WEBVTT - Matcha: That Ain't Just Tea 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:03.000 Hey, everybody, it's Josh and Chuck your friends, and we 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:05.880 are here to tell you about our upcoming book that's 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:09.080 coming out this fall, the first ever Stuff you Should 0:00:09.080 --> 0:00:12.160 Know book, Chuck. That's right. What's the cool, super cool 0:00:12.200 --> 0:00:15.640 title we came up with. It's Stuff you Should Know colon, 0:00:16.120 --> 0:00:20.439 an incomplete compendium of mostly interesting things. That's right, and 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:23.520 it's coming along so great. We're super excited, you guys. 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:28.040 The illustrations are amazing, and there's the look of the book. 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:30.639 It's all just it's exactly what we hoped it would be. 0:00:30.680 --> 0:00:32.440 And we cannot wait for you to get your hands 0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:34.720 on it. Yes, we can't. Um, and you don't have 0:00:34.800 --> 0:00:36.479 to wait. Actually, well you do have to wait, but 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:38.400 you don't have to wait to order. You can go 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:42.440 preorder the book right now everywhere you get books, and 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:46.840 you will eventually get a special gift for preordering, which 0:00:46.840 --> 0:00:49.519 we're working on right now. That's right, So check it 0:00:49.520 --> 0:00:53.760 out soon coming this fall. Welcome to Stuff you Should Know, 0:00:53.960 --> 0:01:02.600 a production of My Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Yeah, hey, 0:01:02.680 --> 0:01:05.480 and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh and there's Chuck 0:01:05.560 --> 0:01:11.920 and we are Macha Macha man. We are some Macha man. 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:18.800 And Jerry's out there too. That's very cute. You mean's 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:22.959 um iTunes? I guess on her phone is stuck on 0:01:23.280 --> 0:01:25.920 Macho Man like anytime she plugs it in the car, 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:27.880 that's what comes up. I guess the deal with that? 0:01:29.120 --> 0:01:31.520 What like that? At the same first song starts off 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:35.000 and it varies. It's annoying. I don't know what it is, 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:37.760 but that's the way it is. Because Tim Cook said so. 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:41.280 By the way, if I may here at the beginning, 0:01:42.240 --> 0:01:47.720 I joined Instagram finally because of that Gwyneth Paltrow. Thank 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:54.400 what or is this totally unrelated to machaly related? Okay, well, welcome. 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:57.160 Do you thought I joined Instagram because of Gwyneth Paltrow. 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:00.720 I thought that this was a segue into the Macha episod. No. 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:04.640 I just finally got on Instagram because I loathe Facebook. 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:08.440 And the only thing I will do on Facebook now 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:10.560 is I do not pass go. I go straight to 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:14.320 movie Crush and movie Crushers, which is a great community 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:18.800 of really awesome people. Um it's a little wonderful corner 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:22.520 of Facebook that's not snarky and fun and supportive and 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:27.119 movie talk mostly. But I finally got on Instagram because 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:28.959 everyone was like, dude, you just get on Instagram because 0:02:29.000 --> 0:02:33.480 it's not like that, even though Facebook on Instagram. Um, 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:35.560 and so I did. So if you want to follow me, 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:43.480 you can find me at Chuck the Podcaster. I thought 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:46.400 there was That was a pregnant pause. Check. I'm I'm 0:02:46.400 --> 0:02:50.040 gonna say mine too. I'm at josh um Clark. Yeah, 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:54.720 it's you know, I'm I'm posting a few personal pictures. 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:58.200 I'm posting some movie crush stuff and these shirtless ones. 0:02:58.560 --> 0:03:03.120 Not yet, I'm posting some you know, I've always kind 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:06.160 of considered myself an amateur photographers with just things I 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:10.720 find beautiful or funny or fun or interesting. U um, 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:13.440 not a ton of stuff, but you know, I'm there now. 0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:16.080 It sounds like you've got it all figured out, Chuck. 