Matcha is easily the latest and the oldest beverage of all time. It could easily replace coffee for its health benefits and having survived for centuries. This matcha has become a part of culture and adopted by a people that have one of the highest longevity in the history of mankind.
The history of matcha dates back to the Tang Dynasty in China. The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China between 618 to 907 AD. In this era, Tang Dynasty’s technology of producing matcha is worthy of study. They made tea easier to transport and trade by steaming tea leaves to form bricks. These bricks however were prepared by roasting and pulverizing the leaves, then mix the resulting tea powder with water and salt.
However, the Song Dynasty which existed from 960 until 1279 made the tea preparation popular.
A Japanese Buddhist Monk “Eisai” studying Buddhism in China brought tea seeds to Japan in 1191 along with the Zen Buddhist methods of preparing powdered green tea. The seeds that Eisai brought back to China was the beginning of tea culture in Japan.
In Japan, during the period of Kamakura Shogun, Eisai planted these seeds on the temple grounds in Kyoto, the home of Kamakura Shogun. During this period, matcha was only produced in extremely small quantities and was therefore regarded as a luxurious status symbol.
Afterwards, the Zen Buddhists developed a new method of cultivating the green tea plant which was to maximize the health benefits of matcha. This new method will later be referred to as Tencha.
THE RITUAL OF MATCHA
A zen student “Murata Juko” formalized the ritual by bringing together several pillars of the tea ceremony that included the cultivation, consumption and ceremony. zen master Sen-no-Rikyu helped popularize Juko’s tea ceremony ritual and he is the most well known historical figure of the Japanese tea ceremony.
Sen-no-Rikyu formed the four basic principles of the Japanese Tea Ceremony:
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- Harmony (wa)
- Respect (kei)
- Purity (sei)
- Tranquility (jaku)
The Japanese Tea Ceremony is called “Chado” or “Sado” meaning THE WAY OF TEA.