU organic logo with a control body code: for Ekopura, that’s NL-BIO-01, with the origin statement ‘non-EU Agriculture’. Our guide to organic farming explains exactly what organic means.
How should you store matcha?
Store matcha tightly sealed in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight. Light, air and moisture dull the colour and flatten the flavour. Close the pouch tightly after each use. The best before date is on the pack.
Frequently asked questions
Why does matcha sometimes taste bitter or grassy?
Usually because of how it’s prepared. Boiling water and too much powder make matcha bitter and grassy. With water at about 80°C and 1 g per cup, it tastes smoother. The taste also tends to grow on you. In a matcha latte, the milk tones down the matcha flavour.
How much matcha can you drink a day?
One serving is 1 g, with about 32 mg of caffeine. How many servings you have in a day depends on how much other caffeine you have. EFSA says that for healthy adults, except pregnant women, up to 400 mg of caffeine a day, spread over the day, raises no safety concerns. Count coffee, tea, cola and energy drinks too.
Can you drink matcha while pregnant, and is it suitable for children?
Matcha contains caffeine, so it’s not recommended for children or pregnant women. If you’re breastfeeding, check with your GP, midwife or pharmacist first, and count all the caffeine you have in a day.
Why is matcha so expensive?
Because more work goes into it. The bushes are shaded from the sun before the harvest, the youngest leaves are picked, and after drying they are slowly ground into powder. You also use the whole leaf. Per cup, the cost is modest: at 1 g per serving, you get 90 servings from a 90 g pouch.
Matcha from Ekopura
Ekopura Organic Matcha Powder is ceremonial grade matcha from Shizuoka, certified organic, with just one ingredient. A 90 g pouch gives you 90 servings of 1 g. Start with a matcha latte or try a protein matcha latte.