0:03:16.120 --> 0:03:17.519 How many followers do you have? How many do I 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:21.680 need to beat? I think I'm at about I think twenty. 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:25.560 You'll make it today. I'll never make it there, you 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:29.240 will to. I think I'm at about that, and it's 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:31.919 kind of good little crew going. Um, what kind of 0:03:31.919 --> 0:03:37.920 stuff I need to follow? Better? Uh? Post some momo pictures? Um? 0:03:38.040 --> 0:03:45.680 What else do I postmo pictures? Pictures of me with food, um, pictures, 0:03:45.720 --> 0:03:49.080 that kind of stuff, you know, the usual Instagram stuff. 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:52.720 I don't know how personal to get as as much 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:56.120 as you want to be. I mean, if you do 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:59.400 like confessional videos where you're crying, it might freak people 0:03:59.440 --> 0:04:03.240 out a little bit. Oh can you do video? Oh yeah? Okay, 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:05.400 Well you are new, aren't you. I think I might 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:07.240 just keep it very basic and just do the old. 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:10.680 Here's a picture, okay, okay. I predict that that will 0:04:10.760 --> 0:04:15.960 change eventually, you think, cut to me crying. I'm gonna 0:04:15.960 --> 0:04:19.240 go follow you right now. I'm at seven point nine 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:24.279 by the way. Oh wow, chuck the podcast or go ahead. 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:26.080 I haven't announced it yet, so don't make fun of 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:29.279 my numbers. I'm following. You probably got no more than 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:34.320 a couple of hundred. Uh you've got that's pretty good. 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:38.640 Not bad pre announcement. Well, yes, that is not bad 0:04:38.680 --> 0:04:42.919 at all. Wow. So the reason I thought let me 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:45.600 do this, okay, because I have some explaining to do. 0:04:45.680 --> 0:04:48.320 The reason I thought you were talking about Gwyneth Paltrow 0:04:49.279 --> 0:04:54.280 is because Gwyneth Paltrow is the person that the current 0:04:55.120 --> 0:04:59.520 um deep and abiding love for all things macha that 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:02.839 a mayor has Gwyneth Paltrow is the person that is 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:05.880 chalked up. Is kicking that off back in two thousand fifteen, 0:05:05.920 --> 0:05:07.920 did you know that? Yeah, they lay it at her feet. 0:05:07.960 --> 0:05:10.760 Is that fair because I feel it's not at all fair. Yeah. 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:13.640 I feel like the mucha um sort of hipster macha 0:05:13.680 --> 0:05:16.800 boom happened before that. But I think what they're saying 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:19.839 is like she popularized it and it was no longer 0:05:20.000 --> 0:05:23.480 just relegated to hipsters because you know, hipsters are so rare. 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:27.919 They're rare creatures and they don't have much much reach 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:30.279 in the popular culture. It takes a Gwyneth Paltrow to 0:05:30.320 --> 0:05:33.200 really spread an idea these days, Thank God for her. 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:36.479 But there was a post that she made back in 0:05:36.520 --> 0:05:42.160 two thousand and fifteen that says that um oh, chilot 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:46.680 chill late h A l A I T Yeah, chill 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:51.479 late Macho Latte was a dreamy new discovery on Instagram 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:55.440 and that apparently made people go start drinking macha because 0:05:55.440 --> 0:06:00.560 she discovered in an eleventh century tee powder. That's right. 0:06:00.760 --> 0:06:05.560 Good for her. I'm glad we're doing this because first 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:08.560 of all, I love macha. Yeah, I do too, and 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:11.919 I think I got into it. I've fallen out of it, 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:15.520 but this made me buy some more that I bought 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:18.800 online as being shipped now as we speak. Oh yeah, 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:20.040 so I got out of it a little for a 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:23.960 little while. I guess maybe because I can't go to 0:06:24.000 --> 0:06:28.840 my little Japanese store and get it in person. But um, 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:31.440 what kicked off my love of Macha was my friend 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:34.240 p J and Los Angeles. So it was a while ago, 0:06:35.040 --> 0:06:38.640 and then I was reminded from the uh watching Top 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:41.279 Chef the other night they did. They had a you 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:43.560 know how much I love that show. They had a 0:06:44.360 --> 0:06:47.400 