Very Green Tea

How is it ground up? What tea is used for it?

Also can I make my own at home by just sticking green tea in a blender or coffee grinder to grind it into a powder, or using a mortar and pestle?

is a fine, powdered green tea used in Japanese tea ceremony and to dye and flavour foods such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream and a variety of wagashi.
Matcha is generally expensive compared to other forms of tea, although its price depends on its quality. It can be hard to find outside Japan, as can the implements traditionally used to prepare and consume it, but you can find it easily in any tea-specialized shop (like "The Tea Shop" franchise), as well as the apparatus used to brew it.

Prior to serving, the matcha is often forced through a sieve in order to break up clumps. There are special sieves available for this purpose, which are usually stainless steel and combine a fine wire mesh sieve and a temporary storage container. A special wooden spatula is used to force the tea through the sieve, or a small, smooth stone may be placed on top of the sieve and the device shaken gently.

If the sieved matcha is to be served at a Japanese tea ceremony, then it will be placed into a small tea caddy known as a chaki. Otherwise, it can be scooped directly from the sieve into a tea bowl.

A small amount of matcha is placed into the bowl, traditionally using a bamboo scoop called a chashaku, and a modicum of hot (not boiling) water is added. The mixture is then whisked to a uniform consistency, traditionally using a special kind of whisk made of bamboo known as a chasen. There must be no lumps left in the liquid, and ideally no ground tea should remain on the sides of the bowl.

Usucha, or thin tea, is prepared with half a teaspoon of matcha and approximately 75 ml (2.5 oz) of hot water. Some drinkers (and schools of tea ceremony) prefer to whip the mixture to produce a light frothy "head," while others prefer as little foam as possible. Schools also vary on the amount of water and matcha. Usucha creates a lighter and slightly more bitter tea.

Koicha, or thick tea, requires significantly more matcha, as many as six teaspoons to 3/4 cup of water. Because the resulting mixture is significantly thicker, blending it requires a slower, stirring motion which does not produce foam. Koicha produces a sweeter tea, and is served almost exclusively as part of Japanese tea ceremonies. Special chasen designed for this purpose are often employed.

Here is more info on it if you're interested in buying some:
http://www.matchasource.com/

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I've been trying all many types of japanese green tea (Sencha, Konach, Matcha, etc) and they look way greener and taste very differently than the other one like Lipton green tea, it looked darker and taste bitter, although they're all from the same plant Camellia Senisis?

You've been trying different types of Japanese green tea and comparing them with Western brands of green tea that is probably the same type. (Personally, I can't stand Western green teas and no tea from Lipton at all because I think it's poorly made and this affects the taste.)

differences as listed in Wikipedia:
玉露 Gyokuro (Jade Dew)
The highest grade Japanese green tea cultivated in special way. Gyokuro's name refers to the pale green color of the infusion. The leaves are grown in the shade before harvest, which alters their flavor. Gyokuro has a high caffeine content (Generally 0.16% in infusion[2]), but the significant L-Theanine content of Gyokuro slows down and counteracts the caffeine assimilation, and also the amount ingested is very small (Generally 10ml - 60ml).

抹茶 Matcha (rubbed tea)
A fine ground Ten-cha (碾茶: has very similar cultivation process as Gyokuro) used primarily in the tea ceremony. Matcha is also a popular flavor of ice cream and other sweets in Japan.

煎茶 Sencha (broiled tea)
The first and second flush of green tea, which is the most common green tea in Japan made from leaves that are exposed directly to sunlight. The first flush is also called Shin-cha (新茶: a new tea)

玄米茶 Genmaicha (Brown-Rice tea)
Bancha (sometimes Sencha) and roasted genmai (brown rice) blend. It is often mixed with a small amount of Matcha to make the colour better.

冠茶 Kabusecha (covered tea)
kabusecha is sencha tea, the leaves of which have grown in the shade prior to harvest, although not for as long as Gyokuro. It has a more delicate flavor than Sencha.

番茶 Bancha (common tea)
Sencha harvested as a third or fourth flush tea between summer and autumn. Aki-Bancha (autumn Bancha) is not made from entire leaves, but from the trimmed unnecessary twigs of the tea plant.

焙じ茶 Hōjicha (pan fried tea)
A strong roasted green tea.

茎茶 Kukicha (stalk tea)
A tea made from stalks produced by harvesting one bud and three leaves.

