Coffee & Life
The Journey of Matcha
The first time I encountered this tea was at a small café near my home under the name “Japanese Matcha Green Tea.” Honestly, my initial impression wasn’t great. The sweetness completely overpowered the green tea flavor, the drink was packed with ice, making it feel like just another regular refreshment, and since it was served in a sealed paper cup, I didn’t even get to enjoy the beautiful green color that I love. It wasn’t until my second try—this time a hot matcha drink at a different café—that I truly became captivated by this beverage and everything related to matcha.
Matcha green tea is a 100% natural tea. After harvest, the leaves are steamed and dried, then stripped of stems and veins before being ground into a fine powder. The powder has a deep green hue and offers a blend of bitterness and sweetness. It’s this harmony between bitter and sweet that has made matcha a central element of the Japanese tea ceremony for nearly 900 years. Centuries ago, Buddhist monks also drank matcha to maintain focus during long meditation sessions. With an antioxidant content over 130 times higher than that of regular green tea, matcha is also rich in caffeine and L-theanine—an amino acid known for reducing stress, enhancing brain function, improving alertness and memory, and boosting mood without the side effects often associated with coffee. In addition to detoxifying the body, matcha is also effective in burning fat and combating obesity, as it helps burn calories at a rate four times higher than regular green tea, without raising blood pressure or heart rate.
Matcha delivers caffeine to the body more gradually. Unlike coffee, which can produce a quick “high” followed by a “crash,” matcha offers a longer-lasting mood lift. That’s why matcha is often preferred over coffee by those seeking better focus and a healthier lifestyle. With matcha, you consume the entire tea leaf, not just the water extract like traditional tea, which gives it far higher nutritional and anti-aging benefits. Studies show that one cup of matcha is equivalent to 137 cups of regular green tea in antioxidant value and 10 cups in nutritional content.
To make a delicious matcha drink, you can stir it into warm milk, mix it with milk and heat it up, blend it into a smoothie, or shake it with water. Matcha powder is also sprinkled on fruits, mixed with yogurt, or blended with lemon—the slightly bitter matcha leaf combined with tart lemon creates an unforgettable taste. Additionally, the combination of matcha’s caffeine and lemon can be a great alternative to coffee. Matcha is also commonly paired with white chocolate or used in making cupcakes and ice cream.
Perhaps matcha green tea is no longer unfamiliar to young people, especially those who enjoy drinks that are tasty, refreshing, and healthy all at once. Much like the lemon tea craze that swept through street corners a few years ago, this beverage from the land of cherry blossoms has sparked a craze of its own. Nearly all takeaway coffee shops in Hanoi now include matcha and matcha-based products on their menus: matcha ice blended, matcha ice cream, matcha latte… With prices ranging from 40,000 to 60,000 VND per cup, the cool, creamy matcha ice blended in summer or the fragrant, slightly bitter-sweet taste of a hot matcha in winter is simply irresistible.
— Sưu tầm.