a challenge where it was they had to prepare a 0:06:47.480 --> 0:06:53.360 traditional Japanese kaiseki, which is a progressive taste, not not 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:56.880 quite a tasting, men you, but a progressive dinner, formal dinner, 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:00.800 which is very much reminded me of the Macha formal 0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:05.080 tea ceremony, right, which we'll talk about, But I just 0:07:05.120 --> 0:07:08.240 want to say that I think it would be deliciously 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:11.520 ironic if you learned about Macha from PJ, and PJ 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:15.120 learned about it from Gwyneth Paltrow's Instagram. This is way 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:21.760 pre two thousand fifteen, So, um, what about Macha everything, Chuck, 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:24.680 what about Macha kickcats? Are they your favorite kickcat flavor? 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:28.280 Did not care for those? Uh? I had had them? Yeah, 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:30.560 did not like him at all. Do you have Have 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:33.680 you had like a good macha latte from Starbucks? Have 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:36.200 not had a match a latte? It's pretty good. I 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:39.440 think it's just like macha tea. So you like the 0:07:39.520 --> 0:07:46.200 traditional macha powder and hot water stirred together, there's your tea. Yeah, great, 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:49.000 I mean that's the that's the purest approach there is. 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:51.200 And that's like what you said, people have been drinking 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:54.320 that since like the eleventh century. Yeah, or added to 0:07:54.800 --> 0:07:57.920 um like it just a regular steeped green tea might 0:07:57.960 --> 0:08:01.440 add a little dash of macha, or to a smoothie, 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:05.200 which I had a smoothe almost every morning. Yes, okay, 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:08.280 So there's a lot of different ways that you can 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:11.920 enjoy macha. And I think, ye know, we're about to 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:14.440 I think we should also say that we're not invested 0:08:14.480 --> 0:08:16.960 in any kind of macha outfit or anything like that, 0:08:17.040 --> 0:08:19.040 because we're talking it up a bit like we are, 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:21.200 like we're in the midst of a pumping up scheme 0:08:21.280 --> 0:08:24.080 or something like that. We're just fans, right, match is 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:28.679 just great. So um, we should say, like you're saying, 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:33.920 macha is t but it's t empowdered form, and it's 0:08:34.040 --> 0:08:39.000 specifically a very um distinct type of tea grown in 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:42.800 a very distinct way and processed in a distinct way, 0:08:43.040 --> 0:08:46.240 and that it's really unlike any other kind of tea, 0:08:46.360 --> 0:08:48.959 so much so that it's a really weird thing if 0:08:49.000 --> 0:08:51.040 you think about it. But then it's an also a 0:08:51.120 --> 0:08:54.480 very delightful and calming, soothing thing to to learn about. 0:08:54.520 --> 0:08:57.839 Two I found yeah and big thanks to how stuff 0:08:57.840 --> 0:09:02.000 Works dot com, Maurice he hunt uh, the American Specialty 0:09:02.040 --> 0:09:04.920 t Alliance and then this great article on a good 0:09:04.960 --> 0:09:07.200 and proper from Emily Holmes. Help help me out for 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:11.040 this one. But yeah, so the macha is the these 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:16.800 tea leaves that have been steamed then dried, and then 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:20.520 you get those stems out and you want, yeah, the 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:24.880 seeds now, stems and seeds, that's the rule. You don't 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:29.360 want any any swag tea. So you get that stuff 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:32.640 out of there, and then you grind that stuff into 0:09:32.640 --> 0:09:36.679 a fine powder. And we'll talk about the different places 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.120 where it's grown, but and then about the history. But 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:42.920 what you end up with is this ideally very bright 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:48.520 bright chlorophyll green powder almost neon green. Yeah, if it's 0:09:48.720 --> 0:09:51.760 you know, the good stuff, right, Yeah, the greener the 0:09:51.760 --> 0:09:54.440 the greener, the brighter that the almost day glory, it 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:58.839 is usually the better the actual macha is. And we'll 0:09:58.840 --> 0:10:04.000 see exactly why. But somewhere along the way about the 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:08.040 eleventh century, UM or the twelfth century, I guess it 0:10:08.080 --> 