Who is Misty Lava?

Misty Lava is a Vietnamese American family tea company creating oolong matcha from high-mountain cultivars grown in Vietnam's Central Highlands. The leaves are shade-grown, selectively hand-picked and stone-milled into a smooth powder with the floral depth of oolong.

The range includes ceremonial and jasmine oolong matcha, culinary powder and roasted hōjicha, offered in 30 g tins, 100 g refill bags and a four-tin collection.

Misty Lava's promo codes

Check for the promo code offered by Misty Lava

Misty Lava in details

Misty Lava applies Japanese matcha-making techniques to Vietnamese high-mountain oolong cultivars. Its teas are grown with small-scale family farmers in the volcanic Central Highlands, shade-grown for 21 days and hand-picked as one bud with the two youngest leaves.

After harvest, the leaf is steamed and dried, cold-stored at 5°C before milling, then granite stone-ground, oxygen-sealed and independently tested. The result is a creamier, more floral powdered tea than conventional green matcha.

About the Misty Lava Matcha

Misty Lava builds its range around powdered Vietnamese oolong rather than conventional Japanese green-tea cultivars. The core teas combine oolong's floral and nutty aromatics with the whole-leaf texture and preparation style associated with matcha.

Powdered tea range

  • Ceremonial Matcha Powder — smooth oolong matcha in a 30 g tin or 100 g refill bag.
  • Jasmine Ceremonial Matcha Powder — the ceremonial powder scented with jasmine, also sold in 30 g and 100 g formats.
  • Premium Culinary Matcha Powder — a stronger powder intended for lattes, cooking and baking.
  • Premium Hōjicha Powder — roasted powdered tea with lower caffeine than the ceremonial styles.
  • Mist & Fire Matcha Collection — four 30 g tins covering ceremonial, jasmine, culinary and hōjicha.

Harvest location

Misty Lava works with small-scale family farmers in Vietnam's volcanic Central Highlands, where high-mountain oolong cultivars provide the leaf for its powdered teas. The company identifies this Vietnamese terroir, rather than a Japanese prefecture, as the origin of the range.

From field to powder

The tea is shade-grown for 21 days, then hand-picked using the top bud and two youngest leaves. The leaf is steamed and dried using core matcha techniques, cold-stored as tencha at 5°C, and granite stone-milled shortly before oxygen-sealed packing. Misty Lava states that batches are independently tested and certified to Vietnam's TCVN 11041 organic standard; it does not present the tea as USDA Organic.

Misty Lava History

Misty Lava grew from a Vietnamese American family's connection to food and tea in Orange County. A loose-leaf tea brought back from Vietnam prompted visits to relatives and tea-growing communities in the country's Central Highlands, where family meals, field visits and conversations with growers developed into an ongoing partnership.

The business is run as a family effort by Mike, Lynn, Vy and Francis. Their oolong matcha adapts Japanese matcha techniques to Vietnamese high-mountain oolong cultivars, linking small-scale family farming in volcanic highland soils with a new powdered-tea style.

Frequently asked questions

Here are some frequently asked questions and answers.

What makes Misty Lava's oolong matcha different from conventional matcha?

Misty Lava uses Vietnamese high-mountain oolong cultivars rather than the green-tea cultivars normally associated with Japanese matcha. The leaf still undergoes shading, steaming, drying and fine stone milling, but produces a creamier, more floral and less grassy cup.

Which Misty Lava powder should I choose for a first order?

Choose Ceremonial Matcha Powder for the clearest view of the oolong-matcha style, or Jasmine Ceremonial Matcha Powder if you prefer a floral aroma. The four-tin Mist & Fire Matcha Collection compares those teas with the culinary and roasted hōjicha powders.

Where does Misty Lava source and process its tea?

The oolong cultivars are grown with small-scale family farmers in Vietnam's volcanic Central Highlands. Leaves are shade-grown for 21 days, selectively hand-picked, cold-stored before milling and granite stone-ground into powder.

Is Misty Lava certified organic?

The tea is certified to Vietnam's TCVN 11041 national organic standard, which excludes synthetic pesticides and fertilisers under regulated farming practices. Misty Lava explicitly notes that the range is not currently USDA Organic.