Is Matcha and green tea the same?

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The quick answer is NO.

Matcha is considered a green tea, but not all green teas are Matcha. I've illustrated the relationship between green tea and Matcha can in the chart below.

Relationship between Matcha and green tea

In this article, we'll dive into this and delineate the differences between these two terms.

All unoxidized tea made from the tea plant or the Camellia sinensis is green tea.

Yes, that's a mouthful! We'll break this down too.

Let's start with Camellia sinensis, the bush that produces tea leaves.
Not only does this fantastic tree produce green tea, but it also produces oolong tea, black tea, and other fermented tea.
It's an incredibly versatile plant mother to different types of tea.

The difference between these tea types is whether the leaves are oxidized.

Oxidation is what happens when a substance touches oxygen. An apple or avocado will gradually turn brown after its picked. This chemical reaction is called oxidation.

The same phenomenon will take place for tea leaves. Oxidation will take place the moment the leaves are picked.

Green tea is a tea that is processed immediately after harvesting to halt the oxidation from taking place artificially.

Green tea includes Japanese tea such as Matcha, Sencha, Gyokuro, or even Houjicha. It also entails several types of Chinese tea.

The processing is generally done by either roasting the leaves or steaming them. Japanese green tea mainly goes through steaming rather than roasting.

Matcha is a powdered form of green tea. However, not all powdered green teas are Matcha.

Matcha is a specific type of green tea with the following characteristics.

• • • Tea leaves made for Matcha must be shaded during cultivation.
    • A stone mill is used to ground the leaves into powder form.

So why must it be this way?

Generally speaking, green tea leaves are too bitter and repulsive to be directly consumed in a powder form.

However, Matcha is a high-end delicacy despite being so. It sits atop the mountain of the Japanese green tea hierarchy.

To enhance the quality of the leaves, they must be shaded during cultivation. This method keeps the leaves from building astringency.

The stone mill is also essential to maintain a cool temperature while grounding the leaves into fine form. A metal mill can gather heat and compromise the quality of the tea.

Powdered green tea that does not fulfill these standards is called "Funmatsu-Ryokucha."

To summarize, Matcha is a particular type of green tea produced in a specific way to create top-notch quality. The leaves are shaded from the sun and ground using a stone mill.

So while all Matcha is considered green tea, not all green teas are considered Matcha.