What Matcha Does Starbucks Use? Way Worse than you think

If you are a matcha fan, chances are you have wondered at one point or another, what matcha does starbucks use?

Fair warning, you might not like what you’re about to read! Let’s dig into the question of what matcha does starbucks use and take a look at the matcha powder starbucks uses in their lattes. 🍃

What Matcha Does Starbucks Use? Very cheap green tea powder

There is a short answer to the question what matcha does starbucks use. The matcha powder starbucks uses is very cheap green tea powder (that may or may not be considered matcha) mixed with a lot of sugar. 

Is starbucks matcha good for you?

So is starbucks matcha good for you? The 16oz matcha latte contains 32 grams of sugar, which is similar to a can of soda. Normally, there should be no matcha calories in the powder.

The worst part is, you can’t ask for no sugar because the sugar is included in the matcha itself. 

Reasons to explain what matcha does starbucks use

Now that we’ve given the short to what kind of matcha does starbucks use, let’s get into the details about the matcha powder starbucks uses and how it might be made.

What matcha does starbucks use to prodcuce bulk

So what matcha does starbucks use when they need to make millions of matcha lattes? The priority is providing a standardized product at a low price. Unfortunately for them, not only is good tasting matcha difficult to produce, it is anything but standardized.

What matcha does starbucks use to standardize taste

So what matcha powder does starbucks use when they want it to taste the same in Berlin as it does in Mexico City? They need to buy up a massive amount of green tea powder, so there are no nuances or variations in the flavor, but these nuances are what make premium matcha great!

Skipping steps of the matcha production

So when people ask what matcha does starbucks use, it's important to look into the steps used to produce matcha To produce high quality matcha that is naturally sweet without sugar or cream, there is a long production process that needs to be respected.

Shading the tea plants, removing the stems, stone grinding all lead to a better flavor in a ceremonial matcha. When it comes to what matcha powder does starbucks use, they are likely skipping all of these steps.

What matcha powder does starbucks use to make cheap bulk lattes?

So finally, what matcha does starbucks use if it has to be standardized and inexpensive? If you're wondering what kind of matcha does starbucks use, you need to take a look at the steps used to make matcha in our article how is matcha made.

When all the steps used to produce good matcha are skipped, you get a dull, bitter matcha color that is often sweetened, dyed and added to other ingredients to disguise the flavor. So what matcha does starbucks use isn't even the right question, it's also about all the other added ingredients.

What Matcha Does Starbucks Use? Final verdict

To answer the question what matcha does Starbucks use once and for all, we can say that the matcha powder starbucks uses a blend of cheap green tea powder mixed with sugar.