Matcha

Matcha (抹茶) ; is a finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves that originated in China. Later, the green color exhibited in most modern matcha was developed in Japan, where most matcha is produced today. In the 12th century at the latest, Chinese compressed tea, the raw material for matcha, was introduced to Japan. When the production of compressed tea was banned in China in 1391, matcha was abandoned in China and developed in Japan thereafter.

When the method of shaded growing was invented in Japan in the 15th century, matcha became a bright green tea instead of the brown it had been before. Tea plants used for matcha are shade-grown for three to four weeks before harvest; the stems and veins are removed during processing. During shaded growth, the plant Camellia sinensis produces more theanine and caffeine. The powdered form of matcha is consumed differently from tea leaves or tea bags, as it is suspended in a liquid, typically water or milk.

The traditional Japanese tea ceremony, typically known as "chanoyu", centers on the preparation, serving and drinking of matcha as hot tea, and embodies a meditative spirituality. In modern times, matcha is also used to flavor and dye foods such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream, matcha lattes and a variety of Japanese wagashi confectionery.

Definition
In Japan, labeling standards based on the Food Labeling Law (enacted in 2015) define which teas can be labeled and sold as matcha. According to it, matcha is defined as powdered tea made by grinding tea leaves, called tencha (碾茶), through a tea millstone to a fine powder. Tencha refers to tea leaves grown under shade, steamed, and dried without kneading.

In tencha, hard parts such as stems and veins are removed from the tea leaves. As a result, tencha has a rich aroma and a mild taste with little bitterness.

High-grade matcha is ground using a special millstone, but it can also be labeled as matcha using an ordinary grinder.

Sencha (煎茶), a popular green tea in Japan, has a process of kneading tea leaves in the manufacturing process, but matcha is not kneaded.

In the case of sencha, kneading the tea leaves destroys the cells and makes it easier for its ingredients to dissolve in hot water. Matcha, however, does not require kneading because the powder is dissolved directly in hot water. Because of this difference in production process, sencha and other green teas that are simply powdered cannot be sold as matcha in Japan. They are called powdered tea (粉末茶) and sold as powdered green tea (粉末緑茶) or instant tea (インスタント茶) in Japan.

Comparing the amount of tencha and matcha in circulation, it is estimated that two-thirds of the matcha distributed in the world is not matcha in its original meaning.

China
In China during the Tang dynasty (618–907), tea leaves were steamed and formed into compressed tea (tea bricks) for storage and trade. According to Lu Yu's The Classic of Tea (760-762), tea was first made by roasting compressed tea in solid form over a fire and then grinding it in a wooden grinder called a niǎn (碾, Japanese: yagen), then boiling water in a pot, adding salt when it boils, then adding the tea powder to the boiling water and boiling it until it foamed. The tea was also sometimes mixed with green onions, ginger, jujubes, mandarin orange peels, Tetradium ruticarpum, and mint.

During the Song dynasty (960–1279), the method of making powdered tea from steam-prepared dried tea leaves and preparing the beverage by whipping the tea powder and hot water together in a bowl became popular.

Although the term "matcha" (抹茶) is not used, powdered tea made with a tea whisk is believed to have originated in 10th century China. The most famous references to powdered tea are Cai Xiang's Record of Tea (1049-1053) and Emperor Huizong's Treatise on Tea (1107), both from the Song dynasty (960-1279). According to these documents, high-grade lump tea (compressed tea), as typified by Lóngfèng Tuánchá (龍鳳團茶, lit. 'Dragon and Phoenix Lump Tea'), was ground to powder with a metal niǎn, then sifted, after which the powder was poured into a tea bowl, hot water was poured into the bowl, and the tea was prepared with a tea whisk.

According to the Record of Tea, the finer the sieve, the more the tea floats; the coarser the sieve, the more the tea sinks, so it seems that the particles of the powder were larger than those of modern matcha. The tea ceremonies at Kennin-ji Temple in Kyoto and Engaku-ji Temple in Kamakura are examples of the traditions of the Song dynasty.

The lump tea presented to the emperor was mixed with borneol, which had a strong aroma, and was coated with oil and fat flavoring to make the surface of the lump shiny, to the point that the tea's original aroma was extinguished. Cai Xiang criticized such processing.

The ideal color of tea was also considered white, not green or brown. However, since tea powder could not usually be made white, various processing methods had to be used to make it white. For example, tea buds were plucked when they had just sprouted and repeatedly squeezed, and water was added repeatedly to grind them. There was also a brand of white tea called "water buds" (水芽), in which the leafy part of the bud was removed and only the veins were used as raw material.

