When it comes to matcha, everyone is familiar with it. There are too many delicacies related to matcha in life. If you ask everyone, where did matcha originate? I think many people’s first reaction will be Japan.  What is the relationship between Matcha and green tea powder? Many people may ask: isn’t Matcha and green tea powder the same thing?If your answer is the same, then please read this article carefully. After reading it, you will have a new understanding of matcha.

1. The origin of matcha

The description of Matcha on Wikipedia is: in Chinese tradition, it is written as “powder tea”, It is a type of tea that originated in China during the Sui Dynasty, and is also known as “Matcha” in recent years under Japanese influence.Yes, the real origin of matcha is China. Chinese tea culture has a long history, and the mainstream “making tea” began in the Ming Dynasty.

2. The difference between matcha powder and green tea powder

1) Different seasons for picking raw materials

Green tea is usually made from the new leaves or buds of tea trees picked around qingming Festival, after finishing, rolling and drying. Matcha is picked in May.the raw material is a kind of small tea chips that have not been kneaded, and they are made by steaming and drying.

Matcha is more vivid green than green tea because it is grown in sheds, away from direct sunlight.Matcha has high requirements for the quality of raw materials. It is required to use tea with high contents of amino acids, protein and chlorophyll, and low content of caffeine in raw materials. Before picking, there are requirements for the picking time and leaf size of fresh tea.

2）Process

Green tea powder is processed by a metal grinder, while matcha powder is made by hand stone grinding. Matcha powder is more delicate than green tea powder.

3)Quality characteristics

Green tea is dark in color, with the fragrance of tea ，slightly bitter; ; Matcha is light in color , with a seaweed-like fragrance, High quality Matcha is not astringent but less  bitter.

The brief production process of Matcha is as follows: high quality fresh green tea →  steaming green tea → grinding → superfine grinding → low temperature drying → Matcha. Matcha production adopts traditional grinding technology and modern ultra-fine grinding technology. The whole processing process is always carried out at a low temperature, which can well preserve the active components in tea.

4)Nutrients

Green tea contains high levels of theophylline and caffeine, which can refresh the brain, lower fat and help digestion. Matcha is rich in amino acids, protein, and chlorophyll, while theophylline and caffeine are low in, which can break down fat and block sugar. It is generally added to cold drinks, cakes, biscuits and other foods.

5)Price

At present, the production technology of matcha is mainly concentrated in Japan, and the whole production process is very particular. In order to ensure the freshness and tenderness of the tea, when the tea leaves have one bud and two leaves in the spring, the first shading treatment is carried out.After the tea leaves have grown to four or five leaves, the tea leaves are picked and steamed.

In other words, the tea leaves are cooked with steam on the day of picking. After cooling, baking, screening and other processes, the green powder is slowly grinned out by stone mill at the speed of 60 revolutions per minute at a constant temperature of 19℃, which is matcha. The raw material of green tea powder is basically ordinary stir-fry, and the metal crusher is used, without exception, the instantaneous pulverization method.. Therefore, the price of ordinary tea powder and matcha is very different.

Although green tea and matcha are slightly different, each has its own merits and is widely used in daily life. We hope everyone can pay attention to the identification when purchasing related products in the future.

After reading this article, do you have a new understanding of matcha? If you think the article is helpful to you, please forward it to matcha lovers around you!

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