Do you know what is “tencha”? It is
ground with a stone mill into powdered tea. This is what we call “matcha”. So
we could say that tencha is “an origin” of matcha.
Recently, the production of tencha has been
increasing rapidly in Japan. It's been doubled in the last decade. This is not
because that we drink more matcha or enjoy Sado (traditional Japanese tea
ceremony). It is because the matcha-flavored sweets and foods are getting so
popular here and there, maybe in your country too. Chocolate, cake, cookie, ice
cream, pan cake, noodles………We see a lots of lots of matcha-flavored stuff.
Due to this situation, even one of the most
famous sencha producing areas in Kyoto has changed their ways. I heard that more tea farmers
produce “tencha for processing” than sencha.
In general, people less drink tea, but more eat tea-flavored food. Don't get me wrong. I like matcha-flavored snacks and foods. I just wonder since when tea has come to be “a thing to eat”……..
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| Tencha -T- |
