Maccha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Type: | Green |
| Other names: | 抹茶, 'Rubbed Tea', 'Ground tea' |
| Origin: | Japan |
| Quick description: | Well-known stone ground tea, generally expensive. |
Maccha (抹茶?), sometimes spelled matcha, is a fine, powdered green tea used in Japanese tea ceremony and to dye and flavour foods such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream and a variety of wagashi (Japanese confectionery). The most famous Maccha-producing regions are Uji in Kyoto (tea from this region is called "Ujicha"), Shizuoka, Northern Kyushu, and Nishio in Aichi on the main island of Honshū (tea from this region is called Nishiocha).
Maccha is generally expensive compared to other forms of tea, although its price depends on its quality. It can be hard to find outside Japan, as can the implements traditionally used to prepare and consume it.
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[edit] History
Powdered tea seems to have been invented in China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Preparation and consumption of powdered tea was formed into a ritual by the Chan Buddhists, who drank from a single bowl as a sacrament.
Chan Buddhism (also known in Japanese as Zen), and powdered tea along with it, were brought to Japan in 1191 by the monk Eisai. Powdered tea was slowly forgotten in China, but 16th century tea master Sen no Rikyu formulated the rules of Japanese tea ceremony, specifying maccha as the correct tea to use.
[edit] Production
The preparation of maccha starts several weeks before harvest, when the tea bushes are covered to prevent direct sunlight. This slows down growth, turns the leaves a darker shade of green and causes the production of amino acids that make the resulting tea sweeter.
After harvesting, if the leaves are rolled out before drying as usual, the result will be gyokuro (jewel dew) tea. However, if the leaves are laid out flat to dry, they will crumble somewhat and become known as tencha (展茶). Tencha can then be stone ground to the fine, bright green, talc-like powder known as maccha.
Note that only ground tencha qualifies as maccha, and other powdered teas are known as konacha (粉茶, lit. "powdered tea").
The flavour of maccha is dominated by its amino acids. The highest grades of maccha have more intense sweetness & deeper flavour than the standard or coarser grades of tea harvested later in the year.
[edit] Spelling
Is it spelled maccha or matcha? Macha? The answer is not definitive. First and foremost, "macha" is incorrect. This is never the spelling, merely a mistake made by some. The other two spellings, one with the "double c" (more visible in Japan, Japanese supermarkets and outside of North America) and one with the "tc" (more common with North American companies) form the debate. The debate forms around the "sokuon", what linguists call a guttural stop, found in the middle of the word (more commonly referred to as a "small tsu" by those studying Japanese). The ideographs making up maccha are matsu (ground) and cha (tea). When written together, the Japanese language splices them with a slight pause, called a "sokuon". The "double c" is more appropriate as it reflects the transliteration method officially recognized by the Japanese government and is used by Japanese people for romanizing Japanese words (inf. writing Japanese words using the alphabet). The "tc" spelling is based on an obsolete romanisation system created for easing pronunciation of Japanese for English speakers.
The "sokuon" pause is best represented in English as matcha, the "t" forcing English speakers' tongues to pause at that point and shorten the vowel sound. This romanization of the Japanese is the Hepburn method, described in its own article as "an intuitive method to show Anglophones the pronunciation of a word in Japanese." The article further states that, "The Hepburn system has been criticized because its distortion of the Japanese phonology can make it harder to teach Japanese to non-natives." Arguably the strongest argument for its application to "ground tea" is that: "it is easier for English speakers to pronounce M-A-T-C-H-A, a lot of companies spell it that way already, so why not just go with it?"
Kunrei-shiki is the system promulgated by the Japanese. It is officially recognized by the government and taught to children in Japan when romanizing Japanese in the school system. It is more grammatically correct and uniform in its employment of the "small tsu". Words such as "depart", or "hacchaku" in Japanese, have a similar phonetic sound to "maccha", and are broadly written with the "double c". The "sokuon" is otherwise always represented by a doubling of the constantant following the vowel before the "sokuon". The government would prefer people did not use this modified version of the official system, and that cha be spelled tya, but that is not used inside of Japan, by Universities, or schools. Ironically, government signs do not use it either. If people used the spelling "mattya", the government has stated they would be very pleased.
The Japanese Government National Language Division of the Cultural Affairs Agency
The above Agency made the official statement that, "M-A-T-C-H-A is not based on any officially state recognized romanisation system." They elaborated that M-A-C-C-H-A would be a spelling that they would prefer, if given the choice between M-A-T-C-H-A and M-A-C-C-H-A.
Notably, "Sake" is actually pronounced with the second syllable rhyming with okay, not key. But the spelling is not changed to make it easier to pronounce. Romanization of Japanese is not, according to the above agency, for Anglophone consumption; its purpose is to reflect Japanese phonology. This is arguably true of all languages sharing the alphabet.
Spelling maccha with a "double c", can lead to confusion with caffe mocha (especially in the cafe setting) or even maca root (in the health food setting). It leads to mispronunciation. But it is a Japanese word to begin with and corresponds to uniform grammatical representation. Maccha reflects the Japanese language, matcha reflects English.
See Romanization of Japanese for a detailed explanation of the different systems used.
[edit] Preparation
Prior to serving, the maccha is often forced through a sieve in order to break up clumps. There are special sieves available for this purpose, which are usually stainless steel and combine a fine wire mesh sieve and a temporary storage container. A special wooden spatula is used to force the tea through the sieve, or a small, smooth stone may be placed on top of the sieve and the device shaken gently.
If the sieved maccha is to be served at a Japanese tea ceremony, then it will be placed into a small tea caddy known as a chaki. Otherwise, it can be scooped directly from the sieve into a tea bowl.
A small amount of maccha is placed into the bowl, traditionally using a bamboo scoop called a chashaku, and a modicum of hot (not boiling) water is added. The mixture is then whisked to a uniform consistency, traditionally using a special kind of whisk made of bamboo known as a chasen. There must be no lumps left in the liquid, and ideally no ground tea should remain on the sides of the bowl.
Usucha, or thin tea, is prepared with half a teaspoon of maccha and approximately 75 ml (2.5 oz) of hot water. Some drinkers (and schools of tea ceremony) prefer to whip the mixture to produce a light frothy "head," while others prefer as little foam as possible. Schools also vary on the amount of water and maccha. Usucha creates a lighter and slightly more bitter tea.
Koicha, or thick tea, requires significantly more maccha, as many as six teaspoons to 3/4 cup of water. Because the resulting mixture is significantly thicker, blending it requires a slower, stirring motion which does not produce foam. Koicha produces a sweeter tea, and is served almost exclusively as part of Japanese tea ceremonies. Special chasen designed for this purpose are often employed.
Because maccha is slightly bitter, it is traditionally served with a small sweet.
[edit] Other uses
Maccha is now a common ingredient in sweets. It is used in castella, manju, and monaka; as a topping for kakigori; mixed with milk and sugar as a drink; and mixed with salt and used to flavour tempura in a mixture known as maccha-jio. It is also used as flavouring in many Western-style chocolates, candy, and desserts, such as cakes and pastries (including Swiss rolls and cheesecake), cookies, pudding, mousse, and ice cream. Even the Japanese snack Pocky has a maccha-flavoured version.
The use of maccha in modern drinks has also spread to North American café culture where, as in Japan, it has become integrated into lattés, iced drinks, milkshakes, and smoothies, as well as alcoholic beverages.
The health benefits of green tea and maccha have also raised significant interest in North America. Consequently, it can now be found in numerous health food products ranging from cereal to energy bars.
