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History:
All authentic Matcha only comes from Japan. Well established areas in Japan where it is cultivated are Kyoto and Uji. All quality Matcha comes from the main island of Japan known as Honshu. The history of Matcha tea is quite fascinating. This unique tea was long served for Japanese royalty and therefore became known as the 'emperor's tea' in Asia. Other historical reports have Matcha arriving in China as a medicinal drink. The full benefits of Matcha tea extend beyond the body. The mental benefits of drinking Matcha have been long associated with Zen.
Matcha is the vibrant green powdered tea used in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies. It is made from the leaves of shade grown tea trees. When the leaves are harvested they are steamed, dried and then further processed to remove the veins, stems and impurities. Only about 10% of the original harvest remains, and this is called the "tencha". The tencha is then ground to a fine powder often in a stone mill. It takes about one hour to produce an ounce of matcha, because grinding any faster would result in a burnt tasting tea. Today the highest grades of matcha usually remain in Japan for use in their tea ceremonies and the price can be as high as $100 an ounce. The majority of matcha available in the general market today is now ground by sophisticated machines, which make it affordable to the average tea drinker. Regardless of the grinding technique used, the production of matcha requires a great deal of hand labor, skill and time.
Matcha Processing - The young tea leaves are picked in early May and lightly steamed to prevent any fermentation. This allows the tea to retain its beautiful green color. Then the tea leaves are dried. Traditionally, at this point, the leaves would be stored in chatsubo/tea jars and allowed to season until November, at which time they can be stone-ground as needed. For consistency, the leaves from various varieties of tea plants are blended to produce the best flavor, color, and aroma. Before being stone-ground, the leaves are processed to obtain only the meat part of the leaf. The stems and veins are removed so that the tea will be very fine when ground. It takes one hour to grind somewhat less than 40g of matcha and in the end the final product is about 1/10th of the original harvest. Although clippers can be used to harvest the tea leaves, the leaves for koicha/thick tea are still picked by hand, one by one.
Matcha has recently entered the mainstream North American market. Cities like Vancouver BC have embraced its amazing health benefits and Matcha is now served in many Vancouver coffee shops. Soon Matcha will sweep the nation and bring health and well being to all who enjoy it.
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