From Uji Matcha to Archcafé’s Matcha Latte

The city of Uji, known as the tea capital of Japan, is renowned as one of the best places in the world to enjoy a cup of tea that is truly “one of a kind.” It is also the source chosen by Archcafé to supply the Matcha used in their Matcha Latte products. Let’s take a look at how the Matcha used in Archcafé’s Matcha Latte is processed.

To understand how Matcha is made, we first need to know what Matcha actually is. Literally, Matcha means “powdered tea.” The preparation for making Matcha begins several weeks before the tea leaves are harvested and can last up to 20 days. During this time, the tea plants are completely shielded to prevent direct sunlight. Due to the lack of sunlight and the special growing environment, the tea leaves must work harder to develop. This process increases the chlorophyll and amino acid content in the leaves. As a result, the tea leaves used for Matcha have a distinctive color and flavor and contain higher nutritional value compared to other green teas.

At harvest time, the freshest and most tender tea leaves are carefully hand-picked by tea farmers and immediately transported to processing factories to prevent fermentation. The tea leaves collected during this stage are called Namacha — the fresh leaf harvest phase.

Namacha is steamed immediately after harvesting. The steaming process lasts from 15 to 20 seconds and is done promptly to help spread the chlorophyll while preserving the nutrients, color, and best flavor. After steaming, the tea leaves are dried to remove moisture; this stage is called Aracha, or raw tea.

After cutting, drying, and sieving the raw tea, the stems, branches, and veins are removed, yielding the pure tea leaves known as Tencha. Tencha is the final raw material used to produce Matcha powder.

Matcha is made by grinding Tencha into a fine powder using granite stone mills in a clean, well-ventilated room where temperature and humidity are carefully controlled to preserve the nutrients, color, and distinctive flavor. To ensure the best Matcha flavor, it takes hours to grind a small amount of Tencha and involves multiple safety and hygiene inspections before being packaged in airtight conditions for the market.

Matcha is famous for its numerous health benefits, as it contains abundant nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants. With our Matcha Latte product, we believe that from carefully selecting the raw material region, the natural purity, the unique production process, and our special recipe, Archcafé will bring you a perfect Matcha Latte like never before—an experience that’s never been so easy.