5 tips for better tasting matcha tea

What we learnt after speaking to hundreds of customers and finding out where things go wrong

MAKE MATCHA TEA THAT YOU WILL ENJOY

1. Except for usucha and koicha, there is no "proper way" to make matcha tea.

There is a proper way to make usucha and koicha. For everything else, matcha tea is just matcha and water. Use good matcha, test different temperatures and ratios, there’s no right or wrong way. There’s also no need to learn the Japanese tea ceremony or use a bamboo whisk if you don’t want to.

2. Try milder forms of matcha tea if you're new to matcha.

Usucha means “thin tea”. But with about 1 tsp of matcha to 2.5 oz of water, it is still quite concentrated. It may not be for everyone, so try lighter versions of matcha tea. If you’d like a guide on how to do this, you can get a free copy further down this page.

3. Use the correct water temperature and try different ratios.

As a general rule, don’t use water that exceeds 175 degrees farenheit. Lower temperatures are fine and worth exploring. Explore different ratios of water and matcha to learn your preferences. A good starting point is 8 oz of water to 1 tsp of matcha.

4. Take a standard teaspoon of matcha as one serving.

One of the most frequently questions we get is how much caffeine a particulr matcha recipe has. Matcha is a suspension, how much caffeine depends on how much matcha goes in. 1 teaspoon has 70 mg, which is about the equivalent as an espresso. No matter what recipe you make, if it uses only 1 teaspoon of matcha, you get 70 mg of caffeine.

5. To save time, use a cocktail shaker to mix matcha and water.

There’s no substitute for the meditative quality of whisking matcha up using a bamboo whisk. But if you’re strapped for time and want to incorporate matcha into your life for better productivity or just love it as a tea beverage, no other workaround performs better than adding your matcha and water into a bottle and shaking it up.

Would you like our free guide on matcha tea?

Making matcha is not as difficult as it seems. When it comes to matcha tea, all you need is matcha powder and water. Discover your likes and dislikes by changing up your matcha blends, water temperature and matcha ratios. If you’d like a guided experience, just enter your email and we’ll send it to you.

Is it possible to enjoy matcha tea with just water and without sweetener?

Absolutely! But there is a proper way to do it, and it is really quite simple. You start with a very light matcha tea to understand the base flavor profile of matcha. Then you gradually reduce the amount of water to try various styles and discover your preferences.

If you have never tried matcha or if you were unsure how and where to start, we hear you. A large part of our mission is in educating everyone about how they can easily incorporate matcha into their daily life. We detail our approach in our free matcha tea guide, and our Fragrant Yame Ceremonial Matcha is an excellent choice to try it out with.

Begin your journey with Naoki Matcha

Whether you’re a seasoned tea enthusiast or complete beginner, there’s something for everyone. We offer different blends of matcha meant for different uses and our range is constantly growing as we work with more growers, manufacturers and tea masters in Japan.

We started by offering just one introductory blend from Uji in 2016. More than 10,000 happy customers and 3 years later, we now carry different blends from various tea farming regions in Japan.

We've helped hundreds of people enjoy matcha

I have to say I am really impressed by this organic matcha! I’ve tried many different matchas, but this matcha has taken me to places I’ve never been to, and didn’t know you could even go with matcha.

The dark boldness of this matcha will catch you right away and linger with you for a while. You’ll be in for a treat with this matcha, especially if you make a thick style matcha (koicha) or a more thin style (usucha). I often make the thin style with this matcha and consistently I get a rich creaminess that you get when you drink a matcha latte, also a deep umami flavor with notes of cacao. This matcha changed my life, because it made me realize that matchas are like fine wines they, have their own unique personalities.

Chris B. (Amazon customer)

There aren’t words to express how smooth this matcha is. It has a delicate and sweet undertone. The vegetal flavor is still relatively present but not overwhelming at all! The powder is such a vibrant green! This is something I look for in my matcha to determine the class and how to treat it. So I knew when I saw how leaf-green it was that it was going to be a real treat! Every sip I took triggered a memory of when I visited a teahouse for the first time in Tokyo, Japan during spring. Just amazing! I will be getting this matcha again for sure! This is the highest quality matcha I have tasted since I’d left Japan! So glad this exists!!

Bonsai.Tree (Amazon customer)

I’ve had a couple brands of matcha by now. My initial problem with matcha was that it was way too bitter (Jadeleaf). Then I started buying higher grades and it was no longer bitter, but when I made a matcha latte out of them the taste wouldn’t not prevail, it wouldn’t have enough body and adding more would only result in a bite of bitter and a drain on my wallet (Specifically, I used MatchaSense, Encha, and Kenko, but it is possible I didn’t prepare them correctly). With this brand, the flavor is not overpowered by the milk and the notes of baby spinach are clear and without bitterness. I look forward to trying their seasonal blends.

Readme (Amazon Customer)

This has become an important part of my morning. A magic fine green tea powder Naoki gives me all the energy I need to start my day. It’s so refreshing hot or cold so I sometimes switch to the cold version and take it with me to work. Just add (less than) a teaspoon into my 16oz tumblr, add some water and ice and shake! My coworkers tried and liked it so we now have our own jar at the desk. The other day we tried to be creative and we made very delicious matcha latte at work and loved it so much.

I definitely buy it again – highly recommend you to do the same

Nhan Vhan (Amazon customer)

I absolutely love this matcha, I drink matcha everyday and Naoki matcha is the best I’ve had. It has a mild flavor, and is not at all bitter, even without sweetened. It also does not have a grainy feel like some of the other brands seem to have, it feels silky on the tongue. I would absolutely recommend this to all of my friends and family.

Ayn (Amazon Customer)

I had my share of matcha in Japan and outside Japan, and first tried it in 2010 long before it went viral. For some reason, this one stood out and I tried it neat with nearly 3g of matcha powder and 4 oz of water. It foams well and I really enjoyed the flavor. There’s a nice creaminess at the start and it ends on a clean mellow note like any good matcha should. Fantastic stuff.

Nam To (Amazon customer)

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