Why Ceremonial-Grade Matcha Is So Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider

00:10:51
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlFXl--H8eM

Summary

TLDRThe video explores the meticulous process of creating ceremonial grade matcha, a premium Japanese tea vital for tea ceremonies. Key highlights include the careful cultivation of shade-grown tea plants, the single annual harvest of the finest leaves, and traditional processing techniques such as steaming, drying, and stone grinding that contribute to the matcha's exceptional quality and vibrant green color. Despite growing global popularity and market trends, only a small number of producers in Japan maintain the traditional methods essential for ceremonial grade matcha, differentiating it from less expensive culinary grade matcha.

Takeaways

  • 🍃 Matcha is made from young, shade-grown leaves for best flavor.
  • 🕒 It takes a year to grow the matcha plants before harvest.
  • 💰 Ceremonial grade matcha can cost 20 times more than culinary grade.
  • 🛠️ Traditional stone mills preserve nutrients but grind slowly.
  • 🌱 Uji, Japan, is a historic center for high-quality matcha production.
  • 🧪 Ceremonial grade has higher levels of antioxidants and chlorophyll.
  • 📈 The global matcha market is rapidly growing, expected to exceed 5.5 billion dollars.
  • 🚜 Only 60 families in Uji produce ceremonial grade matcha today.
  • 🌿 Shading the plants helps maintain flavor and reduces bitterness.
  • 📅 Harvesting occurs once a year for ceremonial grade, unlike lower grades harvested multiple times.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    在这段视频中，介绍了绿色抹茶的不同品质，其中仪式级抹茶因其在日本茶道中的重要作用而被认为是最高品质，价格昂贵。高质量的抹茶需要在阴影中生长，以保持其光泽和口感，而低质量的抹茶则较为苦涩。

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:51

    后续介绍了抹茶的制作过程，包括蒸汽处理以防止氧化、用特殊炉子干燥茶叶、以及使用石磨研磨成粉。仪式级抹茶含有更高水平的抗氧化剂和氯ophyll，且全球对抹茶的需求日益增加。尽管生产成本较高，仍有越来越多的农民转向生产低成本的烹饪级抹茶。

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What is ceremonial grade matcha?

    Ceremonial grade matcha is the highest quality matcha used in Japanese tea ceremonies, characterized by its bright green color and smooth, complex flavor.

  • Why is ceremonial grade matcha so expensive?

    The production process is labor-intensive, requiring careful cultivation, hand-picking, and traditional grinding methods that preserve flavor and nutrients.

  • How much matcha can be produced from a tea plant in a year?

    Ceremonial grade matcha is typically harvested only once a year, yielding a small quantity due to the focus on quality.

  • What distinguishes culinary grade matcha from ceremonial grade?

    Culinary grade matcha is lower quality, often used in desserts, and can be made sweeter, while ceremonial grade is consumed as tea and has a more complex flavor.

  • How is matcha processed after harvesting?

    After leaves are picked, they are steamed, dried, and ground using traditional stone mills to create matcha powder.

  • What market trends are affecting matcha?

    The global matcha market is rapidly growing, expected to exceed 5.5 billion dollars by 2027, with increased exports from Japan.

  • Why are the tea plants shaded?

    Shading the plants prevents bitterness and preserves flavor and color by protecting them from extensive sunlight exposure.

  • What nutrients are found in ceremonial grade matcha?

    Ceremonial grade matcha contains higher levels of catechin and chlorophyll compared to other green teas.

  • How long does it take to grind matcha traditionally?

    It takes about an hour to grind just 40 grams of matcha using a traditional stone mill.

  • What is the significance of the tea in Uji, Japan?

    Uji is one of the oldest tea-producing regions in Japan, known for its high-quality matcha and traditional cultivation methods.

