Konacha (粉茶, "powdered tea") is tea sifted out as powder during finishing, including coarse powder and cut leaf, according to the Japan Tea Central Public Interest Association's labeling standard. It isn't ground like matcha. Several sources say sushi restaurants often serve it as agari, and they disagree on brewing temperature.
Key Takeaways
- Konacha (粉茶) is tea sifted out as powder in finishing, including coarse powder and cut leaf, per the labeling standard. It isn't ground like matcha. Several sources say sushi restaurants often serve it as agari, and they don't settle how that word reached sushi shops.
- Two Japanese tea sites, fuji-tea.jp and Minorien, say the tea at some conveyor-belt sushi shops is funmatsucha, not konacha, while Chanoniwa says the tea differs by shop, from high-end to conveyor-belt sushi, but konacha is generally mainstream.
- All five brewing sources keep steeping to about 30 seconds or less, or say no rest is needed. They split on temperature (60°C, 140°F, to boiling), amount (2-4 g) and infusions.
- Our starting brew, from the sources and not our own testing: about 3 g, 120 ml (4 oz), 80°C (176°F), 30 seconds, strained through a tea pack or fine strainer.
- One seller prices konacha at 432 yen per 100 g, a third below its cheapest loose sencha (checked 2 October 2026), and another lists 594 yen. We don't sell konacha.
What is konacha?
Konacha (粉茶) is powdered tea sifted out in the finishing process, including coarse powder and cut leaf. That's the wording in the labeling standard of the Japan Tea Central Public Interest Association, final revision 10 July 2026 (our translation). The standard defines funmatsucha and matcha separately.
From our tea room
Superior Sencha Green Tea - USDA Organic Japanese First Flush
First-flush loose leaf, USDA Organic, direct from Japanese family farms.
View Superior SenchaOther sources use plainer words. A Tokyo trade association of specialty tea shops says konacha is the powder that falls off while sencha is made, costs less than ordinary tea and brews a strong cup. It adds that konacha doesn't dissolve and leaves grounds, so think fine leaf you strain out, not powder that vanishes into the cup.
Konacha vs matcha and funmatsucha: what is the difference?
Konacha is sifted out during finishing, funmatsucha is tea ground on purpose, and matcha is tencha, shade-grown leaf dried without rolling, milled to fine powder with a stone mill or similar. Those are the standard's three definitions. Two Japanese tea sites add a sushi twist: they say the tea at some conveyor-belt sushi shops is funmatsucha, not konacha. Neither is a standard or a research body, so that's weaker evidence.
| Feature | Konacha (粉茶) | Funmatsucha (粉末茶) | Matcha |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard's definition | Powder sifted out in finishing, including coarse powder (arako) and cut leaf | Tea ground to powder with a grinder or similar | Tencha made into fine powder with a stone mill or similar |
| In the cup | Doesn't dissolve, leaves grounds (Tokyo trade association) | Dissolves, no grounds (Tokyo trade association) | Not covered in our sources |
| Sushi link | Called a common agari by several sources | Called the tea at some conveyor-belt sushi shops, by two Japanese tea sites | Not covered in our sources |
The sushi row is where I'd slow down. The tea master's site fuji-tea.jp says konacha is often confused with funmatsucha, and that funmatsucha is the tea at chain conveyor-belt sushi shops. Minorien, a seller, draws the same line for recent conveyor-belt sushi shops. Chanoniwa, an online tea shop, takes a wider view: it says the tea differs by shop, from high-end shops to conveyor-belt sushi, but konacha is generally the mainstream. Sweetsvillage, a sweets marketplace's knowledge page, adds that sushi shops increasingly use funmatsucha too. That's four weak sources and no standard, and the standard's definitions never mention sushi.
Where does konacha come from?
Konacha comes off the finishing line, where tea is sifted and cut. A Kochi Prefecture research station document names three powder fractions: arako below the No. 30 sieve, kiriko (the powder left after cutting) below No. 30, and doroko below No. 60. It doesn't say which one is sold as konacha.
