Matcha (抹茶 )

In the last 3 years matcha became a super popular product. Combination of Japan as a charming origin, mystery of tea ceremony ritual, studies about longevity of people from the Land of the rising sun, myths and facts about green tea as a super food made matcha the next F&B trend thickly seasoned with marketing fluff. The fact is: Matcha is the authentic Japanese green tea and represents 5-7% of the total tea production in Japan. Matcha production process includes intentional shading of tea garden for 2-5 weeks prior the harvest, steaming freshly harvested tea leaves to stop the oxidation (opposed to applying dry heat) and grinding tencha into a fine powder. Tea that comes from other than Japan origins or / and doesn’t follow the above stated production process, should be qualified for no more than powdered green tea and should not claim any health benefits associated with artisanal matcha. What complicates the matter, there is no Geographical Indication (GI) protecting matcha origin and its production methods. Additionally, there is no legal matcha classification. Often producers and brand owners add fancy tags of “ceremonial”, “organic “, “hand-picked” and “stone ground” to tea powder that barely qualifies for a drinking grade. IKIGAI-SHU as the official representative of the Global Japanese Tea Association in the UAE is committed to contributing to the awareness of the Japanese tea and maintaining the highest standards of education, import and distribution.