The 7 Best Matcha Powders of 2024

The Bottom Line: The Best Matcha Powders

We chose Encha Ceremonial Grade Organic Matcha Green Tea (view at Amazon) as our number one matcha because it’s certified organic, it has a robust flavor profile and it’s third-party-tested for pesticides, toxic metals and radiation. The Kenko Organic Matcha Premium Ceremonial Grade (view at Amazon) is another great choice because it’s organic, it’s grown in one of the best matcha-cultivating regions in Japan and it boasts a balanced flavor.

Choosing a Matcha Powder

What’s the Grade?

You may notice terminology such as “ceremonial,” “premium,” “cafe” or “culinary” to describe matcha. “These are marketing terms that can provide a useful way to think about how to use matcha powders with slightly different qualities, but they’re not universally recognized, consistent or regulated,” Moon says. Though certain matchas are used for tea ceremonies, “ceremonial grade” matcha doesn’t even exist in Japan, Moon says.

Generally speaking, a culinary or cafe-grade matcha will have a bolder flavor that can stand up to being mixed in with other ingredients, and a ceremonial or premium matcha tends to be more subtle and is intended for steeping in hot water to drink straight up.

How High Is the Quality?

Marketing terms like “culinary grade” or “ceremonial grade” can give you a peek into how the powder is best used, but you’ll want to use your own senses to assess quality. Moon suggests looking for the following: 

1. Color: High-quality matcha tends to be a bright and rich green color. Dull and darker colors can mean the matcha is old or wasn’t grown, processed or stored well.
2. Smell: The aroma should be vegetal and grassy, rounded out with creamy or nutty notes.
3. Consistency: Matcha powder should feel fine like powdered sugar or cornstarch—but don’t worry about small clumps.
4. Taste: Decide what is right for you to drink straight versus what you’ll use in recipes. Some people prefer a less bitter matcha for drinking on its own and a more intensely flavored matcha for recipes (like baking) and lattes.

“Get to know different brands and the range of matcha powders they offer, paying attention to their marketing terms,” Moon says. “Once you find what you like, looking for these marketing terms combined with brands you trust will be a good shortcut to consistently getting matcha powder you enjoy.”

Where Is the Place of Origin?

“The largest producers of matcha are China, where it originated, and Japan, where it became an important part of the culture and from where it was popularized to the West,” Moon says. “Good-quality matcha can be found from both countries, but it may be more reliably sourced from Japan, especially from the regions of Uji, Shizuoka and Nishio.”

How Will You Be Using It?

Matcha powder can be used straight for a hot or cold tea, mixed into lattes and smoothies (or even smoothie bowls), or added into baked goods and confections such as breads, muffins, doughnuts, cookies, cakes, icing, truffles, scones and more, Moon says. “It’s also a nice touch to finish a dish made with matcha with an additional dusting of the powder.”

To make a serving of matcha, you’ll need to first sift the powder to prevent clumping. Then, pour in about 2 ounces of near-boiling water and whisk it vigorously in a zigzag (not circular) motion until it foams. Top it off with an additional half-cup of hot water for tea or steamed milk for a latte.

Is It a Good Value for the Price?

Ceremonial grade matcha is usually a bit pricier than culinary grade matchas. However, price isn’t always reflective of quality. Instead, focus on the color of the matcha and where it’s sourced, which are two factors more indicative of a matcha powder’s quality.

Our Search for the Best Matcha Powder

To find the best matcha powders, we spoke to a registered dietitian who’s well-versed in green tea and matcha on what to look for in a quality powder in terms of taste, aroma, color, origin and grade. We also taste-tested popular brands, taking note of their scent when dry and prepared, as well as their flavor notes when traditionally mixed with hot water.

Common Questions

What is matcha, exactly?

Matcha is a finely milled green tea powder made from a particular type of green tea called tencha. Tencha originates from the same plant as all teas—Camellia sinensis—but is shade-grown to encourage chlorophyll to color the leaves a darker green. After harvest, the leaves are steamed, laid out flat to dry, deveined, stemmed and slowly stone-ground to produce the final powder. Unlike other green teas in which the leaves are steeped in hot water and then strained out, matcha is whisked into hot water and is integrated as part of the final beverage.

What’s the difference between matcha and green tea?

Matcha is often confused with green tea, and they have a lot in common—but they’re not the exact same product. “They come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis, and have similar bioactives, but have different growing and processing practices that result in different coloring, levels of bioactives and taste,” Moon says. So, matcha is a kind of green tea, but not all green tea is matcha.

