Yuki. I

September 12th, 2024

Matcha VS Green Tea Powder. What is the difference?

Another question I often receive at our shop is the difference between Matcha and Green Tea Powder. Is there a difference, or are they the same? Read about it here!

Matcha is growing in popularity these days. Even at Tealife Singapore, the most popular type of Japanese green tea is Matcha powder, and I would say that its popularity is growing faster than other types. On the other hand, we don't carry any other types of powdered green tea powder.

So, what's the difference between Matcha and Green Tea powder?

These terms are often used vaguely and interchangeably. Let's dive into the detailed definitions of Matcha and green tea powder and delineate the terms from each other.

What we'll Learn

Matcha VS Green Tea Powder In a Nutshell

Matcha is a name for a specific form of green tea powder. Since Matcha powder is a subset of green tea powder, not all green tea powder can be called Matcha.

We can describe the relationship between Matcha and Green tea powder with the diagram below.

Relationship between Matcha and Powdered Green Tea

The type of powdered tea that is considered Matcha

Matcha is a premium green tea that must fulfill specific challenging requirements to be called that way. The two essential rules are as follows.

Tea leaves made for Matcha must be shaded during cultivation. (The shaded period is roughly three weeks)
Use a stone mill to slowly ground the leaves into powder form. (The slow speed is also an important aspect, requiring time and patience)

Green tea leaves being shaded

Both of these requirements are problematic from a production perspective. They both significantly reduce the volume of products produced. Shading the tea leaves will hinder the growth of the leaves, while the slow ground only allows for 40g of Matcha to be produced per hour per stone mill! However, based on the true definition of a proper Matcha, these are required.

Why does Matcha require such stringent requirements?

This is because green tea is naturally extremely bitter and astringent. Drinking green tea directly in powdered form would be repulsive unless the astringency is reduced and Umami is enhanced. The two requirements are minimum requirements to ensure that the Matcha can be drunk in its pure form without being so repelling.

As the tea trees are grown, the shading process helps reduce the tea leaves' astringency while enhancing the umami components of the taste. This is because sunlight produces astringency. As the leaves hit the sunlight, the L-Theanine in the tea leaves (which represents Umami) is converted into Catechins (which represent astringency). While Catechins are fantastic when it comes to health benefits, you don't want too much of it in your Matcha!

Furthermore, the higher the quality of the Matcha, the more Umami and less bitterness it contains. This means that the levels of shading will be even higher, and will be using only the young leaves that contain low levels of astringency. This process doesn't come easy. The shading methodology is a traditional process that not all farmers can execute.

At the same time, as mentioned above, shading the leaves contains the plant's growth. This methodology reduces the volume of leaves that are produced. Overall, the cost of production will skyrocket.

The slow ground and specific requirement of using the stone mill is also a way to ensure that the taste is not reduced due to the heat. It speaks to the delicate nature of the Matcha powder. Any heat that is produced can affect the taste of the tea, so using anything other than a stone mill, and spinning it faster will not produce powdered tea that qualifies as Matcha. This is another tradeoff between production speed and quality.

Any powdered green tea that does not meet this condition is a "Funmatsu-ryokucha." It's essentially a powdered Sencha.

The term Matcha is often misused.

As we defined above, Matcha requires three weeks of shading and to be ground using a stone mill. However, the name "Matcha" is often misused these days. Green tea leaves with little or no shading are often ground into powdered form and named "Matcha." This is essentially Funmatsu-ryokucha, but they would call it Matcha to boost the value of the product.

This is especially seen often outside of Japan. The Matcha that you might find in your local cafe or the tin of Matcha powder you might find in your local supermarket has a high chance that they do not follow the proper standards to be called a Matcha.

I personally don't think this is a bad thing - it's good that this Japanese cultural tradition is becoming known and spreading across the globe, and I'm really excited about this. However, if you're looking for some proper Matcha, I recommend you look for an authentic Matcha shop like ours.

There are other types of Green tea powder that are not Matcha.

For example, Sencha, grounded in powder form, is called Funmatsu-Ryokucha. The Japanese term Funmatsu-Ryokucha translates directly to powdered green tea in English.

Green tea is ground into powder but does not fulfill the specific requirements of Matcha, which are called Funmatsu-Ryokucha. This tea is commonly used in sushi restaurants for ease of use and lower prices. You may find this at your nearby Sushiro or Genki-Sushi!

Although the color is brown, Houjicha, ground into powder, is also considered a green tea powder. It is called Houjicha powder, or sometimes Funmatsu-Houjicha.

Using the Hojicha powder provides a convenient way of making Hojicha right away. It is also commonly used in cooking to make sweets and dishes. I'm sure you're familiar with Houjicha as it has gained popularity these days as well. Houjicha ice creams and Houjicha lattes are delicious.

Other types of green tea can be in powder form as well.

Genmaicha powder, sometimes called Fumatsu-Genmaicha, is also a commonly found green tea powder. Like the Houjicha powder, this form is a convenient way of making Genmaicha and is used for cooking.

How do the prices compare?

Matcha is the most expensive form of Japanese green tea. When compared to other types of green tea powder, it really doesn't compare.

Other types of powdered green tea are generally on the cheaper end. Funmatsu-sencha, Funmatsu-houjicha, and Funmatsu-genmaicha are intended to be cheaper and more convenient forms of tea. Usually, they won't use quality leaves to generate these.

However, Matcha is completely different. The stringent requirements makes the price premium.

Do the health benefits differ between Matcha and Funmatsu-ryokucha?

The health benefits do differ! As touched on above, the prominent nutrients are different between Matcha and Funmatsu-ryokucha.

Funmatsu-ryokucha is high in Catechins because they are grown under sunlight. Catechins are extremely powerful antioxidants that help with your overall health. Not only that, but there are several human-based researches that show that Catechins can help reduce the risk of several chronic diseases. These include stroke, dementia, diabetes, hypertension and high blood pressure, liver diseases, and certain types of cancers, among others.

On the other hand, Matcha reduces the amount of Catechins and increases the L-Theanine. This is a unique substance only found in tea and certain types of mushrooms, which can help the brain relax. That's why Matcha is such a calming tea despite the fact it contains caffeine. The L-Theanine counteracts the caffeine.

You can see there are differences in the amount of nutrients, but both are excellent for physical health benefits and mental relaxation.

Summary

To summarize, Matcha is a type of green tea powder cultivated and manufactured in a particular way to maximize the quality of the drink. They are more expensive and contain more L-Theanine, which has a calming effect on your brain.

Therefore, not all Green tea powder can be considered Matcha.

Yuki

Yuki is the Editor-in-Chief AND Community Manager at Tealife. He bleeds Japanese Tea and loves being a part of the Japanese Tea journey of others. Writes, does events, conducts tasting sessions, drinks, drinks and drinks tea! Easily accessible - hit him up on whatsapp (+65) 85882980.