Meet Your Matcha

Matcha maker, matcha maker, make me a match…

Sorry. Our SoHo store in New York City is only twenty minutes from Broadway, and the influence gets the best of me sometimes. Nonetheless, we are gathered here today to talk about matcha: what it is, what sets apart all the different kinds of matcha we sell, and which one is your matcha made in heaven.

What Is Matcha, Anyway?

If you want the long answer to that question, visit our Matcha 101 page, followed by a reading of Mike Harney’s in-depth insights. But the short answer starts with a shade-grown green tea called tencha, which has a pleasant medium body and clean, vegetal flavors reminiscent of (brace yourself) steamed spinach and artichoke hearts. The tencha leaf is what gives matcha its character.

Another thing that makes matcha distinctive is the way it gets processed. Instead of being rolled and dried, or fired in a hot oven, the tencha leaves are chopped and air-dried. In Japan, tencha is rarely drunk in its pure form (although if you would like to do exactly that, we have a two-ounce tin of loose leaf Tencha with your name on it). More often, the dried, chopped tencha leaves are ground into a fine powder known as matcha.

Unlike most teas, brewing plays no role in the preparation of traditional matcha. Instead, you start with a deep-sided bowl and a fine whisk. After warming the bowl with hot water, you dry it out to keep the matcha powder from clumping. Place your matcha in the bowl, then pour water (typically heated to 175°F) over it. Add a small amount of water at first to make a thick paste, then add more and whisk in brisk angular motions, tracing an M or a W to raise a fine, even foam.

Good matcha is prized for its umami: a savory, creamy sweetness balanced by gentle bitterness (the word itself translates to “essence of deliciousness” in Japanese). The higher the grade of matcha, the smoother and more complex it tends to be. Matcha is also one of the oldest teas in Japan, first used by monks to stay alert during meditation, later adopted by the elite and by samurai culture, and eventually woven into the Chanoyu tea ceremony that still shapes how it is served today.

Understanding Matcha Grades

Not all matcha tastes the same. The umami, sweetness, and astringency of a given matcha vary with its origin, cultivar, harvest, and preparation. It helps to think about grade through three qualities: the quality of the tencha leaf, its character, and its umami intensity.

Ceremonial-grade matcha, the kind used in traditional tea ceremonies, carries the most umami and sweetness and the least astringency. It is made from the youngest, most tender leaves of the spring, or first flush. Premium grade, with a little less umami and a touch more astringency, comes from the second flush in summer. Culinary grade, picked later still, is built for baking and lattes. Handpicking selects only the tenderest top leaves for a rich, low-astringency cup, while machine harvesting gathers everything at once for a brisker, more astringent style. Even the milling matters: granite stone milling gives the powder an irregular shape that whisks better than industrial grinding. Any grade can be whisked thin, the usucha style. Only the higher grades have the depth to support the thick koicha style, which we come back to below.

Meet the Matchas

Supreme Matcha

Sourced from the area around Uji, Japan, our Supreme Matcha is a blend from the second season’s harvest in June and July. The aroma offers fruit notes woven through vegetal scents, while the flavor drifts between fruit and freshly cut grass (and blends beautifully with your milk of choice). Suited to those who want traditional matcha flavor at a softer intensity, it is a versatile mid-tier matcha, ideal for lattes, smoothies, and daily use.

Organic Everyday Matcha

My grandfather, John Harney, wanted to make high-quality tea an everyday luxury, and our Organic Everyday Matcha is a perfect example of his vision. Ground from tencha leaves harvested in the summer season from Kagoshima, a seaside city on Japan’s Kyushu island, this matcha’s aroma hints at casaba melon and lettuce, with a mild umami and a pleasant mouthfeel. Its gentle flavors make it a beginner-friendly choice, and a natural companion for your favorite milk in a latte or your daily smoothie.

Organic Matcha

Our Organic Matcha is also sourced from the shaded tea fields of Kagoshima, on the southern island of Kyushu. Its flavor resembles our Organic Everyday Matcha, with notes of melon and lettuce, but because it is made from leaves harvested in spring rather than summer, it carries higher levels of mouth-filling umami. Organic Matcha relies on natural fertilizers, which release nitrogen more slowly and yield a milder cup than most ceremonial grades. Drink it on its own, as a hot or cold latte, or use it in the kitchen, blended into cakes, sprinkled on salmon, or stirred into yogurt for a bright green sauce.

