Concluding Matcha

Concluding Matcha

I was unable to talk to you all about Matcha, the tea, as much as I would like to. The tea plant is rumored to have been brought over to Japan by a Budhist monk Dengyo Daishi. Matcha, as I mentioned in ep. 5, comes from the Gyokuro tea variant. This tea is planted in the beginning of May and grown for twenty days in 90% shade. After that, they are covered by sheets of bamboo to reduce the light even further. These low light levels increase the levels of chlorophyll in the leaves giving it that dark green tint. In addition to that, this causes lower levels of tannins. Tannins are what give most teas an astringent/bitter taste. Without this, Matcha is allowed a sweeter, lighter flavor.