And now, green tea is widely drink in Japan and for those who are not aware- Green Tea, Oolong Tea and Black Tea are all made from the same tea plant, but the flavors are created through production process. The process of green tea begins when fresh leaves are steamed which prevents oxidation, and this helps retains its fresh colour. Whereas Oolong and Black Tea goes through the oxidation process, which gives Black Tea its reddish colour and creates the flower like aroma in Oolong Tea.
And for Nihon Cha, you can enjoy the variety of them where they have Sencha, Matcha, and Hojicha. And Sencha is derived from steaming, rolling, and drying the youngest tea leaves, and are the most drunk green tea in Japan. Matcha is made from tea leaves grown in the shade and is best recognized by its bright green colour. They are steamed and dried without rolling to produce Tencha, which are then grinded in a stone mill to a fine Matcha powder. Hojicha however, is made from toasted and chilled leaves, which gives it a reddish-brown colour and a roasted scent.
Recently, I am being introduced by Secai Marche on their a nice and fragrant green tea (Shizuoka Matcha). Being a fans of green tea, we often buy them in stores and they are famed for their many health benefits which includes promote relaxation, detoxification, and rehydration.
And one of the best green tea in the world will definitely be in Kyoto which is at the Shizouka Perfecture. They are one of the largest tea production region and they produced 40% of all Nihon-Cha production.
I love is their High-Quality Sencha. The high-quality Sencha is perfect and contains more caffeine. Not just that, I love the smell of the sencha which is so fragrant and not bitter. It is really perfect to drink them at any time of the day as it gives you more alert during the long working hours.
And if you are looking for rehydration, go for the chilled Hojicha drink. And since Hojicha is pan-roasted, it is very low in caffeine. And I usually have them after dinner as Hojicha can improves metabolism as well helping with digestion. They are also good to prevent inflammatory gum diseases and aid for those who suffers from aches and pains from arthritis.
Not just the benefits of health, as we know green tea can also be part of our daily meals instead of just drinking as it. Many of us know, we can enjoy Matcha Frap, Green Tea Ice Cream, Cakes, Cocktails, and more. And this time, I am going to make my favorite Onde Onde with the Matcha Powder!
Matcha Onde Onde
Ingredients:
1. 250 g of glutinous rice flour
2. 100 ml of water
3. 100 ml of hot water
4. 1/8 tsp of salt
5. 1 grated coconut
6. 2 tbsp of matcha powder from Shizuoka Matcha ( From Secai Marche)
7. Gula Melaka
8. 1000 ml water (boiling)
Method
1. Chop the gula melaka block into small cubes
2. Mix the matcha powder together with the hot water and water
3. Pour them bit by bit to the glutinous rice flour
4. Mix them together and ensure that all is mixed well and form a dough
5. Cut the dough about 30 grams and wrapped the gula melaka inside
6. Put the dough into the hot water and let it boiled till it float
7. While waiting add the salt to the grated coconut and mix them well
8. Then once is cook, put them into the grated coconut and coat them evenly
9. Tadaa… done and enjoy them !
So, if you wanna make your favourite Malaysian favouries cookies, or even kuih, you can replace them with the green tea as well.
Perhaps, we will try to make agar agar as well with the matcha. All the teas can be purchase through our online store – https://secai-marche.com/buyer/login/user_login