Matcha demand is rising across cafés, retail shelves, and global supply chains.

With that growth comes a familiar tension: how to explain quality without oversimplifying it, and how to build trust without turning complexity into marketing claims.

Too often, conversations about matcha rely on shortcuts—color alone, origin labels, or loosely defined categories. These signals are not useless, but they are incomplete. As production expands and distribution widens, what the industry increasingly lacks is not passion or expertise, but a shared vocabulary for verification.

MATCHA / PROTOCOLS proposes a simple shift: from ranking to clarity.
 

When “Green” Is Not Enough

In many markets, matcha is judged quickly. Bright color is assumed to indicate freshness. Certain words are treated as guarantees. Flavor descriptions collapse into “good” or “bad.” These habits are understandable in fast-moving commercial settings, but they limit meaningful conversation.

In our 2025 global pilot, we noticed something surprising:

most “matcha problems” were not about taste—they were about misunderstanding.

Three patterns appeared repeatedly:

• Assumptions replacing questions

  Decisions were often made based on appearance or labels, without asking how the matcha was produced or handled.

• Impressions without shared reference points

  Terms such as “strong,” “smooth,” or “ceremonial” varied widely, making observations difficult to compare or explain.

• Missing records, not missing quality

  In many cases, information was not incorrect—it was simply undocumented or not carried forward.

The challenge, then, is not to correct taste, but to make observation communicable.
 

From Rankings to Protocols

We do not rank regions.

We do not rank producers.

We rank clarity.

Matcha is not a single product but a system: cultivation under shade, conversion to tencha, grinding, packing, shipping, storage, and service. Each step introduces variables that cannot always be standardized or fully disclosed. In many producing regions, methods remain intentionally non-uniform, shaped by climate, field conditions, and generations of practice.

When processes cannot be perfectly replicated, claims alone are insufficient. What matters is how questions are asked, how answers are verified, and how findings are recorded.

This is the core idea behind MATCHA / PROTOCOLS:

a working vocabulary built around three actions—Ask, Verify, Record.
 

Protocol A: Trace & Identity

Verification begins with understanding what the matcha actually is.

MATCHA / PROTOCOLS encourages basic trace awareness along the production chain:

Shade → Tencha → Grind → Pack → Ship → Serve

Not every detail will be known, and that is acceptable. What matters is whether questions were asked, whether responses were checked where possible, and whether unknowns were acknowledged and recorded.

“Unknown” is not a failure.

Unrecorded assumptions are.
 

Protocol B: Quality Observations

Taste is personal; observation can be shared.

MATCHA / PROTOCOLS replaces value judgments with repeatable observation points, including:

• Color and its change over time
• Aroma at opening and after exposure
• Dispersion behavior in water
• Texture and mouthfeel

The goal is not agreement on preference, but a language teams can use consistently. When observations are recorded in shared terms, trust does not depend on authority—it emerges from process.
 

Protocol C: Lot-Level Safety Signals

Some of the most important checks are invisible—but critical for compliance.

Lot identification, label clarity, storage conditions, and documentation such as certificates of analysis (when available) are not storytelling tools. They are safeguards. While perfection is unrealistic, consistency is achievable.

As matcha moves across borders, regulatory conditions and permitted inputs may differ. These differences are often subtle and not inherently negative. What matters is awareness and documentation.
 

A Shared Language, Not a Verdict

MATCHA / PROTOCOLS is not a manifesto.

It is not a certification claim, nor a declaration of authenticity.

It is a practical framework for conversation—one that respects regional diversity, acknowledges production realities, and prioritizes explainability over hierarchy.

As matcha continues to grow globally, quiet verification habits will matter more than bold statements. A shared vocabulary allows producers, buyers, educators, and retailers to speak with precision without erasing difference.

A full protocol and one-page checklist are available from the Kyoto Food Meister Association, for those who wish to apply this approach in daily practice.