Information

2015.06.25

What is the Difference between Matcha and Funmatsu Tea Powder?

Matcha (抹茶) which is used in Japanese tea ceremony and Funmatsu tea powder (粉末緑茶) that we have seen and heard are different.

Matcha is made from young tea leaves which have been covered since the first leaf sprouted by black net to avoid the sun for 20-25 days before cutting. Then, they are picked by hand or by cutter. The tea leaves will be steamed dry without being massaged. The midribs will be removed, leaving only dry, crisp leaves known as “Tencha (碾茶)”. After baking, they will be ground up into powder by a grinding stone or a grinder, resulting in Matcha.

One particle of Matcha powder will be as small as 1-20 microns (1 micron = 1 millionth of a meter or 0.001-0.02 mm). Very high-quality Matcha will be as small as 1-5 microns. The tea leaves which are covered from the sun will have a high level of chlorophyll. They also have theanine or the amino acid which gives the tea sweet flavor while the amount of catechin which gives the tea astringent taste will decrease.

As for Funmatsu tea powder, it is made from young tea leaves which have been covered for 8-10 days before being cut or harvested by a machine. The tea leaves will be massaged and baked dry and are called “Sencha (煎茶)”. Then, they will be ground up by a grinder. In this grinding process, the midribs will still remain. Particles of the Funmatsu tea powder will be larger at 40-80 microns. If this type of tea is used in the Japanese tea ceremony, it will leave a feeling of having leftover astringent tea sticking on the tongue, inside the mouth and the throat.

As for instant green tea which can be seen in supermarkets, it comes from green tea mixed with hot water which will be later evaporated, leaving only dry tea powder. When mixing it with hot water, the tea powder will melt. Instant tea powder will have no residue since it will all melt. On the other hand, tea powder which is made from Tencha and Sencha will have some residue left. To simply put it, instant tea powder is similar to instant coffee.

On the left is Funmatsu tea powder and on the right is Matcha.

The bottom left picture shows the midribs which are removed in the Matcha production process.

The bottom right picture is Tencha before being ground into Matcha.