Matcha Tea Bags vs Matcha Powder: What’s Really in the Bag?

Matcha basics

Why matcha can’t steep

Every other tea works by infusion. You pour hot water over leaves, the water draws out some of their flavor and compounds, and the leaves go in the bin. Matcha is different. It is made from tencha, shaded tea leaf that is steamed, dried flat and stripped of its stems and veins, then milled into a powder so fine that it stays suspended in water. You don’t infuse it; you whisk it into the water and drink all of it.

That is why matcha does not belong in a tea bag. Put pure matcha powder in a paper bag and dunk it, and most of it either clumps inside or seeps through as a cloudy trickle. You end up with a thin, uneven cup and wasted powder on the bag. Our guide to what matcha is explains how it differs from other green tea, and the story of the leaf itself is in what is tencha.

What’s actually in a matcha tea bag

Read the ingredients list on a box of matcha tea bags. In most countries ingredients are listed by weight, largest first. You will usually find one of these:

• Green tea with matcha. The most common type: sencha or another green tea, with matcha powder added to coat the leaf. Japan has its own long-standing version, matcha-iri sencha (“sencha with matcha in it”), which is sold as an everyday tea and never pretends to be matcha.
• Genmaicha with matcha. Green tea blended with toasted rice, dusted with matcha for color and a rounder flavor. It is a lovely tea in its own right, and the matcha is a minor ingredient.
• Flavored or blended bags. Green tea with matcha plus mint, citrus, ginger or other flavorings. Here the matcha share is often small.
• Single-serve powder sticks. These are not tea bags at all, but they are sometimes sold alongside them. A stick of pure matcha powder is real matcha, portioned for you; check whether sugar or milk powder has been added.

If matcha is the second or third ingredient, the bag is mostly ordinary green tea. That is not a problem if you want a green tea. It is only a problem if you paid for matcha.

Matcha tea bags vs matcha powder

Freshness deserves a word of its own. Matcha’s color and aroma fade quickly with air, light and warmth. A fine powder sitting in a porous paper bag, often for months, has had every chance to fade before you open the box. In a sealed tin kept cool and dark it lasts much better; our guide to matcha shelf life explains how to store it. For more on how matcha and steeped green tea differ in the cup, see matcha vs green tea.

Caffeine and catechins: does the bag make a difference?

Because you drink the whole leaf, a cup of matcha delivers more of the leaf’s compounds than a steeped tea, where some of them stay behind in the leaves.

• Caffeine. Laboratory analyses of matcha have found about 19–44 mg of caffeine per gram¹, so a typical 2 g serving has roughly 38–88 mg. A brewed 8 oz cup of coffee averages about 95 mg². A matcha tea bag gives you less than a cup of matcha, because only part of the caffeine leaves the leaf and only a small part of the bag is matcha, though the exact amount depends on the blend and how long you steep it. Our matcha caffeine guide has the full comparison.
• Catechins. One widely cited laboratory study found that drinking matcha gave far more of the catechin EGCG than the steeped green tea it was compared with³. Findings like this describe what is in the cup; they are not evidence of a health effect on their own.

For most healthy adults, the European Food Safety Authority considers up to 400 mg of caffeine a day, from all sources, to be of no safety concern, with lower limits during pregnancy⁴. If you are sensitive to caffeine, a matcha tea bag or a smaller serving of matcha are both gentle options.

This article is for general information and isn’t medical advice. If you’re pregnant, sensitive to caffeine or taking medication, talk to your doctor about what’s right for you.

When a matcha tea bag makes sense

There is nothing wrong with a good green tea bag that has matcha in it. It makes sense:

• at the office or while traveling, when you have only a mug and hot water;
• when you want a light, everyday green tea rather than the depth of real matcha;
• for a gentler cup later in the day.

To get the best from one, use water that is hot but not boiling, around 75–80 °C (165–175 °F), steep for one to two minutes, and move the bag gently so the matcha clouds into the water. Longer, hotter steeping draws out more astringency. If you are buying, look for matcha high on the ingredients list and a stated origin.

How to make real matcha without special tools

Real matcha is quicker than it looks, and you don’t need a full set of tools to start. You do need the powder itself: our Ceremonial Grade Uji Matcha is a first-harvest everyday matcha for drinking straight, and the Organic Uji Matcha Classic Blend is made with lattes in mind. Both are stone-milled in Japan.

A small electric milk frother works too. When you are ready for the traditional way, a bamboo chasen gives the finest foam: the Matcha Whisk Set has a 100-prong whisk, a scoop and a ceramic stand, and you will find more whisks in our chasen collection. Our step-by-step guide to how to make matcha covers the method, and our matcha latte guide covers milk.

Matcha tea bags: common questions

Are matcha tea bags real matcha?

Not usually. Most are green tea such as sencha or genmaicha with a little matcha powder added. Real matcha is a powder that is whisked into water and drunk whole, so it cannot be steeped in a bag.

Can you put matcha powder in a tea bag?

It doesn’t work well. Matcha is too fine to infuse: it clumps inside the bag or seeps through unevenly, giving a thin cup. Shake it with water in a jar or whisk it instead.

Do matcha tea bags have less caffeine than matcha powder?

Usually, yes. A 2 g serving of matcha powder has roughly 38–88 mg of caffeine because you drink the whole leaf. A tea bag gives up only part of its caffeine, and most of the bag is ordinary green tea.

Can you make a matcha latte with a matcha tea bag?

Not a proper one. A tea bag gives a thin green tea that disappears in milk. A matcha latte needs matcha powder whisked or shaken into a little water first, then topped with milk.

How do I make matcha without a whisk?

Sift 1–2 g of matcha into a jar with a tight lid, add 70 ml of water at about 80 °C (175 °F), and shake hard for 15–20 seconds. A small electric milk frother also works.

References

1. Koláčková T, Kolofiková K, Sytařová I, Snopek L, Sumczynski D, Orsavová J. Matcha tea: analysis of nutritional composition, phenolics and antioxidant activity. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition. 2020;75(1):48–53.
2. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: coffee, brewed. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
3. Weiss DJ, Anderton CR. Determination of catechins in matcha green tea by micellar electrokinetic chromatography. Journal of Chromatography A. 2003;1011(1–2):173–180.
4. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA). Scientific opinion on the safety of caffeine. EFSA Journal. 2015;13(5):4102.