TeaSource will be educating, sampling, promoting, and introducing new varieties of the most famous of all Japanese green teas, Matcha, this summer and into the fall. We’ll also be putting up a series of blog posts about Matcha, so if you haven’t done so already, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Boiling it Down: What is Matcha?

Matcha is a powdered green tea from Japan.  It is made from a high grade tea that is shaded for at least three weeks before plucking. Shading causes the leaves to produce much more chlorophyll, giving the tea a brilliant emerald color. The leaves are then ground into a fine powder. Traditionally, matcha is used in the Japanese tea ceremony. The first formal tea ceremony in Japan occurred in the eighth century when the emperor invited monks to take tea at his palace. Tea was a rare and valuable commodity at the time and it was used primarily in religious settings or for medicinal purposes. Today, matcha is not bound by the same social and economic formalities. It can be enjoyed hot or cold, in ice cream, smoothies, and lattes.