Our aracha guide covers the finishing line and its sieves. As for the leaf, the Tokyo association says sencha, while Wikipedia and Minorien say sencha or gyokuro. Wikipedia describes konacha as the dust, buds and small leaves left after processing, and names the gyokuro kind Gyokurokonacha (玉露粉茶). My Japanese Green Tea lists a roasted one, houjikonacha (ほうじ粉茶), and our hojicha guide covers roasted tea.
The trade has a word for the siftings. According to fuji-tea.jp, leaf is honcha (本茶), while stem tea (茎茶) and konacha are demono (出物). Our kukicha guide covers the stem side. One odd cousin: the standard also defines solid tea (固形茶), which is konacha with water added and compacted.
Why do sushi restaurants serve konacha?
Sources give three reasons: cost, a strong quick brew, and how it pairs with sushi. Sushi Kaneki, a sushi company's blog, lists all three. My Japanese Green Tea says it's mainly its low price, coupled with tea being free in most traditional Japanese restaurants. Sushi Kaneki also lists sencha, bancha, hojicha and genmaicha, so konacha isn't the only choice.
What does agari mean?
Chanoniwa says agari is the sushi shop's word for the hot tea served at the end of the meal. Sushi Kaneki says it's short for agaribana (上がり花), the tea for the day's last customer. Chanoniwa says it's the last tea served to a guest, and traces the word to the karyukai (花柳界), the geisha world. My Japanese Green Tea says it came from an Edo-period red-light district.
How it reached sushi counters is unsettled. Sushi Kaneki gives two theories and says it isn't certain which is right. Chanoniwa offers its own: geisha frequented sushi shops, and their word is thought to have spread among sushi chefs. I'd rather show you the gap than fill it.
Is konacha the usual agari?
The Tokyo trade association describes konacha as the very dark green tea you see at sushi restaurants. Sushi Kaneki says it's what's served most often, Chanoniwa says most agari is konacha, and Wikipedia calls it a palate-refresher that stands up to fish flavors. Minorien says konacha is popular as commercial sushi tea in the Kanto area, conveyor-belt sushi excluded.
What does konacha taste like?
Sources disagree. My Japanese Green Tea says brewed konacha has an intense green color and a strong taste, and its review of one product found high astringency and even higher bitterness, "although tolerable." Minorien says the taste and aroma are not very strong, but the first infusion comes out very rich.
I won't pick a winner: one is a blog, the other a seller. The fuji-tea.jp site adds that konacha gives more color than leaf, but its flavor doesn't last as long. It also says konacha from good source tea is superb (絶品), so quality depends on what was sifted.
How do you brew konacha?
Start with about 3 g in 120 ml (4 oz) of 80°C (176°F) water for 30 seconds, then adjust. That's our suggestion, taken from the sources below and not from our own testing. Four of the five sources keep steeping to about 30 seconds or less, and the fifth, Taberugo, says no steeping rest is needed.
| Source | Leaf and water | Temperature | Time | Infusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| My Japanese Green Tea, konacha page | 4 g per person, 120 ml (4 oz) | Boiling | Up to 30 seconds | No more than two |
| My Japanese Green Tea, product review | 4 g, 130 ml (4.4 oz) | Boiling | 30 seconds | A third is easy |
| Sushi Kaneki | About 2 g per 150 ml cup | 70-80°C (158-176°F); says boiling water brings out too much astringency and bitterness | 20-30 seconds | Not covered |
| Chanoniwa | 2 g per person, 130 ml (4.4 oz) | Boiling; cooled water is fine if you dislike very hot tea | About 30 seconds | Not covered |
| Taberugo | 3 g, 120 ml | 70-80°C (158-176°F); quick boiling water gives a refreshing, moderately astringent cup | No steeping rest | Not covered |
| Sweetsvillage | About 2 g, 130 ml (4.4 oz); a later step says a heaping teaspoon, about 4 g | Sencha-based 70-80°C (158-176°F); gyokuro-based about 60°C (140°F) | About 30 seconds | Second is also good |
Five sources name something to catch the grounds. The Tokyo association says a kyusu made for deep-steamed tea or a tea pack, Minorien says a strainer, tea pack or cloth bag, Sushi Kaneki says a kyusu with a fine-mesh strainer, and Taberugo and Sweetsvillage both point to a fine-mesh strainer. My Japanese Green Tea and Chanoniwa just say kyusu, with no strainer named. Our kyusu guide explains which kyusu filters cope with fine broken leaf.
