Matcha

Powdered tea came to Japan from China in the 12th century, together with Zen Buddhism. Tradition credits the monk Eisai with bringing back both the tea and the habit of drinking it to stay awake during long meditation. In the temples, tea became a discipline. From there it grew into the tea ceremony (sadō). In the 16th century, the tea master Sen no Rikyū refined the ceremony into one of Japan's deepest arts. For centuries, matcha was the tea of monks, nobles and the tea room. Only recently has it spread to lattes, ice cream and cafés around the world.

The best matcha starts weeks before the harvest, when growers shade the tea bushes from the sun. In low light, the leaves make more chlorophyll and turn a deep green. They also make more of an amino acid that gives matcha its savoury sweetness. After the harvest, workers steam and dry the leaves and strip away the stems and veins. Tea makers call the result tencha. Stone mills then grind it slowly, so it does not heat up, into a powder as fine as flour. Uji, near Kyoto, is the most famous growing region. Grades run from smooth ceremonial matcha, which you whisk with water alone, to stronger cooking grades for sweets. To make matcha, you need only a bamboo whisk (chasen, 茶筅) and a bowl. Sift the powder, add hot but not boiling water, and whisk fast in a W shape until fine foam rises.