Matcha Training Checklist for New Staff

New staff learn matcha fastest when training is broken into a few observable competencies, each with a drill and a clear pass mark. Train against your own recipe card, sign off each competency only when the trainee has shown it unaided, and do not let anyone make matcha drinks for guests until the core list is complete. The checklist below covers product knowledge, the bar method, service and cleaning, with drills you can run in a quiet hour.

Before you train: fix the standard

Training only works if there is one written standard to train against. If your bar does not yet have a matcha recipe card and SOP, write that first; writing a matcha recipe card and SOP sets out what belongs in it. The trainer should use the same card the trainee will use on shift.

Prepare a training station with a 0.1 g scale, a fine sieve, a mixing jug, a bamboo whisk or frother, a water source set to your paste temperature, and the matcha you actually serve. For a latte-led bar that is usually Ceremonial Barista Matcha, made for milk drinks.

The competencies

Split training into four blocks. Each line is something the trainee does or explains, not something they have read.

Block 1: Product knowledge

• [ ] Names the matcha products on your menu and which drinks each one is used for
• [ ] Explains in one sentence what matcha is (a powdered tea made from shaded leaf, whisked rather than steeped)
• [ ] States the origin facts printed on your menu, and no others
• [ ] Explains that "ceremonial" is a trade term, not an official grade
• [ ] Knows where the working tin and the main bag are kept, and why both stay closed

If the trainee is curious about the background, how matcha is made is useful reading. It is optional; the bar skills are not.

Block 2: Bar method

• [ ] Weighs the dose on the scale, not by eye
• [ ] Sieves every dose before water goes in
• [ ] Checks paste water temperature at the start of the shift
• [ ] Makes a lump-free paste in the time on your card
• [ ] Steams milk to your latte standard
• [ ] Combines paste and milk in your bar's chosen order
• [ ] Makes the iced version to the card
• [ ] Makes a pure serve with water, if you offer one

The full latte method is set out in the standard café matcha latte recipe.

Block 3: Service and communication

• [ ] Answers "what does it taste like?" in plain flavour words
• [ ] Explains milk options and allergen information using your allergen sheet, not memory
• [ ] Says that matcha contains caffeine when asked, without giving a figure you have not been given
• [ ] Avoids any claim about effects on the body, mood or energy
• [ ] Knows when to fetch the shift lead (allergen doubts, complaints, unusual requests)

Block 4: Cleaning and storage

• [ ] Rinses and dries the whisk correctly and returns it to its holder
• [ ] Cleans the sieve and jug between drinks and at close
• [ ] Refills the working tin from the main bag without leaving the bag open
• [ ] Never uses a wet scoop in the tin

Practice drills

Run each drill with the trainer watching. Record the result on the sign-off sheet.

Drill	How to run it	Pass criterion (set your own figures)
Dose accuracy	Trainee weighs 10 doses in a row; trainer notes each reading	All 10 within your tolerance, e.g. ±0.1 g of the card dose
Lump check	Trainee makes 5 pastes; trainer tips each jug and checks the base	No visible lumps or dry specks in any of the 5
Temperature	Trainee sets water and measures it with a thermometer	Within your card range on the first attempt
Side-by-side	Trainee and trainer each make the same latte; taste blind	Shift lead cannot reliably tell them apart
Timed latte	Trainee makes 3 hot lattes from order to hand-off	Within the time on your card, quality checks still met
Guest questions	Trainer plays a guest asking about taste, milk, allergens and caffeine	Accurate, plain answers; no effect claims; fetches lead when needed
Close-down	Trainee cleans and stores all matcha tools	Whisk on holder, tins closed, bag back in stockroom

The side-by-side drill is the most revealing. If two people following the same card produce different drinks, the card or the training has a gap. Fix the cause before moving on.

Using samples for training

If you are training ahead of launching matcha, or training on a second product, a 10 g sample gives a trainee a handful of practice doses on the real powder. Compare both 10 g samples if staff need to learn the difference between a milk-drink matcha and one for pure preparation. How many test drinks a 10 g sample makes shows the arithmetic, so you can plan how many practice doses each trainee gets.

Suggested training plan

Adapt the timings to your bar. Short sessions spread over several shifts work better than one long one.

Session	Content	Output
1	Product knowledge, storage, station tour	Block 1 signed off
2	Weighing, sieving, paste; dose and lump drills	Drills passed
3	Hot and iced lattes; temperature and side-by-side drills	Block 2 signed off
4	Pure serve (if on menu); guest question role-play	Block 3 signed off
5	Supervised shift; close-down drill	Block 4 signed off, full sign-off

Sign-off record

Copy this into your training file. One row per competency block.

Trainee	Block	Date	Trainer	Result	Notes / retrain needed
	1 Product knowledge
	2 Bar method
	3 Service
	4 Cleaning and storage

Keeping skills consistent

Training is not a one-off. Repeat the side-by-side drill whenever you change the recipe, the milk or the matcha, and after any long break from the bar. A short monthly check on dose accuracy keeps drift visible, because the scale reading is the easiest thing to skip at peak.

When a guest complaint points to a technique problem, add a line to the retrain column rather than correcting it once and moving on.

Next step

Print the checklist, set your own pass figures, and run session 1 with your next new starter. If you are setting up matcha for the first time, order samples for training, then move to the 1 kg bag once the recipe card is fixed.