How to buy the best matcha from Coles and Woolworths

Welcome to the beginners guide on buying the best tasting matcha from your local supermarkets such as Coles, Woolworths and Aldi in Australia.

Thanks to people’s renewed interest in staying healthy and clean diet, there has been a surge in demand of matcha - a green powerhouse loaded with tons of goodies. This has certainly paved the way for various matchas to be stocked on major supermarket shelves. If you are curious on what your choice should be, our guide will help you make an informed purchase decision along with recommendations on our top choices!

Table of contents

1. Matcha Grades

• Ceremonial Grade

• Culinary Grade

• Mixed Matcha

2. Matcha selection at Coles or Woolworths

• Ito En Matcha Green Tea

• Organic Matcha Powder

• Wellness Road Organic Matcha Powder by Coles

• Twinings Vanilla Matcha Latte

3. Why should I try Matcha if it's more expensive than Coffee?

What is ceremonial grade matcha? 

The most expensive and just like fine wine. The tell tale sign of quality ceremonial matcha is in it’s strong rich flavours which is characterised by deep hues of green. Delicate green tea leaves atop of the plant are carefully picked, deveined and is traditionally the first first harvest of spring. This crop is shade-grown and enriched by abundant sunshine to produce ceremonial quality matcha that is high in antioxidants, vitamins and chlorophyll - all of which can fight free radical cells in your body and bolster your immune system.

What is culinary matcha?

The affordable little brother, culinary matcha is akin to cooking wine. Coming from the following harvests which is usually produced from harsher, less delicate leaves and parts of the green tea plant; the taste is defined by harsh, bitter flavours. The hallmark of culinary matcha is the yellow-green olive hue, with contrasting colours compared to ceremonial grade.

What is mixed matcha?

The mixed matcha is like your instant coffee that can come in a variety flavours. It is made by blending culinary grade matcha (usually low quality) with sugars, sweeteners, milk solids and other flavouring agents. Often low in matcha concentration but high in food additives, it produces matcha lattes that are sweet and aromatic.

Selection of Matchas at Coles

1. Ito En Matcha Green Tea Organic Matcha Powder

12x2g packs for $15 = $1.25 per serving. 100% Green Tea

This is the closest form to a ceremonial matcha you can purchase from online boutique tea stores or direct farms from Japan. The packaging is convenient for people on the go, just 2 grams per sachet. Originating from Japan, Ito En delivers an authentic taste of what pure matcha is like for the uninitiated, which upon opening, scores a lovely jade green hue indicating admirable qualities along with a signature pungent green tea smell.

Instructions directs the consumer to enjoy on its own or blended with your lattes and even cooking. And we totally agree, but we would take it a step further as ceremonial ritual matcha with a dash of coconut oil along with 100ml of hot water in the 85 degrees range.

All round a great entry for beginners who are looking to get their beaks wet with a strong matcha taste. Bonus point, we love the packaging as the details are just what you would want on a clearly labelled package (recipes, use by date, batch number and origin).

2. Wellness Road Organic Matcha Powder by Coles 

100g for $9.50 = $0.475g per serve. 100% Green Tea

The home-brand of Coles, packed in Australia with ingredients from overseas. This is a typical low quality matcha with convincing culinary characteristics of yellow and olive green. At 5 gram per recommended serve, you can be sure that you’ll need more to get the classic matcha taste in your latte drinks. When opened, a light green tea smell was noticeable but not too strong - a sign that it may have been on the shelves for too long and lost freshness.

A matcha latte with soy milk was a straight forward affair but resulted in an overpowering nutty soy taste with mild and bitter flavours from the matcha powder. Even though the instructions are clear and to the point, we recommend using 8 grams of the Coles matcha green tea powder with 40ml hot water and 180ml of warm milk to get a stronger taste. For those who are more accustomed to sweet flavours, do consider adding 2tsp of maple syrup as per instruction.

Standard packaging with key detail of origin lacking, do be aware of allergies as this is packed in a facility where they process gluten, soy, milk and nuts. 

In hindsight it is quite affordable, do try if you’re looking to add colour and flavours into your cooking. Not recommended for premium blended drinks or enjoyed alone.

3. Twinings Vanilla Matcha Latte

200g, $0.60 per 12.6 grams

At 20% matcha powder and 80% flavour additives, it’s not exactly the matcha latte you would expect once you prepare it with the easy 3 step instruction. Once opened, a fragrant coconut aroma quickly overpowers the faint green tea scent, no surprise here as there is only about 40 grams of matcha in the 200 gram tin.

It is strikingly sweet with the coconut and milky flavours dominating the mouth feel. Twining’s matcha latte also miss out on the signature matcha aftertaste with their use of low grade matcha, clearly evident with the tan yellow green colours. The cylindrical tin comes tightly sealed which is great but is vague on its origin and is completely untraceable being “Made in Australia from at least 24% Australian ingredients”.

If you love an easy to make and low-cost introduction to blended matcha drinks, this will do fine.

So why should I try Matcha when its more expensive than Coffee?

Coffee is grown and cultivated cheaply in countries with low labour cost and is mass produce on a bigger scale. Higher demand of coffee have led to global expansion and production, with fierce competition driving the value of beans lower.

Coffee caters to a wide range of audience, hence you can find there are many different kind of roasts, acidity and even origin. Locating the matcha sections within Coles is a challenge on its own, this tiny selection consists of only 3 matchas in-store (and at the time we could purchase).

Matcha on the opposite is grown and processed in small scale in comparison to the production of coffee beans. Authentic matcha is exclusively from Japan, and requires time intensive labour to produce. Quality green tea matcha is cultivated specially in the shade too, an ancient tradition which add further complexity to the process. And with farmers dwindling each generation due declined interest locally in Japan, plus an increasing popularity of the westernised diet, tea fields are shrinking as senior farmers grow too old for the hard physical labour and not having many successors.

The price of matcha reflects on its quality and ingredient. This is much more evident from the 3 matcha we have purchased and tried from Coles. The best tasting matcha from our experience comes from Japan, and will be clear on their labels or packaging. Always keep an eye out for products that do not specify their origin!