Why Matcha Doesn't Come In Bags Like Other Green Tea

You might have noticed that matcha, a green tea powder from Japan that has become a staple in cafes across the world, doesn't follow the same rules as other teas. While you probably have bags of green tea sitting in your cupboard, there are many differences between green tea and matcha, especially when it comes to how it's brewed. To properly prepare a cup of matcha, you'll need a special bamboo whisk, a ceramic bowl, and some patience.

This extra effort isn't just about being fancy, it's because matcha isn't steeped like other teas are — instead, it's consumed as a powder made from whole tea leaves. Matcha comes from tea plants that have been grown and shaded from the sun for at least three weeks, which boosts the nutrient density in the leaves. When it's time to harvest, only the tea plant leaves are picked, dried, and ground to a fine powder — not cut or rolled like loose-leaf tea.

This full-leaf consumption is why matcha packs such a caffeine punch compared to regular green tea, and drinking the whole green tea leaf means you're getting a lot more L-theanine and antioxidants too. This fine powder would not do well in a tea bag; in fact, if you tried to steep it, it would become clumpy, and frankly, you'd just be wasting some very good tea.

Of course, part of the reason matcha isn't sold in tea bags comes from its origin in Japanese tea ceremonies, which is why it has a slightly complicated preparation that holds as much importance as the tea itself. Making matcha involves a ritual of whisking the powder into water, with a special whisk and bowl, to create a frothy texture, and this would be impossible to achieve by simply throwing a tea bag in boiling water.

There are also more practical reasons tea bags don't work well with matcha. For one, it's a very fine powder that separates quickly in water, so it needs to be whisked to avoid sinking to the bottom. Matcha is made with less water than a standard cup of tea, so if you steeped it in water in a tea bag, you'd be diluting the flavor and the thicker consistency. While you can buy matcha tea bags, they're a blend of regular green tea leaves with some added matcha powder, which means the resulting tea is not the full-bodied matcha experience. 

While modern-day matcha drinkers might not always engage in a full ceremony, and the matcha you get from Starbucks skips out on it too, making matcha still requires a lot more thought and presence than simply adding boiling water.