Have you ever felt that Japanese Green Tea is bitter or astringent and therefore hard to appreciate? Japanese Green Tea contains catechins, a group of polyphenols that give tea a bitter and astringent taste.
There is also caffeine, which is a bitter substance and all these cause the tea to appear bitter and astringent.
Although catechin has these properties, it is also noted for its preventive effects on lifestyle related diseases and for numerous other health benefits.
Learn about health benefits of Matcha Green Tea Here!
How many types of tea do you know? Green Tea, Oolong Tea, Black Tea... They are all made from the same tea plant, and they are different only on the way they are produced. Basically there are three types of tea, Non-fermented tea, Half fermented tea and Fermented tea. Japanese Green Tea is Non-fermented tea. Oolong tea is Half fermented tea. Black tea is fermented tea.
In tea production, what is usually called fermentation is actually oxidation. Japanese Green Tea is Non-fermented tea and there are two methods to stop oxidation of tea leaves. One is steaming tea leaves. The other is roasting tea leaves on a steel pan. In Japanese green tea only Kamairi-cha is made by roasting method.
Ten-cha is a Japanese green tea made by steaming method. Matcha is made by powdering Ten-cha.
The oldest reliable record of tea drinking in Japan can be fond in "Nihon Koki" (one of the six classical Japanese history texts).
One passage describes how the Buddhist monk Eichuu offers tea to the Saga emperor on the 22nd of April 815. At that time, tea was a very rare delicacy.
It then got more widely spread during the Kamakura period (1185-1333 CE) when Yosai, a Buddhist monk also known for having started the Rinzai Sect, brought back to Japan from Sung dynasty China.
The tea drunk at the time was close in resemblance to today's Matcha. Sencha came into being during the Edo period and within time it spread to the common people as well.
Tea arrived in Europe in the 16th century during the Age of Discovery. The Portuguese who made it to Canton are said to have been the first Westerners to taste tea.
In the 17th century the Dutch established hegemony over the trade in Asia and through the Dutch the export of tea to Great Britain started.
During the following centuries, tea gradually spread to all corners of the world.
According to statistics from 2014 the production of tea was approximately 5,170,000t, among which Green Tea accounted for 1,670,000t and Black tea for an estimated 3,500,000t.
The birthplace of tea is thought to be China, and originally it was used as a remedy and antidote. The father of herbal medicine, Shen Nong, who according to the legend is credited for having created the base for today's Chinese medicine is said to have wandered through fields and mountains in search of beneficial herbs.
As he was trying to discern whether different types of herbs and leaves were good to consume for humans or not, he got poisoned as many as 72 times a day but when that happened, he always used tea leaves (camellia sinensis) as an antidote.
The story is of great importance for the understanding of the world of tea!
We have been asked for different payment methods. Since We have been working with Shopify (ecommerce platform) for more than 5 years, we know how trustworthy shopify is. Shopify has introduced Shopify Payment and it is available in Japan now. To offer the best purchase experience, we have changed our payment methods and Shopify Payment is now available on our store!
We can can accept JCB, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express debit and credit cards directly. What's more you can use your Apple Pay and Google Pay!
Do you know that matcha powder is not only for matcha tea but also for cooking? In cooking you don't need ceremonial grade matcha powder but you need high quality matcha powder because low grade matcha powder has astringency that affects negatively to the taste of your cooking. Even though matcha green tea is becoming popular worldwide, there are still many people who don't know the green powder, Matcha. It might be good idea to try Matcha from sweets :)
Please watch this video and learn how to make Raw Matcha Chocolate!
We hope you had a wonderful winter holidays. :) 2020 was very difficult time for all of us. We still can't be optimistic but as the saying goes, the darkest hour is just before the dawn. The sun is rising soon!
Type B with a bit more bitterness. Okay for latte.
Not as good as the ito en brand hojicha powder we got in japan. Probably because we got type B. Definitely for making latte, with a bit more bitterness. Will try type A next time, and hope it's better for making tea.
I placed an order based on your availability listed on your website, my card was charged and I received an email 6 minutes later that you were out of stock and that a refund would be issued which can take 5 to 10 business days according to my card issuer. Meanwhile, you have still not updated your website to reflect supply shortage. This is a very unprofessional way to operate a business.
Hello Mark! Thank you for the order! (#10201) We ave very sorry for the cancellation. That cancellation was made automatically by our web shop fraud protection system. Your order #10112 (Jun 26th) chargeback was submitted the otherday (Aug 31st) without any resonable reason. Your last order #10130 (July 12th) is still available for unreasonable chargeback. We are very sorry but we can't do anything for you...
