Why Ceremonial-Grade Matcha Is So Expensive | So Expensive Food | Business Insider
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- čas přidán 8. 08. 2022
- The greener matcha is, the smoother and more complex its flavor. But not all matcha is the same. Matcha at its highest quality is referred to as ceremonial-grade, because of the central role it plays in Japanese tea ceremonies. And while this bright green powder takes a few seconds to dissolve in water, it takes an entire year to grow. Jintaro Yamamoto runs a 180-year-old tea farm, one of the oldest in Uji, Japan. We visited his farm to find out what makes ceremonial-grade matcha so exceptional? And why it's so expensive.
For more, visit: / yamamotojinjirou
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Why Ceremonial-Grade Matcha Is So Expensive | So Expensive Food | Business Insider
It's so beautiful seeing his passion for his craft. Rare to see someone who truly enjoys their occupation.
what's even more amazing is he's a six generation matcha farmer, meaning the passion in the occupation runs in his family.
Japan is a collectivist society and is a very know your place society
Not prideboasting and greedy Individualistic society
Japan basically nobody says something is out of style for example either. You focus on ehat you like and dive deeper into being that best at it
Hence why aging craftsmen is a term too
@@sokha6197 can you imagine doing the same thing as your great great great great grandfather? i think id literally rather ki...stop existing
Its really common in Japan for people to obsess over the quality of their work.
@@WeekzGod when you're on a island with limited resources and space, it makes sense
When you take pride and combine it with joy, you get a great product. Being respectful to what is being harvested, be it plants or animal, does make a huge difference.
Also not having your culture entirely destroyed helps too....
@@thatdude3977 Yes, that's where respect comes in.
@@PincheBecky0Effsgiven lmfao yeah sure
Pride often blinds one to one's own flaws and attempts to excuse or justify them, but passion typically gives birth to being more critical of one self than anyone else. And that comes from a joy of self-improvement. A prideful person often hides from the 'flames of refinement' in life that tests skills, accuracy, and talent. A passionate person often seeks out the 'flames of refinement' in life that tests skills, accuracy, and talent even when no one else might care. Pride stagnates. Passion excels.
@@thatdude3977 you woke up and chose dick.
I think it's worth noting thay "ceremonial grade" isnt an official or regulated classification, any company can call any matcha "ceremonial grade". I think simply refering to it as "high quality" matcha is less misleading since most matcha sold as "ceremonial grade" isnt hand ground, first leaf or first flush.
Great to see that traditional makers like this still exist and that the torch is being carried by someone so young, driven and passionate.
A few holds up it its craft tho n notes
But yea I'll sell you a bag of puppy hair n call it c xeromoney
Sadly ur right tho
there are many special grade teas in china and japan
and their flavor is similar with middle price products
It says the Japanese public has long been familiar with that term and its distinctive features. So are you Japanese by any chance to call them out???
I love matcha but this documentation took my appreciation of it to another level. It's so beautiful to see someone so passionate about his craft and his love and dedication to keep the tradition. 🍵🍃💚
matcha is truly the best!
It's a stupid waste of time and effort.
@@EricDMMiller Why? Then how else would you harvest only the young leaves? If you don't give a solution then don't criticize.
@@EricDMMiller Why tho? its a centralized part of Japanese culture (as shown in the tea ceremonies)
By the smile on his face you can tell he actually takes pride in what he does!
It’s so nice to see a young person from our generation taking such interest in a traditional business. While the trend of matcha or sake rises, youngsters seldom want to be tied to these facilities as they aren’t as fast growing as other more urban or technical jobs. Good luck to his work, may he expand to produce more specialised teas in the future. ❤️
Absolutely, seeing young generations taking part in this direction is appreciated 👏👏 wish him the best for his business expansion🙏
Bouta play Vic 2 so I can kill all the artisans and industrialize
@@yourdad2917 this guy lmao
Our entire generation would be this way if the 2 before us hadn’t first sold off all the family businesses, and then sold off our future prosperity in exchange for a couple decades of excess. They’ve damned us all to be factory rats.
@@search5164 He's taking it to a whole new level. He's making his crops into a art instead of a bulk commodity for an income. He's passionate about what he does.
its so rare to see a younger person having inherited a traditional business like this and also seem so in love and enthusiastic about it outwardly that it makes me happy through the screen. a lot of people like him seem to grow to appreciate their work but they don't seem to have so much pure passion about it, like this is what they would have done anyway even if they weren't in a position to inherit the business. really cool to see
Thanks to people like Jintaro-San who continue to support traditions 💚 His work is highly appreciated all around the world 🌍
I had a coworker gift me some ceremonial grade tea for christmas because she knew I loved tea and japan, I had no idea how much love and tradition I was holding until now. It is truly beautiful.