0:10:13.800 would be UM. I think back in the Japanese imported 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:19.240 this idea from the Chinese, and we it's weird to 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:22.440 think like there was a point in time where they're like, Okay, 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:25.840 we're gonna start powdering teeth from this process, and then 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:28.880 this will be go on to become macha. Were up 0:10:28.880 --> 0:10:31.600 to that. Nobody made tea like that. They made tea 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:33.760 like you would think they grew tea. They kind of 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:37.160 packed it into cakes or bricks, and they sold it 0:10:37.240 --> 0:10:39.440 like that, and you would steep it and you would 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.280 drink the liquor is what they call it, um, and 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:44.520 you would remove the tea leaves. That's not at all 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:48.440 what matches. Matches straight up ground powdered tea leaves, and 0:10:48.480 --> 0:10:52.680 you're drinking the tea itself, not like steep tea. That's 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:55.000 that's come out of the tea and you're throwing the 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.160 tea leaves away. You're drinking the whole kitten caboodle, as 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:00.800 they say Japan, which is why there are so many 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:04.280 great health benefits which we'll get to. Uh. Yeah, there 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:07.720 was a well, first of all, it's in Japanese mott 0:11:07.920 --> 0:11:11.920 means powdered and cha means tea, so being bad a 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:15.720 boom macha powdered tea. But there was a zen monk 0:11:16.040 --> 0:11:21.319 name uh s I, I believe, so okay, who brought 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:24.960 these tea seeds after going on a trip to China. 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:29.600 And I think this is the person who in started 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:37.480 what I say, sorry, it was seven years uh started 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:40.080 cultivating this stuff and then had a pupil. And this 0:11:40.200 --> 0:11:42.120 this stuff was very popular with the monks because they 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:45.360 could get caffeine loaded and stay up all night and pray. 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:49.680 But I had a pupil name Mioi, who was a 0:11:49.679 --> 0:11:53.760 Buddhist monk there in the mountains northwest of Kyoto. And 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:56.080 I think this is the person that really took this 0:11:56.160 --> 0:12:00.760 cultivation seriously and started to sort of make it a 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:06.319 larger scale operation. Yeah. Um, the Buddhist temple that Mioe 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:08.600 lived at I think was in charge of it's called 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:14.000 kozon g on the Tonga No Mountain. I checked with 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:15.640 you me. I was like, do you say both those? 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:18.120 And she said yeah, And I practiced and it's not 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:23.640 coming out right, But Taga No Mountain m outside of 0:12:23.720 --> 0:12:29.440 Kyoto and um mioe just so happened where where he lived, 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:33.640 where he started planting this tea had these incredible, like 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:37.120 um natural conditions that just so happened to come together 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:41.120 that that produced exactly the kind of tea leaf that 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:45.160 you would want for macha. But it's it was just 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:49.400 a basically a freak of nature that it happened that way. Yeah, 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:52.800 He's like, you know, we got this great soil, super 0:12:52.800 --> 0:12:56.000 fertile um, we have this morning dew that comes in 0:12:56.080 --> 0:12:59.240 because of the river nearby, and that that really rest 0:12:59.320 --> 0:13:01.680 on those tee eaves and just makes it all pop 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:05.680 with chlorophyll. And it became more popular. And as it 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:09.600 became more popular, it was the third show gun of 0:13:09.640 --> 0:13:16.800 the Ashikaga Shogunate, and his name was Ashikaga Yoshi. Meet 0:13:16.840 --> 0:13:22.400 Sue Beautiful. I love Japanese. Well it's wonderful, isn't it. Yeah, 0:13:22.480 --> 0:13:25.720 there's something about it. It just appeals to my eyeballs, 0:13:26.600 --> 0:13:29.080 and it's appeals to my tongue when I can manage 0:13:29.120 --> 0:13:31.800 to get it out of my mouth correctly. There's just 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:34.720 something about it. I really like it. But um, he's 0:13:34.720 --> 0:13:36.520 the one that said, all right, we gotta get more 0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:39.760 of this stuff and fast because people love this macha. 