Which Grade Is Yours? A Guide to Isuori Matcha

Four grades. One stone. Different moments. Here’s how to find yours.

Grand Cru — €45 — If you want the peak

Grand Cru is Isuori’s competition-grade matcha — the peak of what stone and patience can produce. Hand-picked at first flush from Kagoshima’s finest plots, it delivers exceptional smoothness, deep umami, and almost no astringency. Drink it straight, whisked with water at 70°C. Nothing else.

Flavor: Deep umami · Very low astringency · High intensity — Origin: Kagoshima · Stone-ground · First flush — Best for: Usucha, Koicha, pure tasting

Ceremonial — €35 — If you practice the ceremony, or want to

Ceremonial is the grade that teaches you what balance means. Sweetness, umami, and a whisper of vegetal freshness in perfect proportion. Stone-ground from Kagoshima’s first-flush leaves. This is the grade that turns a morning ritual into something worth pausing for.

Flavor: Sweet-umami balance · Light vegetal notes — Origin: Kagoshima · Stone-ground · First flush — Best for: Usucha, Koicha, matcha latte, cold brew

Premium — €25 — If matcha is part of your daily life

Premium is the grade that earns its place at the table every morning. Rich, rounded, intensely green. Stone-ground from Kagoshima’s first-flush leaves. It holds its own in a latte without disappearing, and rewards you when you drink it plain.

Flavor: Rich, rounded · Sweet vegetal notes · Intense color — Origin: Kagoshima · Stone-ground · First flush — Best for: Daily matcha, matcha latte, fine pastries

Essential — €15 — If you cook, bake, and create

Essential was made for the kitchen. Milled from carefully selected Kyushu leaves, it is brighter and more vegetal by nature — with the vivid color intensity and bold character that holds its own through heat, butter, cream, and chocolate. A matcha ganache with real depth. A madeleine that stays green in the oven. A panna cotta that tastes like the field it came from.

Flavor: Bright, bold, vegetal · Holds intensity through heat — Origin: Kyushu · Mill-ground — Best for: Pastry, desserts, ganache, ice cream, panna cotta, madeleine

Quick reference

Grand Cru (€45) — Pure tasting, whisked alone, peak experience Ceremonial (€35) — Ceremony, balance, daily ritual Premium (€25) — Daily drinking, lattes, quality every morning Essential (€15) — Kitchen, pastry, desserts, culinary creation

All grades are EU Organic certified. Stone-ground grades (Grand Cru, Ceremonial, Premium) are sourced from Kagoshima. Essential is mill-ground from Kyushu, optimised for heat and culinary use.