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If You Like Matcha, You Will Like This

Matcha Is Not Matcha

In the olden days – shall we say until 2020 ? – matcha used to be a drink made of 60ml water and a much-revered powder called matcha (powder), with the help of a beautifully crafted bamboo whisk, a chawan, quite some skill, and possibly some input from a Japanese tea school, preferably in an amazing setting (Japanese garden, Japanese Chashitsu, door closed, sword and worldly worries left outside, full concentration as well as appreciation on tea and procedure) during a Japanese Tea Ceremony.

Today, in 2025, when people in Switzerland say ‘matcha’, they are not referring to any of the above; they almost always mean “Matcha Latte”, but because they’ve never experienced “(pure) Matcha”, they dub their latte simply “Matcha”.

Hence, Matcha (Latte) is not (pure) Matcha – matcha is not matcha – and most people don’t even realise.

There Is Not Enough to Go Round

What people have noticed, however, is that there is not enough matcha (powder) to go round – and it is indeed everyone’s fault 😄

Nobody knows where the hype has come from. It just popped up, and you now see (low quality) matcha almost everywhere you turn. The demand for matcha (powder) used to be restricted to Japan, and outside the island the super-finely stone-ground powder that can ruin your flat if you accidentally drop the tin was virtually unknown. All of a sudden now, the whole word wants to produce a lovely-looking green drink from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis. Demand has more than surged, yet the plants either don’t seem to care or don’t  understand, and they simply refuse to produce more leaves in order to satisfy global demand.

While You Are Waiting For Your Matcha to Arrive

If you are interested in matcha (pure or latte), you will most likely also be interested in

The Rise of Matcha

This is a BBC Food Programme episode led by Leyla Kazim, in which the presenter explores the matcha phenomenon. Through interviews with matcha specialists, you also gain insight into the supply chain difficulties the Japanese tea industry is experiencing.

The episode is available on

and makes an excellent change from influencer and marketing professional driven videos.

Where to Buy Matcha

There is really only one place: Japan.

Admittedly, matcha was originally invented in China – including the technique of steaming the leaves rather than applying dry heat, which is what is done in Japan today. The Chinese even use the same characters: in fact, the symbol 抹茶 (pronounced mocha) first appeared in China, and was later adopted by the Japanese as 抹茶 matcha, meaning ‘ground tea’.

However, the way mocha was consumed back then was entirely different – most likely they enhanced the liquor with spices – and the knowledge of how to produce high-quality matcha powder has been lost in China for around 1,000 years. In the meantime, the country shifted towards producing an almost infinite variety of teas using dry heat.

Thus, for the time being, Japan remains the only reliable source for authentic matcha. A good place to start is here: Where to Buy Tea (Click).