What does matcha taste like?
Introduction
As part of our matcha series, this article looks at what matcha tastes like. Its flavour depends on several factors, including grade, water quality, water temperature and origin. Keep the following points in mind to get the best flavour from your matcha.
Contents
1. What does matcha taste like?
Matcha tastes different from ordinary green tea, and its flavour also varies considerably by grade. So there is no one-sentence answer to what matcha tastes like.
Broadly speaking, matcha is divided into high-grade and low-grade varieties. This makes a big difference to its taste – more on that later.
If you take the time to savour high-grade matcha and prepare it properly, you can pick out a range of nuances. The flavour description below therefore refers to high-grade matcha.
1.1 Grassy, vegetal flavour
One of matcha’s strongest notes is its grassy flavour; some people might even describe it as vegetal. Matcha is made from green tea leaves grown and processed in a particular way. In Japan, the leaves are steamed, which gives matcha its distinctive grassy, slightly vegetal taste.
In China, by contrast, matcha is heated in pans, which gives it a slightly nutty aroma.
Matcha is also often described as a much more intense green tea, mainly because of its umami flavour.
1.2 Umami flavour in matcha
What does umami taste like in matcha? And what is umami?
Umami is one of the five basic tastes. It was identified in the early 2000s when the corresponding taste receptors on the tongue were located.
How does umami come through in matcha?
Umami is a savoury flavour also found in meat and miso soup. It has a hearty taste with subtle notes of the sea, fish and seaweed.
The pronounced umami flavour in matcha is caused by shading during cultivation. Find out more in our main article.
1.3 Slightly sweet
Matcha contains fewer bitter compounds than ordinary green tea, allowing its slightly sweet flavour to come through more clearly. It is not sweet like sugar, of course, but has a subtle hint of sweetness.
1.4 Bitter
Lower-grade matcha often tastes unpleasantly bitter. High-quality matcha, on the other hand, has only a subtle bitter note that complements the other flavours without becoming unpleasant.
1.5 Creamy
Good matcha feels creamy in the mouth and leaves a lingering, almost buttery aftertaste. Preparing your matcha correctly can help bring out this creaminess.
2. Matcha grades
As mentioned, the quality of matcha has a significant effect on its flavour and on the strength of its health properties.
Matcha can be divided into several grades, though it is usually classified simply as culinary matcha or drinking matcha (ceremonial matcha). Only the highest-grade matcha is generally drunk on its own; the rest is used for sweets or drinks such as matcha lattes.
There are still significant differences between lower grades of matcha, affecting its colour, flavour and nutrient content.
To influence how your matcha tastes, it helps to know what makes a high grade. Colour and origin are the easiest ways to assess it.
2.1 Matcha grades – origin
When matcha became popular, all sorts of products suddenly appeared in discount supermarkets. But not all matcha is the same. Literally, matcha means “ground tea”, so many brands buy inexpensive powdered tea from countries such as China, Vietnam and Thailand. However, this tea has not necessarily undergone the growing and processing methods needed to produce good-tasting matcha.
Only with matcha from Japan can you be sure that even a low-grade variety meets the requirements of authentic matcha.
The best-known Japanese regions for high-quality matcha include:
- Uji
- Nishio
- Fukuoka
- Kakoshima
Tokyo also has some good growing areas. When buying, check the country of origin and, if possible, the region too. A reputable brand knows exactly where its tea comes from. We even have our own short videos about growing and processing our guayusa tea on YouTube.
3. Preparing matcha
To get the most out of high-grade matcha, there are a few things to bear in mind. Our detailed guide to preparing matcha includes a much more detailed walkthrough and the equipment you’ll need.
- Use spring or filtered water
- Pay attention to the water temperature. Boiling water makes matcha taste more bitter.
- Use a matcha bowl
- Sift the matcha first
- Whisk it with a bamboo whisk first,
- before adding more water
4. Conclusion
Matcha’s flavour depends greatly on its grade. Good matcha tastes slightly sweet, very creamy and full-bodied, with a pronounced umami note and only mild bitterness. It often has a grassy, slightly vegetal note too.
You can get a good idea of matcha’s grade before buying by looking at its colour and origin. Good matcha comes from Japan and is deep, vivid green, with no yellow or brown tones.
We hope this article has given you an idea of what matcha tastes like.
We don’t sell matcha ourselves, but we do offer guayusa tea, the world’s most caffeinated drink. Guayusa comes from Ecuador and has a particularly long-lasting effect that supports focus and performance, without palpitations or jitters. To find out more, read our blog article, “What is guayusa tea?”.
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