How to Spot Fake Matcha

You see a blue or pink powder sold as “matcha”: is it really tea? Color alone can't answer that. Matcha is made by milling tencha, tea leaves grown in the shade and then dried. If the ingredient list contains only another plant, the powder borrows the name without being that tea.

We'd read the ingredients before judging the jar. A bright color can come from a plant or an additive; it tells you neither the starting material nor the flavor in the cup. The “ceremonial” and “culinary” labels describe a stated use and don't replace the ingredient list.

How can you recognize real matcha?

Look for the tea on the ingredient list. Matcha is made by milling tencha tea leaves. A powder made only from a flower, fruit, or coloring doesn't come from the same material.

Not every green tea powder is matcha either. Grinding sencha, a rolled leaf grown in the sun, gives a green powder with a sharper taste, often labeled “powdered green tea.” Matcha starts from a shaded leaf, dried flat, without rolling.

We read the whole list, not just the name on the front. If it names matcha alongside other ingredients, you have a blend. That doesn't automatically make the product misleading. To taste the tea alone, choose a product whose ingredients say so clearly.

On the label, we read in this order:

• the full ingredient list;
• whether matcha is there, and where it sits in the list;
• additions such as sugar, milk powder, a flavoring or a coloring;
• their proportion, when it's given;
• the preparation method, whisking a powder or steeping a tea.

Does “blue matcha” contain tea?

Not when the blue comes entirely from another plant, most often butterfly pea flower, Clitoria ternatea. “Matcha” may suggest a fine powder or a way of mixing it, but that doesn't turn the plant into tea. If matcha is also among the ingredients, judge the blend by what it contains.

We prefer to name the actual plant. A blue drink may be exactly what you want for a recipe; just don't expect the vegetal flavor of plain matcha from it.

What about “pink matcha”?

Pink proves nothing by itself. You might have another plant powder, from beetroot or pitaya for example, or a blend containing matcha. Read the ingredients and their proportions when given, then choose by the flavor you want.

We don't call a blend “fake” when it's presented accurately. It serves a different preference. To judge matcha by itself with water, though, we'd choose an unblended powder and taste the cup.

Does flavoring or a sachet change what the tea is?

Flavoring doesn't necessarily replace the original tea. The difference between plain and flavored matcha is in the ingredients. Packaging doesn't settle it either: matcha in sachets may mean powder to pour out or tea leaves to steep.

We want a label that says what's in the serving and how to prepare it. An attractive color can't stand in for that. Then judge the flavor in the drink you've actually made.