What a Beautiful farm. The plants look so healthy. I lived in Okinawa for a while and the storms were something else, I can't imagine the work put into that farm (Uji is mainland Japan so a while north, but it's still coastal and in the Pacific so they get whacked with the same storms).
I lived in Oki 6 years. I was there when the typhoon knocked down the Blue Seal sign on 58!
@@SweetCammieEyes1 I remember having to wear a flack jacket and kevlar to go outside at all, one MRE a day. One of the barracks was shut down and they had a firewatch there 24/7 (to make sure no one was partying there or getting pregnant), and walking he probably 5 city blocks length between barracks was really something, you felt like low crawling the whole way there. I have never missed another place I have been other then Home and Oki. Worst part is a hard drive crash made me lose all my photos and videos from back then (I bought one of the first good digital cameras out there and have nothing left, back up your files). I have like 5 photos total from my entire time in.
@@SweetCammieEyes1 same me too for 6 years until 2016. I still remember the Blue Seal on 58 main road. Also don't forget the unlimited refill of root beer xD
“Get whacked”😂 Thank you for that and thank you for your service to a few of you in the replies!
Jintaro's passion for his craft and dedication to quality is extremely honorable. This episode was particularly enjoyable because of the focus on him and his tea farm. This series makes me continually grateful for products after seeing the hard work put into producing them!
if he were on tiktok, I'd binge his videos!
Very well said!
Very well said!
Even before he said it, he radiated love for his profession and business. So glad to see someone love something so much and put so much pride in their work. Coming from a country that looks down on farming and labor work, it's really something to see so much respect put into the work he does.
The work ethic and artisanship of the Japanese is truly unparalleled. I remember watching a video of a chef who specialises in hand made soba---he doesn't even look at what he's doing, he is doing everything by feel, it's instinctive for him at this point. It was absolutely beautiful. I must visit Japan one day and experience this for myself.
Jintaro needs to be protected at all costs. Working hard but always good sprits and smiling
That man deserves every yen he gets. He truly has a love for what he and his employees do.
I wish I had like 10% of his work ethic lmao
He's just making tea but he's clearly having fun...
I had the absolute privilege of experiencing a matcha tea ceremony in a temple in Japan once. it was absolutely incredible
It would be so awesome to be able to experience this man’s ceremonial Matcha. Ive had regular matcha in sweet milk tea and deserts like Vanilla matcha ice cream but I’ve never seen ceremonial matcha in the western US. I heard they dont export it because it’s so dear cost wise and not made in quantities enough to meet the demands in Japan. I love the taste of green tea especially iced and with toasted rice it’s exquisite.
Not sure if what I had was ceremonial matcha, but I do know some Japanese culture festivals have tea ceremonies open for anyone to participate in. That's how I found out about matcha in the first place.
you can definitely order some off of amazon. Its not cheap but its worth experiencing. It has such a beautiful natural sweetness. I don't like to use it in blended drinks. But if i do use it in blended drinks i try to go light on the sweetness. the color is beautiful and again its worth trying.
I've never had it in foods that I recall. I've had ceremonial matcha prepared for me by a Japanese girl, in Europe. It was a simple, enjoyable and mindful experience. The Japanese have mindfulness embedded in their culture and they appreciate simple things more often than we do.
@@lid6963 Amazon matcha is shit.
You can order directly from Marukyu Koyamaen and many other traditional Japanese producers though. It will probably even be cheaper than rip off 'ceremonial' Amazon matcha.
@@JustiaFiat
You realize that you can buy that brand on Amazon, right?
we tea masters have nothing but pure appreciation and gratitude to these farmers that brought us our ceremonial teas to enjoy and share. Thank you. May you all be well and happy.
I feel like a cup of his handmade matcha a day is the key to immortality.
They say ‘when you are fully satisfied with your work, you can’t do better ‘. Jintaro san literally living on that principle. Love the way he respect his work and at the same time he’s always willing to improve his work than the last time. That attitude really inspired me. Thank you Jintaro san.
His passion for matcha is so beautiful. So much joy in the simplicity of the beautiful flavour of ceremonial green tea powder. Joy in the little things.
I lived near Uji for many years, and bought Uji matcha a few times/enjoyed it at tea ceremony, but I never visited Uji itself...I'll fix that next time I visit Japan!
