Shade-grown powdered green tea
Chinese Matcha Wholesale
Matcha is green tea in a different physical form. The leaf is shaded for several weeks before picking, steamed to halt oxidation, then dried flat without rolling — the unrolled leaf is called tencha. Stems and veins are stripped out, and what remains is milled into a powder fine enough to stay suspended in water. Because the whole leaf is consumed rather than infused and discarded, matcha behaves differently from loose-leaf tea in almost every way that matters to a buyer: colour and particle size become measurable specifications, and anything present in the leaf arrives in the cup at full strength.
That is why matcha has its own Hub rather than sitting inside loose-leaf green tea. Botanically it is a green tea. Commercially it is a separate purchase, with its own grading vocabulary, its own quality signals, and its own failure modes. A buyer comparing two matcha lots is not comparing leaf appearance and liquor — they are comparing a number for particle size, a set of colour coordinates, a residue panel, and a milling method.
Sun Time Tea buys matcha the same way it buys everything else: directly from producing regions, shipped from origin, with the lot documented before it moves. Evaluation samples are free of charge; the buyer covers the courier cost. Most teas from 5 kg. The sections below cover what the grades actually mean, how the powder is made, and which specifications are worth insisting on — none of it specific to any one lot.
How to read ceremonial, barista, and culinary grades
Grade names are a supplier’s own shorthand, not a legal standard. Use them to locate a lot in a range, then specify the numbers that sit underneath.
| Grade | Leaf | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Ceremonial | Earliest picking, youngest shaded leaves. Stems and veins removed thoroughly; milled finest. Highest amino acids, lowest astringency. | Whisked with water alone. Tasting flights, by-the-bowl service, and any cup where nothing is added to mask flavour. |
| Barista | A slightly later picking and a broader leaf than ceremonial. Fine enough to stay suspended; a stronger, rounder flavour that reads through dairy and plant milks. | Lattes, iced drinks, and café programmes where the tea has to hold its own against milk or sweetness. |
| Culinary | Later harvests and more mature leaf. Coarser mill tolerance, stronger and more astringent; pigment that survives heat and sugar better than finer grades. | Baking, ice cream, batters, and blends where matcha is one ingredient among several. |
Typical origins
Japan (reference)
Shading and tencha were developed here. Uji in Kyoto, Nishio in Aichi, Kagoshima, and Shizuoka remain the reference growing areas — the category is no longer confined to them.
Zhejiang
Chinese matcha production is concentrated where shading and tencha lines exist. Zhejiang around Shaoxing and Yuhang is one of those clusters.
Guizhou, Sichuan & Jiangsu
Tongren in Guizhou, and parts of Sichuan and Jiangsu, have also built shading infrastructure and tencha processing. Province and leaf base belong on the spec sheet.
Tencha versus green-tea powder
The distinction that matters is not the country on the label but whether the region has genuine shading and tencha, or is grinding ordinary finished green tea. Those two powders look different. Only the first is matcha in any meaningful sense.
Processing
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Shading
For roughly three to four weeks before picking, the bushes are covered to cut sunlight. The plant produces more chlorophyll and retains more amino acids — colour and savoury character. Shading duration is a real variable: ask for it in days.
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Steaming and drying (tencha)
Picked leaf is steamed within hours to stop oxidation, then dried flat. It is never rolled. Rolling is what gives loose-leaf tea its twist; skipping it leaves a brittle flat leaf that mills cleanly. That unrolled dried leaf is tencha, the only correct starting material for matcha.
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Destemming and deveining
Stems and leaf veins are separated before milling. They are fibrous, pale, and bitter. How thoroughly they are removed is one of the clearest dividing lines between grades.
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Milling
Stone mills produce a very fine, cool-ground powder but run slowly, so they are reserved for small premium lots. Ball milling and air-jet milling are the practical alternatives at volume. They are not equivalent: method changes particle-size distribution, heat, colour, and flavour. It belongs on the spec sheet.
