Chlorophyll in Matcha: What It Is and What It Says About Quality

The colour of your matcha is not aesthetic. It is functional information. The vivid, almost electric green of a good ceremonial grade matcha is a direct measure of chlorophyll concentration, and chlorophyll concentration is a direct measure of how the plant was grown. Understanding what produces that colour, and what causes it to fade, gives you one of the most reliable quality indicators available without any specialist knowledge or equipment.

What chlorophyll actually is

Chlorophyll is the pigment responsible for the green colour in plants. It is present in all green vegetation but in matcha the concentration is significantly higher than in most other plant-based foods, for reasons that come down directly to how the tea plant is cultivated.

Beyond colour, chlorophyll is biologically active. It has been studied for its antioxidant properties, its role in supporting detoxification pathways, and its potential as an anti-inflammatory compound. Research published on PubMed has found consistent antioxidant activity across multiple forms of chlorophyll. As with EGCG, the research is ongoing and the honest position is that the evidence is promising rather than conclusive. What is established is that chlorophyll concentration in matcha is measurably tied to cultivation quality, and that concentration shows up directly in the colour of the powder.

Why shade-growing produces more of it

Chlorophyll is produced by plants in response to light. When a tea plant is deprived of direct sunlight, it compensates by producing more chlorophyll to maximise the light it can absorb through the reduced spectrum available to it. This is the biological mechanism behind shade-growing, the cultivation technique that defines ceremonial grade matcha.

In the three to four weeks before first flush harvest, tea plants are covered with traditional reed screens or modern black nets to cut off direct sunlight. The plant responds by accumulating chlorophyll at a significantly higher rate than an unshaded plant would. The result is a leaf that is measurably richer in the pigment before it is even harvested.

 

When that leaf is stone-milled into matcha powder, the chlorophyll is distributed evenly through every gram. The vivid electric green of a genuine ceremonial grade matcha is a direct result of how much chlorophyll accumulated in the leaf during shade-growing. It is not processing. It is cultivation.

What the colour tells you about quality

This is where the colour becomes practically useful as a quality indicator.

A matcha that is a vivid, almost electric green has been shade-grown properly and processed from high-quality leaf. A matcha that is dull, olive-toned or yellowish has either been insufficiently shaded, harvested too late in the season, or both. You can see the difference immediately when you open the tin.

Later harvest matcha, picked in second or third flush when the plant has returned to normal growth and the shade-growing effect has long since faded, produces a leaf with significantly less chlorophyll. The colour shifts noticeably. The powder becomes less vivid, more yellow-green, and the flavour follows. More bitter, less sweet, flatter overall.

Sun-grown matcha, grown without the shading period entirely, produces even less chlorophyll. The colour is duller still. This is typically what ends up in culinary grade and most supermarket matcha products.

The colour test requires no equipment and no expertise. Open the tin, look at the powder. Vivid green signals shade-grown, first flush, well-processed matcha. Anything duller is a sign that one or more of those things is absent.

Why chlorophyll degrades and what that means for storage

Chlorophyll is sensitive to light, heat, air and moisture, which is why proper storage matters as much as quality sourcing. Once exposed to any of these, chlorophyll begins to break down. The green fades. The flavour changes with it.

This is also why the colour test is most useful when you first open a tin rather than after it has been sitting. The colour you see at opening reflects the quality of the leaf and the cultivation. What happens after that reflects how it has been stored. Keep it in the fridge, sealed, and use it within four to six weeks of opening.

What this means when you are buying matcha

The colour of matcha is not cosmetic. It is a direct measure of chlorophyll concentration, which is a direct measure of how the plant was grown and when it was harvested. 

Both our Signature Ceremonial Matcha and our Masters Reserve are first flush, shade-grown, single cultivar and JAS certified organic. The colour when you open either tin reflects that. Available in-store at our Sea Point bar and online, delivered nationwide across South Africa.