For some, the thought of drinking a dark green beverage that’s been mixed from a powder-like substance and tastes somewhat fishy, isn’t particularly appealing. However in fact, matcha is now one of the new trends for not merely the and beauty-conscious, but in the general market as well. Its appearance in such popular cafes as Starbucks, with the brand new Matcha Latte, is further proof of its increasing popularity. Tea bags be careful, there’s a brand new means of drinking the green antioxidant beverage and it doesn’t involve steeping.
Matcha has its origins in ancient Japan, being the most popular drink of the famous geisha tea houses. The traditional serving of matcha is a learned art of the geisha culture and tourists in cities such as for instance Kyoto can pay costly amounts to go to shows where they watch these beautiful Best Japanese Green Tea, doll-like women serve the tea in its traditional ceremony. Or they could spend much more to actually 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 most of the fuss? Simply put, matcha could be the green tea of most green teas. It is the first harvesting of the young green tea leaves and the pulverizing of them in to a fine green powder which can be then stored in small tins and sold in the fine tea shops throughout Japan. A small amount of this powder is then mixed (using a special wooden mixer which somewhat resembles a tiny egg beater) with a small amount of warm (but most certainly not boiling as this destroys the properties of the tea) in a tiny bowl, until creating almost a frothy liquid. The mixture is then put into the rest of heated water and voila– matcha! https://www.bonsaicha.com/
Traditionally the tea isn’t served with sugar, but accompanied by a sweet treat or chocolate. It might result quite bitter and almost fishy with a first-timers, since the taste is surely an acquired pleasure. Adding with a foreigners’ shock may be the round, white sweet bean-filled pastries traditionally served with matcha in Kyoto. But, actually, matcha is definitely a developed pleasure and after having a few servings, the flavor definitely is acquired.
In Japan, matcha can be as common a taste as chocolate or strawberry. In supermarkets it is 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 is common to see girls drinking Matcha Frappuchinos or businessmen ordering a matcha latte. But will the rest of the world be susceptible to the powdery green tea?
To discover the clear answer, take a look at among your local tea and coffee specialty stores. Odds are they have tins of matcha on the shelves. And chances are they’re top sellers, regardless of the high cost (even in Japan these little tins are not cheap, about five times the price of green tea sold in bags). And for more proof, read the web sites that are focused on the sales of matcha overseas…there are many! What’s it about matcha that’s foreigners scooping it to their mugs as well?
Perhaps it is the truth that matcha has some double the antioxidants of green tea in bags. Or the truth that Japanese women swear by its skin-rejuvenating powers. Or simply the trendiness of drinking tea out of a charming little metallic tin with a flowered Japanese design on it. Long lasting reason, little paper tea bag beware…there’s a brand new tea in town.
