Green tea has its origin in China but is regarded by Japanese as “Japanese tea”. Japanese grades green tea by quality and one of the high-quality powdered green tea used primarily in tea ceremony is Matcha green tea.


Matcha green tea is the powdered form of high grade green tea leaves, known as gyokuro leaves. Two to three weeks prior to picking of leaves, gyokuro are shaded from the sunlight with reeds or straw. This process of shading the leaves differentiates gyokuro leaves from other kind of green teas. It produces a higher level of theanine which gives matcha its mild and sweet flavour. The leaves are first steamed and dried. Veins and stems are then removed with the leaves ground into fine powder in a mill.


Matcha offers higher nutritional value than other green teas because it can be completely dissolved in water. The Japanese usually have something sweet, like a slice of cake or some chocolate, before drinking the tea. This is to balance the slight bitterness of the Matcha.