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:43.240 So uh, let's get it going here in the Uji 0:13:43.280 --> 0:13:47.640 era era area right outside of Kyoto. So it was 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:52.719 originally just on Tokenah Mountain and then it was expanded 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:55.160 to a wider area and it was there when they 0:13:55.160 --> 0:13:58.120 expanded to Uji, and Uji is now like the place 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:01.200 where you get the world's greatest ma chu, they decided. 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:03.640 But at first the tea that they were starting to 0:14:03.679 --> 0:14:07.080 produce an Uji when they first expanded it. Um, but 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:09.120 they were like, this is this is not nearly as 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:12.080 good as as the stuff that they're making over there 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:16.880 on Taga Mountain right um And they could not figure 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:18.480 out why. And then they went back and they looked 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:22.080 and they realized that on the mountain there was a 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:26.080 lot of forests that was naturally shading these tea bushes, 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:29.480 and that that was the big difference. Than they started 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:31.120 to study it more and more and more, and they 0:14:31.160 --> 0:14:34.840 realized that they could kind of mimic this forest shading it, 0:14:34.960 --> 0:14:37.880 and that if they did this at at certain amounts 0:14:37.960 --> 0:14:41.960 or certain certain times during the growing season, um, they 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:46.080 could actually force the tea to produce exactly the kind 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:49.600 of leaves that they would want to um to turn 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:52.520 into macha because it takes a very specific kind of 0:14:53.120 --> 0:14:56.840 um growth pattern and it's just so beautiful and zen 0:14:57.400 --> 0:15:01.040 especially because these were zen monks who were figuring this out. 0:15:01.720 --> 0:15:08.000 But it's just like this like delicately manipulating the plant 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:11.040 to get it to do what you want so you 0:15:11.080 --> 0:15:14.600 can get the most remarkable leaves to use for macha. 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:17.880 I just find it seriously, Like when I was researching 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:20.920 this and studying this, I was just so much just 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:25.400 it was just calm and like really soothing, you know. Yeah. 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:26.880 I don't think we said with the name of it, 0:15:26.920 --> 0:15:30.000 but it's called tincha before it becomes much much as 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:34.040 that final ground up powder. Yeah, everything leading up to 0:15:34.120 --> 0:15:36.920 that is is like you said, tencha. So technically you 0:15:36.960 --> 0:15:39.640 don't grow macha. So we'll talk about exactly how it's 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:43.120 cultivated later, but the upshot of it is that by 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:49.000 noticing that the forest around these um. These plants shaded them, 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:51.840 they figured out how to simulate it by building structures 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:56.000 around them, and what they've come up with finally, in 0:15:56.480 --> 0:16:01.280 Uji is what you would call ceremonial grade pacha. Yeah, 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:03.800 and you know what, I looked that up and saw 0:16:03.840 --> 0:16:08.160 a couple of things. I saw that ceremonial grade UM 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:11.080 was used to be reserved for royalty, and that it's 0:16:11.160 --> 0:16:13.040 the you know, kind of the best stuff out there 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:16.480 as opposed to culinary grade, which you cook with. But 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:18.720 then I also saw other places that said that's sort 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:21.880 of a tag you can't even trust anymore, that's sort 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:25.080 of thrown on there for Americans. So I don't really 0:16:25.120 --> 0:16:28.080 know what to believe. I do know that UM, like 0:16:28.120 --> 0:16:33.560 a high quality Japanese macha, is not cheap, so that's 0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:35.720 that can always be a decent guide if you're online 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.280 trying to buy some. If you see something super cheap, 0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:41.880 it's probably not great. But there are four regions in 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:49.560 Japan where it's