“The most obvious difference is that matcha is a fine powder that is consumed in its entirety, while other green tea is loose-leaf and we only consume the water it has infused,” Moon says. Matcha is grown in the shade before harvesting, which is why it’s deemed “shade-finished,” while other green teas have more sun exposure. The time in the shade produces more chlorophyll and L-theanine, and is why matcha tastes less bitter than green tea, Moon says.

Compared to green tea, matcha is greener, more aromatic and higher in amino acids and caffeine, and it has three times the catechins once bloomed in hot water.

What are the health benefits of matcha powder?

There are more than 35,000 studies on green tea, but only about 50 specifically on matcha, per a 2021 report. But because they come from the same plant, it’s reasonable to think that benefits will be similar—or greater—with matcha, Moon says.

“One caution is that people should be aware of [matcha’s] higher caffeine content and adjust their intake as appropriate,” Moon says.

That said, research specifically on matcha shows benefits for:

• Cognition: A handful of recent randomized controlled trials suggest matcha improves memory and attention, enhances cognitive performance under stress and reduces signs and symptoms of anxiety, Moon says. Results from these small studies were sometimes mixed, so more human trials are needed to confirm the findings What’s promising is that animal studies support the positive findings—they consistently found that matcha reduced stress, improved memory, lowered oxidation and slowed down brain aging, Moon says.

  “Matcha’s antioxidant EGCG and amino acid theanine can both cross the blood-brain barrier, where they can interfere with plaque formation in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease and enhance mood, respectively,” says Moon. The brain is vulnerable to oxidative stress, so matcha’s antioxidant capacity may help protect the brain from cognitive impairment related to oxidative damage.

• Cardiometabolic health: Matcha intake consistently offers cardiometabolic benefits for weight, cholesterol, blood glucose and inflammation, according to animal studies. “Though it’s preferable to see results from human clinical trials, these animal studies on matcha are complemented by a wide body of evidence that green tea in general helps lower cholesterol, maintains healthy blood sugar levels and even has a modest but significant weight loss effect,” Moon says.
• Anti-cancer properties: Matcha’s anti-cancer (antitumorogenesis) potential is interesting, though it has only been studied in a few in vitro studies on isolated breast cancer cells. These studies found that matcha hindered the growth of new cancer cells, possibly by interfering with cell proliferation through its antioxidant effects and by combating inflammation that contributes to cancer growth. Much more research in this area is needed before making clinical recommendations based on these findings, Moon says.

Does matcha powder have caffeine in it?

While the exact amount varies, matcha generally contains about 19 to 44 milligrams of naturally occurring caffeine per gram of powder. That’s nearly double the amount in regular green tea, which averages about 11 to 25 milligrams of caffeine per gram. (A serving of matcha is 1 gram, or about a half-teaspoon.)

For reference, a cup of coffee contains between 80 and 100 milligrams of caffeine, so matcha’s caffeine content is about half of coffee’s, Moon says.

“Keep an eye out as many manufacturers will list a caffeine amount or range on the packaging,” says Moon.

How do you use matcha powder? 

To get the most out of your matcha, start by sifting it and then whisk it with water at a near-boil temperature.

You can enjoy it mixed with hot water for a hot tea or serve it iced. Matcha is also great made into lattes and smoothies, or added into baked goods and confections, such as breads, muffins, doughnuts, cookies, cakes, icing, truffles, scones and more, Moon says. You can even finish off your homemade baked goods with a dusting of matcha powder. 

What are the types of matcha powders? 

Terminology such as “ceremonial grade” and “culinary grade” aren’t actually regulated or enforced—they’re just marketing terms. However, matcha that’s used to make a product labeled as ceremonial grade usually has a more subtle taste than culinary grade matcha, which has a bolder flavor that can stand up to being combined with other ingredients, Moon says.

Whichever “grade” of matcha you decide to go with, Moon suggests looking for powders that are bright green and cultivated in Uji, Shizuoka and Nishio, Japan. 

Our Trusted Expertise

April Benshosan, M.S., has been reporting on nutrition, health and expert-recommended products from the start of her journalism career. Before freelancing full-time, she spearheaded the nutrition vertical at two popular, well-respected publications. In writing this article, she also interviewed a registered dietitian on what to look for in a quality matcha powder that best fits your needs.

This article was edited by Kayleigh Drake, a former EatingWell commerce editor and contributor to publications such as Food & Wine, The Spruce Eats and Simply Recipes. It was reviewed by Brierley Horton, M.S., RD, Senior Commerce Editor, who has 15 years of experience reporting, writing, and editing nutrition and health content—and is an almost daily iced matcha latte drinker.