Matcha (抹茶, lit. "rubbed tea" in Japanese; also maccha and macha) is the powdered green tea used in the Japanese tea ceremony. In Japanese cuisine, matcha is often used to dye foods green (eg. mochi and soba noodles), and in a modern-day adaptation also to prepare green tea ice cream.
Matcha is generally expensive compared to other forms of tea, although its price depends on its quality.
History
Powdered tea seems to have been invented in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Preparation and consumption of powdered tea was formed into a ritual by the Chan Buddhists, who drank from a single bowl as a sacrament.
Chan Buddhism (soon known in Japanese as Zen), and powdered tea along with it, were brought to Japan in 1191 by the monk Eisai. Powdered tea was slowly forgotten in China, but 16th century tea master Sen no Rikyu formulated the rules of Japanese tea ceremony, specifying matcha as the correct tea to use.
Preparation
The preparation of matcha starts several weeks before harvest, when the tea bushes are covered to prevent direct sunlight. This slows down growth, turns the leaves a darker shade of green and causes the production of amino acids that make the resulting tea sweeter.
After harvesting, if the leaves are rolled out before drying as usual, the result will be gyokuro (jewel dew) tea. However, if the leaves are laid out flat to dry, they will crumble somewhat and become known as tencha (点茶). Tencha can then be stone ground to the fine, bright green, talc-like powder known as matcha.
Note that only powdered tencha qualifies as matcha, and other powdered teas are known as kocha (粉茶, lit. "powdered tea").
Serving
Matcha is typically served in the Japanese tea ceremony, which has a complex set of rules to follow.
The basic method, however, is to simply place a small amount of matcha in a tea bowl, add a modicum of warm (not boiling) water and whisk to a uniform consistency (traditionally, using a special kind of whisk made of bamboo). If the brew is strong, the tea is known as koicha (濃茶), if weak, it is known as usucha (薄茶).
See also: Japanese tea ceremony
