What Type Of Matcha Does Starbucks Use?

When most people think of Starbucks, they think of coffee. However, Starbucks serves a variety of non-coffee drinks, a good majority of which are tea-based. One of the most popular tea options at Starbucks is matcha, which can be served hot or cold in a variety of fun official menu drinks, and can also be added to your favorite genius Starbucks ordering hacks.

While many enjoy the matcha drinks available at Starbucks, some also wonder exactly what type of matcha Starbucks uses. As of January 2025, Starbucks is using unsweetened matcha powder sourced from Japan. But up until then, Starbucks was using a sweetened matcha powder, instead.

This change was implemented mostly due to customer demand. Many complained that Starbucks matcha was far too sweet, not just in flavor, but in regard to the actual amount of sugar in the powder itself. Serving up an option for those with less of a sweet tooth, Starbucks' unsweetened matcha powder lets you sweeten your matcha with creamer or any other sweetener that suits your tastes.

Although matcha is commonly confused with green tea, matcha is really its own unique thing. This is what makes customers so particular about its taste. Its earthiness and rich color is highly desirable, but the high sugar content of Starbucks' previous matcha powder diluted the potency of matcha's true flavor.

The biggest issue customers had with Starbucks' sweetened matcha powder wasn't just the perception that it tasted too sweet. It was also due to the fact that the powder was more than 50% sugar, making it not technically matcha to begin with. This also led to questions about the actual quality of what little matcha was actually left in the powder, with many coming to the conclusion that it was lower quality matcha due to the dull, green-ish color and high sugar content.

But now that Starbucks took customers' complaints to heart and implemented unsweetened matcha powder for 2025, the chain's matcha drinks will contain less grams of sugar overall — and hopefully a more complex flavor profile. Customers who still prefer their matcha on the sweet side can just ask for syrup to be added, while those who like the bitterness of matcha can enjoy the drink in it's newly unadulterated form.