Author: Aiya America
Original Source: Matcha Tea
What is Matcha?
Matcha is the oldest variety of shade-grown Japanese green tea, traditionally used in Zen Buddhist ceremonies for over 800 years. Ground into a fine, jade-green powder using granite grinding wheels, Matcha is whisked with water to create a unique, beautiful and richly flavorful drink.
Today, Matcha is also being used as the raw material in green tea flavored products, including ice cream, gelato, smoothies, lattes and chocolates.
History
According to 3rd Century A.D. Japanese literature, green tea was first used as an elixir to remedy swelling, fever and other symptoms. The Japanese envoy is thought to have introduced green tea seeds to China during the Tang Dynasty to be used by nobility and Buddhist clergy as a medicinal tonic.
In 1191, the Japanese Zen Buddhist monk Eisai returned from China with a new way to drink green tea. He poured the stone-ground powdered tea into hot water and stirred it together – just like today’s Matcha – then consumed it as a beverage rather than as a medicine.
Recreational tea drinking in Japan later spread beyond the nobility to the samurai class. The samurai, sworn protectors of their retaining lords, eventually developed a green tea ritual meant to bring peace and harmony to their often violent lives.
Health Benefits
Unlike regular green tea leaves, which are removed when brewed, Matcha leaves are whisked with water and consumed entirely. This ensures that Matcha drinkers consume a higher concentration of green tea antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibers.
Matcha also contains high amounts of L-theanines – a unique set of natural amino acids found almost exclusively in green tea – as well as tea caffeine theophylline. Together, these substances are thought to help provide increased mental clarity and energy.
Original Source: Matcha Tea
What is Matcha?
Matcha is the oldest variety of shade-grown Japanese green tea, traditionally used in Zen Buddhist ceremonies for over 800 years. Ground into a fine, jade-green powder using granite grinding wheels, Matcha is whisked with water to create a unique, beautiful and richly flavorful drink.
Today, Matcha is also being used as the raw material in green tea flavored products, including ice cream, gelato, smoothies, lattes and chocolates.
History
According to 3rd Century A.D. Japanese literature, green tea was first used as an elixir to remedy swelling, fever and other symptoms. The Japanese envoy is thought to have introduced green tea seeds to China during the Tang Dynasty to be used by nobility and Buddhist clergy as a medicinal tonic.
In 1191, the Japanese Zen Buddhist monk Eisai returned from China with a new way to drink green tea. He poured the stone-ground powdered tea into hot water and stirred it together – just like today’s Matcha – then consumed it as a beverage rather than as a medicine.
Recreational tea drinking in Japan later spread beyond the nobility to the samurai class. The samurai, sworn protectors of their retaining lords, eventually developed a green tea ritual meant to bring peace and harmony to their often violent lives.
Health Benefits
Unlike regular green tea leaves, which are removed when brewed, Matcha leaves are whisked with water and consumed entirely. This ensures that Matcha drinkers consume a higher concentration of green tea antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibers.
Matcha also contains high amounts of L-theanines – a unique set of natural amino acids found almost exclusively in green tea – as well as tea caffeine theophylline. Together, these substances are thought to help provide increased mental clarity and energy.
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