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Jun 20th, '09, 01:25
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Few Questions - temperature, oxidation and matcha

by Elarya » Jun 20th, '09, 01:25

I have a few questions as I have been reading and not sure where to put them? I am a real beginner - beginner..

1. Temperature
I have been reading here and there how people have their water temps different depending on the tea. What is the norm? To purchase a thermometer? Or just over time does one get a feel for what the temp is?

2. Oxidized
What is this? I have read the term in reference to tea, oxidized, less oxidized etc. Is there a FAQ about this somewhere, or is it something simple? Why would one choose an oxidized tea over a non oxidized, or is this simply a label to differentiate a type of tea?

3. Matcha
I have been reading a lot about this, but not sure exactly what it is?

Again, I apologize in advance if I should be separating these topics (just say the word) or if I have this in the wrong category, or if these have already been answered elsewhere!

Thank you :)

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Jun 20th, '09, 02:15
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by entropyembrace » Jun 20th, '09, 02:15

1. Temperature....some people use a thermometer and some people just develop an intuitive sense of what temperature works...I think that really goes down to your personality. From past tea day discussions those of us that don't use the thermometer tend not to measure much or follow recipes exactly while cooking either. :lol:

2. Oxidized...it's a way of describing the colour of tea, oxidation is what happens when you slice an apple and it turns brown...well for tea white and green teas are not oxidized, oolong teas are partially oxidized and black teas are fully oxidized. Pu-erh can be along the whole range of oxidation. So it's what makes for the different colours of tea and also is important part of flavour for oolongs...a 20% oxidized oolong (closer to green tea) will taste quite different from an 80% oxidized oolong! (that's closer to black tea)

3. Matcha's a Japanese powdered tea, they produce it by grinding high grade green tea into a powder. It's prepared by whisking with hot water in a chawan...a matcha bowl and then you drink the mixture. Apparently it really gives people a boost but I haven't tried it yet myself...something I want to get to in the near future :)

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Jun 20th, '09, 08:32
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by chingwa » Jun 20th, '09, 08:32

Temperature will really depend on the type of tea. Black teas/Puehrs usually have hotter water while greens will tend to have slightly cooled water. But even within types of tea you will have varying temperatures... for example Gyokuro green tea does better with MUCH cooler water than other green teas. it all comes down to experimentation and your own individual taste. Personally, I only use a thermometer on the more expensive/finicky teas like gyokuro because in these cases I want to be sure I have the temperature as close to optimum as possible... but most of the time I just wing it :D

Oxidized will have a few different meanings I suspect when it comes to tea... I will leave the detailed explanation to the Black Tea/Oolong experts. Green tea however is unoxidized, which is partially why it is now en vogue and added to everything in one form or another for it's supposed health benefits.

Matcha is different from most types of tea. It's traditional Japanese ceremonial tea... and it takes a bit of getting used to :) some people love it, some people hate it... but it's worth a try at some point, as long as you can get your hands on a good quality matcha. Most (all?) matcha you would find in a grocery store, even an asian grocery store is pretty low quality food-grade tea which will typically be rather bitter. there are plenty of tea websites where you can order good quality tea though. Matcha, moreso than other teas (well, depends on who you ask... :D ) involves the use of specific instruments... like the bamboo whisk, scoop, and special tea bowl. again, this is all originally ceremonial... with meaning endowed to everything.

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Jun 20th, '09, 08:50
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by clareandromeda » Jun 20th, '09, 08:50

If you've ever had green tea baked good or ice cream, its made with matcha powder. I'm sipping matcha righ now...its lovely and has a serious caffeine kick.

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Jun 20th, '09, 12:05
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by Victoria » Jun 20th, '09, 12:05

Matcha has a lot of caffeine, because you are ingesting the whole leaf.

Here a nice thread to get you started:
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=9591

Jun 23rd, '09, 10:37
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by Intuit » Jun 23rd, '09, 10:37

Matcha is prepared from a particular variety of green tea grown in Japan (that has, through isolation, attained fixed genetic traits that make it clearly different on the molecular level from Chinese green teas) that is grown under shaded conditions for the last month, and it's harvested in just the right weather to ensure that the antioxidants/flavenols are optimal. It's minimally dry processed and ground into a fine powder by hand using traditional methods that are hundreds of years old.

You get an accumulation of theanine and less glutamate. You want the former, because it opposes the latter, which is an excitotoxic compound when present in concentrated form.

It's chemistry is the secret to the physiological/psychological effects of matcha. It, and the tea ceremony are used for clearing the mind and inducing serene calm (along with daily meditative practice of Japanese Buddhist/Shinto spiritualism). They are necessary for maintaining social order, altruistic integrity (that in turn supports the temples and priests, redistributing wealth within a strictly casted society) and psychological health among dense populations living under exceptional oxidative conditions.

Theanine and green tea antioxidants - it's what for tea (when you live in a high-pressure, rigidly-proscribed society).

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Jun 23rd, '09, 19:05
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by clareandromeda » Jun 23rd, '09, 19:05

Intuit wrote: living under exceptional oxidative conditions.
That is a lovely comparison...well put.

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Jul 12th, '09, 17:27
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by reincarnate » Jul 12th, '09, 17:27

Some people have electric kettles that have temperature settings, that way you don't have to worry about getting it wrong

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