Thus, the complex manufacturing process of lump tea in the Song dynasty required a great deal of labor and money, and even the slightest fault during the process was enough to cause it to fail. Naturally, it was expensive and inaccessible to the common people. In the Tang dynasty, "bitter when sipped and sweet when swallowed" (The Classic of Tea) was considered ideal as the true taste of tea, but in the Song dynasty, it was forcibly changed to the four characteristics of "aroma, sweetness, richness, and smoothness" (Treatise on Tea), which was the ideal. Thus, lump tea became an expensive and complicated processed tea in the Song dynasty, and some suggest that this was one of the reasons for its rapid decline after the Ming dynasty.

In the Ming dynasty, the first emperor Zhu Yuanzhang issued a ban on the production of compressed tea in 1391, which led to the abandonment of compressed tea in China, and a method similar to the modern one, in which loose tea is steeped in hot water and extracted, became the mainstream.

In Shen Defu's Wanli ye huo bian (Unofficial Gleanings of the Wanli Era, ), it is written, "At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, teas from all over China were offered to the emperor, of which Jianning tea and Yángxiàn tea were the most highly valued. At that time, the Song dynasty production method was still in effect, and all the tea offered was ground and kneaded with a medicine grinder into a shape known as a Lóngtuán (龍團, lit. 'lump of dragon'), both large and small. However, in September of the 24th year of Hongwu, the emperor had the production of lóngtuán discontinued due to the heavy burden on the people's power. Instead, he made them pluck only tea buds and offer them to the emperor."

With the ban on compressed tea, matcha, a powder made from it, also fell into disuse in China. From then on, matcha was to evolve in Japan based on Japanese aesthetics and principles.

It has been pointed out that since the Ming Dynasty was a heavily agriculturalist dynasty with a strong spirit of respect for the military, and the Hongwu Emperor was a man who had risen from the lowest strata of society, he may have disliked the excessively refined and extravagant compressed tea.

Japan
The first documented evidence of tea in Japan dates to the 9th century. It is found in an entry in the having to do with the Buddhist monk Eichū (永忠), who is thought to have brought some tea back to Japan on his return from China. The entry states that Eichū personally prepared and served sencha (煎茶) to Emperor Saga, who was on an excursion in Karasaki (in present Shiga Prefecture) in 815. This sencha is thought to be Chinese compressed tea, not sencha as we know it today, in which tea leaves are steeped in hot water to extract the ingredients. By imperial order in 816, tea plantations began to be cultivated in the Kinki region of Japan. However, the interest in tea in Japan faded after this.

Matcha (抹茶) is generally believed to have been introduced to Japan from the Song Dynasty (China) by Zen monk Eisai in 1191, along with tea seeds. He wrote Kissa Yōjōki (喫茶養生記) and presented it to Minamoto no Sanetomo, the third shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate, in 1214. At that time, tea was considered a kind of medicine.

The Kissa Yōjōki describes how tea was made in the Song dynasty as seen by Eisai. It says that tea leaves are plucked in the morning, steamed immediately, and then placed in a roasting rack to roast all night. This process is believed to have been introduced to Japan at that time, but the major difference is that today's matcha production process does not include a long roasting process, except for drying for about 30 minutes. The tea at that time was a brownish-black lump tea, not green like today's matcha. It is thought that this lump tea was powdered by a grinder and drank as matcha.

The word matcha (抹茶) cannot be found in Chinese literature of the time, nor in Eisai's book. In Japan, the word "matcha" first appears in the Japanese language dictionary Unpo Iroha Shū (1548) compiled in the Muromachi period (1336-1573).

The Book of Agriculture (1313) by Wang Zhen ( 1290–1333) of the Yuan dynasty contains the words mòchá (末茶) and mòzichá (末子茶), and there is a theory that these words came to be called "matcha" in Japan. However, this book was published about 100 years after Eisai, and no documents have been found to indicate whether those words were introduced to Japan and changed to matcha by the 16th century.

Eisai's disciple, the monk Myōe (1173-1232), received a tea urn containing tea seeds from Eisai, sowed tea seeds in Togano'o, Kyoto, and opened a tea plantation. During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Tsugano'o tea was called honcha (本茶), while tea from other regions was called hicha (非茶), and Tsugano'o tea gained the highest reputation. He also established tea plantations in Uji, Kyoto. Uji thus became the leading tea production area in Japan.

In Japan, matcha then became an important item at Zen monasteries, and from the 14th through the 16th centuries, it was highly appreciated by members of the upper echelons of society.

