What is Matcha?
Matcha is a finely ground powder made from specially grown Japanese green tea leaves (tencha), known for its vibrant green color and rich, umami flavor, consumed by whisking the powder with hot water or milk, offering antioxidants and calm energy from L-theanine. Unlike steeped tea, you ingest the whole leaf, making it more potent, and it's used traditionally in mindfulness rituals and modern lattes
What is the history of Matcha?
The origins of matcha can be traced all the way back to the Tang Dynasty in China. The Tang Dynasty spanned from the 7th to the 10th century. During this time, the Tang Dynasty steamed tea leaves to form into bricks, making their tea harvests easier to transport and subsequently trade. These tea bricks were prepared by roasting the leaves and then mixing the resulting tea powder with water and salt. However, the ensuing Song Dynasty, which reigned from the 10th – 13th, is largely credited with making this form of tea preparation popular. Eisai, a Japanese Buddhist Monk, spent the better part of his life studying Buddhism in China. In 1191, Eisai returned permanently to Japan, bringing with him tea seeds along with the Zen Buddhist methods of preparing powdered green tea. The seeds that Eisai brought back with him from China were largely considered to create the highest quality tea leaves in all of Japan. Eisai subsequently planted these seeds on the temple grounds in Kyoto, the home of the Kamakura Shogun. During the period of the Kamakura Shogun, matcha was only produced in extremely limited quantities and was thus regarded as a luxurious status symbol. Soon after Eisai’s return to Japan, Zen Buddhists developed a new method for cultivating the green tea plant. Tencha was developed by growing the green tea plant under shaded conditions – this method is largely credited for maximizing the health benefits of matcha.
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