For a few, the thought of drinking a dark green beverage that’s been mixed from a powder-like substance and tastes somewhat fishy, is not particularly appealing. But in fact, matcha is becoming among the new trends for not only the and beauty-conscious, but in the typical market as well. Its appearance such popular cafes as Starbucks, with the newest Matcha Latte, is further proof of its increasing popularity. Tea bags be careful, there’s a new means of drinking the green antioxidant beverage and it doesn’t involve steeping.
Matcha has its origins in ancient Japan, being the popular drink of the famous geisha tea houses. The original serving of matcha is a learned art of the geisha culture and tourists in cities such as Kyoto can pay costly amounts to go to shows where they watch these beautiful, doll-like women serve the tea in its traditional ceremony. Or they could spend a lot more to truly go to a traditional tea houses and be served a cup of matcha with some sweet traditional Japanese pastries.
So what exactly is matcha and why all the fuss? Simply put, matcha is the green tea extract of most green teas. It’s the earliest harvesting of the young green tea extract leaves and the pulverizing of these right into a fine green powder that is then stored in small tins and sold in the fine tea shops throughout Japan Best Japanese Matcha. A small amount of this powder is then mixed (using a unique wooden mixer which somewhat resembles a small egg beater) with a small amount of warm (but certainly not boiling as this destroys the properties of the tea) in a small bowl, until creating almost a frothy liquid. The mixture is then added to the remaining of heated water and voila– matcha! https://www.bonsaicha.com/
Traditionally the tea is not served with sugar, but with a sweet treat or chocolate. It might result quite bitter and almost fishy for some first-timers, while the taste is definitely 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 reality, matcha is indeed a developed pleasure and after having a few servings, the flavor definitely is acquired.
In Japan, matcha is as common a taste as chocolate or strawberry. In supermarkets it’s common 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’s common to see young girls drinking Matcha Frappuchinos or businessmen ordering a matcha latte. But will the remaining world be susceptible to this powdery green tea extract?
To discover the clear answer, have a look at among your local tea and coffee specialty stores. Chances are they have tins of matcha on the shelves. And odds are they are top sellers, despite the high cost (even in Japan these little tins aren’t cheap, about five times the expense of green tea extract sold in bags). And for more proof, browse the websites which are focused on 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’s the truth that matcha has some double the antioxidants of green tea extract in bags. Or the truth that Japanese women swear by its skin-rejuvenating powers. Or just the trendiness of drinking tea out of a charming little metallic tin with a flowered Japanese design on it. Regardless of the reason, little paper tea bag beware…there’s a new tea in town.