Traditional matcha tea gets whirled, dusted, infused in US
More than a thousand years ago, Buddhist monks in Japan began a daily ritual of grinding green tea leaves into powder, mixing it into hot water with a bamboo whisk, then sharing the tea from a single cup.
Today matcha in the United States is considerably less monastic. It's being blended into lattes, dusted onto cheesecakes, mixed into chocolate, even infused in bourbon.
The finely ground green tea is experiencing a US renaissance, with specialty matcha tea bars popping up from Los Angeles to New York and industry giants like Teavana adding it to their product lineup. Chefs are mixing matcha with grains, using it in toppings for Bundt cakes, and mixing it into cocktails, adding a punch of opulent green color along with a cool, mellow taste to playful culinary combinations.
