Matcha Ado About Matcha
These days, it’s all about self-care.
How can we be eating, moving, and consuming in a healthier way?
A simple ingredient to lifestyle is the powder of ground, specially grown green tea leaves: matcha!
Before we start, let us just say it’s not a veggie smoothie.
The cup of green in our cafe is actually a glass of matcha tea that has as many health benefits as your favorite green juice.
T H E H I S T O R Y
Matcha’s immigration story traces back to the 10th century. Finishing a study trip in China, Japanese Buddhist monk Eisai gathered the tea seeds to bring back home. Eisai even wrote a book titled, “Drinking Tea for Health,” making him the pioneer to the endless matcha health benefit articles we see today.
Eisai’s pupil, Myoe, faithfully followed his teacher’s passion for tea. It’s said that by fate Myoe lived right by the Kiyotaki river. The flowing streams allowed the matcha seeds to flourish so Myoe could begin to actively cultivate the leaves in high quality quantities.
Like Myoe’s growing garden, the desire for tea all throughout Japan intensified as well. Uji became the first, separated tea harvesting spot to supply the demand. Although matcha itself carries limitless health benefits, it was found that when modifying the amount of sunlight, the pros to matcha could be concentrated even more. Thus, the tea farmers in Uji created straw covers to shield and modify the incoming sunny rays for the best crops.
T H E N O W
Matcha’s global debut in grocery store shelves and coffee shop menus goes back a few years. However, only recently did the tea leaf begin gaining trendsetter momentum.
But why?
Because there’s nothing really like it!
It’s not green tea; in fact, one cup of matcha yields the same caffeine content as ten cups of green tea. This is because with green tea, you’re only getting a few, extracted components from the tea leaves. On the other hand, when you grind all of the tea leaves themselves into a fine powder, you get matcha.
It’s an antioxidant power plant.
Living without antioxidants is like going to war without a defense plan.
The bodily substance fights illnesses and aging for a better, happier, healthier lifestyle. You might have seen doctors raging about power foods like blueberries and pomegranates, but the antioxidant award goes to matcha for having nearly twenty times more beneficial properties than its vitamin filled counterparts.
T H E F U T U R E
What’s to come is already here and ever continuing. Inventors are constantly evolving matcha by expanding how it can be consumed. Of course, anyone can find matcha the traditional way. Served in steaming cups or with ice, matcha tea remains a popular and healthy drink. But the list doesn’t end there!
Grace Street mixes the plant in waffles for a delicious, newfound take on the original treat. Matcha powder also tops off several desserts like beignets, adding a sharp, aromatic taste to the sugary pastry.
The future means more takes on the plant that changed tea culture centuries ago. Keep your eye out for the new creations to come!
