MEMO ON MATCHA
✓ It’s a green tea powder consumed since the 12th century in Japan
✓ It’s loaded with antioxidants, even more than regular green tea
✓ It’s stimulating (caffeine) and detoxifying (catechin)
✓ It may help burn fat and reduce cancer risks
In search of the green treasure in the mountains of Nishio
Darwin Nutrition Tell us how Anatae and your passion for matcha came to be?
Camille I first tasted matcha when I lived in Hong Kong four years ago. And I never managed to find that particular flavor in France! I was working in hospitality, but it wasn’t my thing. Last summer I decided to go back to Asia and launch my matcha business.
Darwin Nutrition Where exactly did you go?
Camille I thought to myself, you go to the source, you go to Japan. There, I visited the areas where tea is cultivated, in the mountains. There are several regions specializing in tea: the Shizuoka region focuses on green tea in general, while the Aichi region is truly specialized in matcha… There’s even a matcha museum there!
Darwin Nutrition How exactly did you find THE producer? What were your criteria?
Camille I contacted and met as many farmers as possible to taste their tea and understand if it could work in France.
I was looking for a matcha that is organic and produced in the Japanese tradition. And that is super good! Ideally, adapted to the French taste. Because in France we don’t like bitterness. Unlike in Japan!
I visited several farmers, walked through their fields, and discussed their practices. That’s when I understood what matcha really is. It’s very subtle, not just a simple green tea powder! If you take green tea and grind it into powder, it doesn’t work at all!
The family I work with in Nishio has been doing this for several generations. They make several types of tea, not just matcha.
As a reminder, all teas, black, green, etc., come from the same plant. It all depends on the harvest season and the way they are cultivated!
I also visited the factories. Weeks passed and I became more and more confident that I was heading in the right direction. After Japan, I had planned to spend two weeks in South Korea. And I filed the brand name in a cyber cafe in Korea! I hadn’t even returned when the product already existed!
Darwin Nutrition How did you come up with the name, Anatae?
Camille Anatae means “for you” in Japanese. I want to convey the idea that it’s something people will do for themselves. Because it will be better for their health in the morning, to drink matcha rather than coffee or industrial orange juice.
And also for the farmers I selected. I chose a family practicing organic farming, fighting not to use pesticides, while others around them do. It’s better for them, for the fish in the nearby rivers that can continue living, for the birds and insects in the fields… It’s a virtuous circle.
I’m trying to produce something that helps on several levels: it helps the farmers, it helps nature, it helps people who are aware that they need to eat organic… It’s not like an orange: at least you remove the peel.
Whereas with matcha, you really consume the leaf, which is in direct contact with the soil! You have to pay special attention to its origin and production conditions.
Darwin Nutrition Remind us of the very specific steps in matcha cultivation…
Camille Three weeks before the harvest, the plantations are covered with large black sheets. The fields are in darkness, with only 5% light. Being in the dark causes the tea leaves to fight to perform photosynthesis.
They then produce a lot of chlorophyll. That’s the whole secret of matcha! That’s why it’s so green, so rich in benefits, and that’s what gives it its taste, the umami.
Then comes the harvest: we pick the best leaves, those on the surface of the bushes, which are all fragile, almost born in the dark! The best matcha is handpicked, which is what I wanted for Anatae.
A few hours later, we steam them to avoid oxidation. Matcha is like an apple or an avocado, if you don’t take care of it, it oxidizes and loses its color, its benefits…
We remove the skeleton of the leaf because it’s not very interesting nutritionally, and it can give bitterness.
Then we dry the leaves, and traditionally they are ground between two granite stones to obtain the powder.
So, it’s not just a simple green tea powder! And because it’s very delicate, it needs to be kept away from light, moisture, heat. So the powder is immediately packed in metal tins, which the farmers send directly to me.
The art of recognizing and tasting good matcha
Darwin Nutrition What products does Anatae offer today?
