The future of matcha is specialty. Matcha isn’t matcha isn’t matcha—there will be a future where consumers from Dubai to Paris and from Bangkok to LA will have acquired preferences for Uji vs. Yame matcha, or Asahi vs. Yabukita cultivar, or fresh vs. preground matcha. As the mystery and mastery of producing matcha becomes better understood by mainstream non-Japanese markets, demand for specialty products will follow.

Ryan and Zongjun discuss designing and manufacturing, Obsidian, the one-dimensional matcha whisking bowl, as well as other products on their roadmap.

Hosts Ryan and Zongjun interview matcha product developer and food scientist, Patrick Penny. The scope of this wide-ranging interview covers matcha as a specialty product, the perception of matcha by Japanese consumers, and the importance of freshness.

In his book “Crossing the Chasm”, Geoffrey A. Moore lays out a framework whereby mainstream consumers adopt new technologies. He segments buyers into “visionaries” and “pragmatists”, between which resides “the chasm” of adoption that all products must cross before fully entering the mainstream.

Matcha visionaries went out of their way to source and prepare matcha. They tolerated inconveniences and lack of transparency, and paid the price for what is now considered an inferior quality product, after innovation in the mainstream worked its magic to make matcha better, cheaper, and easier to source and prepare.

Matcha pragmatists come in many flavors. They’re everyday consumers who don’t like the taste of coffee and want another caffeinated beverage option. They’re people who are more sensitive to the crash or jitters of caffeine and are looking for the functional benefits matcha offers. They’re people who are looking to introduce better-for-you products. They’re people that are really into tea.

Ryan and Zongjun discuss techniques for tasting matcha, tea competitions, and the terminology used to describe different flavor profiles.

The ideas and the products being served at specialty “coffee” cafes is changing. They do not have to be a place where coffee is at the center of the celebration. Tea, in particular matcha, is sharing more and more of the spotlight.

A new generation of suppliers is creating a new set of tools unified by a recognizable design language to signal quality and intention in a matcha program.

Ryan and Zongjun discuss founding Sanko Matcha Products and their origin story.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7406592/

Ceremonial grade matcha is a made-up marketing term and is basically meaningless. The quality variability is enormous from vendor-to-vendor and the terms are completely unregulated. Anyone can use these terms and tea ceremony practitioners are definitely not the gate-keepers of quality that the name implies.

Washing products in a “ceremonial grade” label makes it much more difficult for consumers to differentiate between high and low quality products. Ultimately the classification of “ceremonial grade” commodifies products.