Matcha Ratio Calculator

How much matcha per cup?

The short answer: 2 grams of matcha to 60 ml (about 2 fl oz) of water at 80 °C (176 °F) for a standard bowl of thin tea, or usucha. That is the recipe Ippodo Tea, the Kyoto tea merchant whose history dates to 1717, gives in its matcha preparation guide, and it is the base this calculator scales from. It works out to a ratio of roughly 1:30 by weight.

Thick tea, or koicha, flips the balance: 4 grams of matcha to just 30 ml (1 fl oz) of water, about 1:7.5. Koicha is kneaded slowly rather than frothed and is usually made with a higher-grade matcha, because any bitterness is concentrated. Our usucha vs koicha comparison covers texture, grade and caffeine, and the matcha to water ratio chart compares published recipes.

The four base recipes

• Usucha (thin): 2 g matcha, 60 ml water at 80 °C, whisk briskly for about 15 seconds
• Koicha (thick): 4 g matcha, 30 ml water at 80 °C, knead slowly for about 15 seconds
• Matcha latte: 1.5 tsp (about 3 g) matcha whisked with 100 ml of 80 °C water, then 100 ml warm or frothed milk
• Iced matcha latte: the same 3 g and 100 ml hot water, poured over 100 ml cold milk and a glass of ice

The strength setting moves the matcha up or down by 25% while keeping the liquid the same. If your latte tastes milky, go stronger before you reduce the milk.

Grams, teaspoons, and chashaku scoops

Ippodo equates 2 g of matcha with 1 level teaspoon or 1.5 heaped scoops of a bamboo chashaku, so one heaped scoop is roughly 1.3 g. Those are useful shortcuts, but powder density and how you scoop change the result by 20% or more. A 0.1 g pocket scale costs less than a tin of good matcha and removes the guesswork, especially when you scale up for several people.

Why 80 °C (176 °F) water?

Boiling water pulls out more bitterness and flattens matcha's sweet, savory umami. Ippodo recommends cooling boiled water to about 80 °C; a simple trick is to pour it into an empty cup first, then into your bowl. If you don't have a thermometer, let a just-boiled kettle sit with the lid open for a few minutes.

Tips for a smooth, foamy bowl

• Sift first. Matcha clumps from static and humidity, and clumps never fully whisk out.
• Warm the bowl with hot water, then dump it, so the tea doesn't cool too fast.
• Whisk from the wrist in a quick M or W pattern, not in circles, and keep the whisk just off the bottom.
• Drink it right away. Matcha is a suspension, not a solution, so the powder settles within minutes.

Sources

• Ippodo Tea — matcha preparation (Ummon-no-mukashi)
• Ippodo Tea — matcha latte recipe
• Ippodo Tea — iced matcha latte recipe