What is Matcha?
At Tea & Tarot, we will specialize in several different beverage ritual art forms from around the world. One of those is the Matcha Green Tea Ceremony from Japan. What is Matcha, you may ask?
Matcha is a delicious, lightly sweetened grassy flavored green tea powder. High in anti-oxidants, this tea is more than just a beverage. It becomes a true experience. With Matcha, you don't steep it like other teas, you whisk the entire tea leaf up in to a frothy beverage to enjoy. When done in a true Japanese ceremony state, it is a beautiful artistic meditation.
Matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea. The raw material and production process are different from those of simply powdered tea. Raw material for Matcha is Tencha and that for simply powdered tea is Sencha.
When tea was originally discovered, it was used as an herb in cooking. It wasn't until the Song Dynasty that the concept of drinking green tea powder became popular in the 12th century.
Thought it was the Chinese that started this trend, it was the Japanese that really brought it forth to an art form and created these elaborate tea houses and rituals to go along with this sacred powdered beverage.
Just be aware of poor grade Matcha. True Matcha has a beautiful bright green color. It will yield the sweeter lighter grassy like flavor that tea experts love. If they seem a bit yellowish or brown, they are a poor grade and will taste bitter. The poorer grade Matchas can be used in smoothies or for cooking and baking.
Hope this opens your mind to adding Matcha to your daily routine.
We love recreating this Matcha Ceremonial Experience for our guests. Let us know if you'd like to book a Matcha Ceremony for your next event or party.
