Matcha : The ultimate green fuel for your body
Round and mellow in the mouth, this green tea develops delicious vegetal notes complemented by a particularly powerful umami flavour, which Japanese people particularly love. The unique production method makes Matcha highly prized for its numerous benefits. This powdered green tea, rich in caffeine and catechin, is associated with energising, antioxidant qualities.
To obtain matcha, young shoots are picked from tea plants which have been deprived of light for several weeks. These then go through the different processing stages used for green tea before the leaves are ground into a fine powder in stone grinders. This powder is then diluted in hot water by whisking energetically with a bamboo utensil. When drunk, the tea leaves are absorbed directly, producing the distinctive taste of matcha and explaining why the numerous benefits of the drink are so well absorbed by the body.
Introduced by Japanese monks in the 12th century, Matcha is prepared by crushing the leaves to a powder as fine as flour, then whisking them into hot water in a bowl. Very stimulating due to its high theine content, matcha was the perfect accompaniment to meditation, helping practitioners to remain alert and focused for hours on end. Perhaps for the same reasons, Samurai warriors began drinking Matcha in the 13th century.
The practice of whisking tea remained firmly rooted in Japanese society, where it became one of the pillars of the Cha No Yu, the tea ceremony. This ceremony formalises the connections between tea, Buddhism and the different tea schools. This led Matcha to gain a new symbolic and mystical significance, and the tea gradually became a national treasure.