Powdered tea in Sushi restaurant?

Poltroon · (#1 (**permalink**))

I have recently been on a trip to Japan and saw that many sushi places (the ones with the conveyor belt system) offer a green powdered tea that is mixed with hot water.

Does anybody know what this is called? I was hoping to buy some over the Internet. I found something called "matcha", but I am not sure if this is it.

Many Thanks.

P.

Nyororin · (#2 (**permalink**))

Matcha is not the same thing. Matcha is the actual tea leaves ground down into a powder - the stuff in sushi places is just powdered tea. I can`t think of what it`s called, and we`ve always just referred to it as "tea powder" (in Japanese, of course) so I can`t really tell you what to search for if you want to buy it.

I`ll take a look next time we go to the store though to see if they have it sitting around so that I can tell you the proper name.

Tolbarizhei · (#3 (**permalink**))

please do actually, that sounds really cool actually ^_^

Poltroon · (#4 (**permalink**))

Thanks for your help.

Kanji_The_Wanderer · (#5 (**permalink**))

Powdered tea? Is it sweet like Iced tea?

I thought sushi was eaten alone, I didn't know you had a drink with it. Interesting.

Tolbarizhei · (#6 (**permalink**))

the last time i enjoyed sushi, i actually had hot sake.. boy was that strong!

Hiroki21 · (#7 (**permalink**))

LOL only in Japan will you get powered tea! lol ^_^ that is really awsome being a big Tea drinker myself. I would like to see what it loooks like.

jbsongaku · (#8 (**permalink**))

I believe Maccha is the real thing. In rotating sushi places you always get it. Along with some picled ginger. I dont know if it is to take the taste of the sushi out (so you can taste a different kind of sushi) or if it is to prevent sickness from eating raw fish (i heard both stories from japanese people so I dont know which to believe)

Anyway, there are many brands of maccha and you might find it online. Its powdered tea, but it is not soluble, so it kinds of rests at the bottom of the cup when you finish drinking it. Its not sweet at all, but is very good when its very hot and outside is freezing.

Nyororin · (#9 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbsongaku

I believe Maccha is the real thing. In rotating sushi places you always get it. Along with some picled ginger. I dont know if it is to take the taste of the sushi out (so you can taste a different kind of sushi) or if it is to prevent sickness from eating raw fish (i heard both stories from japanese people so I dont know which to believe)

Anyway, there are many brands of maccha and you might find it online. Its powdered tea, but it is not soluble, so it kinds of rests at the bottom of the cup when you finish drinking it. Its not sweet at all, but is very good when its very hot and outside is freezing.

Trust me, the stuff in sushi places is NOT matcha.
As for why you drink tea with your sushi... You don`t need to analyze it. Use common sense. People NORMALLY have some sort of beverage with their meals. The most common, boring, every day drink in Japan is tea. It is so boring and normal that it`s free. Water or tea? Most people will choose tea - water alone is also available.

Proof that the hot tea is nothing special to do with sushi - in the summer all the sushi places I go to serve mugicha - the summer counterpart to hot green tea.

Tea will do nothing if the fish is bad. As for removing the taste so you can take another bite... What is the purpose of ANY drink with a meal? There is no weird mystery here.

As for what the tea in sushi places actually is - they sell it in bulk as "録茶粉" at the store. They also sell it in single serving sticks, but I forgot what it was called.

jasonbvr · (#10 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poltroon

I have recently been on a trip to Japan and saw that many sushi places (the ones with the conveyor belt system) offer a green powdered tea that is mixed with hot water.

Does anybody know what this is called? I was hoping to buy some over the Internet. I found something called "matcha", but I am not sure if this is it.

Many Thanks.

P.

Matcha is the bomb!!! You should buy a bunch of it!! There is a family restaurant that has it on the drink bar and I end up drinking that good stuff till I pee in my pants! Oh man, matcha flavored Haagen Daaz! Or the matcha flavored cakes!

That is a kaiten sushi by the way, but yeah, good luck finding the powder. You should just get the matcha. So good!