matcha
powdered green tea
抹茶（まっちゃ）
In one line
The shortest answer that works
Matcha is green tea leaves ground into powder and whisked into water, so you drink the whole leaf.
抹茶とは、緑茶の葉を粉にして湯に溶いたもので、葉そのものを丸ごと飲むお茶です。
In 30 seconds
The standard explanation
Ordinary green tea is leaves steeped in water and then removed. Matcha is leaves ground to a fine powder and whisked into the water, so nothing is discarded. The plants are shaded for weeks before picking, which raises the amino acid content and gives matcha its deep color and savory taste. It is also why it costs far more.
ふつうの緑茶は、葉を湯に浸してから取り出します。抹茶は葉を細かい粉に挽き、湯に溶いて飲むので、捨てる部分がありません。摘む前の数週間、茶樹を覆って日光を遮ります。これによりアミノ酸が増え、抹茶特有の濃い色とうま味が生まれます。値段がはるかに高い理由でもあります。
As a short speech
A full paragraph you can read aloud
Matcha is often assumed to be just strong green tea, and it is a genuinely different product. Normal green tea is an infusion: you steep the leaves and then throw them away. Matcha is the leaf itself, stone-ground into a powder so fine it feels like talc, and whisked into hot water rather than dissolved.
You are consuming the whole leaf, which is why the caffeine and the antioxidants are higher. Before harvest the plants are covered for about three weeks to block sunlight, which pushes the plant to produce more chlorophyll and more of an amino acid called theanine.
That shading is what gives matcha its intense green and its savory, almost broth-like taste. It is also labor-intensive and slow, which is why good matcha is expensive. The grade matters enormously: ceremonial grade is for drinking, and the cheaper culinary grade is what goes into ice cream and lattes.
抹茶は、ただ濃い緑茶だと思われがちですが、本当に別の製品です。ふつうの緑茶は浸出液で、葉を浸して、そのあと捨てます。抹茶は葉そのものを石臼で挽いた、タルクのように細かい粉で、溶かすのではなく湯に点てます。
葉を丸ごと取り入れるので、カフェインも抗酸化成分も多くなります。摘む前、茶樹は3週間ほど覆って日光を遮ります。すると木はクロロフィルと、テアニンというアミノ酸を多く作ります。
この覆いが、抹茶の強い緑色と、出汁のようなうま味を生みます。手間も時間もかかるため、良い抹茶は高価です。等級の差は非常に大きく、飲むための薄茶・濃茶用と、アイスやラテに使う安価な加工用は別物です。
Questions people actually ask
And how to answer them.
QIs matcha the same as green tea?
Same plant, different product. Green tea is steeped and the leaves are discarded; matcha is the ground leaf whisked into water, so you consume it entirely.
同じ木ですが、別の製品です。緑茶は浸して葉を捨て、抹茶は挽いた葉を湯に点てて丸ごと飲みます。
QWhy is it so expensive?
Shading the plants, hand-picking the best leaves, removing stems and veins, and stone-grinding, which produces only about forty grams an hour. All of that is slow work.
覆いをかけ、良い葉を手で摘み、茎と葉脈を除き、石臼で挽くからです。石臼は1時間に40グラムほどしか挽けません。どれも時間のかかる作業です。
QWhy does mine taste bitter and gritty?
Either the grade is low, the water was too hot, or it was not whisked enough. Use water around eighty degrees and whisk fast in a W shape until a fine foam forms.
等級が低いか、湯が熱すぎるか、点て方が足りないかです。80度ほどの湯で、W字を描くように手早く点てて、細かい泡を立ててください。
A common misunderstanding
MYTHMatcha is just a strong version of green tea.
FACTIt is a different preparation entirely: the leaf is shaded before harvest and ground to powder, and you drink the leaf rather than an infusion of it.
Phrases you can use
- You drink the whole leaf, not an infusion.浸した汁ではなく、葉そのものを飲みます。
- The plants are shaded before harvest.摘む前に、茶樹に覆いをかけます。
- Use water around eighty degrees, not boiling.熱湯ではなく、80度くらいの湯で点てます。
- Ceremonial grade is for drinking; culinary grade is for cooking.飲むための等級と、料理用の等級は別です。
- Whisk it quickly until it foams.泡が立つまで手早く点ててください。
Words you need
- powdered tea抹茶
- whisk (verb/noun)点てる／茶筅
- shade (verb)日光を遮る、覆う
- grade等級
- antioxidant抗酸化物質
Watch
From YouTubeBackground (Japanese)
抹茶の原料は碾茶（てんちゃ）で、収穫前約20日以上、よしずや寒冷紗で覆う被覆栽培を行う。これにより苦み成分のカテキンが抑えられ、うま味成分のテアニンが残る。石臼で挽くのは摩擦熱を抑えて香りを守るためで、生産効率は1時間あたり40グラム程度とされる。主産地は京都府宇治、愛知県西尾、静岡県など。抹茶は鎌倉時代に栄西が中国から持ち帰ったとされ、当初は薬として扱われた。近年は世界的な需要増で碾茶が不足し、価格が上昇している。アイスクリームやラテに使われるのは加工用の等級で、茶事で用いるものとは品質も価格も大きく異なる。