There is ground tea and then there is milled tea. There is a difference. Actually, there are various grades (particle sizes) of tea powder. I bought a cheap one called "fen cha" 粉茶 which means "powdered tea" - but it's coarse as hell. I could make a finer grade of tea powder using a small stone mortar. Then there is machine ground tea powder - which might look fine, but is actually too coarse and unsuitable as matcha. You could make such a tea powder using a blender or coffee mill at home.

But to really get tea powder down to the fine grade for matcha, you need a heavy stone mill. I say heavy because even a portable, light mill won't produce a satisfactory result.

We drink Lipton I think. That is the best. Right?

On 2014-05-12 08:28:28 +0000, P Jameson said:

> Here people are offering Sencha leaves that are ground into a fine powder:
>
> http://www.shinzo.co.uk/Selection.html
>
> The idea is that the whole of the leaf is consumed and hence none of
> the goodness is is wasted, since we normally just throw away the used
> leaves.
>
> Has anyone tried such a 'powdered' leaf tea, and does it taste
> substantially different from just brewing the leaves in the normal way?
> Thanks.

I have purchased ground sencha on several occasions. Frankly I find it
difficult to believe that many people could tell which tea is more
expensive in a blind test. This is precisely what I have done, and
while I could detect a flavor difference I found both the high-grade
matcha and the bulk organic ground sencha to be good.

I keep the ground sencha now, and use it on road trips when brewing tea
is not practical. It has replaced any need to purchase coffee, energy
drinks, and such nonsense. I have to admit to using Lipton cold-brew
tea bags as well, which are fairly insipid but decently refreshing
especially on hot days.