5 Things You Didn't know About Matcha Green Tea

Have you ever had a Japanese tea before? Perhaps at a Sushi restaurant? You may remember that compared to Chinese teas, Japanese Green Teas have a tendency to have a more vibrant green color that has a strong grassy flavor with high chlorophyll content.

What is Matcha Green Tea?

In order to really appreciate a true Matcha Tea, in all of its greatness, you have to understand where it comes from. Sencha is a common and simple Japanese green tea that is considered more of an everyday household tea. In its own right, it’s nice, simple, grassy, gets the job done. Gyokuro…now this is where it’s at! If you are able to get your hands on one, it’s just a gorgeous tea. It’s in a league of its own. Super refined. By refined, we mean really clean, great finish, complex flavors that just dazzle your taste buds. The grassiness is toned down and it has a lovely subtle sweet finish. Mmm mmmm good!

The reason why Gyokuro is so yummy is how it’s created. It comes from soil that’s replenished with nitrogen-rich fertilizers yearly to really strengthen the plants and here is the trick. Between about noon and 2 when the sun is at it’s hottest, put up a shade around the tea plant so it doesn’t get stressed out, which creates a darker greener tea plant.

How is Matcha Green Tea created?

This is what real Matcha is made from! The story doesn’t stop yet. The question is how do you Gyokuro into Matcha? 100 hours of labor. Imagine two weeks' worth of work…well, one week for some…all of that work for just a batch of Matcha. You have to de-stem the tea leaves, de-vein, dry properly and here is the magic; the grinding. The stones have to be set at just the right angle, the temperature has to be perfect, the humidity has to be just right, and then the grinding has to be done at the exact rotational speed and just the right amount of pressure. Too much or too little and say bub-bye to 100 hours worth of work. Well, …you don’t throw it away…you just sell it for more to someone who doesn’t know any better! Luckily we have Sifu to make sure we get the best at the best prices.

How do I tell good matcha from bad matcha?

U.S. Customs sited Blue Dragon Tea House as one of THE top importers of high-quality teas into America for the last few years. In San Diego, Blue Dragon Tea House was the #1 Tea House in San Diego according to Channel 10 News for two years in a row!

Where did it all being?

It’s a common belief that Matcha tea ceremonies are Japanese based. In reality, the origins go back to ancient China! From the legends, it is said that powdered teas were used ceremonially by Buddhist monks before meditations. Upon the spread of Zen Buddhism into Japan around the 11th century, the Japanese Matcha Tea Ceremony was birthed.

Why drink matcha?

Now the most important question for the day…and it’s not “When do we start?” Why do we drink matcha? Besides, it’s good for you! This was considered the Scholar’s tea. By scholars, we don’t mean book worm. We mean a person who is both books smart and street smart. We mean a person who has achieved mastery…not just ok in…or dabbled in…but mastery in Music, Calligraphy, Poetry, Art, Herbalism, and of course…Kung Fu! This tea was drank because it was believed to open up different channels in the mind which allowed more creativity, a sharper memory, better focus, more alertness and help keep you looking good!