‘Matcha products limited to one per customer’. Signage to this effect is a common sight across Japan, particularly around large tourist hubs in matcha-producing regions such as Kyoto. But why would a business want to limit the amount someone could buy from its store?
Matcha has been trending globally for a while, but the boom has really landed on UK shores in the past year, with specialist cafes opening across London, and café chains all launching matcha-based drinks menus. It seems to be a craze that is here to stay. But what exactly is matcha and why does everyone love it so much?
Matcha is green tea cultivated from the plant Camellia sinensis. There are many different cultivars and hybrids - grown to produce different tastes or yields or to grow in varied conditions. In Japan, the most widely grown cultivar is Yabukita, which has a high yield and is adaptable to many climates. This makes up around 70 – 80 per cent of Japan’s tea fields and is also grown to produce other types of Japanese green tea.
Growing pains
Although the plant is the same as the one that produces black tea and other green teas, the growing process for matcha differs because for the last six weeks or so before harvest, the plants are shaded with bamboo, straw or vinyl matting. In the reduced light, the tea plants produce more chlorophyll and amino acids, putting out very soft and delicate growth.
“When you put it under shade, that’s where the magic happens,” says Birmingham-based café owner and matcha entrepreneur Taz Dean. When Taz opened his café, Noir 55, two years ago, he found it hard to source high-quality matcha. After a trip to Japan and China to visit farmers and matcha mills, he began his import business, BrewNova. “I secured direct relationships with some of the world’s leading matcha producers, giving us the ability to supply consistently high-grade, vibrant, great-tasting matcha at scale,” he says.
The highest-grade matcha is made from the first flush, known as ichibana in Japan. Only the youngest, greenest tips of the plant are picked and processed into matcha.
“There's only a few leaves out of that big plant that are good enough to go through the process,” says Taz. “So the rest is sent to make green tea, and a small portion of it's for matcha, and that's why you've got this global shortage, because there's not enough.”
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First harvests produce the most expensive matcha, but most growers also produce a batch from second and third harvests. Second harvests are often used for everyday matcha, and third harvests are generally considered to be for cooking.
Spot the difference
Other than the different growing process, one thing that makes matcha different from other teas is its powdered consistency, which allows the leaves to be totally consumed, as opposed to being steeped and then discarded.
After harvesting, the leaves are steamed, dried and de-veined. “You’re essentially getting the meat of the leaf,” says Taz. Once you get that, it goes through a milling process to produce the vibrant green matcha powder.
The result is one of the most popular substances on the planet. The #matcha has been used on TikTok 3.8 million times, and videos rack up tens of millions of views. ‘Matcha Green’ has entered the zeitgeist as an interior design trending colour, and according to Glamour, matcha is now a popular scent in the perfume market too.
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There are podcasts dedicated to the so-called ‘superfood’, such as the Speciality Matcha Podcast, which has episodes on everything from deconstructing the flavour of matcha to interviews with product developers. In one episode, the hosts compare matcha to the wine and coffee industries, citing terroir and altitude as factors that have a big impact on the taste of the end product.
Taz believes Gen Z is leading the charge with the UK-based matcha boom. “These youngsters, they're not like the way I was,” he says. “They don't want to go out, they don't want to go to the pubs or night clubbing, anything like that. These guys are health focused.”
Health benefits?
Matcha evangelists will claim that it can boost cognitive function and heart health, prevent cancer and even aid in weight loss, but there is limited research to show direct correlations between drinking matcha and these specific health outcomes.
However, matcha is high in antioxidants and does have healthy properties that could make it good for you. On the ZOE Science & Nutrition podcast, in an episode titled Matcha, coffee, and green tea: Which is healthiest?, Professor Tim Spector states that matcha contains omega-3s, healthy fats that are known to be good for the brain, as well as fibre and protein.
One of the most interesting chemicals in matcha is L-theanine, which works in tandem with caffeine and, Tim says, “counteracts some of the over-stimulatory effects of the caffeine on the mind.” Although there have not been many studies done on matcha itself, Tim believes there is no evidence to suggest that it wouldn’t be a healthy addition to our lives.
On the podcast he says: “Green tea has been studied and this is just a form of green tea. So, if we accept that it's a concentrated, high-dose form of green tea, then there's every reason to be optimistic about its health benefits. In the last five years, there've been a number of these studies on sleep and mood and cognitive performance that have been very encouraging.”
These health benefits come into question more as matcha seems to be in everything at the moment, from doughnuts and cookies to soft-serve ice cream. “I don't think the Western world right now knows what actually a good matcha is supposed to taste like,” says Taz.
“What we've done essentially is what we always do - when it comes down to pizza or whatever food it is, we always put our own spin on it,” he says. “When you put lots of syrup and oat milk and whatever else people are putting it in there, you're not getting the true essence.”
Global shortage
Currently, global demand for matcha is outstripping supply. Working with plants is never an instant process. Matcha tea plants take five or more years to mature before harvests can start, and the process for picking and preparing the leaves is labour-intensive.
Although prices for matcha continue to rise, according to Matcha Times, this growth rarely trickles down to the farmers, with wholesalers and tea merchants further up the chain reaping most of the rewards. With an ageing farming population in Japan, and climate challenges increasing for growers, pressure on the matcha market may well increase in coming years. Along with the veracity of health claims, it’s another reason to reconsider how much matcha we consume.
Growers are proud of their product though. “They’re trying their best on their side to show the world what matcha is all about,” says Taz. “They’ve got a lot of pride and a lot of heritage in it.”
