What ceremonial matcha actually is.
For real.

The technical definition

Matcha is powdered tencha leaf, a specific Japanese green tea (Camellia sinensis) grown in shade and processed without rolling or fermentation. The word «matcha» literally means «ground tea» in Japanese, and it is that very broad definition that is the source of all the confusion in the market.

For a green powder to be called ceremonial matcha with any rigour, four conditions are non-negotiable:

• come from tencha: the only leaf that, after shading, steaming and drying, gives real matcha.
• first harvest (ichibancha): leaves picked between late April and mid-May, when L-theanine and chlorophyll are at their peak.
• Stone milling: whether the granite mill is turned by hand or by motor, the grinding has to produce particles of 5 to 10 microns.
• shading before harvest: 20 to 30 days with the plants under covers (kabusecha) to force production of chlorophyll and amino acids, L-theanine above all.

A powder that fails any one of these can be good ground green tea, but it is not ceremonial matcha in the strict sense.

Tencha: the ingredient nobody mentions

Tencha (点茶, sometimes written hikicha) is the invisible link between the field and matcha. It comes from shaded first-harvest leaves which, once picked, are steamed to stop oxidation, dried in dry-heat ovens, then stripped of stems and veins by hand or by specialised machinery. What is left is a thin sheet of pure leaf, without the veins that would bring bitterness or the fibrous stems.

This step is decisive: in a quality matcha only the pure leaf tissue is used. What is removed (karigane) goes into other preparations. It costs time and labour, and that is directly why a first-harvest Uji ceremonial matcha can cost €35 to €60 for 30 grams at origin.

Tencha is kept refrigerated, often above 1,000 metres in cool areas, and only ground to order to keep it fresh. Grinding reduces the leaf to particles of 5 to 10 microns, which comes to 40 to 80 grams an hour on a traditional granite mill. That slowness is why industrial ceramic ball mills get through the same volume in minutes, at the cost of heat that degrades the antioxidants.

The main cultivars

The sensory character of a matcha comes in large part from the cultivar, the selected variety of Camellia sinensis. Japan’s growing regions have several historic and modern cultivars with clearly distinct profiles:

Kyoto’s cultivar breeding programme formally began in 1931, when Jinnosuke Hirano started the work in Higashi-Uji. In 1939 the Kyoto Tea Research Institute systematised it, which produced the Asahi, Gokou, Samidori and Ujihikari cultivars that define the profile of high-end Uji matcha today.

Ceremonial vs culinary vs premium

No Japanese regulation governs the use of the words «ceremonial», «premium» or «culinary». They are market labels, not standards set by the Japanese state or any international body. Any manufacturer can therefore label a product «ceremonial» with no technical guarantee attached.

The trade has nonetheless settled on a practical classification that works as a guide:

The growing regions

Japan has three historic regions for high-end ceremonial matcha, plus several important emerging ones. China, where powdered tea began, also produces matcha with profiles of its own:

• Uji (Kyoto): The historic benchmark region. The Uji river valley, with its morning mists and loamy soils, produces the most complex matchas in the world. Main cultivars: Gokou, Asahi, Samidori.
• Nishio (Aichi): Japan’s second growing region. It supplies roughly 40% of Japanese matcha. A softer, more uniform profile than Uji, at a more accessible price. Widely used in blends.
• Yame (Fukuoka): A southern region known for gyokuro, which also produces exceptional matcha. Saemidori is the dominant cultivar. Less volume, higher prices.
• Kagoshima: The fastest growing region of recent decades. Volcanic soils, higher yields per hectare. Okumidori and Saemidori cultivars. A fresher, less complex profile than Uji.
• Jingshan (China): The historic origin of powdered tea. It was at Jingshan that the monk Eisai learned the chajing in the twelfth century. Today it produces mostly culinary and entry-grade matcha, though there are growers working at ceremonial quality.
• Guizhou (China): An emerging region growing fast. Jiangkou County exported more than 1,200 tonnes in 2024 to 44 countries. Recent studies put its colour profile close to the Japanese one.

How to recognise authentic matcha

There are five signs a professional uses to judge a matcha without a laboratory:

1. Color: vivid jade green, almost bright. If the powder is olive, yellowish or dull, the harvest was late or it has been kept badly.
2. Dry aroma: fresh vegetal notes, young pea, seaweed, sea air. If it smells of hay or paper, it has oxidised.
3. Texture: silky, with no lumps you can feel. Below 10 microns it feels almost like a cosmetic powder.
4. Foam: with 2 g of powder and 70 ml of water at 70 °C whisked hard with a chasen, a dense, persistent microbubble foam should form. If it collapses within seconds or never appears, the quality is low.
5. Taste: a first impression of sweet umami, with no bitterness up front. Slight bitterness, if it comes, arrives at the end as a clean note. The finish should be long, sweet and persistent.

A matcha that passes all five can be considered ceremonial quality, whatever its price or its label.