Until the 13th century, matcha was made by grinding tea leaves in a grinder called a yagen (薬研), but the particles were rough and coarse in texture; in the 14th century, a stone mill specialized for tea appeared and was used to grind tea leaves, resulting in finer particles and improved matcha quality.

During the Muromachi period (1333-1573), tea spread to the common people. Among the upper classes, the act of drinking tea on expensive Chinese ceramics called karamono (唐物) became popular. In the 16th century, however, simplicity was emphasized by tea masters such as Murata Jukō and Sen no Rikyū. Emphasizing introspection away from the mind of boasting and obsession, the Japanese tea ceremony was born and developed, with tea served in rather simple tea utensils. The wabi-sabi aesthetic, which finds beauty in modesty, simplicity, and imperfection, came to be emphasized along with the tea ceremony.

The method of growing tea plants in the shade by covering them with straw or reeds was conventionally believed to have originated in Japan in the late 16th century. For example, the Portuguese missionary João Rodrigues Tçuzu, who came to Japan in 1577, wrote about shaded cultivation in his History of the Japanese Church (Historia da Igreja do Japão) in 1604. However, recent soil analysis of Uji tea plantations has revealed that it began in the first half of the 15th century at the latest.

This method, which was initiated to protect the sprouts from frost damage, resulted in the development of the unique Japanese matcha (tencha), which was bright green, had a unique aroma and flavor, and was of dramatically improved quality.

By blocking sunlight, photosynthesis in tea leaves is inhibited, preventing the transformation of theanine, a component of umami, into tannins, the source of bitterness and astringency, resulting in the growth of tea leaves with a high umami content. It has also been reported that shaded cultivation increases the amount of chlorophyll in tea leaves, resulting in a bright green color. Until then, matcha tea introduced from China had been brown in color, just as brown is described as "the color of tea" (茶色) in Japan.

Since the Muromachi period, the term tea master (茶師) has been used to refer to a tea manufacturer and seller. In the Edo period (1603-1867), the term tea master came to refer specifically to the official tea masters (御用茶師) of Uji, Kyoto, whose status was guaranteed by the Tokugawa shogunate. There were three ranks of Uji tea masters: gomotsu tea masters (御物茶師), ofukuro tea masters (御袋茶師), and otōri tea masters (御通茶師).

Uji tea masters were allowed to use their family names and carry swords at their waists like samurai, and they dealt exclusively with the shogun, the imperial court, and feudal lords, and did not sell tea to the common people. The shaded cultivation of tea was allowed only to Uji tea masters, and the production of high-grade matcha and gyokuro (high-grade sencha) was monopolized by the Uji tea masters.

The oldest known brand of matcha is Baba Mukashi (祖母昔). Grandmother was Myōshūni (妙秀尼, died 1598), daughter of Rokkaku Yoshikata, who married Kanbayashi Hisashige. She was called "Baba" (grandmother) by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Myōshūni excelled in tea making, and Ieyasu often enjoyed drinking her tea. The matcha made by her method was named Baba Mukashi, and later became the tea offered to the Shogun. According to one theory, Baba Mukashi was named by Ieyasu.

Other than Baba Mukashi, Hatsu Mukashi (初昔) and Ato Mukashi (後昔), which were also presented to the Shogun, were well-known brands of matcha. Taka no Tsume (鷹の爪) and Shiro (白) brand teas were also well known.

At that time, matcha was shipped in tea jars filled with tencha in its leaf form, which was ground into a powdered form using a tea grinder when drunk. The event of transporting tea jars from Uji, Kyoto to Edo (now Tokyo) to present to the Shogun was called Ochatsubo Dōchū (御茶壺道中), and even the lords had to stand by the road when the procession carrying the tea jars passed through the streets.

After the Meiji Restoration (1868), Uji tea growers, who had monopolized the production of tencha under shaded cultivation, lost their privileged position. They also lost their business partners, such as the shoguns and feudal lords. On the other hand, shaded cultivation became possible outside of Uji. In the Taishō era (1912-1926), the invention of the "tencha dryer" promoted the mechanization of tea production.

Production


Matcha is made from shade-grown tea leaves that also are used to make gyokuro. The preparation of matcha starts several weeks before harvest and may last up to 20 days, when the tea bushes are covered to prevent direct sunlight. This slows down growth, stimulates an increase in chlorophyll levels, turns the leaves a darker shade of green, and causes the production of amino acids, in particular theanine. After harvesting, if the leaves are rolled up before drying as in the production of sencha (煎茶), the result will be gyokuro (jade dew) tea. If the leaves are laid out flat to dry, however, they will crumble somewhat and become known as tencha (碾茶). Then, tencha may be deveined, destemmed, and stone-ground to the fine, bright green, talc-like powder known as matcha.

