First sip is smooth. There's a slight sweetness on the front of the tongue, a vegetal finish like new spring leaves, no bitterness at the back of the throat. The color in the cup should be the green of cut grass in May, not the color of dried oregano. If you've only ever had matcha that tastes like hay, you've never actually had matcha.

Real single-origin matcha is expensive — multiples of what bulk culinary-grade powder costs. The math is what it is. Shops that charge bargain prices for a matcha latte are making one of three choices: they're losing money on every cup, they're underdosing the powder, or they're using the cheap stuff.

A lot of places make the third choice. I won't name names because the New Orleans coffee scene is small and I have to keep ordering from the same supply reps. But the cup tells you. Trust the cup.

You'll see “ceremonial grade” on a lot of matcha packaging. The honest answer is that the grade names aren't standardized. There's no Japanese trade authority labeling matcha “ceremonial” versus “culinary” — it's marketing language used inconsistently by importers and cafés.

What actually matters is whether the matcha was grown for drinking straight (shade-grown for the last three weeks before harvest, hand-picked from the first spring picking, stone-milled slowly) or grown for baking and blending (later harvests, machine-milled, intentionally robust enough to push through chocolate cake or a smoothie).

If you're ordering a matcha latte, you want the first kind. Most shops will use the second kind to save money and most customers won't be able to tell because the milk and sweetener cover everything. That's a self-fulfilling problem and it's most of why matcha in this country tastes wrong.

We use Mizuba Tea Co. matcha from Yame, Japan, on draft. Mizuba sources from a single farm, stone-milled, harvested from the first spring picking. Most of what leaves the bar is on draft — nitro-pulled matcha latte, which is its own format. It's not what you'd find in Kyoto. It is the same powder Kyoto serves. For our coffee program more broadly, see our coffee writeup.

Two drinks I'd point a matcha newcomer toward, in order:

Three rules.

Our matcha drinks cost more than the cheap-powder versions at the chain shops, and I sleep fine with that. The math on what you're getting per dollar is different than the math on price. A real matcha latte from a shop that bought the right powder, dosed it correctly, and pulled it with intent is a different drink than the powder-and-milk version. After you've had a few of each you stop being willing to spend less on the wrong one.

Come try ours. Try the next place's. You'll be able to tell the difference within two sips. The good shops in this city know who they are, and so will you.