Baby’s Marché Matcha
Sourced with care. Whisked with intention. Poured with love.
Transparency is a core value of our café and this post is an open invitation to deepen your understanding of one of the world's most revered drinks.
What Does the traditional meaning of "Ceremonial Grade" Really Mean?
In Japan, matcha plays a central role in the Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu) a meditative, deeply respectful ritual that honors nature, simplicity, and presence. The matcha used in this setting is expected to meet the highest standards of cultivation and preparation.
At Baby’s Marché, we’ve decided to eliminate the term ‘ceremonial grade’ altogether. Instead, we concentrate on the indicators of quality, origin, harvest, processing, and tradition. While ‘ceremonial grade’ sounds official, the reality is that there’s no standardized certification for what constitutes ‘ceremonial’ matcha and it’s often used as a marketing term.
The Matcha We Serve at Baby's Marché
Our matcha is:
- Organic & single origin
- Pesticide free and fertilized using organic compost
- Shade grown and hand picked to develop rich umami and vibrant chlorophyll
- Stone milled in small batches to preserve nutrients and maintain velvety texture
- Harvested from the first flush (spring season) for superior taste and aroma
- All our matcha is delivered to us freshly ground in small batches to prevent oxidation, ensuring it’s ground to order
Understanding Matcha Grades
1. ‘Ceremonial Grade’ (Marketing Term)
Often used to describe matcha meant for drinking, but not standardized or regulated to classify as a matcha grade.
2. Premium Organic Grade
Matcha from the first harvest. Fresh, smooth and full of umami. Ideal for sipping on its own, this is the grade we serve.
3. Culinary Grade
More robust and slightly bitter. Best for baking or smoothie recipes in our opinion where matcha is one flavor among many.
Why Matcha Contains Fluoride
Matcha, unlike steeped green tea, involves consuming the entire tea leaf in powdered form. That means you’re getting all the nutrients and yes, all the minerals that were absorbed by the tea plants. This isn’t due to artificial additives, it’s simply a characteristic of the plant.
1. Factors That Influence Fluoride Levels In Matcha
- Older, more mature tea leaves (used in many low grade teas) contain higher fluoride levels.
- First harvest, young leaves: Like the matcha we serve at Baby’s Marché contain significantly less fluoride.
2. Farming Practices
- Organic farms with rich, uncontaminated soil tend to produce tea with lower fluoride concentrations.
- Industrial or conventional farms using chemical fertilizers may contribute to higher fluoride uptake.
3. Region and Soil
- Tea grown in certain areas may naturally absorb more fluoride depending on the soil’s mineral content.
- Uji, Shizuoka, Fukuoka, and Nishio in Japan are known for it’s well managed soil, which make it some of the best regions for clean and nutrient rich tea.
Why We Share This With You
At Baby's Marché, everything we offer, whether it's our seed oil free deli, raw dairy, meats, coffee or single origin matcha, comes from a place of honesty and intention.
We’re not here to “correct” the way the word ‘ceremonial’ is used, as we’ve been using it for a long time ourselves. Our intention is simply to provide you with more education, as we’re also learning more about our craft and are transparent about it here at Baby’s Marché.
We hope you enjoyed this post and have even a deeper appreciation for what's in your cup!
Questions about our matcha? Please email us at info@babysmarche.com, we love talking about what we serve you!