Quickie Wellness: The Matchaeologist

Learn more about matcha, its health benefits, and the art of making a perfect cup of tea…

This post comes to you from The Matchaeologist.

The Matchaeologist’s approach

The Matchaeologist is a Kyoto-based matcha brand with an aim to spread awareness and build a community around the mindful practice of matcha making — the #MatchaRitual. Our approach? To introduce a modern perspective to the ancient tradition of the Japanese tea ceremony.
Given that matcha and its development has been closely intertwined with Zen Buddhism and involves a strict set of procedures governed by the Japanese ‘tea ceremony’ culture, we aspire to make matcha more approachable and relevant for today’s lifestyle. With our kit, anyone will be able to take a brief moment of the day to prepare matcha and harness one’s awareness of the present moment. The cultivation of mindfulness through the simple practice of matcha preparation is really the core ethos of our brand.

Top 5 health benefits of matcha

This short article Top 5 Health Benefits of Matcha is perfect for you! In summary, matcha provides an energy boost to the mind and the body, promoting a state of ‘calm alertness’ lasting up to 6 hours (it keeps you alert, but calm at the same time!). In fact, it was used by Zen Buddhist monks to improve their mental clarity and productivity. Matcha also enhances your metabolism; in effect, helping burn calories and promoting a healthy weight without negative side effects. Moreover, it is also well known for its antioxidant properties, which helps rejuvenate the skin, enhance mood, as well as boost the immune system — hence the title ‘natural panacea of modern times.’

How to use the brewing kit

We actually have a page (step-by-step tutorial guide) dedicated to How to Brew Ceremonial Matcha.

Different tea schools in Japan champion different methods to prepare matcha. While you may have seen that the most ‘mainstream’ method is to froth matcha at the end, we, in fact, recommend drinkers to savor the taste of matcha without ‘frothing’, as drinkers can fully taste the complete anatomy of flavors in their palate without introducing another factor–air–into the scene.

Historically, frothing was implemented to make ‘bitter’ matcha taste milder. By frothing, matcha is infused with air, covering the tongue with an airy foam, making matcha taste creamier and milder in the process. This works perfectly with standard ‘bitter-tasting’ matcha. However, with our artisanal matcha, in which we put a lot of effort into perfecting its taste profile, our approach is to serve it without frothing — as the resulting liquid, just like fine wine, can directly cover your taste buds and deliver the full burst of flavors to your palate.

What sets us apart…

At Matchaeologist, we are obsessed with the quality of our products. We specialize in what we call ‘artisanal matcha’, or matcha crafted to be savored for its delightful qualities, using traditional methods developed by artisanal Japanese farmers for the past 800 years. The key characteristics that differentiate our matcha from others are: vivid pine green color, refreshing ‘ooika’ (覆香) aromas and an exquisite sweet-savory ‘umami’ (うま味) flavor profile–a result of the painstaking process that ranges from manually extracting only the most tender, highly prized parts of the virgin buds of shade-grown tea trees to fire roasting each batch to perfection to bring out the finest nuances of flavor in every roast. In terms of the health benefits, since we use only the burgeoning, virgin buds of shade-grown tea trees, our matcha is extremely rich in L-theanine. This is a type of amino acid that is known to contribute to the state of ‘calming alertness’, which helps enhance mental clarity and has historically been used in Japan by Zen Buddhist monks and samurai warriors before practising meditation sessions or stepping into arenas.

Our Matcha Brewing Kit also contains a carefully selected assortment of teaware products curated and designed through collaborative partnerships with fine craftsmen in Japan. Every one of our offerings is individually handmade for its unique character, and each aspect of our suite of products has been carefully designed to balance minimalist aesthetics with contemporary functionality, ensuring an optimal matcha-making experience for the modern lifestyle.

+Love matcha? Shop the brewing kit here

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Oh man, this is PERFECT for basically all my friends. Everyone (you only have to peek at all the matcha and green tea restaurants and dessert places here) is crazy about matcha in Hong Kong.

Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com