A Beginner's Guide to Matcha

Matcha looks simple on a tin, just green powder, but the label hides a few real decisions: whether it's meant for whisking into a bowl or stirring into a cake batter, whether it's plain or flavoured, and whether you'll need any kit beyond a spoon. This guide walks through those choices and what to reach for once you know what you're after.

Drinking grade matcha, for whisking on its own

This is matcha meant to be drunk plain, whisked with hot water and nothing else, so the tea itself needs to carry the whole cup. Adagio Teas Matcha is made from shade-grown gyokuro leaves and is the closest to what you'd be handed in a traditional tea ceremony, a good place to start if you want to understand what matcha is meant to taste like. Premium Matcha Powder is a Samidori cultivar from Uji harvested in spring, described as a rich, invigorating cup, which suits someone who wants a fuller everyday cup rather than a ceremonial one. If a particular well known matcha brand is what you're used to, the Davids Matcha alternative is a similar Samidori cultivar from Uji for readers who want that style without hunting down the original.

Flavoured matcha, for a gentler introduction

Plain matcha has a grassy, slightly bitter edge that not everyone takes to straight away, and flavoured versions soften that by grinding the tea with a natural flavouring. Cinnamon Matcha and Blueberry Matcha are both made from young, shade-grown leaves flavoured with cinnamon or blueberry respectively, which makes them easier to drink on their own or stir into a latte. Chocolate Matcha uses a Samidori cultivar from Uji, a high-grade spring harvest, flavoured with natural cacao, so it keeps some of the character of a better matcha while the cacao takes the edge off. These are a sensible pick for someone easing into matcha, or as a gift for a teabag drinker who wants something a bit more interesting.

Cooking grade matcha, for baking and lattes

Cooking or "food grade" matcha isn't meant to be whisked and drunk on its own, it's meant to be mixed into something else, where its colour and flavour come through alongside other ingredients. Matcha Food Grade Powder is described as having light grassy notes and a savoury nuttiness, with a bright green colour that adds visual pop to baking, icing or milk drinks, and it costs a good deal less than drinking grade because it isn't held to the same leaf standard. If you'd rather taste matcha without any preparation at all, Tea Cookies - Green Matcha are buttery cookies made with real tea leaves folded in, a simple way to try the flavour before committing to a tin of powder.

The tools for whisking it at home

Matcha doesn't dissolve the way a teabag does, it needs to be broken up and dispersed through the water, which is what a bamboo-style whisk is for. A Matcha Whisk is built along the lines of the tools used in chanoyu, the Japanese tea ceremony: matcha and hot water go into a bowl, and the whisk is worked through the mixture until it's evenly dispersed with no clumps of dry powder left. If you're starting from nothing, a Matcha Gift Set puts the pieces together in one box, with the idea that you spoon matcha into the bowl, add hot water and whisk, which suits a first-timer or someone buying matcha as a gift who doesn't want to work out what else to order.

Single serve packs for travel

A whisk and bowl aren't practical for a desk drawer or a suitcase, so matcha also comes in single serve sachets meant for a bottle of water rather than a bowl. Matcha On The Go comes as twelve individually measured units that you simply tip into a bottle and shake, which suits someone who wants matcha at their desk, in a hotel room, or anywhere a whisk isn't an option. It's the same idea as the tin, just repackaged so one packet is one serving with nothing to measure.

How to choose

• Grade matters most: drinking grade is meant to be whisked and drunk plain, cooking grade is meant to go into batter, icing or a latte. Using cooking grade on its own will taste flatter than a drinking grade tin.
• Flavoured matcha (cinnamon, chocolate, blueberry) is a good middle step if plain matcha's grassy edge isn't for you, or as a more distinctive gift than a plain tin.
• If you don't already own a whisk and bowl, decide whether you want to buy the tools separately or start with a set that bundles them together.
• If the plan is to drink matcha away from home, a box of single serve sachets removes the need for a whisk at all.

Questions people ask

What's the actual difference between drinking grade and cooking grade matcha?

Drinking grade is made to be whisked with hot water and drunk on its own, so the leaf quality carries the whole flavour. Cooking grade is meant to be mixed into other ingredients, like batter or milk, where its colour and flavour blend in rather than stand alone, which is also why it tends to cost less.

Do I need a bamboo whisk, or will any whisk work?

A whisk built for matcha, like the Matcha Whisk, is shaped to break up the powder and disperse it evenly through the water in a bowl. If you don't want to buy one separately, a set that includes the whisk with the matcha and bowl removes that decision.

Can I use flavoured matcha for baking instead of plain?

Flavoured matcha like the chocolate, cinnamon or blueberry versions are described as being for drinking, ground with a natural flavouring added, rather than as a baking ingredient. For baking or icing, a plain food grade powder is the one meant for mixing into other ingredients.

What if I want to try matcha without buying a whisk and bowl?

Single serve packs, such as Matcha On The Go, are meant for a bottle of water: add the sachet, shake, and drink, with no whisking required. They're a straightforward way to try matcha, or to keep drinking it while travelling.