Tea & drinks ── Nihoncha (Japanese tea)
Matcha
Matcha — stone-ground powdered tea from shaded leaf
Tea made by stone-grinding tencha — shaded leaves that are steamed and dried without rolling — into a fine powder. Because the whole leaf is consumed rather than steeped and discarded, it's said to carry its full nutrients and umami, and it's also the tea used in the formal tea ceremony.
- Matcha and powdered tea
Lineage
What it's made of
The raw material is tencha — shaded new buds steamed and dried without rolling. Ground into a fine powder in a stone mill, this becomes matcha. Because the powder itself is drunk whole rather than steeped and strained, unlike sencha where only what dissolves into the water is consumed, matcha is said to deliver its full nutrients and umami. Its vivid green color and concentrated umami are its signature. Whisked matcha is said to take on a vivid deep green, release an aroma close to green laver, and leave a thick, rich mouthfeel with a strong sweetness lingering after.
How it's made
Shaded new buds are steamed and dried the same way as tencha, then the leaf flesh — with veins and stems removed — is ground slowly in a stone mill. Slow grinding keeps the temperature from rising, said to preserve aroma and color. Freshly ground matcha is said to be especially fragrant, and whisking it into a froth with a bamboo whisk is the traditional way it's drunk in the tea ceremony. The stone mill turns slowly, said to grind only a few dozen grams even over a full hour — one reason the process is so labor-intensive.
Why it took this shape
As the shaded cultivation technique said to have originated in Uji was refined, tencha emerged, and grinding it into a powder to drink as matcha is said to have taken hold alongside the spread of the tea ceremony. In recent years the main tencha-producing areas are said to have expanded beyond Uji to Aichi and Kagoshima, with producing regions shifting amid rising global demand for matcha. Where Uji nurtured the tea ceremony's culture through its ties to temples and shrines, regions with flatland suited to mass tencha production are said to be gaining ground in recent years.
Before You Go
- Osechi and zoni for the New YearA guide to the meaning behind osechi's tiered boxes, the regional differences in zoni (square vs. round mochi, clear vs. miso broth), and the nanakusa-gayu custom.
- Setsubun: ehomaki and lucky beansA guide to ehomaki, the uncut sushi roll said to be eaten facing a lucky direction on Setsubun, and to mamemaki, the bean-throwing custom with roasted lucky beans.
- Food for Hinamatsuri and Tango no SekkuA guide to the chirashi sushi and hina-arare eaten at Hinamatsuri, and the kashiwa mochi and chimaki eaten at Tango no Sekku — festivals wishing for children's healthy growth.
Dishes in the same style
- KonachaTea made from the fine, powder-like fragments sifted out while finishing sencha or gyokuro. Because it dissolves quickly in hot water and releases flavor and aroma fast, it's often used as the agari served at sushi counters.
- TenchaShaded new leaves that are steamed and dried without rolling — the raw material for matcha. Skipping the rolling step leaves the leaf shape intact, and it's said to carry little astringency but a strong, sea-like umami.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Known for it here
- Known for it here: Kyoto, Uji
Gyokuro and tencha grew out of ooshita saibai shaded cultivation there, and from the late Edo period the area is said to have also become known as a matcha-producing region grinding that tencha.
- Known for it here: Aichi, Nishio
Accounts for over 80% of Aichi Prefecture's tencha output, and is said to be the first region nationwide registered as a regional brand specifically for matcha.
Contrast
- DaifukuOne of the most basic shapes in wagashi: pounded mochi wrapped around sweet bean paste. A thick, saltier mochi called "harabuto-mochi" is said to have been eaten in the Edo period, later shrinking into the handheld "daifuku-mochi" known today.
- KonachaTea made from the fine, powder-like fragments sifted out while finishing sencha or gyokuro. Because it dissolves quickly in hot water and releases flavor and aroma fast, it's often used as the agari served at sushi counters.
- Nishio no MatchaMatcha from Nishio, Aichi Prefecture, said to account for roughly a fifth of national production. Tencha production is said to have taken off in earnest from the Meiji era, and in 2009 'Nishio no Matcha' became the first tea-industry regional brand registered specifically for matcha.