Where do the brewing sources disagree?
They split on three things. On temperature, Sushi Kaneki says 70-80°C (158-176°F) and warns that boiling water pushes astringency and bitterness too high, while My Japanese Green Tea and Chanoniwa say boiling, and Taberugo says 70-80°C is mellow but a quick pour of boiling water also works. Sweetsvillage goes as low as about 60°C (140°F) for gyokuro-based konacha.
Infusions run from no more than two to an easy third. And amounts differ. A teaspoon is 4 g per My Japanese Green Tea and about 2 g per Sushi Kaneki, and Sweetsvillage gives both figures on one page. Per 100 ml, 2 g in 150 ml is about 1.3 g and 4 g in 120 ml about 3.3 g, two and a half times as much leaf.
Our starting brew
So here's my reading. Take Taberugo's 3 g and 120 ml (4 oz), use 80°C (176°F), the top of the 70-80°C range three pages give, and stop at 30 seconds. If the label says gyokuro-based, Sweetsvillage suggests about 60°C (140°F).
- Measure about 3 g of konacha.
- Add 120 ml (4 oz) of 80°C (176°F) water.
- Steep for 30 seconds.
- Strain through a fine-mesh strainer or tea pack, then adjust.
Is konacha cheap because it's worse?
Sources split on whether a low price means low quality. Wikipedia's infobox calls konacha "lower-grade tea," and My Japanese Green Tea's product review says konacha is not a high quality tea by nature. The same site's konacha page says the pieces often come from good-quality leaf, provided they were sifted from gyokuro or sencha.
For a sense of scale, Minorien, a Japanese seller, lists konacha at 432 yen per 100 g, tax included, against 648 yen for Hatsune, the cheapest of its five plain sencha grades on its sencha list (checked 2 October 2026). The gap is 216 yen, exactly a third of 648.
| Product as listed | Yen | Against konacha |
|---|---|---|
| Konacha 400 (粉茶) | 432 | Baseline |
| Sencha Hatsune | 648 | 1.5 times |
| Jo-sencha Asuka (上煎茶) | 1,080 | 2.5 times |
| Jo-sencha Kashiwagi (上煎茶) | 1,620 | 3.75 times |
| Tokujo sencha Dainagon (特上煎茶) | 2,160 | 5 times |
| Tokujo sencha Hikaru Genji (特上煎茶) | 3,240 | 7.5 times |
| Commercial konacha, 1 kg (200 g x 5 bags) | 3,780 (378 per 100 g) | 54 yen lower |
432 times 5 is 2,160, so konacha costs a fifth of the Dainagon tier. And 3,780 for 1 kg is 378 per 100 g, an eighth below 432, though the two konacha listings may not be the same product.
It's one seller on one day, so read it as a ladder, not a market price. Chanoniwa lists its own konacha at 594 yen per 100 g, tax included, so even the base price moves from shop to shop. The sources point both ways on quality, so my takeaway is to ask which tea a konacha was sifted from. fuji-tea.jp says the flavor fades sooner than leaf, and that konacha from good source tea is superb.
If you're shopping, Sushi Kaneki says to look for a vivid green and a well-known growing area such as Shizuoka, Uji or Yame, which it says is often good quality. Chanoniwa points to Kakegawa in Shizuoka, a deep-steamed tea area, as known for rich taste and color.
Do we sell konacha?
