Mo matcha mo problem? How to get your green tea fix in a global matcha shortage
It’s “bold, green and attractive”, has boomed in popularity in Australia and on social media, and there are reports of a global shortage.But are we actually running low on matcha – and what are some alternatives to get your green tea hit?Megumi Kanaike, manager of Sydney tea shop Simply Native, says suppliers of the Japanese ground green tea powder have placed limits on orders.She attributes the reported shortage to an “unexpected worldwide boom” in the popularity of a tea that is only harvested once a year in Japan.While matcha production has remained consistent, international demand, driven by social media, has prompted concerns about a shortfall.Kanaike says matcha sales have risen by an “insane” 250% over the past six months at her store.
However, sellers disagree about which products will be affected the most.There are different grades of matcha, depending on when the leaves are harvested.Ceremonial grade refers to powdered leaves from the first harvest, with culinary and latte grades consisting of leaves harvested later.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning“The brands that have been impacted most are the ones that people overseas like, the ones that have gone viral on social media,” she says.Tea ceremonialist Cara Chen says consumers tend to notice the impacts of the shortage on ceremonial-grade matcha more, as it is produced on a small scale.
Most Australians, she says, are more familiar with matcha lattes, served with milk in cafes and at home, and here the shortage is less severe and alternatives easier to find.If consumers are looking to make milky matchas, Kanaike suggests using good-quality food-grade matcha instead of ceremonial matcha; the latter is traditionally drunk without milk.Culinary-grade matcha is more readily available, and because it’s designed to be mixed with other ingredients, is more appropriate for milky drinks.Kanaike and Chen say the shortage will affect all grades of matcha, but Arthur Tong, co-founder of Sydney tea supplier Tea Craft, says the shortage primarily affects organic latte-grade matcha typically used in cafes, which is higher in quality than culinary matcha but not quite ceremonial grade.“The primary shortage lies in organic latte grades but … over time, as people look for alternatives, the upper and lower and non-organic grades may be affected too,” he said.
To brew traditional matcha, says Tong, sift 1.5g of ceremonial matcha into a bowl, add two tablespoons of 70C water, then whisk with a chasen (traditional bamboo whisk) until the mixture forms a paste.Then add another 80ml of 70C water, whisk vigorously again, and sip slowly.However, Tong says this exacting process is less important if the matcha is consumed with milk and sweeteners, as is often shown on social media, which has also popularised fruit-flavoured varieties such as strawberry, blueberry and mango.Popular in South America, yerba mate (pronounced mah-tay) is a drink brewed from mate leaves.
The mate leaf is not technically a tea, but belongs to the holly family, says Olie Ford, founder of Mateo Soda.“I find coffee to be quite jarring and quite intense … [but mate has] a sort of more slow-releasing, long- lasting form of caffeine,” he says.Traditionally, yerba mate is brewed in a mate gourd, where a small amount of hot water is poured over the leaves, and the drink is sipped with a straw.Sign up to Saved for LaterCatch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tipsafter newsletter promotionSometimes, yerba mate is compared to matcha but Ford says the two are “quite different”.Mate has a grassy, herbaceous and slightly earthy taste with refreshing bitterness – the drier the leaf variety, the earthier the taste.
He recommends brewing the mate leaves with 60C to 80C water for about five minutes – the hotter the water, the more intense the flavour,It can also be enjoyed iced, as it is in Paraguay, or cold brewed overnight with fruit and herbs,Mate leaves can be bought at Latin American grocers and specialty online stores, while yerba mate sodas can also be found at some supermarkets and bottle shops,Taka Kaneko, from tea shop EdoMatcha in Sydney, describes gyokuro as a well-kept secret and “the most luxurious green tea in Japan”,Gyokuro translates to “jewel dew” and represents only 0.
7% of Japan’s total tea production, Kaneko says.Like matcha, it is grown in the shade – which gives it a “rich umami” flavour and a mellow sweetness – and it has a slow caffeine release.To brew gyokuro, Kaneko recommends brewing 5g of gyokuro leaves with 50C to 60C water for two minutes in a teapot.You can find gyokuro tea leaves in specialist tea stores.Hojicha is made from ground, roasted tea leaves and has a similar earthy flavour to matcha, but has less bitterness – and less caffeine.
Kaneko has noticed its growing popularity in Melbourne cafes and bakeries, which use the green tea powder in lattes, cookies and brownies.The process of brewing hojicha is similar to matcha.Kaneko recommends combining 1g of hojicha powder with 100ml of 80C to 90C water, then whisking with a chasen until frothy.Hojicha can be found at specialist tea stores and some Asian supermarkets.
