The Coffee Bean &
Tea Leaf® (CB&TL) builds on this revival of cultural flavours
with its latest beverage series Matcha Sakura, using ceremonial-grade matcha
harvested with first-flush Tencha and stone-milled to preserve its superior
quality, says David de Candia, Tea Master for CB&TL. These premium green tea
leaves are sourced directly from a small-scale family farm in Shizuoka, Japan
that has been around since 1923, in order to keep the traditional harvesting
methods alive while the small batches ensure the quality of leaves.
The tea
leaves for this grade of matcha are shade-grown for almost 30 days, resulting
in the vibrant green in colour, before being hand-plucked so that the leaves
are not bruised. The leaves are then steamed and deveined, before being ground
slowly to powder-like consistency in a granite mill over many hours.
Though it’s been around for
a long time, many aren’t aware that green tea retains its beautiful colour
because it’s unfermented and thus retains more of its nutritional benefits. It
may also be revelation to some that Japanese green tea comes in different
forms, with the most common being sencha
and matcha; sencha is brewed as whole leaves while matcha is ground into a powder and mixed with water, resulting in a
creamier flavour.
To further enhance its
flavour and to bring a new experience to tea drinkers, the matcha is then blended with a Japanese sakura syrup, made from the
delicate flowers that bloom in spring, to create two Matcha Sakura beverages:
Matcha Sakura Ice Blended® drink
(RM17.50/S and RM18.50/R), topped with sakura whipped cream and drizzled with sakura
blossom syrup, and Matcha Sakura as a hot or iced latte (RM15.50/S and RM16.50/R
respectively).
Going even beyond fair
trade, CB&TL has a long history of working directly with tea farmers and
not via third parties. CB&TL is a leader in sourcing, developing and
creating premium tea-based beverages from plantations in 10 countries including
China, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand. As each type of tea has different
plucking seasons, working directly with growers means tea lovers get fresher,
more exclusive flavours as the different leaves go through tailor-made
processes in order to produce the right balance of flavours for each and every
cup.
For the freshest matcha,
timing is the most challenging aspect, says De Candia, and the Matcha Sakura is
a contemporary take on a centuries-old tradition. Tea in Asia has always been
more than a beverage, with tea drinking remaining central to various ceremonies
that are still taking place today.
Enjoy CB&TL’s Matcha Sakura beverages for a limited time
from 6th March at all outlets, or try the Fukamushi Sencha, a whole-leaf
green tea with sweet, floral and grassy hints (RM12.50/pot and RM55 for 20 tea
bags).
In conjunction with the launch of the Matcha Sakura tea series, CB&TL is also partnering with local handmade bath & cosmetics brand Wunderbath to create the Wunderbath x CB&TL Lip Balm (RM20.90) & Lip Stain (RM22.90), available at 6 selected CB&TL stores nationwide at Johor Bahru City Square, Gurney Plaza Penang, Sunway Pyramid, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Kuantan City Mall and Genting Premium Outlet.
Interested to get more information about
CB&TL’s latest offerings,
Website : www.coffeebean.com.my
Facebook:www.facebook.com/CBTLMalaysiaPage
