Enjoying tea is a tradition that has been around for thousands of years, the british love their tea and so do the asians. In China and Japan tea ceremonies are deeply embedded in their culture and they have perfected the growing, processing and brewing process. Did you know that black tea, white tea, green tea, oolong tea and Matcha tea all come from the same plant? The only difference in the end product is how they grow, harvest and process the plant.
It is amazing at how different the flavour changes from one tea to the other when it is all the same plant. Matcha tea is the healthiest and most beneficial of all the teas. Black teas are processed in such a way that most of the anti-oxidants and nutrients are removed. Green teas are picked and processed when the leaves are still green to increase the anti-oxidants, while Matcha tea is processed in an even different way.
Matcha green tea is made from very green tea leaves. They achieve the rich green colour by shading the leaves a few weeks before harvesting is supposed to occur. The shade causes the plants to release mass amounts of chlorophyll to the leaves and send a lot of nutrients to the leaves. Once the leaves are a nice rich and dark green color they are picked and air dried. After the leaves are dried they are de-vined and de-stemmed so that the only thing left is the dry leaf.
After this process the leaves need to be sorted and then ground into Matcha tea powder. The leaves are hand sorted to pick only the best and greenest and then sort them into the appropriate grades. Then they are ground by hand with a stone and mallet to get a nice fine powder.
This process allows the leaves to maintain most of their nutrients because they are not processed with any chemicals or machines. The greatest care is taken when harvesting and processing the Matcha green tea.
Matcha green tea also has quite a few health benefits. One of the biggest health benefits is the crazy amount of antioxidants that Matcha tea has. Some of the super fruits like goji berries, cranberries, blue berries and acai are said to be very high in antioxidants, but Matcha tea has over 130 times the amount of antioxidants when compared gram for gram with the berries. Some people might think they are going to over dose on antioxidants but studies have shown as long as you intake a balanced amount you will be fine (eat some berries, some veggies, and drink your matcha green tea to balance out the different types of antioxidants)
Also you need to eat a lot of blueberries to get a decent amount of antioxidants, with Matcha green tea you just put half a teaspoon in some hot water and enjoy!
Another great benefit to Matcha green tea is that it is very relaxing. Everyone knows it is calming to drink a cup of tea, but Matcha tea actually contains a compound that will cause your body to feel calm and relaxed. The first cup I drank was very euphoric and I get the same feeling every time I enjoy a cup. In fact the Japanese use Matcha Green tea to help them reach deeper states of meditation.
If you would like to try Matcha you should read about the further health benefits of Matcha green tea. If you are already interested and would like to try Matcha tea, then you should take a look at the Matcha tea set
Freelance Article Writer
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