Matcha, also called matcha green tea, is made from shade grown green tea leaves. The plants used for matcha is botanically called camellia sinensis, and they are shade grown for three to four weeks before harvest. The shade-grown green tea leaves produce more active ingredients. Tea trees are shaded from strong sunlight to increase theanine, chlorophyll, which can reduce the bitterness as well as eusure good color for the matcha powder to the maximum extent. After the harvest, the leaves are steamed to deactivate enzymes, then they are dried and the stems and veins are removed, after that they are grinded or milled into powder.
Ceremonial Grade Matcha is more vibrant and has a deeper shade of green as its made of the youngest tea leaves that have higher concentrations of chlorophyll.