No. As of 2 October 2026, none of the 12 products in our catalog is konacha. The nearest are our Superior Sencha Green Tea, sencha being the tea most of our sources say konacha comes from, and our Superior Kukicha, another tea defined by what the finishing line sorts out.
For the wider map, see our guide to the main types of Japanese green tea. If you're stocking a café or shop, our wholesale page is the place to start.
Next time a small cup of dark green tea lands at the end of a sushi meal, you'll know the word for it, agari, and that several sources say it's usually konacha. You'll also know what they still argue about: how hot to brew it, and how the word reached the counter.
Christian
Frequently asked questions
What is konacha?
Konacha (粉茶) is powdered tea sifted out in the finishing process, including coarse powder (arako) and cut leaf, per the Japan Tea Central Public Interest Association's labeling standard, revised 10 July 2026. It isn't ground like matcha. Sources say sushi restaurants often serve it as agari.
What is the difference between konacha, matcha and funmatsucha?
Per the Japan Tea Central Public Interest Association's labeling standard, konacha is powder sifted out during finishing, funmatsucha (粉末茶) is tea ground to powder with a grinder or similar, and matcha is tencha made into fine powder with a stone mill or similar. A Tokyo trade association says konacha doesn't dissolve and leaves grounds, while funmatsucha dissolves. fuji-tea.jp and Minorien say the tea at some conveyor-belt sushi shops is funmatsucha, not konacha, while Chanoniwa says the tea differs by shop, from high-end to conveyor-belt sushi, but konacha is generally mainstream. All three are T4 sites, so that's weaker evidence.
Why do sushi restaurants serve konacha?
Sushi restaurants serve konacha for three reasons, according to the sushi company Sushi Kaneki: low cost, a strong quick brew, and how it pairs with sushi. My Japanese Green Tea says it's mainly the low price, coupled with tea being free in most traditional Japanese restaurants. Sushi Kaneki says sushi shops call this tea agari, short for agaribana (上がり花), the tea for the day's last customer. Sources disagree on how that word reached sushi shops.
How do you brew konacha?
To brew konacha, start with about 3 g in 120 ml (4 oz) of 80°C (176°F) water for 30 seconds, strained through a fine-mesh strainer or tea pack, then adjust. That's our reading of the sources, not our own testing. All five brewing sources keep steeping to about 30 seconds or less, or say no rest is needed. They split on temperature, from about 60°C (140°F) for gyokuro-based konacha (Sweetsvillage) to boiling (My Japanese Green Tea, Chanoniwa), and on amount, 2 to 4 g.
Does One with Tea sell konacha?
No. As of 2 October 2026, none of One with Tea's 12 products is konacha. The nearest are our Superior Sencha Green Tea and our Superior Kukicha, a twig tea, which is another tea defined by what the finishing line sorts out. If you're stocking a café or shop, our wholesale page is the place to start.
Sources
All retrieved 2 October 2026. T4 means shop, blog or encyclopedia, weaker evidence.
- Japan Tea Central Public Interest Association, labeling standard (PDF), revised 10 July 2026. T2, industry standard.
- Kochi Prefecture public research station, sieve-line document. T2, public research.
- Tokyo trade association of specialty tea shops, konacha page. T3, trade association.
- Sushi Kaneki, blog post on agari. T4, sushi company blog.
- Chanoniwa, blog column on sushi agari (10 October 2025). T4, tea shop blog.
- My Japanese Green Tea, konacha page. T4.
- My Japanese Green Tea, page on sushi bar tea. T4.
- My Japanese Green Tea, konacha product review. T4.
- fuji-tea.jp, konacha page. T4, Japanese tea master's site.
- Minorien, konacha page. T4, Japanese tea seller.
- Minorien, sencha price list. T4, same seller.
- Taberugo, konacha page (updated 24 August 2017). T4, food site.
- Sweetsvillage (SweetsMall), knowledge page on powdered tea. T4, sweets marketplace blog.
- Wikipedia, "Konacha" (cites Heiss 2007). T4.
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