SUGAR FIRST.
MATCHA THIRD.

Here is the actual list.

This is the powder component on McDonald’s medium Iced Matcha Latte page, checked on 23 October 2026:

Sugar, Maltodextrin, Matcha, Salt, Colours (100, 141).

McDonald’s Australia · MATCHA POWDER ingredients

McDonald’s publishes it. You can check it yourself. This is about what that list means, not a claim that somebody has hidden it.

FSANZ explains that ingredients are listed by ingoing weight, from largest to smallest. So, in this powder, sugar is listed ahead of the tea the drink is named after.

That does not tell us an exact sugar percentage. First does not automatically mean more than half. It also does not describe the proportions of milk, ice and powder in the finished cup.

The colour has done enough talking.

A green drink looks like an obvious choice when you feel like having something a bit better. There is a leaf on the packaging. Someone is whisking it. The whole thing looks very considered.

None of that answers what is in the powder.

You might want a sweet, creamy matcha latte. That is a perfectly reasonable drink to order. But if you think you are buying plain tea and choosing the sweetness yourself, a premix changes that decision before the barista reaches for the milk.

Asking for no extra syrup does not remove sugar already mixed into a powder. Ask which powder the café uses, then look at that ingredient list. It is a small question with a much better answer than “it’s premium”.

A powder is not a finished drink.

This is where a good observation can turn into a bad comparison.

If a menu gives total sugars for a latte, that number includes the sugars in the finished recipe, including milk sugars. You cannot put it beside a dry powder’s number and pretend you compared the same thing.

Use the same serving size and milk when comparing drinks. Use the ingredient lists when comparing powders. Keep those two jobs separate.

And no, a longer ingredient list is not proof that a food is dangerous. This is about choosing what you actually want to drink, without letting the colour make the decision for you.

Ask the boring question.

“Can I see the ingredients in the matcha powder?”

You do not need to make a speech at the counter. You do not need to explain why you are asking. A photo of the bag or a supplier page is enough to start.

Look for the tea, the sweetener and anything else in the blend. Then decide whether that is the drink you wanted. A blend can be a deliberate choice. Plain matcha can be a deliberate choice too.

I’m building a matcha brand, so hold us to the same question. A nice pouch and a nicer font do not get us out of showing what goes into the cup.

The drink is called matcha. I want to know where the matcha comes in.