About the Matcha Boom

WHAT IS MATCHA

Matcha has been a staple in Japan for centuries and the term is essentially synonymous with green tea. Matcha, however, with its vibrant green bubbles, brings a refreshing and unique brightness to notions of a refined and traditional Japanese green.
            
Today matcha is capturing attention around the world and making its way into homes and hearts locally as well. It is common to have heard of matcha - but entirely different to know what it is. The uniqueness of this tea is that it comes to our tea bowl as a fine powder, created by grinding shade-grown ‘Tencha’ tea (camellia sinensis) leaves. In the sloping fields of Japan, the tea plants are covered with a shade cloth for a couple weeks before harvest. This adds a brighter green to the leaves, because it encourages more chlorophyll production. This not only adds more antioxidants, it also preserves sweeter, and grassier flavours.

Careful tending, precise harvesting, and perfected processing techniques are behind every high-quality matcha. The difference in flavour and aroma of a hand-picked tea is noticeable, resulting in a matcha more mellow and smooth. High-quality matcha is rare. Part of the reasoning is that this tea grows in an environment just as unique and beautiful as the drink itself - originating in the Uji region in Japan. True matcha has been used in the elaborate and exquisite rituals of traditional Japanese Tea Ceremonies for centuries. 

CELEBRATING AND UNDERSTANDING MATCHA TEA PRODUCTION

High quality grade matcha is a limited harvest tea as it is only created from the Spring harvest in Japan, once per year.

To produce high quality Japanese teas, like the finely ground green tea leaves used for matcha, the plants are covered and grown in the shade a couple of weeks before harvest. This deliberate reduction in sunlight supports a brighter green tone to the tea leaves based on the increased chlorophyll contents, adding more antioxidants and preserving a sweeter, grassier flavour. As tea is a living plant, depriving its leaves of sunlight for an extended period of time poses a serious threat to its survival. Cultivating tea under shade inevitably means a shortened life span of the tea bushes. It is due to this and many other factors that limit farmers from choosing to grow and harvest tencha leaves to create matcha tea. Matcha is also only ground and created using stone mills which is time consuming and these stone mills are not present in every factory. 

In recent years, the global love for matcha has grown and blossomed.
While it is incredible to witness Japanese tea culture reaching so many, growing demand has brought new challenges to the people who cultivate it. The unintended consequences of a system now urging producers to plant more and more shaded fields to meet market pressure. From the heavy labor of shading to the health of the tea bushes and soil, the solution isn't to produce more, but to preserve better.

This is an invitation to understand where matcha tea comes from and how we can protect its future. While this isn't necessarily an obvious situation, it bodes as a healthy reminder to educate ourselves on where we are sourcing the products we use daily and why.

As an outside observer of Japanese tea culture, matcha demonstrates to us that what may appear to be simple often invites a lifetime of learning. Whether for daily drinking or special moments of ceremony and contemplation, Matcha offers more than just micronized tea leaves.

At Westholme, we are thrilled to have a close connection to the farmers from whom we source our matcha and we honor the traditional preparation. We will be sure to answer any questions you may have along this journey and we encourage you to try other beautiful green teas from Japan that also bode a myriad of calming health benefits. 

Let’s celebrate in the beauty of tea; the balance of enjoying high quality teas, and the gratitude we share for farmers tradition, time and energy in the creation of exquisite teas.

TEA CULTURE IN JAPAN 

Today, tea remains an inseparable part of Japanese culture, having influenced architecture, cuisine, ceramics, and etiquette. Tea is grown throughout most of Japan, from volcanic and oceanic scenes in Kagoshima to fertile river basins in the Fukuoka prefecture. Kyoto was where tea cultivation first began in the country over 800 years ago.

Tea first made its way to Japan from China around the 7th century. Monks studying Buddhism brought gifted seeds of the tea plant (camellia sinensis) back from journeys to China. Thus, Zen philosophies provided the foundation for the development of Japanese tea culture. It was accepted that rituals surrounding preparation and drinking of tea could lead to enlightenment.

Over time appreciation of tea extended from temples and nobles to include all of society. This is expressed in Genmaicha tea, where tea leaves blend with roasted rice.
 

CEREMONIAL PHILOSOPHY

For some, green tea may seem like an "acquired taste" or "too bitter" to appreciate. This however, is where ceremonial philosophy comes into play; to prevent bitterness and highlight umami flavours, mindfulness, community, and presence is required during preparation. Many green teas require lower steeping temperatures (typically 80-90°C) and shorter steep times (sometimes less than 1 minute). 

This makes sense, as tea was first introduced to Japan through the art of Tea Ceremony. One aspect of ceremony is attention to detail, in harmony with the Zen concept of living in the moment. Japanese green teas encourage us to slow down enough to witness the leaves unfurl in our steep and to live in harmony with our natural environments.

STORING YOUR MATCHA

Ensuring your matcha is in the provided resealable bag in either your tin or foil lined bag will help maintain freshness and longevity of the tea. If you choose another vessel, make sure it allows for darkness and air tightness – it is quite important to seal the tea very well. The key is maintaining a consistent/stable temperature away from a stove, kettle, toaster, air conditioner or essentially any place where there may be large temperature fluctuations. 

When sealed correctly and stored away from light and unstable temperatures, matcha green tea should stay fresh and can be enjoyed for up to one year.

A small reminder ::

When preparing your matcha, take your time while opening the bag and scooping your desired quantity as the fine ground green tea can cling to surfaces leading to wasted product. 

A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY :: TRADITIONAL PREPARATION

If you have any questions at all, feel free to send us an email at hello@westholmetea.com