Culinary grade Matcha tea is sometimes also referred to as Cooking grade Matcha. This type of Matcha is often viewed as low-quality Matcha, but this is not generally the case. It should rather be understood as categeory that defines the use or best application for the tea powder that falls into this category.
Just as Ceremonial grade Matcha is grown to be enjoyed as pure and delicious tea, Culinary Matcha is grown to be mixed with other ingredients. As Culinary Matcha powder is typically mixed with other ingredients, the powder needs to have quite a strong flavour so that it is not masked by other flavours or spices. Culinary grade Matcha, therefore, has strong and bitter flavour. Some people actually prefer to drink Culinary grade Matcha, as they like the bitter and strong taste of it. It can also be used for Matcha Tea Latte drinks, for example (although we prefer Premium grade Matcha for this).
When cooking or baking, the possible applications for Culinary grade Matcha are nearly limitless. You can use it to make chocolate truffles, cake, shortbread, flapjacks, muffins, cupcakes, shakes, smoothies, and much more. Most of these will turn green when using enough Matcha powder, which will always draw attention and looks quite pleasing.
Aside from the taste or by looking at the packaging, how can you tell the difference between Ceremonial grade Matcha and Culinary grade Matcha? Ceremonial grade Matcha should be a vibrant green colour, like the colour of lawn or leaves. It should also be very fine to the touch and smell kind of like freshly cut grass! Meanwhile, Culinary grade matcha is still green and vibrant, but not as green as its Ceremonial partner, while also being fine to the touch.