Matcha te laves af skygge-dyrkede teblade fra te-træet Camelia Sinensis, der ligeledes bruges til fremstilling af Gyokuro te. Matcha betyder i alt sin enkelthed ”knust te” eller ”pulveriseret te”. En normal kop te laver du typisk ved at lade nogle blade trække i vand, hvorefter du smider bladene ud. Når der er tale om Matcha, drikker du selve bladene, da det er disse, der er pulveriseret helt fint.

Hvordan laver man matcha?

Fremstillingen af matcha te starter flere uger før høst og kan vare op til 20 dage, hvor tebuskene er dækket til for at undgå direkte sollys. Dette bremser væksten og stimulerer stigningen af klorofylniveau, hvilket giver bladene en mørkere nuance af grøn samt forårsager større produktion af aminosyrer, især theanin. Herefter håndplukkes kun de fineste af bladene til fremstillingen af matchapulver. Efter høsten bliver de straks tørret og gennemdampet, hvorefter matchaen males.

Matcha tea

Matcha is green tea that originates from Japan. Unlike other types of tea, matcha is not dissolved in tea bags but whipped into the hot water as a powder. Precisely because the tea leaves are pulverized and dissolved in the tea, matcha tea retains significantly more of the properties that are believed to be health-promoting in regular green tea. Keep in mind, however, that it is difficult to separate the effect of green tea from a general healthy lifestyle.

Many tea lovers agree that matcha tastes fantastic. If you have developed a taste for matcha tea yourself, explore the selection here and find your favourite. As always, you get free delivery on purchases over DKK 350.

What is matcha tea?

Matcha tea is made from shade-grown tea leaves from the tea tree Camelia Sinensis, which is also used to make Gyokuro tea.

Matcha simply means "crushed tea" or "powdered tea". You typically make a normal cup of tea by steeping some leaves in water, then discarding the leaves. When it comes to Matcha, you drink the leaves themselves, as these are the ones that are finely powdered.

The taste of matcha is dominated by its amino acids. The top grades of matcha have more intense sweetness and deeper flavor than the more common and coarser grades of tea harvested later in the year. On the other hand, the highest qualities are also shamelessly expensive.

This suggests that there is a correlation between the shade of green and the quality of the tea. The darker a shade of green, the higher the quality. You can therefore go for the darker shades if you want a taste experience out of the ordinary.

How do you make matcha?

The production of matcha tea starts several weeks before harvest and can last up to 20 days, during which the tea bushes are covered to avoid direct sunlight. This slows growth and stimulates the increase of chlorophyll levels, giving the leaves a darker shade of green as well as causing greater production of amino acids, especially theanine. After this, only the finest of the leaves are hand-picked for the production of matcha powder. After harvesting, they are immediately dried and thoroughly steamed, after which the matcha is ground.

If the leaves are rolled out before drying, as is customary in green tea production, the result will be Gyokuro tea. If the leaves are laid out flat to dry, however, they will crumble somewhat and become known as tencha. This tencha can form mold, which is why immediately after drying it is ground in a stone mill into the fine, bright green, talcum-like powder called matcha.

After the harvest, if the leaves are rolled out before drying as is customary in green tea production, the result will be Gyokuro tea. If the leaves are laid out flat to dry, however, they will crumble somewhat and become known as tencha. This tencha can form mold, which is why immediately after drying it is ground in a stone mill into the fine, bright green, talcum-like powder called matcha. Tencha is not steamed.

Explanation of words here: ha is the Chinese word for tea and is pronounced [tar]. Matcha: Mat means scrape and is pronounced [mother] in Chinese. Tencha: Ten means mill and is pronounced in Chinese [ten] and cha means tea.

It can take up to an hour to grind 30 grams of matcha.

The flavor notes of Matcha

The taste of matcha is dominated by its amino acids. The top grades of matcha have more intense sweetness and deeper flavor than standard or coarser grades of tea harvested later in the year, but are unashamedly expensive.

We are not allowed to comment on and praise nature's products for their healthy and/or healing effects, so of course I refrain from that. But have you got the idea that you want to try Matcha tea for your health, then REMEMBER! IT HAS TO BE ORGANIC and it is the pulverized leaves that are foamed up in the hot water you have to drink.

Make matcha tea with an authentic matcha tea set

We have everything in equipment and matcha powder for the authentic matcha experience.
To make matcha tea, you need approx. 1-2 tsp. matcha powder for 1 cup of tea.

You will need this:

Bamboo whisk
Small bowl for whipping
Cup to drink from
Possibly a matcha spoon for measuring the tea

The matcha powder is whipped with a traditional bamboo whisk in a matcha bowl with hot water. The whisk ensures that you get a tea with a well-foamed and soft taste. Whisk until the powder is completely mixed into the water. Drink immediately afterwards.

Buy organic matcha tea powder

At Nordic Tea, we love matcha tea. And we are not the only ones. Matcha is used, for example, in Japanese tea ceremonies as part of the Zen Buddhist ethic.

At Nordic Tea you will also find Chinese variants of matcha. They are somewhat cheaper than the Japanese ones, but are still tasty and complex – so you might want to explore the Chinese varieties if matcha tea is new to you.

Regardless of whether you choose Japanese or Chinese, you can be happy - it is not without reason that matcha has become so popular that you also find it in ice cream, cakes, chocolate and the like. So you can use your matcha for many things. Just remember that matcha tea should always be organic.