(Japanese: 抹茶), often spelled '''maccha''', is the powdered
Green Tea used in the
Japanese Tea Ceremony . In
Japanese Cuisine , ''matcha'' is often used to dye foods green (eg.
Mochi and
Soba noodles), and also to prepare
Green Tea Ice Cream and a variety of ''
Wagashi '' (Japanese confectionery).
This well-known powdery green tea is used in the
Japanese Tea Ceremony (Chano-yu or sadō). Matcha is regarded as a ‘heavy’ green tea, but in fact can be prepared as a strong (koicha) or weak tea (usucha) depending on the way it is made.
Matcha has similar origins to Gyokuro, i.e. an early season, high grade, shade-grown tea. After steaming the Matcha leaf is comprehensively stone ground to a light and fine green powder. The high level of
Catechin it contains is a consequence of the very small particle size of the processed leaf.
The most famous Matcha-producing region is
Nishio in
Aichi (on the main island of
Honshu ). This tea is specifically referred to as Nishiocha.
Prized for Japanese tea ceremony and consequently the best grade of Matcha are hard to find outside Japan. Matcha is generally expensive compared to other forms of tea, although its price depends on its quality.
The flavor of Matcha is dominated by its
Amino Acids . The highest grades of matcha have more intense sweetness & deeper flavor than the standard or coarser grades of tea harvested later in the year.
Powdered tea seems to have been invented in
China during the
Song Dynasty (960-1279). Preparation and consumption of powdered tea was formed into a ritual by the
Chan Buddhists, who drank from a single bowl as a
Sacrament .
Chan Buddhism (soon known in Japanese as
Zen ), and powdered tea along with it, were brought to Japan in
1191 by the monk
Eisai . Powdered tea was slowly forgotten in China, but 16th century tea master
Sen No Rikyu formulated the rules of
Japanese Tea Ceremony , specifying ''matcha'' as the correct tea to use.
The preparation of ''matcha'' starts several weeks before harvest, when the tea bushes are covered to prevent direct sunlight. This slows down growth, turns the leaves a darker shade of green and causes the production of
Amino Acid s that make the resulting tea sweeter.
After harvesting, if the leaves are rolled out before drying as usual, the result will be ''
Gyokuro '' (jewel dew) tea. However, if the leaves are laid out flat to dry, they will crumble somewhat and become known as ''tencha'' (点茶). ''Tencha'' can then be stone ground to the fine, bright green, talc-like powder known as ''matcha''.
Note that only powdered ''tencha'' qualifies as ''matcha'', and other powdered teas are known as ''kocha'' (粉茶, lit. "powdered tea").
''Matcha'' is typically served in the
Japanese Tea Ceremony , which has a complex set of rules to follow.
The basic method, however, is to simply place a small amount of matcha in a tea bowl, add a modicum of warm (not boiling) water and whisk to a uniform consistency (traditionally, using a special kind of whisk made of bamboo). Usucha, or "thin tea" creates a lighter and slightly more bitter tea, while the more expensive koichi is a sweeter tea with a thick, syrupy texture.
''See also'':
Japanese Tea Ceremony
Matcha is a common ingredient in sweet making. It is used in
Castella ,
Manju , as a topping for
Kakigori , mixed with milk and sugar as a drink, in chocolate and candy, as well as being mixed with salt and used to flavour
Tempura , a mixture known as matcha-shio.
