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The origin of matcha goes back centuries, to the Tang dynasty in China. Zen Buddhism brought tea to Japanese culture. While its renown faded in China, Zen monasteries in Japan consolidated the tradition of matcha production. Between the 14th and 16th centuries matcha became very popular with Japanese high society. The history of matcha is as rich as the drink itself!
A brief historical overview:
All true tea comes from the tea plant "Camellia Sinensis", a shrub native to southern China. Green tea is known as the "healthiest" form of tea because of its lack of processing, which results in extremely high nutrient levels. Matcha green tea originated in Japan, and because the whole leaf is consumed in powder form, it is the most potent green tea in the world.
In Japanese, "cha" means tea, and "ma" means powder, so the word Matcha literally translates as powdered green tea. The first green tea seeds are believed to have been brought to Japan from China by the Zen monk Eisai in 1191 AD, who planted them on the temple grounds in Kyoto. Eisai, who introduced Zen philosophy to Japan, was the first person to grind and consume green tea leaves in powder form. Thus, Zen and Matcha became inextricably united, in the form of the exquisite tea ceremony. The tea ceremony celebrates the deep beauty of simple things, the extraordinary in the ordinary, and is intended to bring all participants into the here and now. Drinking Matcha tea as the focal point of the tea ceremony was a perfect choice, since Matcha stimulates presence of mind, mental alertness and a meditative, calm state at the same time.
These profound physiological benefits of Matcha, intuited by Japan's sages, are now being proven by modern science, as more and more groundbreaking studies on the health benefits of Matcha green tea are published.