Matcha is made from specially grown and processed green tea leaves from the Camellia sinensis plant. Before the leaves are ground into matcha, they are known as tencha.
Pure matcha does not contain sugar, milk or flavouring. It is simply the whole tea leaf ground into a very fine powder.
Matcha Starts as a Tea Leaf
Matcha comes from the same tea plant used to make green tea, black tea, and oolong tea. The difference is how the plant is grown and how its leaves are processed after harvest.
Before harvesting, tea plants intended for matcha are shaded from direct sunlight. This changes how the leaves develop, helping create the deep green colour, mellow sweetness, and umami commonly associated with matcha.
How Tea Leaves Become Matcha
After the leaves are harvested, they go through several steps:
- Steaming: The leaves are quickly steamed to stop oxidation and preserve their green colour.
- Drying: They are dried without being rolled into the needle-like shape used for many other Japanese green teas.
- Sorting: Stems and larger veins are removed, leaving the soft leaf material known as tencha.
- Grinding: The tencha is slowly ground into an extremely fine powder, traditionally using granite stone mills.
The finished powder is matcha.
Is Matcha Just Ground Green Tea?
Not exactly.
Grinding ordinary green tea leaves does not automatically make matcha.
Authentic matcha is produced from shade-grown tencha. Sencha and other green teas are cultivated and processed differently, so grinding them creates green tea powder rather than true matcha. The two powders can differ noticeably in colour, texture, and flavour.
What Should Be on the Ingredient List?
For pure matcha, the ingredient list should contain only one ingredient: matcha or green tea.
Products labelled as a “matcha latte mix” may also contain sugar, milk powder, sweeteners, or flavouring. These mixes can be convenient, but they are not the same as pure matcha powder.
Checking the ingredient list is the easiest way to know what you are buying.
Matcha Is the Whole Tea Leaf
When you steep regular green tea, you drink the water and discard the leaves. With matcha, the entire leaf has been ground into powder and mixed directly into your drink.
That is what makes matcha different: it is not an extract or an instant tea. It is carefully cultivated tea leaf, processed into tencha and finely ground so the whole leaf can be enjoyed.
