Matcha Green Tea Powder a Rich History, Taste and Tradition- On Sale Now!
Matcha tea is the sole widely recognized and widely consumed type of powdered green tea. Though the tradition of milling green tea leaves into a fine powder essentially began in China it is often thought of as an especially old Japanese tradition. The word itself, matcha, interprets as \’rubbed\’ or \’ground tea\’. Drinking green matcha tea powder is augmenting in popularity for its taste, health benefits and tendency to create a feeling of peacefulness.
In the 7th to 10th centuries in China, tea became more popular as techniques of better preservation; more effective storage and simpler transport over distance were perfected. During this time, tea cakes of compressed tea leaves were made after the leaves were dried, pressed firmly into the shape of little cakes and then baked for preservation. When preparing green matcha tea powder from pressed cakes, one must break off pieces then crumble the pressed leaves into a grinding receptacle. It is next ground to a fine powder. Over time, the process of whisking the tea powder in a bowl with hot water became ritualized and still is a part of the practice to prepare matcha tea currently.
It wasn\’t until the 12th Century that matcha green tea powder was exported to Japan. As it increased in recognition in Japan, it lost its place in Chinese tea drinking practices. The method of whisking green tea with hot water has remained popular to this day in Japan, and the Japanese have customized their own complicated cultural and ritualistic practices to form what\’s now called the Japanese tea ceremony.
Since green was tea introduced to Japan it has become a leading producer and exporter of green tea. Uji in Kyoto has the best climate, geology, soil and altitude for growing green tea. This area\’s mild climate composed of warm days and cool nights are perfect for tea gowning.
Matcha green tea powder is produced by the same strategies as normal tea farming up till the final 3 weeks of its growth. Three weeks before its harvest, Matcha green tea plants would be shaded by reed or straw screens or in modern large scale farming this is often replaced by black tarpaulin sheeting. This serves to limit the sunlight reaching the leaves which has a couple of effects. The reduced sunlight causes the leaves to turn a brighter vivid shade of green due to increased chlorophyll production.
Levels of a selected amino acid called L-Theanine which is 100% unique to green tea, are also increased. This leads directly to a better taste and more health benefits. This is the compound which is believed to give this tea its stress reducing effects promoting a calm yet focused alertness. After this shading period is complete, the highest quality matcha will be produced from the outermost leaves of the plant, the unopened tip and 2 topmost leaves. The carefully chosen tips are then steamed to stop oxidation, retaining freshness and nutrient content.
At this time the tea now a finished tea in its own right. For matcha production the fibrous stem and vein structure is then stripped from the leaves leaving little irregularly shaped parts of the tea leaf which can eventually be stone ground into the final product. It is believed that hand milled matcha remains the best and it is definitely its production resembles the normal teas of traditional Japan and China. Nowadays business strategies can guarantee larger consistency in the plants due to stringent temperature regulation, grinding precision and larger grinding power and speed all thanks to mechanisation.
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