For many, the idea of drinking a black green beverage that’s been mixed from a powder-like substance and tastes somewhat fishy, is not particularly appealing. In fact, matcha is becoming one of many new trends for not merely the health and beauty-conscious, but in the typical market as well. Its appearance in such popular cafes as Starbucks, with the newest Matcha Latte, is further evidence of its increasing popularity. Tea bags be careful, there’s a fresh means of drinking the green antioxidant beverage and it doesn’t involve steeping.
Matcha has its origins in ancient Japan, being the most popular drink of the famous geisha tea houses. The traditional serving of matcha is just a learned art of the geisha culture and tourists in cities such as for example Kyoto can pay costly amounts to wait shows where they watch these beautiful Best Japanese Matcha, doll-like women serve the tea in its traditional ceremony. Or they can spend even more to actually go to a traditional tea houses and be served a pot of matcha with some sweet traditional Japanese pastries.
So just what is matcha and why all the fuss? To put it simply, matcha could be the green tea extract of green teas. It is the first harvesting of the young green tea extract leaves and the pulverizing of these in to a fine green powder that will be then stored in small tins and sold in the fine tea shops all over Japan. A little bit of this powder is then mixed (using a unique wooden mixer which somewhat resembles a tiny egg beater) with a little bit of warm (but definitely not boiling as this destroys the properties of the tea) in a tiny bowl, until creating almost a frothy liquid. The mixture is then included with the remainder of heated water and voila– matcha! https://www.bonsaicha.com/
Traditionally the tea is not served with sugar, but accompanied by a sweet treat or chocolate. It could result quite bitter and almost fishy for some first-timers, as the taste is surely an acquired pleasure. Adding for some foreigners’ shock could be the round, white sweet bean-filled pastries traditionally served with matcha in Kyoto. But, in fact, matcha should indeed be a developed pleasure and after having a few servings, the flavor definitely is acquired.
In Japan, matcha is really as common a taste as chocolate or strawberry. In supermarkets it is common to begin to see the dark green powder as a topping or flavor for from ice cream to cakes to chocolate bars (ever try a matcha flavored Kit Kat bar?) In Japanese Starbucks, it is common to see young girls drinking Matcha Frappuchinos or businessmen ordering a matcha latte. But will the remaining portion of the world be susceptible to this powdery green tea extract?
To learn the answer, take a look at certainly one of the local tea and coffee specialty stores. Chances are they curently have tins of matcha on the shelves. And odds are they’re top sellers, inspite of the high cost (even in Japan these little tins are not cheap, about five times the price of green tea extract sold in bags). And for more proof, browse the web sites which are dedicated to the sales of matcha overseas…there are many! What’s it about matcha that’s foreigners scooping it into their mugs as well?
Perhaps it is the fact that matcha has some double the antioxidants of green tea extract in bags. Or the fact that Japanese women swear by its skin-rejuvenating powers. Or simply the trendiness of drinking tea out of a wonderful little metallic tin with a flowered Japanese design on it. Regardless of the reason, little paper tea bag beware…there’s a fresh tea in town.