Matcha is made from shade-grown tea leaves also used to make gyokuro.
The preparation of matcha starts several weeks before harvest, when
the tea bushes are covered to prevent direct sunlight. This slows down
growth, turns the leaves a darker shade of green and causes the
production of amino acids that make the resulting tea sweeter. Only
the finest tea buds are hand-picked. After harvesting, if the leaves
are rolled out before drying as usual, the result will be gyokuro
(jade dew) tea. However, if the leaves are laid out flat to dry, they
will crumble somewhat and become known as tencha (碾茶). Tencha can then
be de-veined, de-stemmed, and stone ground to the fine, bright green,
talc-like powder known as matcha.
It can take up to one hour to grind 30 grams of matcha.
Note that only ground tencha qualifies as matcha, and other powdered
green teas, such as powdered sencha, are known as konacha (粉茶, lit.
"powder tea").
The flavour of matcha is dominated by its amino acids. The highest
grades of matcha have more intense sweetness and deeper flavour than
the standard or coarser grades of tea harvested later in the year.
The most famous matcha-producing regions are Uji in Kyoto, Nishio in
Aichi, Shizuoka, and northern Kyūshū.
The preparation of matcha starts several weeks before harvest, when
the tea bushes are covered to prevent direct sunlight. This slows down
growth, turns the leaves a darker shade of green and causes the
production of amino acids that make the resulting tea sweeter. Only
the finest tea buds are hand-picked. After harvesting, if the leaves
are rolled out before drying as usual, the result will be gyokuro
(jade dew) tea. However, if the leaves are laid out flat to dry, they
will crumble somewhat and become known as tencha (碾茶). Tencha can then
be de-veined, de-stemmed, and stone ground to the fine, bright green,
talc-like powder known as matcha.
It can take up to one hour to grind 30 grams of matcha.
Note that only ground tencha qualifies as matcha, and other powdered
green teas, such as powdered sencha, are known as konacha (粉茶, lit.
"powder tea").
The flavour of matcha is dominated by its amino acids. The highest
grades of matcha have more intense sweetness and deeper flavour than
the standard or coarser grades of tea harvested later in the year.
The most famous matcha-producing regions are Uji in Kyoto, Nishio in
Aichi, Shizuoka, and northern Kyūshū.