history of matcha

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matcha isn’t just the latest beverage fad or coffee replacement. matcha isn’t just a trendy drink that hollywood drinks by the gallon. matcha dates back nearly a thousand years to a time when dynasties ruled china and shogun clans ruled japan. this is the history of matcha.

the origins of matcha can be traced all the way back to the tang dynasty in china. the tang dynasty spanned the 7th – 10th centuries. during this time, the tang dynasty steamed tea leaves to form into bricks, making their tea harvests easier to transport and subsequently trade. these tea bricks were prepared by roasting and pulverizing the leaves then mixing the resulting tea powder with water and salt.

however, the ensuing song dynasty, which reigned from the 10th – 13th, is largely credited with making this form of tea preparation popular. eisai, a japanese buddhist monk, spent the better part of his life studying buddhism in china. In 1191, eisai returned permanently to japan, bringing with him tea seeds along with the zen buddhist methods of preparing powdered green tea. the seeds that eisai brought back with him from china were largely considered to create the highest quality tea leaves in all of japan.

eisai subsequently planted these seeds on the temple grounds in kyoto, the home of the kamakura shogun. during the period of the kamakura shogun, matcha was only produced in extremely limited quantities and was thus regarded as a luxurious status symbol.

soon after eisai’s return to japan, zen buddhists developed a new method for cultivating the green tea plant. tencha was developed by growing the green tea plant under shaded conditions – this method is largely credited for maximizing the health benefits of matcha.

the green tea ritual

japanese are highly cultural people and it reflects in everything they do. It is evident in the most minuscule of the practices – drinking tea in this case. matcha is so important to the japanese that they have a specialized activity for honoring the symbol it represents. they carry out a tea ceremony, called chanoyu or sado, chado in japanese, also known as the way of tea. it encompasses everything from the tea plants’ cultivation to preparation and consumption. thus, the intricate processes involved from sowing tea seeds through drinking the matcha.

even though maruta juko, a zen student, brought together the fragmented pillars of the tea ceremony in the 1500s, zen master sen-no-rikyu is recognized for propagating juko’s tea ceremony. he formed the four basic principles of the japanese tea ceremony: harmony (wa), respect (kei), purity (sei) and tranquility (jaku). you see, matcha isn’t just some powdered green tea, it holds strong cultural and spiritual value for the japanese.

matcha as an art form

as the tea ceremony became more desirable an art form, matcha continued to become more popular among the powerful classes in japan and for centuries, matcha remained the secret tea of japan’s elite. it was extremely valuable with only a handful of merchants approved to process and create it. by contrast, the general population could only drink what was called, bancha, which has a browner color than the bright green of matcha and a much more bitter taste.

in the mid 18th century, however, the uji green tea processing method was invented. this method, still in practice today, revolutionized the production of matcha and allowed for a much more efficient process, which finally brought this highly revered tea to the people. along with this development, tea plantation owners in japan continued to perfect the process for developing and maximizing the most potent and therapeutically beneficial matcha.

matcha to the masses

matcha used to be one of japan’s best-kept secrets. however, the popularity of matcha has never been more widespread than it is today. had the tea not been so well received by zen buddhism in japan hundreds of years ago, we might not be able to savour the delicious ceremonial delicacy we call matcha in our modern world today.