Buying notes
- Grade names are not a standard. No regulator defines ceremonial grade. Two suppliers can apply the word to different powders, both legitimately. Treat the name as a starting vocabulary and specify the underlying numbers in the purchase agreement.
- Ask for these, per lot: particle size D50 with the measurement method stated; colour as CIELAB L*a*b* coordinates rather than an adjective; harvest season and shading days; leaf base — tencha or ground green tea; milling method; moisture. These make one lot comparable to another.
- Ask for a residue panel and which standard it was judged against. Because matcha is consumed whole, residue limits written for infused tea understate real exposure. A certificate against one country’s limits does not speak for another market. Ask how many compounds the panel covers and against which standard. Lots can be selected to meet EU MRLs; batch testing available on request (Eurofins, approx. 2 weeks, at cost).
- Check the sterilisation method. Powdered tea is sometimes irradiated to reduce microbial counts. Irradiation carries labelling obligations in some markets and is refused by many buyers. Steam sterilisation is the alternative. Ask which was used and ask for it in writing.
- Storage decides how long the quality lasts. Matcha oxidises quickly once exposed to air, light, and warmth — colour dulls and flavour flattens well before any safety date. Ask whether lots are sealed under nitrogen and what the residual oxygen level is. Keep sealed stock cold; an opened container has a much shorter working life than the unopened shelf life suggests.
- Evaluation samples are free of charge; the buyer covers the courier cost. Most teas from 5 kg. Whisk it, then whisk it into whatever you actually plan to serve — a powder that looks correct dry can settle out of milk in under a minute. Suspension behaviour is not visible in a photograph or a spec sheet.
Sourcing this category
Sourcing a matcha not listed here? We source by cultivar, grade, and harvest window. Tell us your spec.
Send a sourcing inquiryFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between matcha and green tea powder?
Matcha is made from tencha — leaf that was shaded before picking, steamed, and dried without rolling, then destemmed and milled. Green tea powder is ordinary finished green tea ground up. Side by side, matcha is usually a deeper, more saturated green, and the powder is finer. The flavour difference is larger still. Both are legal to sell; only one is matcha. Ask which you are being offered.
Does “ceremonial grade” mean anything official?
No. There is no legal or industry-wide definition of ceremonial, barista, or culinary grade. They are useful shorthand for where a powder sits in a supplier’s own range, and nothing more. If a grade name is doing important work in a contract, replace it with the underlying specifications — particle size, colour coordinates, harvest, shading days.
How is Chinese matcha different from Japanese matcha?
Japan has a longer cultivation history and dominates the top of the market, particularly for single-origin ceremonial lots. Chinese production is newer and now larger. Origin correlates with quality less than shading, leaf base, and milling do. A well-made Chinese lot outperforms a poorly made Japanese one, and the specifications reveal which is which more reliably than the country name.
What particle size should I be asking for?
Ask for D50 — the median particle diameter — with the measurement method stated, since numbers from different methods are not comparable. Finer powder suspends longer and tastes smoother; coarser powder holds up better in baking. There is no universally correct number, only a number appropriate to the application, which is why it belongs in the specification.
How should matcha be stored, and how long does it last?
Sealed, cold, and away from light. Unopened shelf life is meaningfully longer than working life after opening — matcha degrades on colour and aroma long before it becomes unsafe, so a distant expiry date is not a guarantee of quality. Buy quantities matched to how fast you will use them rather than stocking far ahead.
Can I order a sample before committing to a full lot?
Yes. Evaluation samples are free of charge; the buyer covers the courier cost. Most teas from 5 kg. Test it prepared the way you intend to serve it, not just whisked with water — suspension in milk is where powders most often disappoint.
Is matcha ever irradiated, and how would I know?
Sometimes, as a microbial control step. It is not always disclosed unless asked. Some markets require irradiated food to be labelled as such, and many buyers decline it regardless. Ask for the sterilisation method in writing and treat a supplier who cannot answer as having answered.
Related reading
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Looking for matcha?
Tell us the cultivar, grade, harvest window, and volume. Evaluation samples are free of charge; the buyer covers the courier cost. Most teas from 5 kg.