I recently purchased a bag of green tea powder to make drinks like matcha latte but to my surprise when I opened the bag its contents look like crushed green tea leaves even though the description on the packaging (and also the image) states that it's powder.
I tried using it to make normal tea but it has a much darker color and stronger taste than normal green tea.
Does anyone have an idea what this is supposed to be used for?
Re: green tea/matcha powder?
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2022 3:03 am
by teatray
No idea what you got but whoever sold it as powder obviously cheated. Looks like an "export" grade Chinese green or a toasted bancha perhaps? It could be expired tencha (matcha before grinding), but I doubt you'd get that without looking for it specifically.
Matcha will always say matcha on the label/product description, in my experience. It's a very specific tea & process (specific cultivars, shaded ~3 weeks before harvesting, steam fixation, fine grind using special equipment, ideally factory-sealed in high-quality container). I don't think you can get the real thing grown/processed outside Japan.
Re: green tea/matcha powder?
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2022 11:20 am
by Quentin
While I don’t think anyone can accurately identify what specific variety of tea leaf this is based on the picture, what I can say, is that what you have here are tea fannings.
They are essentially the leftover bits from larger, higher-grade tea leaves once gathered and sold. If you’ve ever ripped open a tea bag, it was most likely filled with fannings.
As for it being sold as “powder”, you’d have to look at the packaging or marketing to decide if it was maliciously masquerading as matcha or not. Particularly fine fannings are sometimes called dusts, so there’s a chance it was an honest translation mistake.
If you’re looking to still utilize the leaves now that you have them, I’d suggest getting some sachet bags or a fine infuser and using them just like packeted tea for a mug. But of course, everything is personal preference, so do whatever you think tastes best.
Re: green tea/matcha powder?
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2022 9:01 pm
by debunix
I have found that I can get away with a lower quality sencha when I am making Tea that will be drunk cold and carbonated.
Matcha will always say matcha on the label/product description, in my experience. It's a very specific tea & process (specific cultivars, shaded ~3 weeks before harvesting, steam fixation, fine grind using special equipment, ideally factory-sealed in high-quality container). I don't think you can get the real thing grown/processed outside Japan.
A lot of the matcha I have seen in local shops is actually from China. The quality, of course, is likely terrible.
However, it seems like the Chinese are starting to figure it out:
