Mecha

Have you heard about “Mecha”?  Have you tried it before?

‘Me’ means buds in Japanese, and ‘cha’ does tea. Yes, ‘Mecha’ is buds tea, which is a kind of Japanese green teas.

You may be curious how Mecha is produced. Actually, this is regarded as a “by-product tea”, known as demono in Japanese.

At the last stage for processing Japanese tea such as Gyokuro and Sencha, the leaves are shifted with coarse mesh nets. Small tea buds are dropped from nets at that stage. These buds are sold as Mecha, whose production amount is limited. Since it is derived from high-grade tea, Mecha is often reputed for its good quality with umami and deep flavor. And, what is better, it is reasonable. Isn’t that good news? Worth trying!

*Other “by-product tea”: Kukicha (stalk tea), Konacha (Sencha powdered tea)