The Origins of Matcha
- Kat Gran
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Before the Trend
In the past year, a wave of trends swept across social media: Labubu plush toys from Hong Kong, pistachio Dubai chocolate, and AI-generated Italian brain rot videos. But no trend proved more durable or more widely adopted than matcha, the bright green powdered tea that migrated from niche local cafes to nearly every major coffee chain in the country.
What most people ordering a lavender matcha cold foam frappuccino do not know is that the drink they are holding has almost nothing to do with the substance that shares its name.
What Matcha Actually Is
Matcha is a finely ground powder made from shade-grown green tea leaves. The drink began gaining wider TikTok traction in the summer of 2025, with its distinctive color and earthy flavor drawing in audiences who had never encountered it before. Once chain coffee shops noticed the demand, they moved fast.
What Starbucks and Dunkin' now sell under the matcha label is a different product: loaded with sugar, flavored syrups, protein powders, and cold foam. The traditional preparation is far simpler and far older. The drink that went viral is not the drink that built a civilization around tea.
A Thousand Years of Ceremony
Matcha's roots trace back to the Tang Dynasty in China, which ruled from the 7th to 10th centuries. The traditional preparation, grinding compressed tea bricks into powder and whisking with water, gave rise to two distinct forms: Koicha, the thicker, more concentrated style made with less water, and Usucha, the lighter, frothier style prepared with more.
The practice arrived in Japan in the 12th century, when Zen monk Eisai adopted powdered tea preparation from the Song Dynasty. From there, it became central to Chanoyu (茶の湯), the Japanese tea ceremony: a ritual demanding extensive training, precise preparation, and a philosophy of mindfulness. Guests bowed when accepting the tea. They admired the bowl before drinking. Dances, calligraphy, pottery, and textile art accompanied the ceremony.
Chanoyu remains a cultural treasure in Japan today, integrating ceramics, lacquerwork, flower arrangement, architecture, garden design, and cuisine into a single act of preparation and presence.
How to Order It
None of this means you cannot enjoy matcha however you like. But knowing where it comes from changes the experience. Skip the syrup next time. Order it hot, without additives. Let it be what it has always been.
A thousand years of care went into that bowl. It deserves at least a moment of your time.
