Matcha Quality

What’s The Highest Quality Matcha?

When determining quality, color plays a huge role, with the more vivid colored powders having a much higher quality and potency compared to those that are more yellow in hue and not as vibrant. If you see brownish tones, stay clear as these have significantly deteriorated. In terms of color, inferior matcha has an almost ashen look, a bit like canned peas…compared to frozen peas representing quality matcha with its fresher, brighter and crisper state. After you’ve seen the ultimate vivid neon-green matcha, you can spot inferior ones instantly. You’ll never forget the piercing green hue of a high-quality mesmerizing powder

The way to tell if you have a high-quality matcha is not only by the color but also how the foam, when whisked with a chasen whisk, peaks in your bowl. High-quality matcha, when whisked properly, will hold its stiff foam in a rounded peak in the middle and will cast a whitish hue on the top. When you gently move the bowl you will see a pudding-like quality to the foam which is thick and creamy. Low-quality matcha doesn’t foam very well or has a hard time even suspending the particles in the water - it separates very quickly. This is due to many factors, not least the larger particles and oils in the tea. If you buy some matcha that you find isn’t ideal for drinking, simply use it for baking and adding to recipes for a health boost.

Finally it’s all in the taste and mouthfeel. Smooth and velvety, not chalky, is a hallmark of the best quality matcha and when the sweetness lingers for almost an eternity, you know the tea is the very finest.

The very highest quality matcha is created by artisan farmers - tight-knit family businesses that have been producing Japanese matcha for generations. But these smaller enterprises either don’t know how or simply don’t want to export their amazing tea due to the language and cultural barriers, licensing costs, and export challenges. 

In Japan relationships are everything. If you want to be a supplier of the highest quality matcha, it’s important to go deep into the countryside, meet these farmers, get to know their families, and build relationships over years. 

Our CEO, Holly Helt, grew up in Japan and has lifelong relationships with some of these farmers, and that allows us to offer you some of the highest quality matcha in Japan.