How to spot fake matcha in the Philippines

What "fake matcha" usually is

• Green tea powder sold as matcha. Older leaves, not shaded, ground with the stems and veins. It is cheaper to make and tastes harsher.
• Matcha from elsewhere sold as Japanese. Tea grown and milled in other countries, repacked with a Japanese-looking label.
• Mixes sold as pure matcha. Powders with sugar, milk powder or colouring. A latte mix is fine when it says so, but it should not be sold as 100% matcha.
• Repacked or old stock. Real matcha that was opened, split into plain bags or kept too long, so it has lost its colour and taste.

6 checks before you buy

1. Ingredients: one ingredient only, matcha (or green tea for matcha). Sugar, milk powder or "flavouring" means it is a mix.
2. Origin: the country and region are named, for example Shizuoka, Kagoshima, Uji or Nishio. "Japanese style" is not the same as "from Japan".
3. Packaging: a sealed, airtight tin or pouch that blocks light, with a best-before date. Plain zip bags with no details are a warning sign.
4. Price per gram: compare by gram, not by pack. Growing shaded leaves and stone-milling them slowly is expensive, so a big bag at a very low price is rarely real matcha.
5. Photos and reviews: look for buyer photos of the powder itself. Real matcha looks vivid green even in phone photos.
6. The seller: a shop with a clear name, a way to contact them, an order code and tracking. Be careful with sellers who only take payment in chat and then go quiet.

4 checks at home

1. Colour

Put a little powder on a white plate in daylight. Real matcha is a bright, vivid green. Olive, yellowish or brownish powder is old, poorly stored or low quality.

2. Smell

Open the tin and smell it. Good matcha smells fresh, sweet and grassy, a bit like steamed greens. Dusty, hay-like or stale smells mean old or low-quality powder.

3. The swipe test

Rub a pinch between your fingers, or swipe it across white paper with your fingertip. Real matcha feels silky and leaves a smooth, bright green streak. Gritty, coarse powder that leaves a dull streak was ground roughly or from older leaves.

4. Taste it with water

Whisk 2g of matcha into 70ml of water at about 75–80°C. Good matcha tastes smooth and savoury with natural sweetness and only light bitterness, and makes a fine foam. Harsh, sharp bitterness and gritty bits that sink right away point to green tea powder or old stock.

Already bought one that fails?

If it is bright green but tastes a bit bitter, it may simply be a stronger grade made for lattes and baking, not a fake. Use it with milk. If it is dull, yellowish or smells stale, use it up in baking, where colour and delicate taste matter less, and buy fresher matcha for drinking.

How we do it

Every product page shows where the matcha comes from and which tea plant variety it is, for example Yabukita from Shizuoka or Okumidori from Kagoshima. Our matcha comes in sealed tins and pouches, every order gets an order code and a tracking page, and buyer reviews are shown on each product.

Questions

Is green tea powder the same as matcha?

No. Green tea powder is usually ground from older leaves that were not shaded, with stems and veins included. It tastes more bitter and looks duller. Real matcha is made only from shaded young leaves with the stems and veins removed, then slowly stone-milled.

Why is my matcha yellow or brown?

It is old, was stored warm or in the light, or was low quality to begin with. It is still safe to use in baking, but it will taste flat and bitter in a latte.

Is cheap matcha always fake?

Not always, but real Japanese matcha costs a lot to grow and mill, so a very low price for a big bag is the most common warning sign. Compare the price per gram, not the price per pack.

Should matcha dissolve completely in water?

No. Matcha is fine leaf powder, so it floats in the water instead of dissolving. Whisked well, it stays smooth and foamy for a few minutes before settling. Gritty bits that sink at once point to coarse, low-quality powder.