Organic Ceremonial Grade Matcha

Certified organic by the USDA and sourced near Kagoshima on the island of Kyushu, our Organic Ceremonial Grade Matcha is an early-spring harvest and our organic entry into ceremonial matcha. It offers real ceremonial umami in a clean, approachable cup, a natural next step for anyone moving up from our everyday organics.

Jobetsugi Ceremonial Matcha (Thin Grade)

Ceremonial grade refers to matcha suitable for a Japanese Tea Ceremony: vibrant green, smooth in texture, naturally sweet in umami, and rich in polyphenols. Our Jobetsugi is grown under shade in the gardens of Wazuka Valley, south of Uji, and its tencha leaves are harvested around May, when the amino acids that create umami are at their best. Expect subtle aromas of honeydew melon and spinach, and a flavor that runs from melon to spinach to garden greens. Jobetsugi suits drinkers who love the ceremonial style but want a cleaner, less concentrated cup.

Senjunomukashi Ceremonial Matcha (Thick Grade)

An excellent blend from Joyo, just south of Uji, our Senjunomukashi is considered a thick matcha, with more depth and richness than our Jobetsugi. Its strong umami and vegetal sweetness build a robust, mouth-filling profile, and its texture is smooth and dense, closer to syrup, thickening further as you add more powder. The aroma carries green spinach and honeydew melon, and the flavor recalls spinach and Swiss chard. Because it lacks bitterness, it can be prepared at a higher concentration for a naturally thicker, more luxurious cup, and it rewards drinkers already familiar with ceremonial matcha.

Unjonotomo Ceremonial Matcha (Extra Thick Grade)

Our Unjonotomo is our highest ceremonial grade, a super-premium blend reserved for special ceremonies. The deeply shaded tencha leaves are grown in rich soil on the banks of Japan’s Uji River and harvested only once per season for maximum umami. Its aroma is faint, hinting at honeydew melon over cooked spinach, and it drinks as the sweetest and creamiest of our thick-bodied matchas, with flavors of spinach and artichoke. This one is for experienced ceremonial drinkers, best equipped to appreciate a premium, high-impact cup.

Ceremonial Matcha vs. Culinary Matcha

Ceremonial matcha uses carefully cultivated buds and leaves, processed with great care to make a fine cup for special occasions. Culinary Matcha is processed less meticulously and may include parts of the leaf removed from ceremonial blends. It has a more muted flavor by design, one that stands up to other ingredients, which is exactly what you want when a matcha needs to hold its own in a cake, a cookie, or a latte. Ours adds a touch of sophistication, and a beautiful green, to whatever you are making.

The Cultivars Behind Our Matchas

Now for what sets a Harney & Sons matcha apart from the rest. Two regions in Japan are known for the highest-quality matcha, and we source from both. Uji, just south of Kyoto, is considered the birthplace of matcha, with a cool, misty climate and mineral-rich soil ideally suited to tea. Kagoshima, at the southern tip of Kyushu, sits near the volcano Sakurajima, which has enriched the soil with potassium, calcium, and magnesium; combined with warm days and cool nights, it makes a terroir where tea plants thrive.

One of our longtime friends in Japan is Tsuyoshi Sugimoto, owner and president of Kyoto’s Shohokuenchten tea company, a family business founded in 1645 that has been producing matcha and other teas for nearly four hundred years. You can read more about their story in Tea Time With Tsuyoshi Sugimoto. Working with experts like Mr. Sugimoto has helped us access the finest cultivated varieties, or cultivars, of tencha. A select few define our matchas:

• Asahi, from Uji, has the highest theanine of our cultivars and is the backbone of our Unjonotomo (Extra Thick Grade), lending ceremonial depth, concentrated sweetness, and a long umami finish. It also appears in our Senjunomukashi (Thick Grade).
• Asatsuyu is our most theanine-rich cultivar, adding deep sweetness without bitterness in a blend.
• Gokou, from Uji, is traditional and rare, its shaded leaves offering a deep, rich umami. It contributes to our Senjunomukashi (Thick Grade).
• Okumidori, from Uji, is late-budding, high in theanine, and low in astringency, consistently smooth and deeply sweet. You can taste it in our Jobetsugi (Thin Grade).
• Saemidori, from Uji and Kagoshima, is a cross of Asatsuyu and Yabukita, with the brightest green color of any cultivar and a fresh, marine character. It appears in our Unjonotomo (Extra Thick Grade) and Jobetsugi (Thin Grade).
• Samidori, a Uji cultivar dominant in our Senjunomukashi (Thick Grade), lends premium depth and rounded sweetness, and can also be tasted in our Unjonotomo and Jobetsugi.
• Tsuyuhikari, from Uji, is prized for its floral fragrance and rounded mid-palate sweetness, lifting the aromatic register without adding bitterness.
• Ujihikari, handpicked in Uji, brings high theanine and a mineral clarity that gives ceremonial blends structure and precision. Taste it in our Unjonotomo (Extra Thick Grade) and Senjunomukashi (Thick Grade).
• Yabukita, grown throughout Japan, is the country’s dominant cultivar and the reference point against which others are measured, delivering a reliable, clean cup. It is present in our Jobetsugi (Thin Grade).

