Stone-Ground Matcha Green Tea

This savory, jade-green matcha is made from highly-flavorful Kamairi (pan-roasted) variety tea leaves, stone-ground to silky perfection. 

Matcha's health benefits by far exceed those of any other type of green tea. When you drink matcha, you ingest the whole tea leaf in powder form, not just the brewed water.

Make a traditional cup of matcha, or a savory cup of matcha latte. You can also make "matcha zhio" — a traditional garnishing for your vegetable dishes, seafood, chicken, steaks and eggs, or as a rub to season poultry, fish and meats. See below for how-to.

To make Kamairi, fresh tea leaves are parched at high heat for ten minutes, after which they are rolled and dried in a four-step process. The result is a smooth tea with a sophisticated, rich flavor.

Producing Kamari is labor-intensive and requires skill. Kamairi teas are rare even in Japan as they account for about 2% of all Japanese tea production. 

Grown, harvested and processed by traditional farmers in lush-green highlands of Kyushu island, southern Japan.

• 1 teaspoon matcha powder (about 1 - 1.5 grams)
• 1 cup milk (whole or skim)
• Sugar or honey as needed

• Put matcha powder into a mug cup.
• Add sugar to taste. If you wish to use honey, do it after you have added milk in the following steps.
• Warm up a cup of milk
• Add small portion of warm milk to the mug and mix well until Matcha powder becomes pasty. Make sure the mixture is not lumpy.
• Keep adding the remaining milk a bit at a time and mix well.

How to Make Matcha-Zhio (Matcha Salt)

Matcha-zhio is traditional Japanese seasoning with a sophisticated, clean and pleasantly complex taste.

It also cuts down the amount of salt used for seasoning and adds a natural, wonderfully vivid green color to foods.

• 2 teaspoon salt (preferably coarse)
• 1/2 teaspoon Matcha powder

• Mix well in a small bowl
• Use as needed and store remainder in a shaker

• Place a kettle of water over high heat.
• Remove kettle from heat just before water starts boiling (when it starts steaming).
• Let hot water cool down for a few minutes.
• Rinse tea cup with hot water.
• Dry cup with a soft towel.
• Add one cup of water to one tsp of matcha.
• Briskly whisk till it develops a soft foam.
• Serve