Matcha tea

What is matcha tea?

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

The word matcha simply means “crushed tea” or “powdered tea.” A normal cup of tea is typically made by steeping some leaves in water, then discarding them. With matcha, you drink the leaves themselves, as they are finely powdered.

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

It is believed that there is a connection between the shade of green and the tea’s quality. The darker the 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 to 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 an increase in 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 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 mould, 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 mould, 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: cha is the Chinese word for tea and is pronounced [tar]. Matcha: mat means scrape and is pronounced [mor] in Chinese. Tencha: ten means mill and is pronounced [ten] in Chinese, while cha means tea.

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

The flavour notes of Matcha

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

We are not allowed to comment on or praise nature’s products for their healthy and/or healing effects, so of course I refrain from that. But if you have 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 whisked into the hot water that you 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 tradition.

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 look forward to it – it is not without reason that matcha has become so popular that you also find it in ice cream, cakes, chocolate and similar. You can use your matcha for many things. Just remember that matcha tea should always be organic.