Everything about Matcha green tea
What is Matcha tea?
Matcha in Japanese means “tea powder”, this powder comes from the best ground green tea leaves. Matcha tea contains countless antioxidants and vitamins that help us stay fit and improve our health.
Antioxidants
Caffeine
L-Theanine
Matcha's creation process
As the first leaves begin to sprout, the plantation is shrouded in black cloth to shield them from the sun's rays. This clever trick keeps the sunlight at bay, ensuring the teanine doesn't morph into tannin, which in turn preserves a less astringent taste and imparts a sweet aroma. After a meticulous wait of 88 days, the harvest commences.
Once gathered, the tea leaves embark on a journey to a factory, where they are gently bathed in steam at soaring temperatures. This crucial step halts the fermentation enzymes dead in their tracks, locking in that lush, vibrant green hue.
Next, we meticulously remove the veins and any stems that have made their way into the mix. The tea leaves are then sorted by color using air, a process that transforms them into Tencha, the precursor to matcha.
In the grand finale, the Tencha is transported to a milling factory. There, it's finely ground into powder by stone mills, ensuring the texture remains smooth and never gritty. Each mill works tirelessly, processing up to 40 grams of matcha tea per hour. With over 80 stone mills at our disposal, we proudly produce a monthly yield of 2.5 tons of matcha tea, a testament to our dedication and love for this ancient craft.
1. Planting
Tea plants in Kyoto are shaded 88 days before harvest to enrich flavor and increase chlorophyll and theanine.
2. Harvesting
Green tea leaves are manually handpicked, selecting only the best leaves for quality.
3. Steaming
Post-harvest, leaves are steamed at high temperatures. This stops the fermentation enzyme activity and preserves the vibrant green color.
4. Selecting
For Matcha powder, leaves are steamed and stems removed, ensuring only the finest parts are used.
Then, the leaves are spread out to dry, transforming them into "tencha," ready for infusion.
5. Grinding
In this final stage, we transport the Tencha to a grinding factory, where it is turned into powder using stone mills (which prevents the texture from being coarse). A single mill can process up to 40 grams of matcha tea per hour.
The Japanese tea ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony is a Japanese cultural activity that focuses on the preparation, service and drinking of Matcha green tea.
Currently, matcha has been increasingly incorporated into the day-to-day life of the Japanese, being introduced in recipes such as mochis, noodles, ice cream and a variety of sweet recipes. This is due to its highly healthy properties and the special flavor it has.
Matcha tea is defined by different grades, the type of production and the place where it comes from. The grade normally referred to as Ceremonial refers to that type of matcha tea that is good enough to be consumed during the tea ceremony, since it is only taken with water, without adding any other ingredient.
Our matcha tea, organic ceremonial grade
All varieties of our Matcha tea are Ceremonial grade, 100% organic in origin, without sugar, without preservatives or dyes, without gluten and suitable for vegans.
Our Matcha tea is grown in the Uji region, Kyoto, a region specially dedicated to planting and harvesting green tea; where they have been producing the best qualities of matcha tea for hundreds of years.
In addition, they have the European ecological certificate, which supports the use of products, for the maintenance of the harvest, which respect the European guidelines for consumption and responsible for the environment.