Funmatsu Ryokucha (粉末緑茶): Powdered Green Tea That Is Not Matcha

One of the most common things I hear from customers, and in tea conversations online, is someone describing a powdered green tea as matcha when what they are actually describing is funmatsu ryokucha 粉末緑茶 (ふんまつりょくちゃ). The tea at the conveyor belt sushi restaurant: matcha. The green powder sachet in the hotel room: matcha. The cheap tin of "matcha" from the supermarket that tastes sharp and vegetal: also matcha, apparently. Many of these are not matcha. They are funmatsu ryokucha, a powdered green tea that looks like matcha but comes from a different base material and processing route.

Knowing what funmatsu ryokucha is matters because it makes identifying proper matcha much easier. When you understand what the real differences are, you stop reaching for the wrong thing.

Funmatsu ryokucha means powdered green tea. 粉末 (funmatsu) means powder or powdered form, and 緑茶 (ryokucha) means green tea. It is an umbrella term for any Japanese green tea leaf that has been milled or ground into a fine powder for direct mixing into water, provided that leaf is not tencha 碾茶 (てんちゃ), the specific shade-grown, unrolled base material for matcha. Funmatsu ryokucha is often made from sencha, bancha, or other non-tencha green tea. Importantly, the category also includes powdered teas made from partially shaded leaves that do not meet the shading threshold for tencha. Kabusecha 被覆茶 (かぶせちゃ, covered tea), for instance, is shaded for approximately one week to ten days before harvest, compared to the 20 days or more required for tencha.⁷ A kabusecha that has been powdered is funmatsu ryokucha, not matcha, because the base material does not qualify as tencha regardless of how green or how fine the resulting powder appears. The powder mixes directly into hot or cold water in the cup, dispersing as fine suspended particles, and requires no kyusu 急須 (Japanese teapot).¹

This convenience is the primary reason for its prevalence in institutional settings: vending machines, convenience stores, and the self-serve tea dispensers at kaiten-zushi 回転寿司 (conveyor belt sushi) chains, where speed, consistency, and cost are important. It is a practical, economical product and there is nothing wrong with it on those terms. The confusion arises when it is called matcha, which it is not.

To understand the difference in flavour, it helps to trace the difference in raw material and process.

Matcha begins with tencha, a tea leaf that has been shaded before harvest, steamed without rolling, then carefully deveined and destemmed before being ground into an extremely fine powder using a stone mill or equivalent fine-milling equipment.¹ The shading reduces catechin accumulation while helping preserve and increase theanine, the amino acid that is the main contributor to the sweetness and umami of shade-grown teas. The removal of stems and veins helps create the refined leaf material used for matcha. The stone mill is valued for producing a fine powder with minimal heat buildup, which matters for preserving delicate aromatics. The resulting particle size is very fine, and the powder disperses in water to form the smooth, silky suspension characteristic of a prepared bowl of matcha.²

Funmatsu ryokucha made from sencha follows a different path. Sencha is grown under full sunlight, rolled and dried through the standard manufacture process, and only afterwards fed into a mechanical grinder. Unlike tencha, it is often ground from finished sencha material without a dedicated deveining or destemming step, meaning the ground powder may contain more stems, veins, or fibrous material than finished tencha.² Because these components are more fibrous than the leaf lamina, their presence affects both texture and flavour. The catechin content is high, as it is in any sun-grown green tea, which gives funmatsu ryokucha a brighter, more astringent quality than matcha. The particle size is often coarser than drinking-grade matcha, though it varies by grinder and product grade, and the colour tends toward a yellower green rather than the vivid chlorophyll-rich green of matcha.² High-speed mechanical grinding can generate heat if not well controlled, which may affect volatile aromatics compared to slow stone milling.

The practical difference in the cup is significant. Funmatsu ryokucha made from sencha reads as concentrated, notably astringent sencha. Matcha, especially from quality tencha, reads as sweet, umami-forward, and distinctly smooth. If the product you are drinking tastes sharp or vegetal in an abrasive way, it is likely funmatsu ryokucha.

A very common confusion, even within Japan, is between three different things that all involve powdered or fine-particle green tea: matcha, funmatsu ryokucha, and konacha 粉茶 (こなちゃ). They are not the same.

Matcha is made from tencha, shade-grown, destemmed, and deveined, then ground to a very fine powder using a stone mill or equivalent. It disperses in water to form a suspension.¹

Funmatsu ryokucha is green tea other than tencha, often sencha, bancha, or other non-tencha leaf, milled into a fine powder for direct mixing into water. It may include more fibrous material than tencha and the colour and flavour profile reflect the sun-grown base leaf.²

Konacha 粉茶 is different again. It is not milled at all. Konacha is the natural fines and small leaf fragments, called 出物 (demono, byproduct material) in the industry, that are sifted out during the finishing stages of sencha or gyokuro production.³ These form not because they are ground but because the tender parts of the leaf break apart naturally during steaming, rolling, and cutting. Konacha brews quickly and intensely with boiling water and produces a vivid green infusion with a concentrated flavour, but it does not fully disperse: it requires a fine-mesh kyusu and leaves spent leaf behind.³ It is the tea historically served at traditional sushi restaurants in Japan, chosen for its speed of preparation and clean, palate-refreshing quality after rich or oily fish, though many chain and kaiten-zushi settings now use funmatsu ryokucha from powder dispensers instead.