Grinding the leaves is a slow process because the mill stones must not get too warm, lest the aroma of the leaves be altered. Up to one hour may be needed to grind 30 grams of matcha.

The flavor of matcha is dominated by its amino acids. The highest grades of matcha have a more intense sweetness and deeper flavor than the standard or coarser grades of tea harvested later in the year.

The majority of matcha today is produced in Japan, where it is highly regarded as part of the tea ceremony (chanoyu) but rarely used otherwise. China and Vietnam also produce some matcha intended for export to the Japanese market, but they are regarded as inferior to the Japanese product and typically used in iced beverages, for example.

Tencha


Tencha refers to green tea leaves that have not yet been ground into fine powder as matcha, as the leaves are instead left to dry rather than be kneaded. Since the leaves' cell walls are still intact, brewing tencha tea results in a pale green brew, which has a mellower taste compared to other green tea extracts, and only the highest grade of tencha leaves can brew to its fullest flavor. Tencha leaves are half the weight of other tea leaves such as sencha and gyokuro so most tencha brews require double the number of leaves. About an hour is needed to grind 40 to 70 g of tencha leaves into matcha, and matcha does not retain its freshness as long as tencha in powder form because powder begins to oxidize. Drinking and brewing tencha is traditionally prohibited by the Japanese tea ceremony.

Grades
Until the Edo period (1603-1867), the production of matcha (tencha) was monopolized by tea growers in Uji, Kyoto. The best brands of matcha at that time were Baba Mukashi (祖母昔),Hatsu Mukashi (初昔), and Ato Mukashi (後昔), which were offered to the shogun. Uji tea growers still sell these brands today. Today, various tea stores sell their own grades of brand-name teas.

Although there are no clear standards for matcha grades by the Japanese government or tea industry associations, there is a traditional distinction between ichiban-cha (一番茶) and niban-cha (二番茶). Ichiban-cha is the first tea of the year, plucked in late April to late May. Niban-cha is the second tea plucked about 45 days after ichiban-cha is plucked.

Ichiban-cha contains more total nitrogen and free amino acids, which contribute to its flavor, while niban-cha contains more tannin (catechins), which is the bitter component.

Commercial considerations, especially outside Japan, have increasingly seen matcha marketed according to "grades", indicating quality.

Of the following terms "ceremonial grade" is not recognised in Japan but "food grade" or "culinary grade" are.
 * Ceremonial grade designates tea for its use in tea ceremonies and Buddhist temples. All must be able to be used in koicha (濃茶), a "thick tea" with a high proportion of powder to water used in traditional tea ceremony. Ceremonial is the finest and purest form of matcha.
 * Premium grade is high-quality matcha green tea that contains young tea leaves from the top of the tea plant. Best for daily consumption, it is characterized by a fresh, subtle flavor, usually perfect for both new and everyday matcha drinkers alike.
 * Cooking/culinary grade is the cheapest of all. Suitable for cooking purposes, smoothies etc. It is slightly bitter due to factors such as its production from leaves lower down on the tea plant, terroir, the time of harvest, or the process of its manufacture.

In general, matcha is expensive compared to other forms of green tea, although its price depends on its quality. Higher grades are pricier due to the production methods and younger leaves used, and thus they have a more delicate flavor.

Blends of matcha are given poetic names known as chamei ("tea names") either by the producing plantation, shop, or creator of the blend, or by the grand master of a particular tea tradition. When a blend is named by the grand master of a tea ceremony lineage, it becomes known as the master's konomi.

Catechin concentration is highly dependent on leaf age (the leaf bud and the first leaf are richest in epigallocatechin gallate), but catechin levels also vary greatly between plant varieties and whether the plants are grown in shade.

Chemical compositions of various grades of matcha were studied, with the results showing that the contents of caffeine, free amino acids, theanine, and vitamin C decreased with the decreasing price of matcha.

Location on the tea bush
Where leaves destined for tencha are picked on the tea bush is vital for different grades of matcha. The young developing leaves on the top of the plant, that are soft and supple, are used for higher grades of matcha, resulting in a finer texture and flavour. For the lower grades, older more developed leaves are used, giving them a sandy texture and slightly bitter flavour.

Treatment before processing
Traditionally, sencha leaves are dried outside in the shade and are never exposed to direct sunlight; however, now drying has mostly moved indoors. Quality matcha is vibrantly green as a result of this treatment.

