Usucha, Koicha and Latte: Three Ways to Drink Matcha

Matcha is not one drink. The powder is a starting point, and the ratio you choose changes the experience more than most people expect.

Usucha — thin

Usucha is the thin preparation, and the one most people have met: matcha whisked with a larger proportion of water into a light bowl with a fine foam. It is the clearest window onto a single cultivar, because nothing is competing with it. When we pour a single-origin Tsuyuhikari or Okumidori to be tasted on its own, this is the form it takes.

Koicha — thick

Koicha uses far more powder to far less water, producing something closer to a thick liquid than a drink you gulp. It is dense, intensely savoury, and traditionally reserved for the highest grades, because at that concentration any harshness in the leaf has nowhere to hide.

Latte — with milk

A latte trades some of that transparency for comfort and body. Milk softens astringency and rounds the edges, which is why a latte is a forgiving place to start and a poor place to judge a cultivar. Oat milk is available on all of our lattes at no additional charge.

Which to order first

If you are new to it, start with a latte and move to usucha once the flavour is familiar. If you already know you like matcha, go straight to a single-origin usucha — or take the Usucha Flight and taste three cultivars against each other, which is the fastest education available.