I’ve been getting asked about matcha a whole lot lately. I heard that matcha shots were the “it beverage” at New York Fashion Week, and many dedicated coffee lovers are ditching java in favor of matcha. If you’re curious about this trendy beverage, here are seven things you should know.
It’s a special form of green tea
Matcha literally means “powdered tea.” When you order traditional green tea, components from the leaves get infused into the hot water, then the leaves are discarded. With matcha, you’re drinking the actual leaves, which have been finely powdered and made into a solution, traditionally by mixing about a teaspoon of matcha powder with a third cup of hot water (heated to less than a boil), which is then whisked with a bamboo brush until it froths.
Unlike traditional green tea, matcha preparation involves covering the tea plants with shade cloths before they’re harvested. This triggers the growth of leaves with better flavor and texture, which are hand selected, steamed briefly to stop fermentation, then dried and aged in cold storage, which deepens the flavor. The dried leaves are then stone-ground into a fine powder.