The highest grade quality of matcha is called Ceremonial Grade Matcha because it is traditionally served in Japanese tea ceremonies. High quality matcha tends to be more vibrant and deep green compared to lower quality Culinary Grade Matcha. The flavour of Ceremonial Grade Matcha is subtle, fresh and should not be bitter. It also has more nutritional benefits being higher in polyphenols, amino acids and essential vitamins & minerals compared to lower grade matcha powders.
Our Ceremonial Grade Matcha is produced from the well-shaded, young delicate leaves of the first harvest. The stems and veins of the plant are removed, leaving you a sweet tasting leaf to be ground into matcha powder. A High Quality tea leaf means you can enjoy our matcha pure without added sweetener or creamer if you desire.
To enjoy this traditional tea in its most pure form, place 2 grams of matcha (roughly 2 bamboo scoops or 1 teaspoon) into a bowl and whisk in 70mL of hot water until a rich foam appears. Remember to use 70-80 degree hot water to not burn the matcha!
For more recipes, check out our recipes page where we will be regularly posting up new recipes for ya'll to enjoy.
Lower grade matcha and culinary matcha should not be consumed as a fresh tea because it will be too bold and bitter. These types of powders tend to be less vibrant green, less fragrant and offer less health benefits. They are from the second, third or later harvests in the year and the leaves are exposed in the sun longer which breaks down the amino acids and chlorophyl content. They tend to be used for baking and cooking when flavour and health benefits are not as important.
Lastly, we will quickly mention matcha latte powder. This is different to ceremonial grade and culinary grade as it is already sweetened and often includes milk powder of some sort. Our matcha is not sweetened as it is in its purest form. We recommend a bit of honey or healthy syrup if you would like to sweeten things up :)