Matcha at tea ceremony is so good and was the first way I tried matcha. Anything flavoured with matcha, like cake and icecream, tasted awful and sickly to me when I tried it, so I think I was ruined for matcha-flavour by trying ceremonial matcha first! Try it if you get the chance. 😄
That's awesome, I', super jealous! I agree that some of the best matcha comes from Uji. Visiting Japan is on my bucket list for sure
My grandmother is from Japan, and so I grew up drinking green tea and matcha. I cannot stand matcha flavored things! Just plain hot matcha is all I need.
As I watch this, I cannot help but be reminded of Deaimon recipe for happiness. I get the same vibe of balancing the old and the new i.e. the younger generation embracing the traditional methods and practices of their families and forebears while also refining them with modern methods and sensibilities. Jintaro as the new generation owner of his family's tea business reminds me of that. Japan really excels at showing that societal progress can be made while respecting tradition and keeping it alive for future generations.
Ceremonial grade also varies with the retailer. I've found my local specialty tea shop let the quality slide. The best place I've been able to get decent matcha outside of Japan was by being or knowing someone who was a student of a tea school like Urasenke buying through them and drinking matcha in class. The distribution to these schools is a long standing relationship with growers and where the term "Ceremonial " is truly applicable.
This video was beautiful. It really shows how matcha is an art and a craft as well as a natural product. Seeing Jintaro's devotion was truly inspiring.
It’s absolutely crazy how so many things in Japanese culture are expensive. Kudos to Japanese people who work their butts off to produce high quality products.
Its an art, but also, there is an art to his joy in producing this matcha. May have been more fascinating to watch the joy of matcha.
I can feel the passion transmitting to me with joy from the way he describing his work. How lovely, would love to experience his farm one day!
While ceremonial matcha is expensive, it isn't overly so since you use very little each cup. $40/oz is $1.4/g. I tend to use 2g per cup for thin tea, which makes a cup of matcha $3. That's even cheaper than a tall latte at Starbucks :)
what brand?
This makes me so happy as a big fan of matcha ceremony and traditional Japanese arts and crafts in general. I've always wanted to see a matcha production episode on this series! I've been waiting. So glad to see this given the respect it deserves.
you can tell her is quite happy with his work, proud even if he isn't 100% pleased with the tea
watching this video has certainly helped me appreciate matcha even more- would love to one day taste a cup of ceremonial matcha
I enjoy ceremonial macha a lot, I love how calming it is and how your hand moves and how it just looks overall in a cup, it’s just so calming and when you drink it. I just imagine myself laying on the grass in a middle of a farm field
Brilliant to see such love and passion to produce a high quality product. I wish this guy and his business the very best of future imaginable.
What a wonderful man! Every word he speaks seeps of love and respect for his profession.
I grew a couple of matcha plants and one time I tried making high quality matcha, it took a lot of commitment but I did it. It most definitely didn’t taste as good as the professional’s matcha but it was still fun to try!
Matcha is not really my cup of tea (pun intended), but what I saw in this video makes me appreciate so much working with this product every day, now I'm more aware of what it is and how precious it is. Thank you for sharing this
"What a strong and spirited young man! He must be a strapping 22 years of age!"
"I've been in the tea business for 18 years."
@_@
He seems like such a genuinely sweet person, and the matcha looks delicious!
This was so beautiful to watch. He seemed lit from within as he showed us his passion for his craft.
Wow, he is so incredibly passionate and dedicated. Super inspiring and really makes me appreciate matcha even more!
Never satisfied, yet always striving for his perfect ideal, what a craftsmen, so much love.
it makes me happy to see someone who genuinely cares about their craft
I find the Japanese language so beautiful to listen to, I really wish I could speak it! I really hope his business does well and that one day he achieves his perfect matcha. I made myself a cup to drink whilst watching this :)
Never too late to learn
@@acidset I’ve been trying, definitely a lot harder now I’m older! Need to keep at it
What we find beautiful is just based on who’s in power honestly.
To my Japanese ears too, his speech sounds beautiful because of his elegant Kyoto-accent and his own positive character.
@@tomatodo375 I was wondering what kind of accent that was it sounded different somehow
Japan really can make everything artfully. Im amazed by the diffrence of plastic netting to wide straw shed. Wow
i'm sad he felt pressured into the family business, but happy he seems to love what he does. i wish the rest of the world would adopt some of the values places like his business has
My grandma is a Japanese ceremonial instructor and I can confirm that the level of complexity higher quality matcha brings is worth its price 👍
Such a beautiful and complex process, thank you for sharing this craft! 🍵 I’m happy to see Jintaro continuing this tradition and having so much passion!