produced Uji, uh Fukuoka, Nishio, and Shizuoka, 0:16:50.280 --> 0:16:53.600 and Uji is the most renowned. Obviously. The article from 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:55.880 Eater that I saw said it's sort of like seeing 0:16:56.000 --> 0:17:00.920 Bordeaux on a wine label the net. The best would 0:17:00.960 --> 0:17:06.000 be uh Fukuoka, which is on the island of Kyushu, 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:09.800 and they're sort of newer in the last like ten 0:17:09.840 --> 0:17:12.840 to twenty years, but apparently are putting out some really 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:16.800 really good stuff. Uh Nicio is the largest by volume 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:20.280 of macha uh and they're sort of the more mass 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:23.320 market style and if you get that in the US, 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:26.280 it's not going to be very good apparently. And then 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:29.439 the last one is the Shizuoka, and they're the largest 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:32.320 producer of all green tea by volume, and it's not 0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:35.800 very well regarded as like really good macha. So go 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:38.560 for that Uji or go for the Fukuoka if you 0:17:38.560 --> 0:17:41.880 want the good stuff. Um So, I say we take 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:44.879 a break and then we'll come back and talk about 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:47.240 maybe the tea ceremony. How about that? Yes, let's take 0:17:47.240 --> 0:18:13.879 a break. Okay, okay, chuck. So apparently ceremonial grade is 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:17.600 totally made up. But if you were going to I 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:22.639 don't think it's necessarily true. But I could Okay, I 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:26.200 could see people abusing that. How about that? Now I 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:31.320 could see non non Japanese retailers abusing that. How that? So? 0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:34.879 Um But if you went to a tea ceremony um, 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:37.280 that would if if there is such a thing as 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:40.120 ceremonial grade, that probably would be the kind of tea 0:18:40.200 --> 0:18:43.520 that they would serve you, and ceremonial grade tea, or 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:46.960 I should say that the tea ceremony um is called 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.480 the Chotto, which means the way of tea, because again 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:54.080 chaw means tea and dough means way, So this is 0:18:54.119 --> 0:18:56.560 like the way of tea. And just the name of it, 0:18:56.800 --> 0:19:00.160 of the tea ceremony being called that kind of gets 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:02.959 you this idea that there's like a zen vibe to it. 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:06.359 And their most decidedly is oh yeah, like if you 0:19:06.440 --> 0:19:10.080 just watch one of these, it's just super calming. Everything. 0:19:10.160 --> 0:19:12.399 It's sort of like that formal meal I was talking about. 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:19.120 Everything is just very exact and purposeful. Um, yeah, those 0:19:19.119 --> 0:19:21.440 are the two words. Exact and purposeful is what it's 0:19:21.440 --> 0:19:24.880 all about. You're not You're not just throwing tea around. 0:19:25.160 --> 0:19:27.840 I mean everything from the folding of the napkin to 0:19:28.000 --> 0:19:31.200 how you sit, it's all just very much planned out, 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:34.800 and uh, it's just super relaxing to be a part of. 0:19:34.880 --> 0:19:36.879 I think it really is. I was talking to you 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:38.800 me about it because she she was trained in it 0:19:39.040 --> 0:19:41.880 um and she said, it's super stressful while you're learning 0:19:41.920 --> 0:19:46.159 because every single step in, every single hand movement, every 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:49.080 sound that the that you make, like the the whisk 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:53.080 clinking up against the bowl, um, all those things are 0:19:53.119 --> 0:19:55.960 meant to to be a certain way, and so much 0:19:55.960 --> 0:19:58.960 so that there's like different schools that do the the 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:02.920 ceremony slightly differently. But the ultimate point of the whole 0:20:02.960 --> 0:20:06.479 thing is that it's meant to draw you into the moment. 