FAQ
What Makes Matcha So Healthy?
Matcha is a powerhouse of nutrients that provide a wide range of health benefits. Packed with antioxidants, vitamins A, C, and E, chlorophyll, dietary fiber, and polyphenols (naturally occurring plant compounds), matcha is more than just a tea—it’s a nutritional boost in every sip.
Unlike traditional brewed teas, where you steep the leaves and discard them, matcha allows you to consume the entire ground leaf, meaning you’re getting all the antioxidants and nutrients directly. One serving of matcha contains 1,384 ORAC units of antioxidants—more than almost any other food on the planet.
The Power of Antioxidants
Antioxidants protect your body’s cells from damage caused by free radicals—harmful molecules that can contribute to inflammation and chronic disease. Matcha is particularly rich in a type of antioxidant called catechins, with EGCG being the most abundant and active. These antioxidants not only help fight cancer but also support heart health, boost metabolism, burn fat, and fight signs of aging.
Mindful Energy with L-Theanine
Matcha is also a great source of L-Theanine, an amino acid known to enhance focus, memory, and stress resilience. It promotes a calm yet alert state, providing a smooth, sustained energy boost that lasts 4-6 hours without the jitters or crash that comes with coffee. This combination of caffeine and L-Theanine makes matcha a favorite of Samurai warriors and Zen monks for centuries.
Matcha's benefits don’t stop there—it’s also shown to improve sleep in people with ADHD, help with smoking cessation, and provide anti-inflammatory properties.
Of course, everyone’s body is unique, so we recommend consulting with your doctor for personalized health advice.
WHAT IS SUKI GRADE TEA ?
1. Overall Scope and Use
“Suki Grade” refers exclusively to powdered green tea (hikicha) used in the practice
of Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu). It is strictly limited to matcha intended for drinking.
2. Source Leaf Standards for Koicha and Usucha Grade Matcha
Koicha (thick tea) must consist of at least 90% hand-picked leaves from the Saemidori and Gokō cultivars. The remaining 10% may only include leaves from Saemidori, Okumidori, or Yabukita cultivars.
Usucha (thin tea) must be made using only leaves from the Saemidori, Okumidori, and
Yabukita cultivars.* In the event that new cultivars of comparable or superior quality are developed, these standards may be reviewed and updated accordingly.
3. Compliance with Japanese Food Standards
All tea used must comply with Japanese national food safety standards. For organic tea, it must be certified under the Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS).
4. Grinding Method
Only tea ground using traditional stone mills (chausu or ishiusu) may be used.
Any tea powdered by alternative mechanical or industrial means is strictly excluded.
5. Origin and Traceability of Tea Leaves
Only first-harvest (ichibancha) tea leaves grown within Kyoto Prefecture may be used. The region of production and the individual grower must be clearly identifiable. A complete production history must be available, including detailed records of fertiliser and pesticide use during cultivation.
TEAMASTER TIPS
Here are Tea Master Somu's recommendations for the two traditional styles of Matcha tea.
USUCHA (THIN STYLE)
WATER TEMP: 80°C Celsius
SERVING: 1.5gms (2 heaped Chashaku serves)
WHISK: 30 seconds, Thin Chasen
- Boil water (we recommend natural spring water).
- Pour 100ml into your favourite chawan (tea bowl).
- Purify and awaken chasen (tea whisk) with 3 anticlockwise slow rotations.
- Purify chasen with an anti-clockwise swirl and release the water.
- Carefully spoon 2 heaped amounts of tea with your tea scoop (chashuku).
- Add 80ml of 80°C water.
- Whisk away from you in a diagonal fashion, 7pm to 1pm for 20 seconds.
- Whisk until fine champagne bubbles form on the surface.
- Inspect your work. Lift chawan and bow to your tea.
- Imbibe.
- Rinse and repeat.
KOICHA (THICK STYLE)
WATER TEMP: 90 degrees Celsius
SERVING : 4gms
WHISK: 60 seconds, Thin Chasen
- Boil water (we recommend natural spring water).
- Pour 100ml into your favourite chawan (tea bowl).
- Purify and awaken chasen (tea whisk) with 3 anticlockwise slow rotations.
- Purify chasen with an anti-clockwise swirl and release the water.
