What is Green Tea Powder?
Green tea powder is made from the whole leaf of the Camellia sinensis plant. Often it will include the veins and stems of the leaf. It is milled from the leaf to make a powder. This powder can be used for making mixes for baking, cooking and even soaps and candles as well as drinks. It is also used in some cosmetics. It is believed green tea powder was invented in China in the tenth or eleventh century. Through Buddhism it spread to Japan. It came to be called Zen by the Japanese. A sixteenth century tea master (Sen no Rikyu) put together the rules of the renowned tea ceremony. It was specified that matcha was the only tea to use for this ceremony. Matcha green tea comes from Japan. A few weeks before the tea bushes are harvested they are sheltered from direct sunlight while at the same time this causes slowing of the plants growth. This results in the leaves turning to a darker shade of green. It also is causing the production of amino acids. This gives green tea powder the sweeter ta