I love this guy, so cheerful and hardworking, proud of his craft yet always wanting to improve
I can almost smell the plants, this makes me want to visit Darjeeling and stay there for long. Also, the cover method is quite similar to how betel leaves are grown here in India.
@Glurp puffloid Sadly, I don’t really enjoy flower-based teas.
Yes, there was once a henna plant in the backyard of my grandmother’s house. She used to pick some leaves every month and dry the leaves to turn into mehendi to be applied to the hair. Dried henna truly smells marvellous.
As for tea plants, yes, the smell of them varies based on the place they’re grown. I have felt the difference between the tea gardens. Someday I would indeed like to visit Japan and get some bags of matcha. :P
Darjeeling produces the best black teas in the world imo. I want to visit there so bad. Also if you're interested in covered green teas, the Uji region produces some of the finest. Kabusecha and the way more expensive Gyokuro are honestly some of the best green teas one can find
I love this matcha man, I’d spend hours just listening to him talk about his work
What a beautiful video. Jintaro you are amazing and an inspiration to the nation! Thankyou for your effort and labour of work, you truly are appreciated 😇
Its so cool seeing this guy work, he loves his job and that makes the product even more satisfying
I'm always happy when cultures cross around the world through food.
Dude was on his way to bat when you guys called him for an interview.
Business insider you are such an awesome channel! And I love the narrator! Her voice is so soothing and easily understandable.
It's incredible seeing this farmer's dedication to the quality of his product. Inspirational.
I like how they left the "itadakimasu" in the subtitles (8:11).
It's fascinating to me that all tea is one species of plant. There are thousands of species of coffee trees bred for flavour, size, yeild, pest resistance, drought resistance, and a number of other factors. Tea ends up differently due to picking, timing, and processing. Both are very complex across the scope of results but for different reasons.
I love how just how happy he is with his work
Love the main guy in this video! Super happy guy and full of energy hope he never changes!
This was well done. I’ve imported tea for several years, toured the fields and production facilities around Uji and surrounding area, and can say this was well researched and presented. Most “ceremonial grade” matcha does not come from this calibre of farm and producer
I have so much respect for Japanese culture. They are willing to go to great lengths to produce amazing quality. ❤️
He's so polite and well spoken, and a great explainer too. What an interesting process and tradition, so much hard work!
And his dedication and his own sense of high expectations is what is creating the incredibly high quality, which is awesome for us John Q Public consumers!!!
man this proves when you put time in somthing from heart and care about details it makes the difference.
I now fully appreciate the price I pay for a 30g tin now... especially if it comes from such a process including grinding 40g for 1hr via hand mill.
Dare I say, I'd be under-paying... surely his method is among the higher priced!
Informative vid.👌🏾
Thank you for highlighting tea producers. One thing to note is that matcha doesn't actually dissolve. It's a suspension. 😊🍜
I want to buy all my tea from this company! Jintaro is so joyful and wise in what he does!
This guy has great passion for what he does at least on camera. He almost seems excited each batch.
Love this narrator. She matches the tone of the video so well
it's exceptionally wide spread on the south most state of Brazil.
So much so, the drink, chimarrão, is a common substitute for coffee on the workplace.
but chimarrao isnt green tea(camellia sinensis) it's yerba mate(ilex paraguariensis)
That ain't a green tea.
His outlook is so driven yet peaceful
It’s beautiful to see his passion for the job! Maybe he can turn the straw of the top shade into a fertilizer for the soil later on!
What a wonderful person🥺 i bet you can taste the love he pours into those plants
I bought some low grade matcha from the store once and man, it was bitter but it goes great with cardamom, a very small amount of sugar and salt, clove and orange blossom. Potion 🤤
What a charming, quietly peaceful little corner of our amazing world. So great to see the beauty and tradition.
We are witnessing a young matcha master in the making! I was in Uji last year and brought back some ceremonial grade matcha, which has been such a treat. Will definitely go back for another visit this charming town.
About increasing the market during the years... I have to agree as a Polish, a citizen of a country where the amount of natives that destinguish a good Matcha you can count on fingers of a retired carpenter.
Why do I tell that? Quite a silly reason, since the markets started to introduce matcha-flavored products (Polish can recognize the Chocolate that was introduced in Biedronka discount market like 1-2 years ago).
