Matcha 101: A Beginner's Guide to Matcha Tea

Matcha is a fine powder made from stone-ground green tea leaves, grown in shade and consumed whole rather than steeped and discarded. That single difference — you drink the leaf itself — is what gives matcha its intense color, its thick texture, and its distinctive vegetal, umami-forward flavor.

How matcha is made

Matcha comes from Camellia sinensis, the same plant as green, black, and oolong tea. What separates it is the growing and processing.

The plants are shade-grown for several weeks before harvest, which changes the leaf chemistry and deepens the color. After picking, the leaves are steamed for roughly 20 seconds on a conveyor to halt oxidation, then dried in tall columns using nets and wind turbines. The dried leaves are baked in a brick oven, at which point they become tencha — the final leaf form before grinding.

Tencha then goes to tea vendors, who filter, cut, and stone-grind it into the powder sold as matcha. Grinding is slow: traditional stone mills produce only a small amount per hour, which is part of why good matcha is expensive.

A brief history

Matcha traces to 7th-century China and Japan. Japanese Zen monks travelling to China for study brought tea seeds home to their monasteries. At the time, tea leaves were roasted and compressed into bricks for transport.

The monk Eisai Myoan developed a philosophical connection between Zen practice and tea drinking between the 10th and 12th centuries. His preparation method — drying leaves and grinding them to a fine powder — is essentially how matcha is still made. His student Myoe cultivated tea at a monastery in the Kyoto mountains, where conditions proved ideal for growing and producing tea powder at scale.

The matcha ceremony

Japanese tea ceremonies are meditative rather than merely practical. The brewing instruments and utensils are presented first, alongside sweets or pastries for guests. Water is boiled and allowed to cool slightly, matcha is scooped into a bowl, water is poured over it, and the two are whisked with a bamboo chasen (茶筅) until frothy. The tea is served with a light meal.

Making matcha at home

Hot: sift 1/2 teaspoon of matcha into a bowl, add about 3 fl oz of water at 175°F — not boiling, which makes matcha bitter — and whisk rapidly in a zig-zag motion until a fine froth forms.

Cold: add a rounded teaspoon to 12 to 14 fl oz of iced water in a sealed bottle and shake for about 15 seconds.

Latte: whisk the matcha into a small amount of hot water first, then add hot or cold milk.

Matcha does not dissolve — it stays suspended — which is why whisking or shaking matters. Left to stand, it will settle.

On matcha and health

Matcha, like all tea, contains polyphenols and other compounds that are the subject of ongoing research. Much of that research is preliminary or observational, and matcha is not a treatment for any condition. Enjoy it as a drink, and speak to a doctor about anything health-related.

Common questions

What is matcha made of?
Shade-grown green tea leaves, steamed, dried, baked into tencha, then stone-ground into a fine powder.

Why is matcha whisked instead of stirred?
Because it does not dissolve. Whisking suspends the powder evenly and creates the froth; stirring leaves clumps and sediment.

Why does my matcha taste bitter?
Usually water that is too hot. Use around 175°F rather than boiling.

Is matcha the same as green tea?
It is a type of green tea, but consumed differently — you drink the ground leaf rather than an infusion of steeped leaves.

Is instant green tea the same as matcha?
No. Instant green tea is brewed tea with the water removed, so it dissolves completely and leaves no sediment. Matcha is ground leaf that stays suspended.

Read more on green tea powder vs. matcha, or shop Waka instant tea.