Green Matcha is a powdered tea which is also used for the Japanese tea ceremony.
It is a ‘shadow tea’ which means that the bushes are shaded from sunlight before picking. Thereby, the young shoots develop more flavour and the desired dark green colour. The harvested leaves are steamed to stop the oxidisation but not rolled like other green teas. During the drying process, all the leaf veins and fine stems are removed before the leaves are carefully ground into a fine powder.
To make Matcha, put about one flat teaspoon powder into your Matcha bowl or breakfast bowl. Add about 60°-80°C hot water (the better the quality of the Matcha the lower the temperature) until half full. Now start slowly to whisk the mixture, getting faster until frothy. Traditionally a split bamboo whisker is used (see here), but any other whisking device should be sufficient as well. Whisk until you get an even carpet of foam with small bubbles, as shown below. The powder will not fully dissolve in the water and Matcha should be drunk immediately through the foam. The cup should have a jade green colour with a pleasant, slightly astringent taste.
Because of this unique production process Matcha posses unique health properties. By removing all leaf veins, stems and by powdering the remains, one drinks the pure leaf. As a result, Matcha contains more antioxidants than any other tea and is a healthy and delicious way to stay in shape.
Enjoy!