The three are worth knowing by name because they appear on Japanese product labels and will continue to appear more often as Japanese tea reaches wider international markets.

The confusion between funmatsu ryokucha and matcha is not always innocent. In Japan and outside it, the word matcha is applied to powdered teas that do not meet the standard because the name commands a premium that funmatsu ryokucha does not.⁴ The Japan Tea Central Association's labelling standard defines matcha as tencha ground into fine powder using a stone mill or equivalent fine-milling equipment (茶臼等).⁴ By that definition, any powder made from a base leaf other than tencha is not matcha. This includes powdered kabusecha: even though kabusecha is a shaded tea, its shading period is too short and its processing route includes rolling, so it does not qualify as tencha and any powder made from it is funmatsu ryokucha.⁷

It is worth noting that this standard comes from the Japan Tea Central Association's green tea labelling guidelines, not from JAS law administered by MAFF. The industry standard and the statutory framework are distinct, and the absence of a single binding legal definition for matcha is part of what allows the confusion to persist.

The most reliable way to know whether you are buying actual matcha is to buy from a specialist tea shop with knowledgeable staff who can confirm the source material and production method. Staff at a general supermarket will rarely have that information. Tealife can confirm the sourcing and production details for every matcha it carries.

Is funmatsu ryokucha healthier than matcha?

Neither is straightforwardly healthier. Funmatsu ryokucha made from sencha is generally higher in catechins, the polyphenol antioxidants associated with cardiovascular and metabolic health, because full-sun cultivation produces more of them.⁵ Matcha is generally higher in theanine, the amino acid that is the main contributor to the calm alertness and distinctive umami sweetness of shade-grown teas.⁵ Both products deliver the whole-leaf nutrition advantage of any powdered tea over brewed leaf tea, since you consume the entire leaf rather than just what infuses into the water.

Can I use funmatsu ryokucha in cooking and baking the way I use matcha?

Yes, though the colour and flavour will differ. Funmatsu ryokucha is a yellower, sharper green, and the flavour is more astringent and vegetal than the sweet, umami-forward character of good matcha. In applications where vivid colour or a delicate flavour are priorities, matcha is the more suitable choice. Funmatsu ryokucha is more economical and works well where a strong green tea note is the intended effect.

Is the tea served at sushi restaurants funmatsu ryokucha or matcha?

At traditional sushi restaurants 寿司屋, the tea is usually konacha, the sencha fines described above, brewed in a kyusu. At kaiten-zushi chains, it is increasingly funmatsu ryokucha served from self-serve powder dispensers. Neither is matcha.

Does funmatsu ryokucha have a JAS definition?

The Japan Agricultural Standards 日本農林規格 (JAS) system, administered by MAFF, provides a statutory labelling framework for processed food products including tea. Separately, the Japan Tea Central Association maintains its own green tea labelling standard, which defines matcha as tencha ground into fine powder using a stone mill or equivalent.⁴ These are distinct frameworks: one is statutory, one is industry-led. Funmatsu ryokucha does not have a named definition under either that clearly separates it from other powdered teas, which contributes to the labelling ambiguity that allows some products to be sold as matcha when they are not.⁶

¹ 公益社団法人日本茶業中央会. 「抹茶・てん茶」. お茶百科. https://www.ocha.tv/varieties/nihoncha_varieties/maccha/

² 和心さくらじま. 「抹茶と粉末茶の違いとは？」. http://sakurajima-cha.jp/en/blog/150625.html

³ 公益社団法人日本茶業中央会. 「茎茶・芽茶・頭・粉茶」. お茶百科. https://www.ocha.tv/varieties/nihoncha_varieties/kukicha/

⁴ 公益社団法人日本茶業中央会. 「抹茶の製造工程 仕上げ加工工程」. お茶百科. https://www.ocha.tv/how_tea_is_made/process/finnish_maccha/

⁵ 農研機構 (NARO). 「実需者需要に応える簡易な樹体診断法と効率的被覆作業による高品位安定生産技術の確立」. 国立研究開発法人農業・食品産業技術総合研究機構. https://www.naro.go.jp/publicity_report/publication/files/hihukucha-antei_man201803.pdf

⁶ 農林水産省. 「JASの対象となる品目（規格）は？」. https://www.maff.go.jp/j/jas/jas_standard/

⁷ 公益社団法人日本茶業中央会. 「玉露・かぶせ茶」. お茶百科. https://www.ocha.tv/varieties/nihoncha_varieties/gyokuro/