It's All About Tea — matcha

Overall there are two main types of tea ceremonies in Japan: an informal tea gathering chakai, and a formal tea gathering chaji. Chakai is a more simple tea gathering which will include some sweets and thin tea (usucha). While chaji is much more formal, usually including a full-course kaiseki meal followed by sweets, thick tea (koicha), and thin tea. A chaji is often times around four hours long, with guests taking small breaks to walk around in the garden by the tea hut.

Aside from the two main types of tea ceremonies there are also many other kinds of tea ceremonies which are held in Japan depending on the occasion, season, and time of day. (Read more)

The Japanese tea ceremony follows two main concepts — wabi sabi and ichigo ichie. Wabi-sabi, although hard to define literally, is a concept centered around the appreciation of imperfection. While ichigo ichie is an idiom meaning “one time, one meeting” and emphasizes the fact that each and every meeting is special in that it can only happen once. (Read more)

...It wasn’t until much later on, in the year 1191 that tea really started growing as a culture after being reintroduced by the Zen priest Eisai, who brought the seeds to Kyoto - the capital and cultural center of Japan at the time. (Read more)

Aside form drinking tea Gong Fu style or in the case of matcha, Cha No Yu, mixing tea with alcoholic beverages is also becoming very popular. You might be surprised how well these two beverages go together! Give the Matcha Martini a try and if you like it feel free to experiment with other teas and alcohol combinations. (Read more)

Globally, the popularity of Matcha has seen constant growth to the point where it is now considered a formal ingredient. It takes beverage form, dessert form, and all forms in between with a variety of temperatures, techniques, and tastes. But here, we'll focus on the most traditional way of preparing matcha, in it's most traditional form: served as a cup of hot tea. (Read More).