Every person should have care – not lethal drugs | Letters
The argument that the legalisation of assisted suicide in Oregon in 1997 has not started a “slippery slope” is dangerously misleading (‘Slippery slope’ fears over assisted dying have echoes of abortion debate, 24 November). While Oregon’s eligibility criteria have changed little, their interpretation has widened and safeguards have been relaxed. Oregon’s law, like Kim Leadbeater’s proposed bill, allows assisted suicide for adults with a “terminal illness that will lead to death within six months”. Interpretation of “terminal illness” has expanded such that physicians have prescribed lethal drugs to people with anorexia and arthritis.As for safeguards, Oregon’s 15-day “waiting period” (similar to that proposed in Kim Leadbeater’s bill) ceased to be mandatory in 2020
John Judge obituary
As chief quantity surveyor at Manchester city council, my father, John Judge, who has died aged 91, was part of a team that led the city’s housebuilding programmes from the 1960s to the 90s. One of his roles was to create bills of quantities with specifications for all the work to be conducted, which were then priced up, after which tenders were invited for each scheme. He then helped to manage the work through to completion.John was born in Regina in Canada to English parents, Rosannah (nee Cahill) and her husband, Thomas Judge, a telephone linesman. John’s father died when he was three and afterwards his mother and her five children moved to Swinton in Lancashire, where she worked as a cleaner
‘The science of fluoride is starting to evolve’: behind the risks and benefits of the mineral
A national conversation about fluoride’s health benefits exploded this fall after a federal toxicology report, court ruling and independent scientific review all called for updated risk-benefit analysis.Fluoride, a naturally occurring mineral in some regions, has been added to community water supplies since the mid-20th century when studies found exposure dramatically reduced tooth decay.The controversy, heightened by description of the mineral as “industrial waste” by Robert F Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the US health department, highlights questions some towns are now wrestling with: should the mineral’s well-established protective effects against tooth decay be prioritized lest Americans, and especially children, be subject to unnecessary pain and shame from an unhealthy smile? Or should the possibility of neurodevelopment effects be prioritized, even as studies continue?“Fluoride is the perfect example of helping people without them even having to do anything,” said Dr Sreenivas Koka, the former dean of the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s school of dentistry. The state is a “dental desert”, where there is only one dentist for every 2,120 residents. “Fluoride in the water – all you have to do is drink water and you’ll get the benefit
Esther Rantzen urges MPs to vote on ‘vital issue’ of assisted dying
Esther Rantzen, whose terminal cancer diagnosis led her to campaign for the legalisation of assisted dying, has issued an impassioned plea to MPs to vote this week on a “vital life-and-death issue”.The television personality told MPs “my time is running out” but the issue was one “the public care desperately about” and said it might not be debated by MPs “for another decade” if the legislation did not pass.Rantzen, who has stage 4 lung cancer, revealed almost a year ago that she wanted to be able to die at a time of her own choosing surrounded by loved ones, galvanising a national debate about assisted dying.In the first Westminster vote on the issue in nearly 10 years, MPs will decide on Friday whether England and Wales should join other jurisdictions including 10 US states, New Zealand, Canada, six countries in Europe and most of Australia in legalising assisted dying.Scotland, the Isle of Man and Jersey are expected to legislate for change in the next couple of years
Three former Conservative prime ministers are against assisted dying bill
Three former Conservative prime ministers are against the assisted dying bill, it has been revealed.Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss have expressed their opposition to a change in the law, days before MPs vote on assisted dying proposals affecting patients in England and Wales for the first time in almost a decade.May was expected to vote against Friday’s bill, the Daily Telegraph reported, noting her position had not changed since she voted against the legislation in 2015.Johnson cannot vote because he is not a member of parliament, but he said he would not support the legislation as it stands. Rishi Sunak previously said he would back a change in the law over assisted dying, but it has been reported that it does not necessarily mean he will support the bill
‘Doing it with no partner is easier’: the single women using fertility treatments
It was Covid that gave Amy, 45, the final push to have fertility treatment on her own. “I had been thinking about it for a while, and then with Covid, I thought: ‘I’m never gonna meet anybody.’ And I didn’t really want to be that woman who’s like: ‘Hey, we’ve been on one internet date. Let’s have a baby!”Amy struck lucky with her first embryo transfer and is now the mother of a three-year-old. “I feel very blessed,” she said
Can Daniel Jones be saved with the right team and offense?
Noah Lyles: ‘America has a winner’s mentality. That’s the good and the bad’
Ilona Maher, US rugby Olympian, places second on Dancing with the Stars
Kane Williamson returns for New Zealand’s first Test against England
Elvis Smylie: golf gets all shook up over newest star ahead of Australian Open | Jack Snape
Phillip Hughes: the loss of a daring and bright-eyed future is still keenly felt | Geoff Lemon