Matcha — The Colour, the Bitterness, and the Grade Problem

Matcha (抹茶 — ground tea) is powdered shade-grown green tea — tencha leaves that have been shaded from sunlight for three to four weeks before harvest (increasing chlorophyll and amino acid content, reducing catechin bitterness), dried without rolling, destemmed and deveined, then stone-ground to a fine powder at extremely low temperatures (preventing the volatile aromatic compounds from evaporating). The tea ceremony use of matcha in Japan was formalised by the monk Eisai, who brought the preparation from China in 1191, and standardised by Sen no Rikyu in the sixteenth century. The use of matcha in confectionery and patisserie — initially within Japan, globally from the 1990s onward — has transformed it from a ceremony object into one of the world's most versatile pastry flavouring ingredients.

For culinary use, matcha grade determines flavour. The grade system in Japan runs from ceremonial (ichiban-cha — first-flush, shade-grown, stone-ground, vivid green, intensely umami, expensive) through culinary (niban-cha or sanban-cha — later harvests, less shade time, more astringency, duller green, significantly less expensive) to low-grade culinary (used for colouring rather than flavour). Most matcha sold globally for baking is culinary grade. Most matcha used in high-end patisserie in Japan is ceremonial grade or premium culinary grade. The difference is visible (the colour deepens and brightens with quality) and flavourable (the amino acid l-theanine, responsible for umami and the calming effect of tea, is present in far higher concentrations in ceremonial grade).

• Powdered bitter-flavoured tea or herb incorporated into confection appears in the Persian shirini-cha (tea-flavoured confections, less bitter than matcha, made with dried black tea powder), in the Ind
• The matcha challenge — bitterness as a desired quality in a sweet context — is most honestly embraced in the Japanese tradition and most diluted in Western adaptations