Reading a matcha label

There is no grading authority for matcha. "Ceremonial", "premium" and "grade A" are words a seller chose. Four published facts are worth more than all of them.

1. Harvest date

Matcha loses aroma within months of milling. A tin that names a harvest month — and ideally a milling date — is telling you it has nothing to hide. First harvest (ichibancha, May) is sweeter and more delicate; second harvest is more astringent and better suited to milk.

2. Origin, specifically

Uji, Nishio, Yame, Kagoshima — each has a recognisable character. A label that says only "Japan" is either blending across regions or buying on the spot market. Neither is dishonest, but both mean the seller is not accountable for a particular field.

3. Cultivar

Okumidori, Samidori, Asahi, Yabukita. Named cultivars indicate a supply chain that keeps lots separate. Blends can be excellent and deliberate; unnamed blends usually just mean "whatever was available".

4. Milling and packaging

Stone-milled, nitrogen-flushed, sealed in a tin rather than a window bag. Clear packaging is a red flag: light degrades matcha faster than anything but heat.

What silence means

Where a seller publishes none of the above, assume the least flattering version. This is the same test the Frogwise Standard applies to any product: transparency is not a bonus criterion, it is the one that makes the others checkable.

Price sanity

Good everyday matcha lands roughly €1.20–2.00 per gram at retail in Europe. Below that, expect second-harvest, unshaded or ball-milled powder. Far above that, you are paying for competition lots, a name, or a beautiful tin — sometimes all three, and sometimes that is fine.

Buying near you

Refill and small-batch grocers often carry a single well-chosen matcha rather than a wall of tins, and they can usually tell you the importer. Our scored directory entries note which shops publish sourcing detail and which do not.