Matcha Tea: Benefits and differences between ceremonial and culinary
Matcha tea is a green Japanese tea that can be prepared with whole leaves unlike other traditional teas. There are different varieties, although Fukuoka matcha tea can be highlighted as one of the highest quality, totally organic. Consuming this type of tea brings important health benefits, although you have to learn to differentiate ceremonial matcha tea from culinary when talking about its benefits. Let's see how to do it!
Difference between ceremonial and culinary matcha tea
Culinary matcha is a dark green leaf that tends to be bitter when boiled in water, so it is not recommended for infusions. In addition, its texture is pasty so it is not so pleasant to drink. For these reasons, it is preferable to leave it for culinary recipes. However, one of its great benefits is that it has an umami flavor when combined with certain foods, which helps highlight the flavor of dishes.
While ceremonial matcha has an umami aroma and flavor in the infusions, this difference is probably related to its processing, which really is quite a ceremony. When collected, the best leaves are selected and separated from their stem to avoid oxidation. It is then steam-cooked before being ground. This procedure helps it preserve its antioxidants and is also a tea of high nutritional quality. This makes its color slightly different, since blue and yellow flashes can be seen among the green. It is also a more expensive tea on the market.
What is the benefit of an umami flavor?
Matcha tea has been classified as an umami tea, this means in Japanese that it is a tasty tea, with a subtle flavor and difficult to describe. The term ?tasty? It is one of the 5 basic flavors of the palate along with sweet, salty, bitter and sour. This type of flavor induces salivation on the tongue, stimulating the palate and throat. The pleasure of drinking a ceremonial matcha tea translates into well-being and health thanks also to its antioxidant and relaxing power.
The umami flavor is also present in culinary matcha when it is combined with foods rich in glutamate and this highlights the flavors of the foods. The nutrients in matcha produce a synergistic effect on the flavors, this is due to the presence of ribonucleotides that when joined to foods that contain glutamate, the resulting flavor is superior to the sum of both ingredients. This aspect is important in the kitchen, since it reduces the consumption of salts and sugars to give flavor to the food. Better choice of seasonings is also better nutrition.