Why Ceremonial-Grade Matcha Is So Expensive | So Expensive Food | Business Insider
TLDRThis script explores the meticulous process behind creating high-quality ceremonial-grade matcha, a luxury tea cherished in Japanese tea ceremonies. It delves into the shade-grown cultivation, careful harvesting, and traditional methods like stone milling that preserve the tea's vibrant color and rich nutrients. The script also highlights the stark contrast between the premium ceremonial-grade and the more common culinary-grade matcha, the latter being more accessible but less flavorful. The narrative follows Jintaro, a sixth-generation producer, who upholds the centuries-old traditions of Uji, Japan, amidst a growing global demand for matcha, now valued at $3 billion and rising.
Takeaways
- 🌿 The process of creating matcha involves plucking, drying, and grinding tea leaves, resulting in a fine powder with a distinct flavor profile.
- 💰 High-quality, jade green matcha is significantly more expensive than pale green matcha, with the finest grades costing up to 20 times more.
- 📅 Matcha production is a year-long endeavor, from growing the plants to the final grinding of the leaves into powder.
- 🍵 Ceremonial-grade matcha is considered exceptional due to its role in Japanese tea ceremonies and its superior flavor and color.
- 🌱 The first leaves of the tea plant, rich in nutrients, are used to make the highest quality matcha.
- 🌞 Tea plants are shaded to prevent bitterness and to enhance the leaves' flavor and color, with ceremonial-grade matcha requiring more shade time than lower grades.
- 📉 The use of traditional rice-straw panels for shading is rare, with most farmers opting for the convenience and reusability of plastic nets.
- 🔥 Steaming is a crucial step in matcha production that locks in flavor and prevents oxidation, turning the leaves into black tea.
- 🏺 The leaves are dried using traditional methods, such as a 97-year-old furnace, imparting a unique aroma to the final product.
- 🗻 Ceremonial-grade matcha is ground using a stone mill, a slow and meticulous process that preserves the nutrients and results in a fine, glossy powder.
- 🌐 The global market for matcha is growing rapidly, with exports from Japan increasing significantly over the past decades, though much of this growth pertains to culinary-grade matcha.
- 🏞️ Only a few families in Uji, Japan, continue the tradition of growing ceremonial-grade matcha, reflecting a dwindling interest in the more labor-intensive and time-consuming traditional methods.
Q & A
What determines the quality and cost of matcha?
-The quality and cost of matcha are determined by its color and flavor. The greener the matcha, the smoother and more complex its flavor. High-quality, jade green matcha can cost up to 20 times more than pale green matcha.
What is ceremonial-grade matcha and why is it considered exceptional?
-Ceremonial-grade matcha is the highest quality matcha, used primarily in Japanese tea ceremonies. It is considered exceptional due to its smooth, complex flavor and the meticulous process involved in its production.
How does ceremonial-grade matcha differ from culinary-grade matcha?
-Ceremonial-grade matcha is made from the first leaves of the plant, shaded for a longer period, and ground using a stone mill, resulting in a higher concentration of nutrients and a smoother flavor. Culinary-grade matcha is harvested multiple times a year, has a more bitter taste, and is often used in desserts with sugar and cream.
Why are the matcha plants shaded before harvest?
-The matcha plants are shaded to protect them from extensive sunlight, which can develop bitterness in the leaves. Shading also preserves their flavor and gives them a bright green color.
What traditional method does Jintaro use to shade his plants, and why is it rare?
-Jintaro uses rice-straw panels to shade his plants, a traditional method that has become rare because most farmers now use more convenient and reusable plastic nets.
What is the significance of the steaming process in matcha production?
-Steaming locks in the flavor, preserves the bright green color, and prevents oxidation of the leaves, which would otherwise turn them into black tea.
How are the leaves processed after steaming?
-After steaming, the leaves are rapidly cooled by wind in a leaf spreader, dried using a furnace, and then the stems are removed and the leaves sorted. The leaves are called tencha until they are ground into matcha powder.
What is the purpose of using a stone mill to grind ceremonial-grade matcha?
-A stone mill grinds the matcha slowly into a fine powder, preserving the nutrients of the leaf. This traditional method ensures the highest quality but is very slow, taking an hour to grind just 40 grams of matcha.
Why does Jintaro often grind the matcha a second time before selling it?
-Jintaro grinds the matcha a second time before selling it because once matcha is ground, its fragrance slowly disappears and becomes more delicate. Grinding it again helps to refresh its fragrance.
