The Origin of Matcha

Matcha originated in China, and its development spanned multiple dynasties.

The Vague Origins Stage: The origins of matcha can be traced back to ancient times. The *Shennong Bencao Jing* (Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica) records that "Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs, encountering seventy-two poisons daily, and was cured by tea." Shennong chewed and swallowed tea leaves, taking the first step in humankind's tea-drinking practice, and he is hailed as the "father of matcha."

The Early Development Stage: As early as the Wei and Jin Dynasties, ancient texts recorded the existence of "powdered tea," which was already quite popular at that time. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, people began to grind steamed green tea cakes into powder, add hot water, stir with a tea whisk or tea spoon, and then drink the tea and tea liquor together. This method of "eating tea" was the early form of matcha consumption.

The Golden Age: The Song Dynasty was the golden age of "powdered tea" development. The production of tea cakes became increasingly complex, and the tea-drinking process became more standardized. From the initial tea picking, the entire tea-making process was strictly controlled by dedicated "tea supervisors," who emphasized the methods of brewing, whisking, and serving tea. Cai Xiang, a calligrapher and tea scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty, provided a detailed record of the whisking method in his book *Tea Record*. Furthermore, masters of tea serving emerged, such as the monk "Fuquan."

At the end of the 9th century, "powdered tea" entered Japan with Japanese envoys to Tang Dynasty China, evolving into the Japanese word "matcha" based on pronunciation. In Japan, matcha underwent several stages of development, maturing into an important component of Japanese tea culture.