Matcha Cookies: What Matcha Actually Is, and Why It Works Baked

Matcha has had one of the more remarkable runs in dessert over the last few years — from a niche ingredient known mainly through Japanese tea ceremony to a flavour showing up in lattes, ice cream, cakes and, increasingly, cookies across Australia. It is also one of the most misunderstood flavours we bake with, because most people have only ever had a sweetened, diluted version of it. Here is what matcha actually is, and why the real thing tastes better than the version most cafes serve.

What is matcha, exactly?

Matcha is finely ground powder made from shade-grown green tea leaves. Unlike regular green tea, where you steep and discard the leaves, matcha is the whole leaf, ground down and consumed directly — which is why it delivers a much more concentrated flavour and caffeine hit than a standard cup of green tea. It has been central to Japanese tea ceremony for centuries, prized for its vivid green colour and a flavour profile that is distinctly savoury before it is sweet.

Is there a difference between ceremonial grade and culinary grade matcha?

Yes, and it matters for baking. Ceremonial grade matcha is made from the youngest, most tender tea leaves and is meant to be whisked with hot water and drunk on its own — it is more delicate, more expensive, and its subtlety gets lost once it is mixed into a rich butter-and-sugar dough. Culinary grade matcha is made from slightly older leaves, has a more robust, slightly more bitter flavour, and is specifically what you want for baking — it holds its own against butter, sugar and chocolate instead of disappearing into the background.

Why does matcha taste bitter, and is that a flaw?

Matcha's bitterness comes from naturally occurring catechins and caffeine concentrated in the ground leaf, alongside a savoury, almost seaweed-like note called umami that is distinctive to shade-grown tea. That bitterness is not a flaw to be masked — it is the entire point of the flavour, and it is what separates a genuine matcha dessert from something that is barely green-tinted vanilla. The skill in baking with matcha is balancing that bitterness against sweetness so both are present, rather than drowning the tea out completely.

Why does white chocolate pair so well with matcha?

White chocolate is essentially cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids with none of the bitterness of cocoa solids — which makes it one of the sweetest, creamiest things you can put in a cookie. That is exactly what matcha needs as a counterweight. Dark or milk chocolate would add its own competing bitterness and muddy the tea flavour; white chocolate stays out of the way, delivering pure sweetness and creaminess that lets the matcha's earthy, slightly savoury character come through clearly rather than getting lost in a fight between two bitter ingredients.

How is Chip's Matcha cookie different from the Matcha Strawberry cookie?

Our Matcha White Chocolate cookie is the purest expression of the flavour in our range — matcha dough loaded with white chocolate chips, no distractions. If you want to see how matcha behaves alongside a bright, acidic partner instead, we also cover why matcha and strawberry work together in a separate flavour we have run in past episodes. Start with the White Chocolate version if you want to understand matcha on its own terms first.

Where can I buy matcha cookies in Australia?

Matcha desserts have become common in Australian cafes, but genuinely well-balanced ones — where you can actually taste the tea — are less common than the colour would suggest. We bake our Matcha White Chocolate cookie fresh on our regular dispatch schedule and ship via AusPost Express, Australia-wide. Order it on its own or build a box alongside other current flavours. If you are in Sydney, our delivery page covers dispatch cutoffs and typical arrival times.