Matcha powder, explained

What is matcha powder?

Matcha is green tea ground into a fine powder. With regular tea you steep the leaves and throw them away; with matcha you whisk the powder straight into water or milk and drink it all. That's what gives it the deep green colour, the rich flavour, and the smooth, foamy top you see in cafés.

How to use matcha powder

The basic recipe never changes: sift about 1 teaspoon (2 g) of matcha into a cup, add roughly 60 ml of hot water at 75–80°C, and whisk until smooth and foamy. From there:

• Matcha tea — top up with more hot water and drink as is.
• Matcha latte — pour over frothed warm milk (dairy, oat or almond).
• Iced matcha — whisk with a little water, then pour over ice and cold milk.
• Smoothies & baking — sift straight into the blender or your dry ingredients.

The full walkthrough with timings is in our how to make matcha guide, and common questions are covered in the matcha FAQ.

The easiest way to whisk it

A bamboo whisk is the traditional tool, but a handheld electric milk frother does the job in 15–20 seconds with no technique to learn — and it froths the milk for your latte too. Our stainless steel milk frother has three speeds: a gentle stir to mix the powder, and a faster setting to build café-style foam.

How much matcha do you need?

One cup uses about 2 g. That means a 100 g tin makes roughly 50 cups and a 200 g tin around 100. If matcha is a daily habit, the larger tin is the better value; if you're just getting started, 100 g is plenty. There's also a 100 g matcha + 100 g cocoa set if you like to switch between the two.

Ceremonial vs culinary grade

Ceremonial grade is the finest matcha, made for drinking straight with water. Culinary grade is stronger and slightly more bitter, made for lattes, smoothies and baking. For everyday drinking and lattes, a good all-round matcha works well — water temperature and proper whisking affect the taste more than the grade label does.

Storing matcha powder

Keep it sealed, away from light and heat, at normal room temperature. Stored properly, matcha keeps its colour and flavour for up to 3 years.