- Carefully spoon 4 heaped amounts of tea with your tea scoop (chashuku).
- Add 40ml of 90°C water.
- Draw whisk towards you in a controlled, slow fashion from 1pm to 7pm for 60 seconds.
- Add another 40ml of 90°C Celsius water.
- Keep whisking towards you until smooth and shiny
- Slowly in an anticlockwise direction wind the chasen in larger then smaller circles for 10 revolutions.
- The tea should be a thick but ultra-smooth, deep glowing green.
- Inspect your work. Lift chawan and bow to your tea.
- Imbibe.
- Rinse and repeat.
SHIPPING
UPS Tracked shipping
UPS is our preferred partner as Japan can be complicated to ship from at times and UPS can be trusted to avoid the issues of less expensive alternatives like Japan Post. Our priority is that you get the freshest tea in the world to you.
Custom Duties and Inspections
Our teas are shipped with all documentation. It is the responsibility of the customer to communicate and cooperative with any custom requests of your destination location.
Why is SAMU shipped direct from Japan?
Freshness is next to godliness when it comes to Matcha and well most food and drink consumption. Our matcha is only packed once your order is received so it can sleep under the perfect, oxygen free, refrigerated conditions under the watchful eye of our master tea blender.
RETURNS
No returns are accepted for opened tea. We stand by the quality and freshness of our products. If in the extraordinary circumstance you believe something is defective in the tea please contact us directly at Contact@samu.com.au
STORAGE
Like Champagne, our teas are best to enjoyed immediately. But when you must store them, we recommend refrigerating in an airtight container. Rather than profit reselling, we happily provide a link to our current favourite,The Tightvac. They protect the tea from light, they accommodate several teas and keep them in dry, airtight environment. Low cost and easy to clean make it an easy choice. Whilst not technically for powder, we love and use the Airscape models. You can always get them for a great price here.
Do not freeze your tea and always remember to rest, bringing it to room temperature before sifting and serving.
SAMU & THE ENVIRONMENT
Why Matcha is a More Sustainable Ritual
Unlike other teas, matcha uses the entire leaf — offering both a deeper nutritional profile and a gentler impact on the planet. Because the same tea plants can be cultivated for 50 years or more, matcha is one of the most sustainable and long-lived crops in the world of food and beverage.
Using the whole leaf means far less waste than traditional teas, which steep only a portion of the plant. And because tea harvesting involves simply plucking leaves rather than uprooting entire crops, tea growers can nurture the same plants for decades.
When compared with coffee — a daily ritual for many — matcha's environmental edge becomes even more apparent. Coffee production is notoriously water-intensive, requiring an estimated 37 gallons to produce a single cup. Coffee farming is also frequently associated with heavy pesticide use and deforestation, which contribute to waterway pollution and ecosystem degradation.
That said, not all matcha is created equal. Like any agricultural product, true sustainability depends on thoughtful growing practices: organic cultivation, responsible land use, and ethical business models. When grown with care, matcha isn’t just a drink — it’s a regenerative act.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN OUR TEA COLLECTIONS?
ART_IS_ANAL COLLECTION
Extremely rare, limited-edition, seasonal expressions of the planet’s most exclusive art teas.
Each release is a contemporary embodiment of ichi-go ichi-e — the Zen principle of “one moment, one meeting.”
Like haute couture created to be experienced once, these ephemeral teas are crafted with intention, imagination, and reverence for the natural world.
Every collection is highly conceptual, infused with art, philosophy, and the rhythms of the seasons.
Think: the Paris Fashion Week or Venice Biennale of tea.
Sought after by collectors and connoisseurs across the globe, these teas are available by pre-order only and often sell out within moments.
--MU COLLECTION
Mu is a precise Zen term — and, like many of Zen’s offerings, it resists explanation. It lives in the silence between words, in the pause between notes, in the space where meaning dissolves into presence. It is nothing, and everything.
To glimpse Mu, one might sit with John Cage’s 4′33″, or quietly absorb the surface of an Antoni Tàpies painting.
Our MU tea embodies this spirit — a ritual of refinement and stillness.
A daily companion for contemplation, offering the purity of exceptional tea, year-round.
Because your body is too precious for bad tea.