Matcha Grades Explained
Ceremonial vs culinary matcha, particle size, colour, and how to choose the right grade for your use case.
Matcha grades run from ceremonial (finest particle size, smoothest flavour, meant to be whisked with water alone) to culinary (bolder flavour, more cost-effective, built for lattes, baking, and processing). "Ceremonial" is a marketing and quality descriptor, not a regulated grading standard. Buyers should compare actual specifications: particle fineness, colour, and flavour profile, not just the label.
Ceremonial, Classic, and Roasted Character
| Grade | Colour | Flavour | Best for | Fineness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceremonial AAA | Vivid emerald green | Very smooth, low astringency, long sweet finish, elegant umami | Ceremonial/premium tea, fine pastry, fine dining, premium retail | 1,500–2,000 mesh |
| Classic / Café AA | Balanced green | Full umami, clear tea character with some astringency | Daily matcha lattes, tea-shop standardisation, large-scale food processing | 1,000–1,500 mesh |
| Roasted Character A | Brown-green | Deep, coffee-like, roasted mineral notes with umami | Signature beverages, crossover F&B, differentiated menus | 800–1,200 mesh |
The full production range spans five tiers (A / AA / AAA / AAAA / AAAAA) for price-performance matching beyond the three grades above. Every grade ships with organic certificate copies and test reports (pesticides, heavy metals, microbiology).
Ceremonial is a quality tier, not a regulation
There is no legal or international standard that defines "ceremonial grade" matcha. In practice, it describes tea milled to a very fine particle size with a smooth, low-astringency flavour, traditionally whisked with hot water alone and drunk without milk or sweetener. Buyers should compare actual specifications, not just the label a supplier chooses to use.
Our matcha is milled to 16 μm (China national Grade-1 standard is ≤18 μm). and tests at 1.9% (national Grade-1 standard is 1.0%). L-theanine, both ahead of the Chinese national Grade-1 reference standard. These are the numbers to ask any supplier for.
Which grade for which use?
Whisked tea, premium retail
Ceremonial (AAA): the finest particle size and smoothest flavour, meant to be tasted on its own.
Matcha lattes, daily café volume
Classic / Café (AA): full umami and clear tea character that holds up with steamed milk, at a price point suited to volume. See our HoReCa page.
Baking, ice cream, beverages
Culinary grades (A/AA) hold colour and flavour through heat and freezing better than ceremonial grades. See food manufacturing.
Private label retail
Any grade can be packed under your brand. See private label for formats and MOQ.
Matcha terms explained
- Tencha
- Shade-grown tea leaf, deveined and destemmed, that is stone-milled into matcha. Matcha is the ground product; tencha is the raw material.
- Stone-mill grinding
- Low-temperature (under 40°C) granite stone milling, producing roughly 40 g of top-grade matcha per mill per hour. Preserves colour and flavour better than high-heat mechanical grinding.
- Mesh vs. micron (μm)
- Both describe particle fineness. Mesh counts openings per inch in a sieve (higher mesh = finer powder); micron measures particle diameter directly. Our matcha is milled to 16 μm, finer than the Chinese national Grade-1 standard of 18 μm or coarser.
- Shade-growing
- Covering tea plants for several weeks before harvest to reduce sunlight, which increases chlorophyll and amino acid content and produces matcha's characteristic vivid green colour and umami flavour.
- First flush / second flush
- The first harvest of the season (first flush) is typically prized for the highest quality; later harvests (second flush and beyond) are generally used for culinary grades.
- Hojicha
- Roasted green tea, giving a toasted, low-caffeine flavour profile distinct from matcha.
- Umami
- A savoury taste quality, prominent in high-quality shade-grown matcha, alongside sweetness and reduced astringency.
- L-theanine
- An amino acid naturally present in tea leaves, higher in shade-grown matcha. Our matcha tests at 1.9%, against a national Grade-1 standard of 1.0%. This is a compositional fact, not a health claim.
Not sure which grade fits your product?
Tell us your application and we'll recommend a grade, with samples to confirm.