What has contributed to the increasing global popularity of matcha?
-The global popularity of matcha has been increasing due to its health benefits, particularly its high levels of antioxidants like catechin and chlorophyll. The market for matcha was worth $3 billion in 2020 and is expected to exceed $5.5 billion by 2027.
How does Jintaro maintain the traditional methods of matcha production on his farm?
-Jintaro maintains traditional methods by using rice-straw panels for shading, a 97-year-old furnace for drying, and hand-carved granite stone mills for grinding. He also spends the fall and winter preparing the plants for the next harvest, including pruning, plowing, fertilizing, and weaving rice straw for shading.
Outlines
🌱 The Art of Matcha Production
This paragraph introduces the process of creating high-quality matcha, emphasizing the importance of shade in preserving the leaves' flavor and color. It explains the difference between ceremonial-grade and culinary-grade matcha, highlighting the higher cost and smoother flavor of the former. The narrative centers around Jintaro, a sixth-generation matcha producer from Uji, Japan, who uses traditional methods to cultivate and process the tea leaves, including an extended period of shading and the use of rice-straw panels, which are rare in the modern tea farming industry.
🔥 Traditional Matcha Processing Techniques
The second paragraph delves into the technical aspects of matcha production, detailing the steps from steaming to grinding. Steaming is crucial for preserving the leaves' flavor and color, preventing oxidation. The leaves are then cooled, dried using a century-old furnace, and sorted. The paragraph also discusses the painstaking process of grinding ceremonial-grade matcha using a stone mill, which is slow and labor-intensive but results in a fine, nutrient-rich powder. It contrasts this with the use of automated crushers and touches on the economic aspects of matcha production, noting the growth of the global matcha market and the decline in the number of farmers producing ceremonial-grade matcha.
❄️ The Cycle of Matcha Farming
The final paragraph outlines the annual cycle of matcha farming, from the harvest and processing of the leaves to the preparation for the next season. It describes Jintaro's routine of pruning, soil maintenance, and the use of rice straw for shading during the off-season to ensure the growth of high-quality leaves. This paragraph reflects on the dedication and effort required to maintain the tradition of producing ceremonial-grade matcha, despite the challenges and the allure of more cost-effective methods.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Matcha
💡Ceremonial-grade matcha
💡Culinary-grade matcha
💡Shading
💡Steaming
💡Tencha
💡Stone mill
💡Catechin
💡Chlorophyll
💡Uji
💡Tea season
Highlights
The process of turning leaves into matcha involves plucking, drying, and grinding, with greener matcha indicating a smoother and more complex flavor.
High-quality jade green matcha is significantly more expensive than pale green matcha, with a price difference of up to 20 times.
Ceremonial-grade matcha is distinguished by its role in Japanese tea ceremonies and its exceptional quality.
Ceremonial-grade matcha is made from the first leaves of the plant, which have a higher concentration of nutrients.
Shading the tea plants is crucial to prevent bitterness and to maintain the bright green color of the leaves.
Jintaro, a sixth-generation matcha producer, uses a rare method of shading with rice-straw panels, which is more time-consuming than using plastic nets.
Jintaro's matcha plants spend double the recommended time in the shade to enhance the quality of ceremonial-grade matcha.
Ceremonial-grade matcha is made from plants that are plucked only once a year, unlike lower grades harvested multiple times.
Steaming is the first step in processing matcha leaves, which locks in flavor and prevents oxidation.
A 97-year-old furnace is used for drying the tea leaves, imparting a unique roasted aroma to Jintaro's matcha.
Ceremonial-grade matcha is ground using a stone mill, a traditional method that preserves the nutrients of the leaf.
Stone mills for grinding matcha are hand-carved from granite and are considered some of the most traditional instruments in Japan.
Ceremonial-grade matcha contains higher levels of catechin and chlorophyll due to the shading process and slow grinding.
The global matcha market was worth $3 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to over $5.5 billion by 2027.
Exports of matcha from Japan have significantly increased, with a fourfold increase compared to 30 years ago.
Culinary-grade matcha is more popular among farmers due to lower production costs and the ability to harvest leaves multiple times a year.
Only 60 families in Uji are left growing ceremonial-grade matcha, reflecting a decline in traditional matcha production.
Jintaro's commitment to traditional methods, including pruning, plowing, and fertilizing, ensures the continuity of high-quality matcha production.
Transcripts
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