What is Ceremonial Grade Matcha?

Ceremonial matcha has become the most common English name for the highly addictive, top grade of Japanese matcha.

(Hold on, what is matcha? Matcha is a green tea that has been shaded before harvest to boost chlorophyll, umami and sweetness - ground into a fine powder.)

What does 'ceremonial' grade mean? And why does this name get some people rather hot under the collar?

Ceremonial Grade matcha - just refers to the higher grades or top quality matcha.

The name is controversial because there is no equivalent name in Japanese. (But that is true for many tea terms in different languages. In China, what English speakers call black tea they call red tea. But no one loses sleep over it.)

In Japan, the best matchas might be referred to as top grade, but value is mostly defined in Japan simply by price - like fine wines. However, just like wine, the highest price doesn't always directly translate to the highest quality. Branding, marketing and spin are also involved.

The current explosion of matcha consumption has led to demand outpacing production in Japan. This is especially true for great quality organic matcha. There really isn't much of it about. There are price wars, people are running out of stock and Japanese agriculture is changing to boost matcha production.

And there are some shenanigans going on. We have even heard of Chinese matcha being sold to Japanese tea companies. Unscrupulous tea companies might refer to some pretty rubbish tea as ceremonial or top grade. There is no strict definition.

Where does the term ceremonial matcha come from?

Ceremonial matcha is a commonly used term, not a Japanese definition. Ceremonial is simply a shorthand for high grade matcha - a recognisable term but not a policed classification.

What's most important to us at Rare Tea Company is the best flavour. Secondly, we need to know where it comes from and that it is organically farmed. You can call it whatever you like, but in our opinion it's essential to know that you're drinking something that doesn't contain any pesticides, herbicides, insecticides or industrial agrichemicals. When you drink matcha, you're drinking the entire leaf in the infusion (unlike with other loose leaf teas, where the tea is strained off the leaf).

This makes matcha the most important type of tea to drink with full transparency in terms of how it's grown. We don't want to consume industrial pesticide-laden powdered leaves.

We know because the Tea Lady has visited our tea gardens...

Rather than getting hot and bothered about naming conventions, we are more concerned that the matcha latte trend is (literally) sugarcoating the truth.

With milks and sweeteners, a matcha latte might be hiding low-quality matcha that not only doesn't taste good, but is chemical-laced. And it seems very worrying that people are drinking this sort of matcha as a health drink.

Why do you call it Ceremonial Matcha and Ceremonial Latte Matcha then?

We name our matcha ceremonial because it is of an incredibly high quality and we want people to be able to find it. Ceremonial matcha is the most popular term used for top grade matcha in the English language. It's what most people use for what they hope will be the good stuff- so it makes sense for us to call it that. But, like the organic label (read our stance on organic here), we go beyond the labels - our matcha is fully traceable to the people who work tirelessly to make the best matcha in the whole of Japan.

We buy our matcha based on the highest quality. We receive samples from our partner farm, which are distinguished by price, and what they can fetch on the market.

We are lucky to have a great relationship with our farm and buy the highest grades available, choosing it based on flavour. After sampling many a matcha, we buy only those that impress us with their deliciousness and complexity of flavour. This also means that our Ceremonial Latte Matcha is of the highest quality, but is especially suited to preparing with milk. Our Ceremonial Matcha, on the other hand, was chosen to be the highest quality and to taste best whisked with water only.

How can I ensure my matcha is authentic? 

When seeking out the most delicious, organic, and authentic matcha, as with all tea, traceability is everything. You should be able to trace your matcha to a specific farm. If not, it might be a miscellaneous green tea made into powder and marketed under 'matcha' or even "ceremonial matcha” to capitalise on a major trend. When you drink ours, you know you're getting the top-grade tender leaves, with fields shaded from twenty to forty days before harvest. Our matcha is bursting with L-theanine and chlorophyll, with an unparalleled depth of flavour.

Now that calls for a ceremony.

All the best,