Food & Drink
Matcha Deep Dive Quiz
Uji, tencha, chasen, chashaku — how deep is your matcha knowledge?
Uji, tencha, chasen, chashaku — how deep is your matcha knowledge?
A traditional granite stone mill (ishiusu) grinds just 30 grams of matcha per hour — that painstaking process is part of what makes ceremonial-grade matcha so prized. This 50-question quiz covers everything from shade-growing and tencha processing to the tea ceremony codified by Sen no Rikyu, the science of L-theanine and EGCG, and modern matcha culture from Kit Kats to global shortages.
Tencha is the tea leaf used to make matcha. After shade-growing for 20-30 days, the leaves are steamed, dried, and have their stems and veins removed. The remaining leaf material is then stone-ground into the fine powder we know as matcha.
Shading the tea plants for 20-30 days before harvest boosts chlorophyll production (giving matcha its vivid green color) and increases L-theanine levels, which provides a calm, focused energy rather than the jittery feeling from coffee.
Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591) is considered the most influential figure in the Japanese tea ceremony (chanoyu). He codified the wabi-cha aesthetic of simplicity and rusticity. He was eventually ordered to commit seppuku by the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi.