Matcha is a Japanese powdered green tea that is used in the tea ceremony (also known as Chanoyu) in Japan. The Japanese tea ceremony is a highly ritualized, sophiscated and elaborate practice of preparing matcha. It emphasizes harmony, respect, purity and tranquility in a calm, peaceful setting and awareness of the nature.
Matcha has been rapidly growing its popularity in America, more people are intrigued by matcha’s high nutritional value and rich antioxidant content. The health benefits of matcha outweigh any other green tea because matcha is blended into the drink so actual tea leaves are consumed, so you are not just consuming nutrients from a brew. Matcha makes a great nutritious beverage for everyday consumption! It’s sugar free, high in fiber and rich in antioxidants and Chlorophyll.
High quality matcha is divided into two styles, they are thin (ousucha) and thick (okoicha). Thin Matcha is light, it is perfect for daily use and popular among those with less matcha experience. Thick matcha is higher quality than thin matcha because it comes from older trees (more than 30 years old). It’s concentrated and more expensive and is exclusively served in the Japanese Tea Ceremony.
High quality matcha comes from gyokuro which is shade grown weeks before the harvest and then steam-dried to prevent fermentation, this results in a vibrant and beautiful green color in the tea. Later stems and veins are removed from the leaves so the tea becomes very soft and fine before it is store-grounded . It takes one hour to grind approximately 30-40g of matcha and the final weight of matcha is approximately 1/10th from the original harvest, which explains why matcha is so precious.
Click here to view a video of how a traditional tea ceremony is performed
Click here to view a video of a traditional way of preparing matcha