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  • 00:00:00
    after these leaves are plucked
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    dried
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    and ground they will turn into the
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    finest matcha
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    but not all matcha is the same
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    the greener matcha is the smoother and
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    more complex its flavor
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    high quality jade green matcha can cost
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    20 times as much as pale green matcha
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    and while this bright green powder takes
  • 00:00:22
    a few seconds to dissolve in water it
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    takes an entire year to grow the plant
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    it comes from
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    so what makes ceremonial grade matches
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    so exceptional
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    and why is it so expensive
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    matcha at its highest quality is
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    referred to as ceremonial grade because
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    of the central role it plays in japanese
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    tea ceremonies
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    lower quality matcha also called
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    culinary grade matcha can be made sweet
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    with sugar and cream in desserts but in
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    its tea form it's very bitter
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    foreign
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    he runs a 180 year old tea farm one of
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    the oldest in uji japan a city with a
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    centuries-old tea history
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    in spring they sprout young tender
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    leaves
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    and that's the sign that matcha season
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    has begun
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    new disney
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    [Music]
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    to make matcha he only needs the very
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    first leaves of the plant
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    it's there that there's a higher
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    concentration of nutrients and they will
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    make the best quality tea
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    so
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    at peak harvest collecting leaves can
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    take hours
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    but the reason why the plants are in the
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    shade is not to protect those plucking
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    them from the sun but to protect the
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    plants themselves
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    extensive exposure to sunlight develops
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    bitterness in the leaves
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    blocking the sunlight preserves their
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    flavour and gives them a bright green
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    colour
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    before harvest in the spring the plants
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    spend 30 to 40 days in the shade
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    gintaro uses rice straw panels to shade
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    his plants
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    a method that's become extremely rare
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    among tea farmers
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    most farmers now use plastic nets
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    they're more
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    plants spend double the time in the
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    shade of what is recommended to make
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    matcha which is 20 days
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    while plants that make lower grades of
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    matcha are harvested two or three times
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    a year
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    ceremonial grade matcha is made from
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    plants that have been plucked only once
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    [Music]
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    after an entire day of picking gintaro's
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    work is just getting started
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    [Music]
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    uh
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    [Music]
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    [Music]
  • 00:05:00
    the first step of processing of the
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    leaves is steaming
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    steaming locks in the flavor and
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    preserves their bright green color
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    but most of all it prevents oxidation
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    which would turn them into black tea
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    or
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    after steaming the leaves go into this
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    leaf spreader a series of four mesh
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    tubes where they're rapidly cooled by
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    the wind
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    this eliminates the water on the leaves
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    and prepares them for the next step
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    drying
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    the tea leaves at gentaro's farm are
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    dried using a 97 year old furnace which
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    gives them a unique roasted aroma
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    after drying the stems are removed and
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    the leaves are sorted
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    leaves up until this point are called
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    tension and they will only become matcha
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    after they're turned into a green powder
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    but before doing that gintaro usually
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    tastes the unrefined leaves
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    he's very critical of his work
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    [Music]
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    [Music]
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    ceremonial grade matcha is ground using
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    a stone mill it's designed to grind
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    counterclockwise only
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    this traditional method grinds a fine
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    powder that preserves the nutrients of
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    the leaf but it's very slow
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    it takes gintaro an entire hour to grind
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    just 40 grams of matcha
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    with an automated crusher this would
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    happen in seconds
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    the match of stone mills are some of the
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    most traditional instruments in japan
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    they're made of granite and are entirely
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    hand carved
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    just one of these stone mills can cost
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    over thirteen hundred dollars
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    it grinds the matcha into a fine glossy
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    powder
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    but once matcha is ground the fragrance
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    slowly disappears and becomes more
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    delicate
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    so gintaro usually grinds it one more
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    time before selling it
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    [Music]
  • 00:08:35
    ceremonial grade matcha contains a
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    higher level of an antioxidant called
  • 00:08:39
    catechin and more chlorophyll than other
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    green teas
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    this is as a result of the shading
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    process and the slow grinding
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    while the japanese public has long been
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    familiar with the distinction between
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    ceremonial grade and culinary grade
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    matcha it's relatively new to the rest
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    of the world
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    but match's popularity has been soaring
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    in 2020 the global match market was
  • 00:09:02
    worth three billion dollars and it's
  • 00:09:04
    expected to exceed 5.5 billion by 2027
  • 00:09:08
    in the last 10 years exports of matcha
  • 00:09:10
    from japan have doubled compared to 30
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    years ago they've quadrupled
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    but these numbers barely refer to
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    ceremonial grade matcher the lower costs
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    of production faster turnaround and the
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    ability to harvest leaves up to three
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    times a year have made culinary grade
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    matcha a more popular choice for farmers
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    in uji only 60 families are left growing
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    ceremonial grade matcha
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    for gintaro taking over the family
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    business wasn't an obvious choice
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    once all this year's young leaves are
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    picked and ground into matcha powder
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    jintara will spend the fall pruning the
  • 00:10:13
    trees plowing and fertilizing the soil
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    come winter he will weave the rice straw
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    to shade his plants and new leaves will
  • 00:10:21
    sprout again
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    ready to be turned into mantra
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    you know
  • 00:10:30
    [Music]
  • 00:10:47
    me
Tags
  • matcha
  • ceremonial grade
  • culinary grade
  • tea processing
  • Japan
  • Uji
  • organic farming
  • traditional methods
  • global market
  • health benefits