1) Specific way of growing

– 4 weeks before harvest are the tea plantations shaded and are left shaded until the harvest

2) Japanese exclusivity

– matcha’s name comes from Japanese

3) Tencha 

– the initial product (the processed tea leaves without stems, only the pulp itself, that is only the pieces of carefully selected leaves), which is used for matcha production

4) Traditional milling in stone mills

– more than 800 years old traditional technology maintaining the best qualities of matcha

5) Sensoric properties

– emerald or vibrant green colour, characteristic grass scent and taste, the darker the higher quality

6) Absolutely clear tea powder

– with no added substances

7) Unique effects 

– because of the limited amount of sunshine, the amount of chlorophyll is extra high (it helps as an antioxidant), besides that, matcha contains high amount of unique beneficial substances (for example up to 137times highest amount of EGCG than regular green tea, further polyphenols, higher amount of antioxidants, higher amount of L-theanine etc.)

8) Higher price

– as a premium product, matcha has its price that is proportional to its valuableness and difficult production

Powdered tea

1) Regular production

– grown as any other (green) tea, i.e. in full sunshine until harvest

2) Does not have to come from Japan 

– comes from any other country or does not have country of origin guaranteed

3) Sencha 

– the initial product (processed tea leaves usually with twigs and stems, entire leaves), which is in China often milled as an imitation of matcha

4) Milling of entire leaves

– includes „cheating“ in the traditional technology and does not guarantee the best qualities of the final product, they mill the entire tea leaf, not only its pulp

5) Sensoric qualities

– powder in the dark shades of yellow (or brown) with lumps, sometimes very dark green, bitter or tart taste, sometimes with big chunks

6) Possibly contains other substances

– because it is not the real matcha, this milled powder can contain other substances (for example sugar, copper to add to its colour, and other)

7) Regular effects

– as in all regular green (antioxidants, catechins etc.)

8) Lower price, sometimes significantly

– the usual „bait“ of the powdered tea sellers is its low price which in this case does not correspond with the price/quality ratio

From the facts above is crystal clear that the so called „matcha“ with China as country of origin should be called powdered tea. If is this type of tea called „matcha“, it is an incorrect name and it is misleading of the customer, most frequently to take advantage of the current popularity of the original Japanese matcha.