An ancient ingredient

Matcha （抹茶） refers to finely-milled Japanese green tea. The cultural activity called the Japanese tea ceremonay centers on the preparation, serving, and drinking of Matcha. In modern times, Matcha is now a common ingredient in sweets such as green tea ice cream, green tea cookies and a variety of Japanese sweets such as mochi, soba, etc. Matcha is made from shade-grown tea leaves also used to make Gyokuro（玉露）. The preparation of matcha starts several weeks before harvest, when the tea bushes are covered to prevent direct sunlight. This slows down growth, turns the leaves a darker shade of green and causes the production of amino acids  that make the resulting tea sweeter. Only the finest tea buds are hand picked. After harvesting, if the leaves are rolled out before drying as usual, the result will be Gyokuro tea. However, if the leaves are laid out flat to dry, they will crumble somewhat and become known as tencha (碾茶). Tencha can then be de-veined, de-stemmed, and stone ground to the fine, bright green, talc-like powder known as matcha. Matcha is generally expensive compared to other forms of tea, although its price depends on its quality. Grades of matcha are defined by many factors.