Royal Matcha green tea has been celebrated for centuries in Japan for its unique, abundant health benefits. Today, as research uncovers its extensive health benefits, this jewel-green, powdered green tea is gaining renown as both a beverage and herbal remedy in the mainstream of the Western world.
A Different Kind of Green Tea
Of all the green teas, one unique form of powdered green tea called "Matcha" is the most nutritionally potent. And of all Matcha green teas, one in particular stands head and shoulders above the rest: Royal Matcha green tea.
This stone-ground, green tea is packed with many times more healing power than all other green teas. Royal Matcha is the highest grade of matcha green tea, and has a deeper, more intense flavor than the standard grade of green tea products. It has also been proven to be packed with more than ten times the health benefits of regular, steeped green tea.
Their name notwithstanding, many green tea products are not really "green," bit rather brown in color. Generally, this indicates some level of oxidation, which tends to destroy some of the tea's nutrients, degrading its quality. Royal Matcha tea, on the other hand, is the greenest of all green teas. While lower quality green teas are brewed into pale green, somewhat astringent beverages, Royal Matcha is brewed into a frothy, jade green beverage, which has a distinctive, subtly sweet taste.
Royal Matcha Green Tea - A Living Tradition
Royal Matcha tea is grown and produced in Japan, which is famous for the unparalleled quality of its green tea. The preparation and serving of Royal Matcha tea is a living tradition that dates back centuries to medieval Japan.
Powdered green tea was first produced in China during the Song Dynasty, and was later introduced to Japan during the 12th century, where it soon became an integral part of the Japanese monastic and secular culture. Over the centuries, it has been part and parcel of their ancient culture and lifeways for centuries.
Over time, the Japanese perfected the methods and techniques for producing Matcha. Like all other green teas, Royal Matcha is produced from the leaves of the camellia sinensis plant. However, Japan's Royal Matcha green tea owes its amazing health benefits to the meticulous care and attention that goes into cultivating, harvesting and preparing this unique brew.
Producing Royal Matcha
Three weeks before harvest, three layers of shade are built over the tea bushes using bamboo and rice straw. This blocks off 90 percent of all direct sunlight for this period of time. This slows down the tea's growth and creates a higher concentration of chlorophyll, turning its leaves a darker shade of green.
The tea leaves are plucked in the earliest days of the harvesting season, much earlier than other lower grades of tea. They are hand-picked to ensure that only the youngest and finest buds and leaves are plucked. This tea is harvested only once each year, in the springtime.
Unlike other teas, Royal Matcha is neither fermented nor oxidized. What's more, the entire leaf is used to produce the tea, with only the stems and leaf veins removed. This helps retain all the leaves' nutrient goodness, while enhancing the flavor of the tea.
The harvested leaves are dried outside in the shade, out of direct sunlight. They are then ground with a stone mill to produce the fine, talc-like powdered tea we call Royal Matcha. Today, the processed Matcha tea is stored in refrigerated facilities to maintain its freshness.
If you are looking to buy high quality green tea, no other form of this beverage stacks up to Royal Matcha tea in quality and health-giving benefits. It may cost you quite a bit more, but its superior taste and nutrient packed health benefits may make it well worth every extra penny.
