Koicha (thick matcha)
Double the powder, half the water, and a folding motion instead of a whisk. Koicha is the formal preparation at the heart of Japanese tea ceremony — dense, glossy, and intensely sweet when the matcha is good enough to carry it.
The short answer
4 g of high-grade matcha to 30 ml of water at 75–80 °C, added in two stages and folded slowly with the chasen until glossy. No foam. Drink it within a minute or two, in about three sips.
What you need
Koicha-grade matcha
Non-negotiable. High ceremonial grade at minimum.
Chawan
Slightly deeper than a usucha bowl helps contain the paste.
Chasen
A 100–120 prong whisk. Some practitioners keep a separate one for koicha.
Fine sieve
Essential — lumps cannot be whisked out at this ratio.
Not sure your matcha is good enough? How to judge quality →
The seven steps
- 1
Start with the right matcha
This is not optional. Koicha concentrates everything, so any bitterness in the powder becomes overwhelming. Use a high ceremonial grade — ideally one sold specifically for koicha, which comes from older tea bushes and carries more sweetness. Culinary grade will be undrinkable.
- 2
Warm the bowl thoroughly
Koicha cools fast because there is so little liquid. Warm the chawan with hot water, swirl, and tip out completely. A cold bowl will leave you with thick, tepid paste.
- 3
Sift 4 g of matcha
Roughly two heaping chashaku scoops, or about two teaspoons. Sifting matters more here than in usucha — with this little water you cannot whisk lumps out, you can only fold around them.
- 4
Add about 15 ml of water at 75–80 °C
Half the final amount, no more. Boil and let it stand a couple of minutes. Pour it into the centre of the powder rather than around the edge.
- 5
Fold — don't whisk
Hold the chasen upright and move it slowly through the paste in a folding or stirring motion, pressing gently against the bottom to break up clumps. You are not aerating anything. There should be no foam and no fast movement.
- 6
Add the remaining 15 ml and fold again
Once the first stage is smooth, add the rest of the water and continue folding until the texture is glossy and even. It should coat the chasen and fall from it in a thick ribbon.
- 7
Drink immediately, in a few sips
Koicha sets and separates as it cools. Traditionally the bowl is turned, drunk in about three sips, and the rim wiped. It is intense — closer to an espresso in concentration than to a bowl of usucha.
Why grade matters so much here
Usucha forgives a mediocre powder because 60 ml of water dilutes it. Koicha does the opposite: it concentrates the same amount of matcha into a quarter of the liquid, so every quality the powder has — good or bad — arrives at roughly four times the intensity.
With a genuinely good matcha the result is remarkable: thick, almost syrupy, with a sweetness and depth that plain usucha only hints at. With an ordinary powder it is a mouthful of concentrated bitterness. Matcha sold specifically for koicha typically comes from older tea bushes, often decades old, which produce leaves with more amino acids and less astringency. If you are going to buy one expensive tin, this is the preparation that justifies it.
FAQ
What is koicha?
Koicha means thick tea. It uses roughly double the matcha and half the water of usucha — about 4 g to 30 ml — producing a dense, glossy paste rather than a frothy drink. In Japanese tea ceremony it is the formal centrepiece, traditionally prepared in a single bowl and shared among guests, with the lighter usucha served afterwards.
What is the koicha ratio?
About 4 g of matcha to 30 ml of water — a 1:7.5 ratio by weight, against usucha's 1:30. Some schools go thicker still, closer to 1:5. Start at 4 g to 30 ml and adjust from there once you know how your matcha behaves.
Why don't you whisk koicha?
There is not enough water to aerate, and foam is not the goal. Whisking fast at this ratio just splashes paste up the sides of the bowl and traps air pockets. The correct motion is a slow fold that presses lumps out against the bottom until the texture turns glossy and uniform.
Can I make koicha with culinary grade matcha?
You can, and you will not enjoy it. Koicha concentrates the powder roughly four times relative to usucha, so the catechin bitterness that culinary grade carries becomes genuinely harsh. This is the one preparation where matcha grade is not a matter of preference.
How much caffeine is in koicha?
A 4 g serving delivers roughly 120 to 140 mg of caffeine — about the same as a strong cup of coffee, in a couple of mouthfuls. It is not a drink to have three of, and it is a poor choice late in the day.
What's the difference between koicha and usucha?
Usucha — thin tea — is 2 g to 60 ml, whisked fast into a light foam, and drunk daily. Koicha is 4 g to 30 ml, folded slowly into a thick paste with no foam, made from higher grades, and reserved for formal occasions. Almost all matcha made at home is usucha.
Why is my koicha lumpy?
Almost always insufficient sifting, or adding all the water at once. Sift the powder through a fine mesh, add the water in two stages, and press the chasen gently against the bottom of the bowl as you fold — the pressure is what breaks the remaining clumps.