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:09.800 It's meant to be a really meditative experience, not just 0:20:09.840 --> 0:20:12.200 for you, the person making tea, but the person who's 0:20:12.240 --> 0:20:15.760 being served tea. And it's it's um it is when 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:17.480 like you were saying, when you watch one of these 0:20:17.480 --> 0:20:20.560 things there there's plenty of them on YouTube, it's real quiet, 0:20:20.640 --> 0:20:23.720 really silent, and it's really meditative, even just to watch 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:26.879 a video of. But it's it's cool the idea that 0:20:26.920 --> 0:20:30.760 there's this whole process planned out and that it's meant 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:35.240 to make you observe the moment. It also really shows 0:20:35.240 --> 0:20:38.240 you how um this this whole thing has its roots 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:41.880 and Zen Buddhism, green tea does or macha. Yeah, even 0:20:41.960 --> 0:20:44.080 the white lady in San Francisco, and that video you 0:20:44.119 --> 0:20:47.560 sent me was relaxing. It was. But then did you 0:20:47.600 --> 0:20:50.439 see the with the French one too, And that was 0:20:50.520 --> 0:20:53.200 just like I was like in my chair drooling while 0:20:53.200 --> 0:20:55.440 that one was going on because it was just totally quiet. 0:20:56.080 --> 0:20:58.760 But when you watch a tea ceremony, you see that 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:01.800 that there's a specific way that you're supposed to to 0:21:02.200 --> 0:21:05.240 um produce to make green tea, like the way that 0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:09.240 you drink it macha um where it's just powder and 0:21:09.320 --> 0:21:13.040 hot water mixed together and then there's your tea. But 0:21:13.160 --> 0:21:16.080 then so you're supposed to use two scoops. If you've 0:21:16.119 --> 0:21:19.680 ever seen like one of those little bamboo hook skewer 0:21:20.280 --> 0:21:25.480 kind of things, it's called a cho shooka yeah, chuku 0:21:25.960 --> 0:21:29.040 okay um. Those are equal to about a third of 0:21:29.040 --> 0:21:31.520 a teaspoon, and you want two of those, so roughly 0:21:31.600 --> 0:21:33.240 half a teaspoon if you don't have one of the 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:37.239 bamboo scoops for green tea. And then um, you put 0:21:37.320 --> 0:21:39.920 in a little bit of water um and you stir 0:21:40.000 --> 0:21:43.320 it together with the bamboo whisk until a froth forms 0:21:43.640 --> 0:21:46.400 and then there you go. You've got your your macha prepared. 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:48.840 The traditional way, and you're supposed to drink in about 0:21:48.920 --> 0:21:53.080 three SIPs from what I understand. Yeah, and it's um. 0:21:53.160 --> 0:21:55.000 You know, you can get more detailed than that if 0:21:55.000 --> 0:21:57.520 you want to. If you want to get out a 0:21:57.520 --> 0:22:02.040 strainer to keep it from lumping up, you can do that. Um, 0:22:02.080 --> 0:22:04.639 the water should be warm. You don't want to just 0:22:04.680 --> 0:22:08.399 throw boiling water in there. Apparently anything over eighty degrees 0:22:08.440 --> 0:22:12.680 will scorch it, and that will increase the bitterness. Unless 0:22:12.960 --> 0:22:15.040 I don't know, you really like a bitter macha. I 0:22:15.040 --> 0:22:18.640 guess that could be a a call you could make. 0:22:18.720 --> 0:22:22.720 But there's a fine line. I think bitterness is a 0:22:22.760 --> 0:22:26.080 part of macha to a certain degree, but it's not. 0:22:26.440 --> 0:22:29.560 It shouldn't be the overriding characteristic. No, No, it's meant 0:22:29.600 --> 0:22:32.720 to be balanced out by a sweetness because I mean macha. 0:22:32.760 --> 0:22:35.080 It's like, if you've had tea but you've never had macha, 0:22:35.280 --> 0:22:37.760 you you can't guess what macha tastes like just by 0:22:37.800 --> 0:22:40.200 having had any other kind of tea before. It's got 0:22:40.240 --> 0:22:42.800 its own flavor for sure. Yeah, I mean, green tea 0:22:42.840 --> 0:22:45.120 will give give you a hint, like, if you really 0:22:45.119 --> 0:22:47.160 like green tea, you'll probably like macha. But it's still 0:22:47.200 --> 0:22:49.639 not quite the same thing. No, because the other thing 0:22:49.640 --> 0:22:52.320 about macha too is it foams when you whisk it, 0:22:52.800 --> 0:22:55.600 which um indicates that's got a mouth feel to it 0:22:55.720 --> 0:22:58.639 that tea doesn't have. Like green tea is like tea. 0:22:59.080 --> 0:23:03.200 The consistency of tea macha is almost like um creamy. Yeah, 0:23:03.240 --> 0:23:05.320 it has a creamy ins to it, even though it's 0:23:05.400 --> 0:23:08.239 just powdered tea. There's no cream in it, but it 0:23:08.280 --> 0:23:12.320 has a creamy consistency to it too. It's basically magic 0:23:12.400 --> 0:23:18.560 green potion from japan Land. Yeah, and it's differentiates. There's 0:23:18.560 --> 0:23:24.119 another type of tea called hoji cha, which is um 0:23:24.400 --> 0:23:28.440 reddish brown, and they get that from smoking it, So yeah, 0:23:28.440 --> 0:23:31.040 it's a It has sort of a earthy, smoky aroma. 0:23:31.080 --> 0:23:36.440 They both have that umami, those umami undertones um. But 0:23:36.840 --> 0:23:39.760 the hoji chaw is not gonna be bitter because that 0:23:39.880 --> 0:23:43.240 roasting process. I think I said smoking they actually roasted 0:23:44.520 --> 0:23:47.240 um makes a little different. And I think hogi cha 0:23:47.320 --> 0:23:50.520 doesn't have nearly as much caffeine as macha, much as 0:23:50.520 --> 0:23:54.640 about three point two grams per grams of caffeine. It's 0:23:54.640 --> 0:23:57.280 a lot of caffeine and hogias point one three if 0:23:57.280 --> 0:24:00.240 that tells you anything, Holy cow, And it's three point 0:24:00.280 --> 0:24:04.280 to wow. And again that's because you're drinking. You're drinking 0:24:04.400 --> 0:24:08.080 the tea leaf itself, not just the liquor of the tea. Yeah. 0:24:08.119 --> 0:24:10.000