Stone grinding
Without the correct equipment and technique, matcha can become "burnt" and suffer degraded quality. Typically, in Japan, it is stone-ground to a fine powder through the use of specially designed granite stone mills.

Oxidation
Oxidation is also a factor in determining grade. Matcha exposed to oxygen may easily become compromised. Oxidized matcha has a distinctive hay-like smell, and a dull brownish-green color.

Traditional preparation
The two main ways of preparing matcha are thin (薄茶) and the less common thick (濃茶).

Prior to use, the matcha can be sifted through a sieve to reduce clumps. Special sieves are available for this purpose, which are usually stainless steel and combine a fine wire-mesh sieve and a temporary storage container. A special wooden spatula is used to force the tea through the sieve, or a small, smooth stone may be placed on top of the sieve and the device shaken gently.

If the sieved matcha is to be served at a Japanese tea ceremony, then it will be placed into a small tea caddy known as a chaki. Otherwise, it can be scooped directly from the sieve into a chawan.

About 2–4 grams of matcha is placed into the bowl, traditionally using a bamboo scoop called a chashaku, and then about 60–80 ml of hot water are added.



While other fine Japanese teas such as gyokuro are prepared using water cooled as low as 40 C, in Japan, matcha is commonly prepared with water just below the boiling point although temperatures as low as 70-85 C are similarly recommended.

Usucha, or thin tea, is prepared with about 1.75 g (amounting to $1 1/2$ heaped chashaku scoop, or about half a teaspoon) of matcha and about 75 ml of hot water per serving, which can be whisked to produce froth or not, according to the drinker's preference (or to the traditions of the particular school of tea). Usucha creates a lighter and slightly more bitter tea.

Koicha, or thick tea, requires significantly more matcha (usually about doubling the powder and halving the water): about 3.75 g (amounting to 3 heaped chashaku scoops, or about one teaspoon) of matcha and 40 ml (1.3 fl oz) of hot water per serving, or as many as 6 teaspoons to 3⁄4 cups of water. Because the resulting mixture is significantly thicker (with a similar consistency to liquid honey), blending it requires a slower, stirring motion that does not produce foam. Koicha is normally made with more expensive matcha from older tea trees (exceeding 30 years), thus producing a milder and sweeter tea than usucha. It is served almost exclusively as part of Japanese tea ceremonies.

The mixture of water and tea powder is whisked to a uniform consistency using a bamboo whisk known as a chasen. No lumps should be left in the liquid, and no ground tea should remain on the sides of the bowl. Because matcha may be bitter, it is traditionally served with a small wagashi sweet (intended to be consumed before drinking), but without added milk or sugar. It is usually considered that 40 g of matcha provides for 20 bowls of usucha or 10 bowls of koicha:

Other uses
It is used in castella, manjū, and monaka; as a topping for shaved ice (kakigōri); mixed with milk and sugar as a drink; and mixed with salt and used to flavor tempura in a mixture known as matcha-jio. It is also used as flavouring in many Western-style chocolates, candy, and desserts, such as cakes and pastries, including Swiss rolls and cheesecake, cookies, pudding, mousse, and green tea ice cream. Matcha frozen yogurt is sold in shops and can be made at home using Greek yogurt. The snacks Pocky and Kit Kat have matcha-flavoured versions in Japan. It may also be mixed into other forms of tea. For example, it is added to genmaicha to form matcha-iri genmaicha (literally, roasted brown rice and green tea with added matcha).

The use of matcha in modern drinks has also spread to North American cafés, such as Starbucks, which introduced "green tea lattes" and other matcha-flavoured drinks after they became successful in their Japanese store locations. As in Japan, it has become integrated into lattes, iced drinks, milkshakes, and smoothies.

Basic matcha teaware
The equipment required for the making of matcha is:
 * Tea bowl (茶碗)
 * Large enough to whisk the fine powder tea around 120 ml


 * Tea whisk (茶筅)
 * A bamboo whisk with fine bristles to whisk or whip the tea foam


 * Tea spoon (茶杓)
 * A bamboo spoon to measure the powder tea into the tea bowl (not the same as a Western teaspoon)


 * Tea caddy (棗)
 * A container for the matcha powder tea


 * Tea cloth (茶巾)
 * A small cotton cloth for cleaning teaware during the tea ceremony

Flavor
Theanine, succinic acid, gallic acid, and theogallin are chemical factors contributing to the umami-enhancing flavor of matcha. Compared to traditional green tea, the production of matcha requires the tea leaves to be protected from sunlight. Shading results in an increase in caffeine, and total free amino acids, including theanine, but also reduces the accumulation of catechins in leaves.