Matcha: The versatile ancient Japanese superfood

If you are a food enthusiast or a tea fanatic, you would have heard about matcha, the Japanese superfood. If you're not on the matcha bandwagon yet, here's the lowdown about the green powder cherished for centuries by the Japanese.

What exactly is matcha?

Known as the Champagne of green tea, matcha sounds fancy, but it's just pure green tea stone-ground into a fine powder. While regular green tea is all about brewing leaves in hot water and extracting the flavour, matcha powder is blended with water to give you a powerful shot of health benefits.

Matcha tea bushes are grown under shade, increasing the leaves' chlorophyll and amino acid levels. With a concentrated amount of caffeine, matcha has none of the acidity that coffee has; it's more flavorful, deliciously rich with an umami flavour and the luscious jade green foam on the top is an excellent alternative to the standard pick-me-up.

Reasons to get your hands on matcha?

This ideal superfood is high in chlorophyll. It's a powerhouse of antioxidants and aids in maintaining a healthy heart, cholesterol level, weight and blood sugar. It ups your metabolism, balances energy levels, helps your mind stay calm and focused, is a great immunity booster and works wonders on the skin.

Tips for tasty matcha

With two main grades, Ceremonial and Culinary grade, pick up the ceremonial grade for the best flavours.

Always choose to drink your matcha from a bowl and not a traditional cup.

Good matcha has a complex blend of tastes from floral to creamy, from savoury to sweet and from smooth to bitter. The matcha should hit your tongue all over, preferably starting at the front, the middle, the sides and then moving backwards to experience the right balance of flavours. Traditional cups tend to direct the flow of the liquid to the centre, then to the back of the tongue. You get a full, balanced taste of the matcha by drinking it from a wide-rimmed bowl.

Less is More. Matcha is a luxurious treat designed to be drunk strong and concentrated, so don't dilute it.

The texture is the key, so make a smooth paste first and add all the water. Whisk it well to attain that bright green, fine-bubbled frothy drink.

Matcha in the culinary market

Chefs, home bakers, restaurants and cafes are catching up on this culinary trend and taking the green game up. Sweet treats like matcha mochi, matcha cake, matcha tiramisu, matcha cookies, macaroons, matcha smoothie, matcha ice-creams and frappes are an Internet sensation these days.

Chef Suraj Kumar Sahoo, head chef at Koox, a Japanese restaurant at Novotel Chennai Chamiers Road, said that the green tea/matcha tiramisu is one of the most loved favourites of their patrons. It is made with matcha tea-soaked layers, mascarpone cheese and topped with matcha powder. Chef said culinary grade matcha is used for this delicacy.

"Though it takes effort to make it, the end product is amazing, and people love the earthy flavour," said Chef Sahoo.

(Deepa Shri Rajan is a food, travel and lifestyle blogger and Instagrammer based out of Bengaluru.)