Kitchen grade matcha is the best choice for adding a green tea flavour to baked goods and other treats. Whether it's matcha smoothies, matcha cakes or homemade matcha ice cream that you crave, TOKYO MATCHA SELECTION highly recommends using 'kitchen grade' rather than 'daily drink grade' or 'ceremonial grade' matcha in your recipes. Read on to find out more!





Why should I use kitchen grade matcha in cooking?

Many people will assume that kitchen grade matcha is of lower quality than other kinds of matcha. This is true to an extent, if you intend to prepare and drink your matcha the traditional way.

The 'top' grade of matcha in Japan is called 'ceremonial grade' precisely because it has the qualities most prized by aficionados of the tea ceremony. As befits this refined tradition, ceremonial grade matcha is selected for its smooth drinking qualities and complex, delicate flavour. However, these subtle qualities are easily lost if the matcha is cooked or blended with other ingredients. Given that ceremonial grade matcha commands the highest prices, we think it would be a shame to waste it all on matcha muffins!

Kitchen grade matcha has a more pronounced, bitter flavour than ceremonial grade matcha. This makes it less balanced and agreeable as a drink, but much more effective at flavouring your favourite foods. In addition, it's much more economical to use in the quantities needed to turn cake batter a true matcha shade of green!

The health benefits of matcha are of course still present in kitchen grade varieties (if consumed raw), but the primary purpose of this product is to give other foods the distinctive natural colour and flavour that has become popular the world over. Japanese people especially love the green, bitter and slightly creamy taste of matcha in sweets, cakes, ice cream and many other recipes.





4 top matcha cooking suggestions from TOKYO MATCHA SELECTION

For some, the pinnacle of matcha baked goods will always be the matcha Swiss roll (or 'roll cake' as we call it in Japan). It's a tricky cake to make, but nevertheless it has become an iconic addition to afternoon tea. As for those beautiful green macarons in the patisserie window - are they pistacchio or matcha? It's becoming hard to guess! We hope some of our customers will be inspired to recreate these at home!

If choux pastry is your speciality, why not try filling eclairs or cream buns with sweetened matcha whipped cream? Or for something simpler, you can add kitchen grade matcha to your favourite pancake recipe for a surprising brunch variation.

The pure, creamy sweetness of white chocolate is an excellent foil for bitter matcha in cookies and muffins. The combination of white and green can also create some fantastic visual effects. Other great partners for matcha include almonds, coconut, macadamia nuts, strawberries and other fresh fruits (including in smoothies).

Kitchen grade matcha also has its savoury applications. Did you know that matcha salt is often used as an accompaniment to tempura?



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