Hi! We agree that matcha is not very popular in Poland. We recommend checking out our website and social media accounts as we are one of the first matcha brands in Poland. Our matcha also comes from Uji, Japan and it's organic. We try to educate people about this amazing tea and how important it is to try good quality product.
In a few more years, that furnace will be 100 years old, and turn into a Tsukumogami. THEN he'll be satisfied with the flavor
This was a wonderful video to watch! ❤ Thank you for making it!
Wow! this documentary makes me love macha more ❤ I'm a green tea drinker, haven't really taste ceremonial grade but more on macha latte (which I love the taste), I did buy a ceremonial macha today, I'm excited to taste it! I will change my drink into macha this time 😃
Is there a way to purchase his matcha directly? We buy ceremonial grade matcha, but I'm keen to try his specifically. I went to his/their website, and it's seems he only sells in a physical store type of manner
Business Insider : why is it so expensive
Me : Is it from Japan..??
Because it is a century old art that takes years to master?
Because everything in japan is quality??
@@florians9949 Growing tea takes years to master?
Damn dude, truly there must be a mastery to putting plant in ground, watering plant, picking leaves, drying leaves, and grinding them into powder.
@@UMADBRO64 not realy, more a general statement. Everytime this chanel has a video about Japan, you can be sure that the sentence “this is a century old arts that takes years to master” is going to show itself.
this is such a good video! thanks for the insights, so interesting. and great to see people who love what they do, and do it with great care
Wow so nice!! I love the passion and detail. Japanese people perfection things❤
I love the baseball like uniform buddy is wearing. lol
Do they ever show how to buy the products in these videos? I wpuld love to try some of this matcha!
Yes! I would love to know the name brand. I treasure my current ''go-to'', but am always looking to try one grown and prepared with so much tradition and love.
0:33 look at the first few frames of the title sequence. once you see the letters come in you never unsee it
Now I want to work as a farmer on his farm! I really love matcha since schoolgrade! When I was in 5th grade, that was the first time I taste it. And it was such a delightful taste, that bitterness and aroma filled my tounge.
"Physically it is very hard, but mentally it is fun." 2:00
As a person with chronic illness and pain, I'm both jealous and so happy that there are people out there that are able to experience that feeling. What a blessing for him, I hope he has nothing but success.
I'll always criticize expensive food without great taste like caviar, truffle and gold food. But things like this enhance the taste I will always respect it.
Truffle tastes amazing tho
I love how passionate they are with what they do🤍✨
what a beautiful tradition matcha has :) and love seeing how passionate he is about his craft.
I would greatly appreciate a Matcha brand recommendation! I bought what I thought was a decent, more expensive one but I cannot get over the algae taste. I even bought the little whisk and would love to try making it again and actually enjoying it.
Koyamaen is good if you are looking for high-grade matcha. They are the tea of choice for several tea ceremony schools. However, it is quite pricey and probably not something most people could afford to drink on a daily basis.
For more affordable tea, my husband (who is really into matcha) buys from Den's Tea quite often.
Wonderful 😊
Kintaro seems so passionate about his calling, it's amazing. Very impressive.
I wish everyone could feel like this about their work. : )
love his passion and his calming and soothing voice
If I was into making movies, how great would it be to have a story like this to inspire a story about defending what is sacred, with good winning? A humble farmer has people jealous of his technology and work, covering his machine, and he successfully defends it from the envious... I dunno seems like an overdone story but the /visuals/ of the movie would be unique and respectful to Japanese humility and culture. 🤔
High?
These videos don't even need to be any longer than the time it takes to say 'Japan' since it is instantly logical that a Japanese product will most certainly be pricey since the tiniest of details would be paid attention to and that totally justifies the price tag for whatever it may be...
I agree
Japan's work ethics are just the best, while brutal and tiresome, but for people who love their job makes the hard parts of the work not that bothersome and the easier parts all the more enjoyable.
(That goes for any job really)
Quality over chinas quantity in tools you can really tell the diffrence
@@williamclaflin7863 if it's engine or electrical component I would agree, quality it the priority. But if its a food product that waste too much resources to produce a tiny amount of goods just because someone made an arbitrary standard, then just made a subpar quality product if its mean that it would use less resources.
yep he loves his daily grind ... he keeps thinking of ways to make it better ... and every batch gives him ideas and things to try and advances his standards closer to the perfect combination ... after all its not about the end of the trip it's about HOW you got there ... that makes it fun
Love this insider video about matcha!