Matcha Green Tea powder Ceremonial Grade
What are the signs of a good quality matcha
There are five key ways to determine the highest quality of matcha:
Origin: Japan.
Method: tea leaves grown under shade for three weeks before the first flush of spring, leaves are hand picked, veins are removed, then powdered using traditional granite stone mills.
Color: the 20 days of shade force the plant to overproduce chlorophyll, which is what makes the tea a vibrant emerald green. Low quality matcha is pale and yellowish.
Texture: matcha is milled using granite stone mills. The result is a silky texture, with an average particle size of 10 microns (0.01 mm).
Taste: the L-theanine produced by an excess of chlorophyll gives the matcha a sweet taste and aroma of fresh grass. Low quality matcha tends to be bitter and astringent.
What is the difference between Ceremonial Grade and Fine Culinary Grade
The tea variety or cultivar.
Our Ceremonial Grade is a more complex matcha and contains tea leaves from four different cultivars: Asatsuyu, intense green color and reduced bitterness, Saemidori, described below, Okumidori and Ya-bukita both have an elegant aroma and a strong umami taste.
Our Fine Culinary Grade is 100% Saemidori, which means "clear green," has a brilliant green liquor. Taste is very good due to its low bitterness and lack of astringency. The amino acid content is the highest of all Japanese cultivars.
How is matcha different from regular green tea
1 cup of Matcha is equivalent to 10 cups of high quality green tea in terms of health benefits. This is because you are imbibing the actual tea leaves instead of just a green tea infusion, as well as the the high levels of L-theanine produced by the tea when shaded for twenty days.