Is Your Matcha Tea High Quality?

Lately, there isn't a single self-respecting café or tea house that doesn't have matcha on the menu. From Asia all the way to our own terraces, this powdered green tea has become the must-have among healthy drinks. Its deep green colour and distinctive flavour have won over palates of every age, and what started out as a curiosity has ended up becoming, for a lot of people, that small ritual that opens the day.

But, as happens with anything that becomes fashionable, the doubts start to creep in. And rightly so: as its popularity exploded, the market flooded with options, and not all of them are of the same quality. Have you ever stopped to wonder whether that matcha you love so much is actually any good? Or whether you're paying over the odds for something that isn't worth it? You're not the only one. Plenty of people who already drink it every day, and plenty who simply want to try it for the first time, get lost among labels and prices, trying to tell the real thing from the imitation. Because behind that green powder there's a whole world of nuance worth discovering slowly.

On our TikTok and Instagram profiles we read plenty of comments from users who are sceptical about what they see, and you can tell they doubt the quality or the benefits we love so much about this drink. It's a healthy kind of doubt, and that's exactly why it's worth sitting down and clearing it up.

Where the suspicion comes from

It's remarkable how, in such a short time, matcha has gone from being a complete unknown to filling the shelves of shops and supermarkets. But of course, where there's business, there's someone looking to cash in. With the matcha craze, brands have appeared that are less interested in offering a quality product than in making a quick profit. The result? A saturated market where telling the good from the bad has become a real headache.

And if you're already confused by the sheer number of options, let's not even start on the prices. There's matcha at a higher price, like ours, and matcha that's suspiciously cheap. That gap leaves you with questions going round your head: "Am I overpaying?", "Am I being sold something that isn't what it claims to be at this price?". The differences between one product and another, sometimes enormous, create uncertainty. That's normal. Whenever something becomes fashionable, there's always someone riding the wave. The trick is not to be swayed by first impressions and to learn how to tell them apart. After all, if something is going to be part of your routine every morning, it's worth knowing what you're putting in your cup.

Personally, I like to be transparent with you, so I do a lot of comparisons between the different matchas I've tried over the years, to show you which ones are of poorer quality. I have hundreds of videos on the subject.

If growing and harvesting a high-quality matcha, such as Japanese ceremonial matcha, is already a meticulous process with a strong craft component, and you add shipping from Japan on top of that, you can imagine it doesn't work out at 2 euros a box, the way you see in a lot of supermarkets.

That's the first thing worth thinking about when something is sold as top quality and comes at a very, very affordable price. Turn the box around and check where it comes from: you'll see that most of it comes from China. I sell matcha from China too, our Premium, but it's organic, it's certified and it's 100% matcha. It isn't blended with other herbs.

In any case, in these articles (part I and part II) I go into far more detail on everything to keep in mind when buying your tea, whether it's from my shop or anywhere else.

Honestly: read up, compare, and take your time deciding. A good habit starts with choosing well what feeds it.