Matcha has come a long way.
Ten years ago, plenty of people had absolutely no idea what it was.
Now it is brightening up café menus everywhere. Hot, iced, strawberry, vanilla, coconut, mango. Matcha has moved well beyond the traditional bowl and found a whole new audience.
We are very much here for it.
The challenge is that the word matcha covers an enormous range of quality.
I have tasted matcha that is vibrant, smooth, gently sweet and full of character.
I have also tasted matcha that resembles pond water.
Unfortunately, put enough vanilla syrup into either and someone will probably drink it.
For a good speciality café, we think matcha deserves a little more attention than that.
Start with the matcha itself
Before you add milk, ice, syrup or anything else, look at what is actually in front of you.
Start with the colour.
Good matcha should have a vibrant green appearance. If it is looking dull, brown or khaki, that is generally not a great start.
Then smell it.
You are looking for freshness and that distinctive green, vegetal character that makes matcha unmistakably matcha.
Finally, taste it.
Good matcha should have layers. Fresh vegetal notes, savoury umami, natural sweetness and some gentle bitterness and astringency.
It should have character without making you pull a face.
The best matcha latte starts with the right matcha
Here is where choosing matcha for a café gets interesting.
The best matcha for drinking traditionally with water is not necessarily the most commercially sensible choice for every matcha latte.
Milk changes things.
Once you add 200ml or more of dairy or plant based milk, some of the more delicate characteristics of a matcha can disappear.
For a latte, you need enough flavour, body and colour to carry through the milk.
The matcha still needs to taste like matcha.
Obvious, perhaps, but surprisingly easy to get wrong.
Origin matters, but taste matters more
At Jeeves & Jericho, we work with Japanese matcha and have spent a lot of time looking at how different matchas perform specifically in café drinks.
Japan has an extraordinary tea culture and some of the world's most celebrated matcha producing regions.
Origin can tell you a lot about a tea.
But it should never replace actually tasting it.
A famous name on a packet does not automatically mean it is the right matcha for your café.
Our advice is much simpler.
Taste it with water.
Then make a latte.
Make another with oat milk.
Pour one over ice.
See what happens.
That is the real café test.
Make it the way your customers will drink it
This is important.
If 80 percent of your matcha customers order an iced oat matcha latte, tasting potential suppliers only as traditional matcha with water does not tell you everything you need to know.
Test the matcha in the drinks you actually intend to sell.
Does the flavour still come through?
Does the colour stay vibrant?
Does it work with dairy milk?
How does it taste with oat milk?
What happens over ice?
And if you are planning to introduce strawberry matcha or other flavoured drinks, does the matcha have enough character to hold its own?
Matcha is incredibly versatile.
Choose one that gives you room to play.
Think about what happens behind the bar
Flavour is only part of choosing a café matcha.
You also need to know how it behaves when someone actually has to make fifty of them.
Does it whisk easily?
Does it clump?
How much matcha do you need in each drink?
How quickly can your team prepare it?
Can different baristas reproduce the same latte consistently?
A beautiful matcha that becomes a nightmare during Saturday service is not necessarily the best matcha for your café.
Quality and practicality need to work together.
Technique makes a difference
Matcha is simple to make, but the little things matter.
Dose matters.
Water temperature matters.
Sifting matters.
Whisking matters.
Simply throwing a spoonful of matcha powder straight into a jug of milk and hoping for the best is unlikely to show the tea at its best.
For our Ceremonial Grade Matcha, we use 3g of matcha with 30ml of hot water to create the base before adding milk.
It takes very little time, but it gives you a smooth, concentrated matcha that carries beautifully through a latte.
And once your team knows the method, it quickly becomes second nature.
Give your team a little matcha knowledge
You do not need every barista to become a matcha expert.
But they should know what they are making.
Show them what good matcha looks like.
Let them taste it with water before adding milk.
Explain why the water should not be boiling.
Show them how to whisk it properly.
Then let them experiment.
Make it hot. Make it iced. Try different milks. Play with flavours.
A little knowledge creates a lot more confidence behind the bar.
And that confidence ends up in the cup.
Make the first one count
Matcha is bringing a lot of new energy to café menus.
Some customers already have their order perfected.
Others are trying it for the first time because they saw a bright green iced matcha on Instagram and decided today was the day.
That first cup matters.
It might be the beginning of a new daily ritual, or it might shape what they think matcha tastes like altogether.
At Jeeves & Jericho, we do not simply want matcha to look good on the menu.
We want it to have colour, flavour and real character in the cup.
Because trends might get someone to order their first matcha.
A brilliant matcha is what gets them to order the second.