How Much Matcha Should You Put in a Cup?
For usucha, begin with about 3/4 tsp (1.5 g) of matcha in 1/4 cup (60 ml) of water. Compare latte doses without treating a chashaku as a scale.
By Roseline Zhou, Founder
Contents
Your first bowl tastes too strong, the next too weak, though you used the same scoop. To find how much matcha to put in a cup, first weigh about 3/4 tsp (1.5 g) of matcha powder and add 1/4 cup (60 ml) of water for lighter matcha made with water, called usucha. You can then adjust the dose to your taste.
The bamboo scoop lifts the powder, but how full it is changes from one stroke to the next. A scale helps more when you want to repeat your first attempt.
How much matcha should you use for a bowl or latte?
Milk and ice change how you perceive the tea. So our preparations use different amounts. These are starting points to taste, not universal rules.
| Preparation | Matcha | Recipe base | What to adjust |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usucha with water | about 3/4 tsp (1.5 g) matcha | 1/4 cup (60 ml) water | Taste before adding more powder. |
| Hot latte | about 1 tsp (2 g) matcha | about 1 1/3 fl oz (40 ml) water, then 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk | Milk softens the cup. |
| Iced latte | about 1 1/2 tsp (3 g) matcha | about 1 fl oz (30 ml) water, then 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk and ice | Ice dilutes the drink. |
We taste the base with water before adding milk. If matcha already gets lost there, it will be hard to find in the latte. Once you know your recipe, this check becomes less useful.
Does a chashaku measure grams of matcha?
No. A chashaku, a bamboo matcha scoop, lifts powder without giving a fixed weight. A level or heaped scoop doesn't have the same mass.
For a consistent cup, we prefer to weigh the powder. Once your eye and palate are accustomed to it, you can return to your usual movement with our bamboo chashaku, without asking it to be as precise as a scale.
Your cup is too strong or too weak: what should you change?
Keep the water and temperature the same during your first attempts. If the bowl is too strong, use a little less powder next time; if it's too weak, add a little. By changing one thing, you'll know what altered the taste.
We'd adjust the amount before adding sugar. Sugar can mask bitterness without explaining where it comes from. In a dessert or a deliberately sweet latte, this advice matters less.
Should you measure differently for a cold drink?
For iced matcha, prepare a whisked base before adding ice. The ice dilutes the drink without changing the amount of powder already put into the glass.
Does a chashaku scoop tell you the caffeine amount?
No. More powder also brings more caffeine, but a scoop doesn't measure how much. The caffeine levels observed varied among the matcha powders analyzed. You can't infer milligrams of caffeine from the chashaku's shape or the bowl's size.
Weigh the powder to repeat the taste you like, without treating that weight as an analysis of a specific product. If you're watching your caffeine intake, count the other drinks in your day too.