Make Matcha Magic at Home with This Smart Machine
Matcha is trending, with a global boom in popularity driven by social media, health trends, and its use in food and drinks—think of the smooth and creamy Iced Matcha Latte offered by Starbucks.
But what is matcha, really, and where did it come from? How are you supposed to drink or eat it, as a Japanese person would, without Western additives?
Matcha is a powdered tea made from finely ground green tea leaves that have been shade-grown for several weeks before harvest. It is a traditional Japanese beverage that has been consumed for centuries for its health benefits.
It has a complex flavor profile that is often described as grassy, earthy, and slightly sweet, with a rich, savory umami quality. Consumed in hot or cold drinks, or mixed into cake or ice cream, it provides the kind of pick-me-up expected from espresso coffee or cookies, but without the crash. And its vibrant green hue is comforting—as well as indicative of its high concentration of antioxidants.
Matcha’s appeal primarily lies in this high concentration of antioxidants, which may support health and longevity, and its unique taste profile with mellow, nutty, or seaweed notes—along with the necessary ceremonial preparation of the beverage. The experience of preparing and sipping matcha can also provide a mindful, ritualistic moment, adding psychological benefits to its physical ones.
Many people in Japan drink matcha in the morning, often as a ritual to start the day. It is seen as a way to get a sustained energy boost and to cultivate a sense of calm and focus, with the caffeine and L-theanine combination providing alertness without the jitters.
For those of us who did not grow up with matcha, making it at home is a bit of a mystery. You need a certain type of green tea, a whisk, a strainer, a scoop…what temperature is the water meant to be, and how much water should you use, and what type of milk? It all seems a little difficult. What if there was an at-home matcha machine, similar to a domestic espresso machine?
Cuzen Matcha was dreamed up by two lifelong friends, Eijiro Tsukada and Oki Hatta, who wanted to share fresh matcha with as many people as possible. Through matcha, they are working to build a sustainable world where people live in harmony with each other and with the earth. Coming from centuries of tradition, a different approach to matcha was needed. With this in mind, Cuzen created new technology inspired by ancient techniques and supports modern tea leaf production that replenishes the soil while providing greater financial stability for farmers. Cuzen Matcha was founded with a commitment to sustainability: sustainable tea farming, sustaining a tea-growing tradition, and sustainable packaging.
Cuzen Matcha is an innovative at-home matcha system that produces freshly ground matcha from organic shade-grown leaves via a beautifully designed machine. The Matcha Maker and Matcha Leaf have been designed to work together to deliver the highest quality matcha drinking experience: the tea leaves are specially prepared to fit the compact ceramic mill, which produces a fine matcha powder that’s then automatically whisked into water, recreating the ancient art of stone-ground Japanese matcha. The whole concept is engineered to reproduce the qualities of a traditional stone mill and bamboo whisk—with much less effort.
Cuzen was founded in November 2020 by data scientist Oki Hatta and businessman Elijiro Tsukada, who previously opened one of the busiest matcha cafes in the world, Stonemill Matcha in San Francisco. Cuzen Matcha has already achieved a number of prestigious accolades, including TIME’s 100 Best Inventions of 2020, Future of Foods Award at San Francisco Design Week Awards 2020, CES 2020 Innovation Awards Honoree, and was longlisted for the 2020 Dezeen Awards.
Cuzen Matcha comes to market on the heels of a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign, where it achieved 235% of its funding goal as well as rave reviews from some of the country’s top chefs and hoteliers, including Tartine’s Chad Robertson and SingleThread’s Kyle Connaughton.
We started our Cuzen journey with the Matcha Maker Starter Kit. We love our espresso machine, but we know we’ll never look back now that we’ve started to make matcha at home, and prefer it, especially in the afternoons as a much-needed break from a busy day.
It’s important to note here that, along with efficiency and beauty of the Cuzen machine, the quality of the tea is superb. It is not the cheap, powdered, sweetened matcha mostly out there on the market; it is tiny, jade-green matcha tea leaves.
Engineered to reproduce the qualities of a traditional stone mill and bamboo whisk with much less effort, Cuzen Matcha uses a button to produce freshly ground matcha from organic shade-grown leaves. Plus, it has a sleek, minimalist design that makes it look like an art object rather than a kitchen appliance. Vacationer is a fan! But more famous fans so far include Chef Kyle Connaughton of SingleThread, actress Carey Mulligan, model and businesswoman Cindy Crawford, Alicia Yoon, Founder of Peach & Lily, and Shaun White, Olympic Gold Medalist.
Matcha Capital of the World
Uji, Japan, is considered the matcha capital of the world. Located near Kyoto, this city is renowned for its high-quality matcha green tea, which has a history dating back over 800 years. Visitors can explore matcha-themed shops, participate in tea ceremonies, visit tea plantations, and try various matcha-infused foods and desserts.
Experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony and even participate in workshops to learn how matcha is made from scratch. The city offers a wide variety of matcha-flavored foods, including ramen, soba noodles, ice cream, cake, and parfaits.
Uji is easily accessible by train from Kyoto or Osaka, making it a popular day trip destination. Browse the top 10 hotels in Uji, Japan here. For the best hotels in Kyoto, go here. For Osaka, go here.