If you would like to go deeper, expand your knowledge at our Matcha Cultivars of Japan page.

Our Flavored and Less-Traditional Matchas

Alongside a deep respect for tea heritage, we love to experiment, which has given rise to a few playful variations.

• Because Earl Grey is such a popular tea in Japan, we added a touch of matcha to create Earl Grey Matcha, pairing vegetal green tea with Earl Grey’s signature lemony bergamot.
• Our Matcha iri Genmaicha starts with Genmaicha, a mix of Bancha green tea and toasted brown rice, then adds a coating of matcha for vegetal notes of spinach and artichoke alongside a nutty warmth from the rice. (Not to brag, but yours truly popularized this one years ago at our Millerton shop.)
• Roasted Buckwheat (Soba) Matcha is a mellow, silky blend of roasted soba grains and green matcha, light on the tongue but full of earthy, toasty flavor.
• Prefer a little fruit? White Peach Matcha blends matcha-coated Bancha with juicy peach flavor and real dried peaches, while Very Berry Matcha adds strawberry, raspberry, and tangy dried goji berries.

Usucha and Koicha

In Japan, traditional tea ceremonies commonly feature matcha in one of two styles: usucha (thin tea) or koicha (thick tea). Usucha uses less powder and more water, vigorously whisked into a frothy cup with a lighter body. Our Jobetsugi Ceremonial Matcha would traditionally be prepared this way. Koicha begins with higher-quality leaves and uses more powder with less water. Gentle stirring produces a concentrated, almost syrupy paste that reveals its flavors slowly, by design. Our Senjunomukashi and Unjonotomo are both suited to the koicha style.

How to Use Your Matcha

Traditional Whisked Matcha. To prepare matcha the traditional way, you will want a matcha bowl (chawan), a bamboo whisk (chasen), and a bamboo scoop (chashaku); a fine-mesh sieve is optional but helpful. Warm the bowl with hot water and pour it out, then scoop roughly two grams (about one teaspoon) of matcha into the bowl, sifting it to break up any clumps. Add 120 milliliters of 175°F water and whisk briskly for fifteen to twenty seconds in a W-motion, trying not to scrape the bottom of the bowl, until a fine foam forms. Drink it from the bowl right away, while the foam is still there. For the tools, we offer a bamboo Whisk with 80 prongs, Whisk Stands, Bowls, and complete Matcha Sets. Prefer to skip the ritual? Our Matcha Concentrate is matcha made simple: just add your favorite milk or water.

Hot or Cold Lattes. You can make a wonderful matcha latte at home with the right tool. Our battery-powered Matcha Tea Frother works for lattes or straight matcha and does the job in under a minute. If iced is your thing, our Iced Matcha Gift includes a scoop, an iced matcha shaker, and a 30-gram tin of Jobetsugi.

Baking. Matcha is excellent for baking. Our Culinary Matcha is made to pair with other ingredients, giving cakes, cookies, and more a beautiful green color and a rich, earthy depth.

So, Which Matcha Is Right for You?

That depends on where you fall on our just-now-invented Matcha Experience Scale.

New matcha drinker? Our Organic Everyday Matcha or Organic Matcha are the smoothest entry points. (Although, for the record, my dad disagrees. He suggests starting with our thin-grade Jobetsugi.)

Looking for a richer experience? Supreme Matcha offers a mid-range feel, while Jobetsugi, our lightest ceremonial option, eases you into bolder territory.

Ready for full ceremonial intensity? Our thick Senjunomukashi and extra-thick Unjonotomo reward experienced drinkers with rich, robust depth.

Take Our Matcha Quiz

Experimenting with different matchas is half the fun. But if you would rather cut to the chase, our Matcha Quiz takes less than a minute and points you to matchas that fit your experience level and flavor preference. Answer a few questions, and let us find your match. Whether you are a novice, an intermediate, or a veteran, we wish you the happiest of travels as you find the matcha that most matches your mode.