Matcha ~ Japanese Powdered Green Tea Tips, How-Tos, and Recipes

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What exactly is matcha?

Matcha is finely-powdered Japanese green tea. The leaves used to create matcha are not just run-of-the-mill green tea that you'd find in a teabag, however. Matcha is made from the same leaves used to make gyokuro, which is the finest quality Japanese green tea. The tea plants are covered with shade to protect them from the sun for a certain amount of time before harvest (usually a few weeks). This causes the tea to become darker and sweeter.

The tea is set out to dry and then very slowly stone-ground into a powder. It is important that the tea is ground very slowly, as too much friction will cause heat and cook the tea.

What's the difference between types of matcha?

To be honest, tea quality and grading systems are pretty vague, but it's fairly easy to tell the difference between a high quality matcha and a low quality matcha, especially when low quality matcha sometimes contains fillers. Pick the matcha that's best for you depending on your purposes.

Note: It is very important to never use sweetened matcha/matcha with additives in baking. It won't turn out even close to what you're expecting! Save sweetened mixes for drinks and smoothies.

High Quality Matcha, Ceremony-Grade Matcha, Premium Matcha
This is the matcha you are likely to find used in tea ceremonies. It is typically sold in very small quantities, and can be pretty pricey. Use this if you like to drink matcha straight, as it will be smoother and less bitter than a low grade.
Buy it at: High quality tea shops

Cooking-Grade Matcha, Culinary-Grade Matcha
This is what you will want to use for most recipes. It is still pure matcha (no sugar, flavoring, or fillers), but may be a lighter green and have a less intense flavor than premium matcha. It is usually sold in envelopes or foil bulk bags.
Buy it at: Asian grocery stores, some high quality tea shops

"Green Tea Latte" Mix
This is what is used to make most coffeehouse "green tea" drinks, smoothies, bubble tea, and "frapps". It is generally low-grade, almost always contains sugar, and sometimes also contains flavorings. You absolutely cannot use this for cooking or baking. It is acceptable for smoothie and lattes, or used as a dessert topping.
Buy it at: Starbucks, American grocery stores

Lupicia Fresh Tea

I get my matcha from Lupicia Fresh Tea. They are a Japan-based tea retailer with store locations in America (San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Honolulu) as well as several other countries (Australia, Korea, and a few others.) You can purchase online from www.lupiciausa.com for US customers.

Lupicia sells a reasonably-priced bulk bag of matcha that is perfect for cooking, baking, and smoothies/lattes, as well as a fine, flavored and sweetened matcha for smoothies, lattes, and other drinks. Get the product simply called "Matcha" for basic recipes. For a quick latte or drink, pick a flavor of Matcha Au Lait, which comes in Plain, Caramel, Strawberry, Sakura, and Soybean Powder flavor.

The other matcha choices are small tins of very high quality matcha that is best for drinking straight (ideal for tea ceremonies.) Lupicia also carries matcha bowls and preparation tools in their teaware section.

Teavana

Teavana carries one quality grade of matcha which is probably not best for baking, but should be good for drinking. They also carry matcha tools and other accessories.

Mighty Leaf

Mighty Leaf carries two kinds of matcha: one pure and one "latte mix" which contains sugar. You can also get frothers, bowls, and accessories.