Matcha Grades Explained

Here is the uncomfortable truth about matcha grades: "ceremonial" and "culinary" are not regulated terms. Any producer can print either word on any tin, and many do.

What the grades mean in practice

Ceremonial grade should mean first-flush leaves, shade-grown for weeks before harvest, destemmed and stone-milled fine. You drink it straight: water, whisk, done. Latte or culinary grade comes from later flushes, tastes stronger and more astringent and is built to hold its own under milk, in baking or in ice cream. Neither is better, they have different jobs.

Why KOJA prints data instead of adjectives

Because the words are unregulated, we put the facts on the tin: garden, region, harvest and mill date, lab-tested per batch. A batch data sheet cannot be inflated the way a grade label can. See how it works on the verify page.

What we sell

Two drinking grades in Ceremonial Matcha: Origin Nº 1, a single estate Kagoshima matcha for straight bowls, and KOJA Daily, a ceremonial blend that also carries a latte, found in Matcha for Lattes. Cafés get a dedicated latte grade through the partner program.