Have you ever seen pictures of Iced Matcha Lattes from those viral cafes on TikTok? The color is a glowing, bright green, it looks super creamy, and when you read the reviews, everyone says the tea taste is really kaw.
Then, you try making it at your own cafe. You buy the most expensive Ceremonial Grade matcha on the market. But the moment you mix it with milk and ice, the color suddenly turns pale green, almost greyish. When you try drinking it? The tea flavor is shy to come out, and sometimes there's an aftertaste like seaweed or just hanyir (fishy/unpleasant).
You start feeling like you got scammed. How do those viral cafes actually do it?
The secret is easy, and it will save your business thousands of ringgit: They don't use Ceremonial Grade to make Iced Lattes. Here is the real explanation why you need to stop using kayangan (sky-high priced) matcha, and switch to Premium/Cafe Grade for your milk-based drinks.
Short answer: Ceremonial Grade matcha is specially designed to be whisked with hot water only. Its taste is very delicate and sweet. When mixed with thick milk fat and ice, this delicate flavor profile will drown, causing the milk to take over and bring out that hanyir tea smell. Meanwhile, Premium Grade (Cafe Grade) is produced with tea leaves that have a bold and slightly astringent (bitter) taste, which is absolutely perfect for cutting through the richness of the milk and keeping that bright green color.
The bottom line: Ceremonial matcha whispers. Premium matcha shouts. In a glass full of milk and ice, you need a matcha that can "shout".
In the world of traditional Japanese tea, Ceremonial is king. But at your cafe's bar counter, it is the main source of your operational headaches.
The fat inside milk (especially full cream or oat milk) is very thick. Expensive Ceremonial Matcha has very fine umami tasting notes. When these two crash into each other, that umami flavor dies. Your customer isn't drinking a Matcha Latte, they're just drinking sweet milk that happens to be pale green.
When your barista realizes the tea taste isn't kaw enough (because they used delicate Ceremonial), what will they do? They will double-scoop that matcha. Instead of using 3 grams, they are forced to use 6 to 7 grams for one glass.
Cost of 7g Ceremonial Matcha: RM35.00+ for one cup. How much do you want to sell that latte for? RM45 a glass? This is the fastest way to koyak (ruin) your cafe's food cost.
Ceremonial grade matcha is highly sensitive. When mixed with various ingredients (like strawberry syrup or milk), its color oxidizes much faster and turns into a yellowish-green or grey that is totally not Instagrammable.
You don't need complicated tea powder. You need tea powder that is strong, bright green, and consistent.
|
Feature |
Ceremonial Grade (Traditional) |
Premium Grade / Lücha |
|---|---|---|
|
Flavor Character |
Delicate, sweet, high umami. |
Bold, deep green, nicely astringent. |
|
When Mixed with Milk/Ice |
Loses flavor, color becomes pale/grey. |
Tea flavor stays kaw, bright glowing green. |
|
Price Per Kilogram |
Can reach thousands of ringgit. |
Very business-friendly (High ROI). |
At Biji-Biji, we are tired of seeing cafe owners getting headaches paying kayangan prices but still getting customer complaints saying their drinks taste like grass.
That's why we brought in Lücha.
Lücha is a Premium Cafe Grade matcha that we formulated specifically to solve the problems at your bar counter.
Color: Bright emerald green that doesn't easily fade when mixed with milk.
Taste: A bold and punchy tea profile. You only need 3-4 grams to get an Iced Matcha Latte that is super kaw. No need to double scoop.
Price: A Cost-per-cup that makes sense and keeps your cafe profitable.
No more confusing tea jargon. No more hanyir seaweed taste. Just real green tea that your customers will repeat order every single day.
👇 Want to make sure your Matcha Latte is on par with viral cafes?
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Brew smarter, don't just keep losing money. 😉
Malaysia