🍵 Matcha

Matcha (also spelled maccha) is Japanese green tea in the form of a fine powder. It is ground from tencha: leaves shaded from the sun before picking, then steamed and dried flat without rolling. Nothing is strained out, so your cup holds the whole ground leaf rather than an infusion.

The plant is the same one behind all tea, Camellia sinensis. The difference starts in the field: young shoots are covered against direct sunlight, a method the Japanese call ooishita, meaning under cover. Japan's farm ministry (MAFF) mentions about 20 days of shade, while the trade agency JETRO gives 20 to 30 days; there is no single official minimum.

After shading the route is short: picking, steaming, drying the leaves flat. Stalks and veins are then removed and the tencha is milled between stone grinders. How these steps differ from the path of black tea is explained on the Tea oxidation page.

The best-known areas are Uji and the Yamashiro district in Kyoto Prefecture, and the city of Nishio in Aichi Prefecture. According to the government magazine Highlighting Japan (2018), more than 96 % of Nishio's tea fields grow tencha. Kagoshima now leads output: 2,670 t out of 6,278 t nationwide in 2025, according to Aichi Prefecture data.

How much caffeine a cup of matcha holds is not answered by USDA, which has no matcha entry. For brewed green tea it lists 12 mg per 100 g, roughly 29 mg in a 240 ml cup (an estimate), and that figure does not carry over to a powder. EFSA's reference for adults is up to 200 mg of caffeine at once and up to 400 mg a day from all sources.

Its closest relative is gyokuro, which MAFF says is also shaded for more than 20 days but is steeped as leaves and strained. Sencha comes from the same Yamashiro gardens. Both belong to the wider family described on the Green tea page, and the overall map sits under Types of tea.

On the shelf, look for the word matcha and a district name such as Uji, Nishio or Kagoshima. The technical report ISO/TR 21380:2022 defines matcha by plant, cultivation and processing, and excludes flavoured, blended, decaffeinated and instant products. A matcha latte is a latte made with this powder; check the ingredients of ready mixes, since sugar may be added.

Why this matters to you: once you know matcha is ground shade-grown tencha, you can tell it apart from flavoured blends and avoid applying ordinary green tea caffeine figures to it.