• Classic Matcha powdered green tea – everyday Japanese matcha, stone-ground and shade-grown
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Classic Matcha

Classic Matcha

Matcha from the same volcanic foothills of Kirishima, Kagoshima as our ceremonial grade, but built for everyday drinking. Smooth, bright, and grassy with enough character to shine straight or hold its own in a latte. The best place to start with matcha, and one you'll keep coming back to.

£19.00 GBP
£19.00 GBP
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Delivery & returns

Free standard delivery for orders over £40. We aim to deliver your Waterloo Tea order quickly and securely. For full details on shipping options, delivery times, and our returns policy, please visit our Delivery Information page (link the delivery information page). 

Packaging

Our teas are designed with sustainability in mind. Loose leaf teas and tea bags are packed in recyclable pouches, and our tea bags are fully compostable, perfect for your home food waste bin.

Storage

Store your tea in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Keep pouches sealed between uses to preserve flavour and character. Most teas remain enjoyable after their best-before date, though blends with added flavours may lose their intensity after this date.

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Description

If ceremonial matcha is the Sunday morning ritual, Classic Matcha is the one you reach for every day.

Grown on the same family farm in Makizono, Kagoshima as our ceremonial grade, Classic Matcha shares everything that makes that tea special: the same volcanic Shirasu soil, the same producer-invented shading method, the same generational care. The only difference is harvest timing. Produced from a blend of second harvest Tencha leaves, it is a more robust, slightly more assertive cup, and one that is considerably more forgiving to prepare and pair.

On its own, it delivers everything you want from a quality matcha: a vivid green colour, a clean grassy flavour, and a smooth finish without the bitterness that plagues lower-grade powders. It lacks the deep umami complexity of our ceremonial grade, but that's not what this tea is for. This is matcha that fits into your life rather than demanding your full attention.

Where Classic Matcha particularly excels is with milk. The bolder flavour profile cuts through dairy in a way that more delicate ceremonial grades simply can't – the result is a matcha latte with genuine depth and a colour that actually looks the part. It works equally well with oat, almond, or any other alternative milk, and holds up beautifully over ice.
Like all matcha, you're consuming the whole leaf rather than just an infusion, meaning the concentration of active compounds – including L-theanine and caffeine – is significantly higher than conventional green tea. The effect is the same: calm, sustained focus rather than a sharp caffeine hit. Just in a format that fits a little more naturally into a busy morning.

If you're new to matcha, start here. If you're a matcha drinker who wants a quality everyday option, this is it.
Available as loose powder in airtight packaging, presented in a resealable pouch.

Origin

Classic Matcha shares its origins entirely with our ceremonial grade. Same farm, same region, same soil. Both come from a medium-sized family farm at the foot of the Kirishima volcanic mountain range in Makizono, Kagoshima, a farm that has been producing Tencha for generations and recently passed from father to son.

The volcanic Shirasu soil that defines this region is one of the key reasons the matcha from this farm stands apart from much of what you'll find elsewhere. Rich in minerals, free-draining, and built up over centuries of volcanic activity, it encourages healthy root systems and imparts a subtle complexity to the leaf that flatly cannot be replicated in other growing conditions. Combined with the cool air rolling down from the Kirishima mountains and the region's reliable rainfall, this is a site that produces tea of genuine quality at both grades.

What sets Classic Matcha apart is its harvest timing. Produced from second harvest Tencha leaves, it has a naturally robust and expressive character that makes it ideal for everyday drinking and particularly well suited to milk-based preparations, where a bolder flavour cuts through rather than disappears.

Processing

The processing of Classic Matcha follows the same path as our ceremonial grade, beginning with the producer's unique shading method. For 21 to 23 days before harvest, around 85 to 90 percent of sunlight is blocked using a single-layer direct cover. This is not the conventional method but a technique developed by the producer himself to avoid the leaf damage and flavour degradation that standard direct covering can cause over time. The exact method remains a closely guarded secret, but its effect on the leaf is clear: deep colour, elevated chlorophyll, and a sweetness that sets this apart from unshaded green teas.

After mechanical harvesting, the leaves are steamed to halt oxidation, dried, cut, and destemmed to produce Tencha in its refined state. The cultivar blend is chosen and assembled by the producer, who sends the finished Tencha ready for grinding.

From there, a careful approach to timing applies. Fresh spring Tencha is left to rest through the summer months, as ground too early it can be bright and slightly bitter. From August onward, the new harvest is gradually blended with diminishing quantities of the previous year's Tencha, ensuring the flavour remains consistent and balanced across the full year. The result is a matcha that tastes the same whether you order in September or February.

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