玉緑茶 Tamaryokucha
A tea that has a tangy, berry-like taste, with a long almondy aftertaste and a deep aroma with tones of citrus, grass, and berries.

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Do u like green tea (緑茶) or matcha(抹茶) ?

matcha

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The ones that are sweeter also seem slightly creamier/more well blended in the water than the other Matcha's that seem like simply green tea leaves ground down.

Any experts on matcha out there care to help me out on this?

Thanks in advance

Because there are two types of Matcha green tea - dependent on the age of the tea plants. The product from older plants is sweeter:
http://www.japanesegreenteaonline.com/matcha.htm

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I really enjoy this smoothie and to cut costs, i was hoping someone that worked at Robeks could tell me the measurements used of each of the ingredients so i can make it at home. I already know it takes Matcha Green Tea, Soy Milk, non-fat yogurt and ice.

Smoothies are half liquid and half solid. To make a 20 Green Tea Smoothie for example, try:

6 oz green tea
4 oz soymilk
7 oz nonfat frozen yogurt
3 oz ice

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Are all green matcha teas the same or is there a difference? I see some on e-bay and they are much cheaper than what I'm getting…..They say with the Zen Matcha that it's the top three leaves of the green tea plant. Am I getting ripped of? I pay about $30 for a very small tin. Thanks for your input.

I did a Google and found this informative site. BUT, be warned, this could just be a lead-on (advertisement) to the tea manufacturer. I DO NOT have personal experience with this website. What follows, I copied from here:

http://www.brainready.com/blog/dumpthosegreenteadrinksgoma.html

"Real Matcha is the very high-quality, stone-ground powdered form of select shade-grown Japanese green tea leaves. It's like regular green tea on steroids, and then some: rather than just drinking green tea leaf-infused water, when you consume Matcha, you're actually getting the whole green tea leaf, and a very high quality green tea leaf at that (real Matcha should be shade-grown, carefully prepared Tencha-grade), so you're drinking the full benefits of the best of the green tea leaf. "

"But here's the amazing thing that many don't know: high-grade Matcha green tea in particular is exponentially more powerful than regular brewed green teas, so it's like amplifying all of these wonderful health and mental benefits in as little as one comparative serving. For example, Matcha green tea has approximately 70 times the antioxidants of orange juice, even higher than blueberries, and its unique EGCG catechin element (the subject of much current research) is one of the most powerful immune-boosting and anti-cancer substances known."

"And guess what? Matcha green tea contains approximately 137 times the amount of EGCG as regular steeped green tea. Wow!"

"So where to find Matcha?"

"Fortunately, thanks to the recent health discoveries about Matcha combined with increased awareness and popularity in the West, you can find various grades of Matcha powder in more and more places these days. More and more gourmet supermarkets, and some specialty tea shops in upscale shopping malls are starting to carry Matcha, as do some web-based green tea suppliers."

"But be warned: not all products labeled "Matcha" are real, true, high-quality shade-grown properly prepared tencha-based Matcha! Some are just ground low-quality Sencha leaves, some even add coloring or flavoring or sweeteners."

The supplier below is the one connected with this article.
www.zenmatcha.com."

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Does anyone know where you can get it in San Diego? Arigato! ^_^

they have that at whole foods & wild oats

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There is no hard and fast rule as to whether white tea is better than green tea.

There are many different grades of white and green tea. It all depends on the quality of tea.

A high quality green tea will be better than low quality white tea and vice versa.

I sugggest you read the article below which compare white tea versus green tea.

I hope this helps.

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Where can I buy these two teas, Organic. Any Asian brands that are afforable?

♡You can order Sencha and Matcha from Shizuoka Tea.com.
http://www.shizuokatea.com/japanese-green-tea/estore.html
Shizuoka Tea says "We ship directly to our customers worldwide from our locations in Walnut, California USA and Shizuoka, Japan."
http://www.shizuokatea.com/
I personally love Shizuoka green tea, some of the best here in Japan.
Good luck and I hope this helps!
If you live in San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago or New Jersey- you can get these teas at Mitsuwa Market.♡
http://www.mitsuwachicago.net/english/aboutus/otherstores.htm

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I was going to go to the grocery store across the street and pick up a local brand, then I heard Matcha is the best so now I might have to go on an obstacle course throught the city in NY to find it

thanks everyone

green tea makes beautiful skin like baby's butt.

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