![]() ![]() It also result in a finer and smoother texture." It helps to preserve the delicate flavors and nutrients. ✔️ Stone ground: Murray recommends looking for options that "adhere to traditional Japanese production methods which include stone milling or stone ground. She adds, "the first harvest leaves have the highest concentration of L-theanine which gives it a smoother flavor and as the season goes on the flavor becomes more astringent." That said, spring harvest matchas can be pricier due to the limited availability and the more labor intensive, shorter harvest time. According to Murray, "if you are drinking matcha pure or even mixing it with milks to make a latte, this is the type you want to use." You can see and taste the difference. ✔️ Harvest time: Spring harvest is what is referred to as ceremonial grade. Not all blends are bad and a benefit is that there is more control of a flavor profile." However, she adds matcha purists "may want to go with a single origin, because you know what you are drinking in terms of how it was grown and even the soil it was grown on." "Sometimes with blends, farms take a higher quality tea leaf and cut it with a lesser quality to achieve a lower price point. "Single origin implies you are getting a consistent and likely higher quality matcha," Murray says. ✔️ Single origin: Much like wine, there are blends and single origin teas. "I only want something that is shade grown and I prefer to purchase from a region I know is a good producer of green tea." "I look for pretty much the same thing I look for when I buy wine in terms of information transparency: region, shade grown, how many farms the product was sourced from, the cultivar, etc.," he says. ![]() ![]() ✔️ R egion: In addition to looking for shade grown varieties, Steele advises to look for which region the tea comes from. "By limiting the sunlight it allows the flavor of the leaf to become more balanced." ✔️ Shade grown: Traditional matcha is "shade grown for approximately two weeks before harvest to limit the amount of sunlight that reaches the plant," Murray says. We also spoke with TJ Steele, a Michelin-starred chef and owner of Claro Restaurant in Brooklyn, NY and matcha enthusiast, for what to look for when purchasing matcha. We spoke with Darla Murray, Co-Founder of MAKE, a premium matcha brand launching June 2023 and a student of ceremonial tea. The world of matcha tea powders can be overwhelming with so many varieties to choose from. We favored organic and non-GMO options, and looked for sustainably sourced ingredients. All of our picks hit the mark when it comes to taste, quality, flavor and packaging claims. We tested multiple top-selling matcha tea brands by analyzing ingredient lists, taste, popularity and flavor profiles including bitterness, sweetness and umami. The Good Housekeeping Institute’s Nutrition Lab tested dozens of matcha powders to bring you the best of the best. "Green tea leaves are steamed, stemmed and ground into a powder form known as matcha." Unlike traditional tea bags that are removed after steeping, matcha powder is made from the entire leaf, which you are consuming, and leads to the higher antioxidant consumption. "Matcha is basically green tea in powdered form, however its nutritional profile differs due to the slight difference in the way each is grown and processed," says registered dietitian Sydney Greene, MS, RDN, founder of Greene Health. Packed with antioxidants, matcha has been promoted for offering such health benefits as improved cognitive performance and heart health as well having anti-cancer properties. Culinary matcha, on the other hand, is primarily used in baking but can occasionally be found in drinks as well. In its finest form, matcha takes the name ceremonial from its origins and can be consumed either hot or iced. Its origins lie in Zen Buddhism where it was used in tea ceremonies and as a tool for meditation. Derived from finely ground tea leaves, with its bright green color and calming taste, matcha is gaining popularity because it offers a smoother caffeine experience than coffee without the jitters. ![]()
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