Matcha Gets the Spotlight in Japan and America

People are talking about it; health fiends are blogging about it; it’s popping up on menus around the country. Matcha is seemingly everywhere -- but there’s a rich history behind the zeitgeist.

Matcha dates back to China in 960 AD, when tea leaves were air-dried, ground, and formed into bricks for easy consumption and transport. About a thousand years later, a Japanese Buddhist named Esai is widely believed to be responsible for bringing the mysterious...