# Green tea question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-question/314445>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 27, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-question/314445 "2005-07-27T18:53:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-question/314445/1 "2005-07-27T18:53:42Z")

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Way back when, I used to teach English to a Japanese businessman. He would always offer me one of his many varieties of tea. One of my favorite was made from a green tea powder, which was put into a cup, hot water was added to it, and the two ingredients were whisked together with a minature bamboo whisk–like maybe 2 or 3 inches in length. He called it a “green tea espresso,” as it was a rather concentrated concoction.

What is this stuff I drank called? And is it pretty common so that I could find it at the local Asian markets?

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**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-question/314445/2 "2005-07-27T18:59:28Z")

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It’s called _matcha_.

I don’t know how common it is in markets, but here it is at my favorite online tea place: [Matcha at TeaSource](http://teasource.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=6006a&Category_Code=PureGreen&Product_Count=24). It’s spendy, but this is a reputable merchant, so the quality will be high.

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-question/314445/3 "2005-07-27T19:17:22Z")

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> [@Podkayne](#):
>
> It’s called _matcha_.
> 
> I don’t know how common it is in markets, but here it is at my favorite online tea place: [Matcha at TeaSource](http://teasource.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=6006a&Category_Code=PureGreen&Product_Count=24). It’s spendy, but this is a reputable merchant, so the quality will be high.

That’s the stuff! Looking around online, it seems like $20 for a tin is actually not all that pricey. The high-quality stuff goes for around $40-$50 for a 1.1 oz tin. :eek:

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-tea-question/314445/4 "2005-07-28T00:22:06Z")

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Or you can get an ounce for $5 from [Stash.](http://shopstashtea.com/111855.html)

Ah ha ha. Ah ha ha. Ha.

It is to laugh.

Anyway, TeaSource usually sells tea in foil zipper bags, so the fact that they say it’s in a “tin” makes me think that some of the price is in the container. You might get a better deal elsewhere.

But if you order from TeaSource, I highly recommend that you pick up a couple of ounces of Keemun Hao Ya B. To. Die. For. Deep, rich and chocolatey . . .