Will craze for Japanese matcha fuel a revival of Japan’s ‘way of tea’? Experts hope so
Clad in an elegant kimono of pale green, tea ceremony instructor Keiko Kaneko uses a tiny wooden spoon to place a speck of matcha into a porcelain bowl.
She froths up the special powdered Japanese green tea with a bamboo whisk after pouring hot water with a ladle from a pot simmering over hot coals.
Her solemn, dance-like movements celebrate a Zen-like transient moment, solitude broken up by the ritualistic sharing of a drink.
No wonder Kaneko and others serious about sado, or “the way of tea”, are a bit taken aback by how matcha is suddenly popping up in all sorts of things, from lattes and ice cream to cakes and chocolate.
No one knows for sure who started the global matcha boom, which has been going on for several years. But it is clear that harvests, especially of fine-grade matcha, cannot keep up with demand.
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