Matcha dates back to the Tang Dynasty – around 618 - 907, when tea leaves were steamed and formed into bricks for storage. Matcha didn’t start gaining traction in Asia until the Song dynasty, around 960 – 1279, when the powdered tea was used in ritual. In 1191 Matcha was brought to Japan, later becoming an essential staple in monasteries from the 14th to 16th centuries.

In recent times Matcha has become famous for its health properties and uses in smoothies and lattes! When Full Leaf Tea Company started in 2014, Matcha was taking coffee shops, food blogs, and Instagram by storm. Our Matcha has been featured multiple times in magazines, coffee shops, and briefly on the Netflix show ‘Dead To Me’ season 1 episode 5.

Currently, the highest grade Matcha comes from Japan – the process Japanese Matcha goes through ensures a top-quality leaf resulting in a naturally organic and better-tasting Matcha. It’s common to see Chinese Matcha retail for less, but unlike Chinese Matcha, Japanese Matcha is free of rice fillers.

In 2003, a study by the University of Colorado found Matcha contains 137 times as many catechins as traditional green tea. The higher concentration of catechins in Matcha vs. green tea comes from consuming the ground tea leaves versus the steeped tea leaves found in traditional Ceylon green tea. Other nutritional benefits include abundant antioxidants, chlorophyll, and L-Theanine.

The taste of Matcha itself is frothy and earthy. Great Matcha is very dark green, and it tastes 'green' as well. Matcha on its own is more often an acquired taste for most people, we always recommend starting light and building up as you acquire the taste for Matcha.

If you find you don't enjoy the powdered green tea on its own,try it as a latte! Good Matcha lends to a great cup combined with your favorite milk or milk alternative and a sweetener. Many Matcha companies also sell sweetened Matcha,ours is sweetened with natural organic sugar!

With typical green tea, you steep the leaves and then pull them out of the water to drink it. However, with matcha, you are consuming the ground down tea leaves, multiplying the health benefits! Click one of the boxes below to learn more about each difference between Matcha and traditional green tea.

Matcha powder itself can be found online. Shameless plug: but we sell Matcha sourced from the Aichi prefecture in Japan. We’re USDA certified organic, and our products are vegan and free of GMO’s. To top it all off, we have over 10,000 positive reviews, so feel free to try us out! However, if you’re more of an in-store person (we totally get that), you can find Matcha at any organic or wellness store such as Whole Foods.

By now, you’ve probably heard of Matcha Lattes, they’ve been a popular coffee shop item for years due to their taste and health properties. Matcha lattes are simply matcha whisked in a small amount of boiling water, topped off with milk, and sometimes a sweetener.

Crafting a Matcha latte starts with whether you plan on having your drink hot or iced, but they both have the same premise; Matcha, milk, and a sweetener. Matcha lattes are typically made with Premium or Sweetened Premium grades of Matcha rather than Culinary or Ceremonial grades, and they pair well with sweeteners such as cinnamon, agave, or honey. Below we’ve outlined how to craft a hot or iced matcha latte complete with their own videos!

Iced Matcha Lattes are great for warm weather, they are easier to make (no need to heat and froth milk), and look super pretty! We’ve created a brief YouTube video (with timestamps) that goes over what you’ll need, and how to craft a great iced latte consistently.

• Begin by bringing around 4 ounces of water to a near boil. While you wait, grab your premium or sweetened Matcha, your choice of milk (we’re using Almond milk), and if you’d like, your choice of sweetener.
• Pour 2 teaspoons of your Full Leaf Tea Co. Matcha into a mixing bowl. Note: Typically, we recommend 1 tsp per 4 ounces of Matcha, but because of the milk to Matcha ratio, you might prefer a more robust mix. Feel free to experiment to your taste.
• Pour your hot water into the mixing bowl of Matcha, whisk with your hand frother or matcha whisk and froth until foamy.
• Once your Matcha is frothy, pour your milk into a cup with ice, make sure you leave room for your 4 ounces of Matcha!
• Lastly, slowly pour your Matcha into your cup. Feel free to add a sweetener of your choice such as cinnamon, honey, or agave. Stir with a spoon and you’re done!

Not all matcha is created equal. Some companies appear as if they are offering high grade, pure matcha at a low price. However, they often add rice fillers to their matcha, so you feel like you are getting a lot of product, but you are getting less matcha. Always make sure you check the ingredients!

In order to get the best matcha, location is critical. This is why we choose to source our matcha from the Aichi Prefecture in Japan. Japan is the center of the matcha tradition as they have been making and drinking matcha for centuries.