Encha Guide: Matcha Grades and Recommendation Backup
Both Ceremonial and Latte grades of Encha are pure and organic matcha green tea powder grown and ground on our farm in Uji, Kyoto, Japan. Encha Founder created the Encha grades with our farmer to achieve the best natural taste, prepared as matcha tea or latte, without adding sugar.
* We discontinued the culinary-grade matcha from the second harvest so that we can fully focus on our farm’s first harvest for ceremonial and latte grades.
Ceremonial-Grade Encha is ground from premium, first-harvest leaves, which are the most tender, each spring in our farm in Uji, Japan. It’s best suited for the ceremonial style of drinking matcha, with water only. The taste is smooth, full-bodied, delicately grassy, and never bitter.
Latte-Grade Encha is ground from standard, high-quality first-harvest leaves. When prepared just with hot water, Latte-Grade can have a stronger or more bitter taste than Ceremonial-Grade. But that extra strength makes it perfectly suited to pair with the creamy taste of milk for matcha latte. Latte-grade Encha delivers a much greener and smoother cup of matcha latte compared to using the cheaper 2nd or 3rd (summer or autumn) harvest of matcha.
Culinary-Grade Encha is ground from premium, second-harvest leaves, plucked from our organic matcha farm. Culinary-Grade matcha offers a perfectly balanced palate, both vegetal and earthy, with a sweet, nutty finish. It’s perfect for cooking, baking, or adding to smoothies.
Grade naming is subjective to each matcha brand. Always check and compare four key facts.
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Reviews of Encha Organic Matcha by Independent Experts
We are very honored that bloggers and other experts provide their independent opinions about the quality of Encha Organic Matcha.
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Encha Matcha Guide
Purist
Latte Lovers and Stronger-Tea Lovers
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Notes:
- Dairy milk contains a type of protein called casein. Some studies found casein might lower the absorption of the antioxidant catechins in matcha, by about 20%. So we don't recommend dairy milk as the preferred choice. Plant-based vegan milk such as oat or almond milk is the best.
- You can use any grade of matcha for baking and dessert. See beautiful matcha recipes by Sarah of Snixy Kitchen who uses Latte-grade Encha.
For personalized recommendation, please email us: encha@encha.com