Camille There are three products, Ceremony (the leaves are hand-picked and hand-stripped before being ground into powder), Premium (hand-picked but machine-stripped), Culinary (machine-picked and stripped).
Darwin Nutrition Let’s move on to the tasting! How do you recognize a good matcha?
Look when I open the Ceremony matcha tin: it smokes! A matcha that smokes when you open it is a sign of quality. And it should also have a very intense green color.
If we compare the colors, we see that the Premium is slightly less intense, and the Culinary is even paler. It’s the only one for me that isn’t excellent for drinking. But as soon as you mix it with a bit of sugar, it’s fantastic. So I suggest it for pastries.
Darwin Nutrition How can one prepare a matcha bowl properly?
Camille So at home, you only need hot or cold water. With coconut milk, it’s also very good! The best way is to emulsify it in a blender, with a whisk or a milk frother. Just using a spoon doesn’t work well enough. And you need a fairly tall container to emulsify it well.
Darwin Nutrition For the doses, is a teaspoon enough?
Camille I’m often challenged when I’m asked about doses because I’d say it’s a matter of taste. I know matcha remains a peculiar product, like wine or coffee; the first time is always strange. Matcha has a very vegetal taste, but you see, there’s no bitterness!
“A good matcha doesn’t make you grimace!”
Darwin Nutrition Do you drink it every day? Shouldn’t you drink too much in a day? What are the risks, too many antioxidants, do we rejuvenate too much? 🙂
Camille Yes, I drink it almost every day! There’s caffeine in matcha. Few people know this, but caffeine and theine are the same thing! In a cup of matcha, there’s half as much as in a cup of coffee, so you can drink two to three cups a day. But not in the evening, not before sleeping, because as we consume the entire leaf, it’s very concentrated!
Matcha helps with meditation, and it’s not just a trend!
Darwin Nutrition They say that matcha helps with meditation…
Camille Originally, matcha was brought from China to Japan by a Buddhist student who noticed that it helped with meditation. Monks began to take it for this purpose, and it developed from there!
Moreover, studies have been conducted. There’s an amino acid in matcha called L-Theanine, and it’s only present in matcha and a certain mushroom. It relaxes the mind and body in an incredible way!
Darwin Nutrition What we understand about matcha is that you’re both relaxed and stimulated at the same time. Not like with coffee! So it’s quite interesting. A bit like cocoa, which gives you a good mood effect thanks to tryptophan. So where can we find Anatae’s matcha?
Camille I sell my matcha online, in some restaurants and fine grocery stores in Paris and the regions. I also work with Nature & Découvertes. I held a tasting stand in one of their stores, and now Anatae is on sale in the Marais branch!
I’m also looking for a strong distributor, an organic store chain. And I know very well that I have my place! None of them have real good matcha like in Japan! I compared it with an organic matcha bought in one of them. Look, when you open it, it doesn’t smoke, it smells of earth, the green is dull.
Darwin Nutrition What are your ideas for developing Anatae?
Camille What makes the project stand is the quality of the product! I went to get it myself; I know exactly where it comes from. I get along well with the farmers, and I know they do a good job. And I find that this matcha is better than most matcha in France, that’s it!
Otherwise, the farmers I work with make other teas. I think I’ll soon develop a green tea with them.
Darwin Nutrition In Japan, it’s everywhere! In restaurants, there’s always hot water and matcha on the table; it’s like asking for a carafe of water… But in France, isn’t it just a trend?
Camille Indeed in France, matcha is trendy among hipsters, healthy bloggers, and yes, I ride this wave. But my idea is to show people that it’s not just a trend! It’s new in France, but it’s much older than most foods around us!
And we don’t doubt that with her passion, Camille will manage to place her matcha jars on our tables! Meanwhile, it feels like we’ve had a real oenology course, matcha version. Thanks to Sabrina Jeblaoui for this lovely meeting and to Bérénice Curt for her welcome 🙂
