When describing the taste of matcha tea, it is often said to have a vegetal flavor and be slightly bitter. It is also said to have an umami taste.

But what is umami flavour?

You are probably already familiar with the four basic flavours: sweet, salty, bitter, and sour.

But there is also this fifth flavour, well known in Asia: the umami taste.

Discovered in 1908 by Professor Kikunae Ikeda, a chemist at Tokyo Imperial University, the word umami means "flavoursome taste" in Japanese, combining the words "umai" (delicious) and "mi" (taste). He is said to have discovered the role of glutamates in the presence of this characteristic flavour, particularly in dashi broth, the famous Japanese bonito broth. This would explain why some people believe they can detect a fishy taste in matcha tea.

The combination of three amino acids, namely glutamate, inosinic acid, and guanylic acid, allows the receptors in our tongue to taste umami.

The appeal of umami in terms of taste is the balance and roundness it brings to a dish. This is why foods rich in umami are often added to enhance the flavor of a dish, such as Parmesan cheese or tomato sauce on pasta, for example.

On the palate, it is a sensation that is difficult to identify. Simply put, it is a flavour that coats the entire tongue and offers a balanced taste, without acidity, sweetness, bitterness, or pronounced acidity.

According to a study published in 2014 in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, umami flavour increases appetite, but also the feeling of satiety. It is therefore ideal for regulating appetite and can be an ally for weight loss.

Which foods have an umami taste?

Umami is a balanced flavour found in many foods such as soy sauce, ripe tomatoes, mushrooms (dried), meat and fish broths, cheeses, anchovies, seaweed (kombu), and miso.

Umami is particularly present in green tea, and especially in matcha tea.

Matcha tea, a rich umami taste

Matcha tea differs from other green teas in its jade-colored matcha powder form, but above all in its strong umami flavour, combined with a characteristic slight herbal bitterness.

Unlike other teas, green tea leaves are finely ground to produce a high-quality, delicate powder. Matcha green tea powder is not infused, but consumed directly by mixing it with hot water and whisking it with a bamboo whisk called a chasen.

The umami present in matcha tea gives it a delicious sweet note on the finish, as opposed to the umami present in Chinese teas, which is simply a balanced flavour.

When drinking matcha tea, you can taste the umami flavour with all your taste buds, coating your entire tongue with a flavoursome taste. It gives it an enticing taste that makes your mouth water and leaves a lovely, rounded sensation in your mouth.

Drinking matcha is therefore, for me, the most delicious way to discover the umami flavour, so prized in Japanese cuisine.

Matcha, incredible flavors

Because in addition to being delicious, matcha is one of the foods with the most pronounced umami flavour!

And for good reason: the tea leaves used to produce matcha, tencha leaves, are covered for about twenty days before harvesting.

This increases the concentration of L-theanine in the leaves, which is also responsible for matcha's rich umami taste!

Using a whisk in a large bowl, you can create a thick froth on the surface, which gives a creamy texture and a very pleasant feeling of sweetness.

The umami flavour balances the bitterness that matcha tea can contain by adding a slight sweetness to the finish.

All this gives matcha a totally unique, comforting and invigorating taste that cannot be found in any other green tea!

With Kumiko Matcha, I aspire to offer, thanks to my artisan-farmer partners, exceptional organic matcha teas, products with great love, care, and respect for the environment.

Because each matcha tea is unique and invites you on a taste and sensory journey, I offer a varied selection of matcha teas, each of which, in its own way, offers a pronounced umami flavour, a taste devoid of bitterness, and notes ranging from cocoa to citrus.

This way, just like with fine wine, everyone can find a delicious matcha tea, the best one being the one that suits YOUR taste!

Conclusion

We have seen that umami flavour is the fifth flavour, after salty, sweet, bitter, and sour.

It was discovered in 1908 by a Japanese professor, Kikunae Ikeda. It gives dishes a balanced flavour, making them more appetizing.

Matcha offers one of the most intense umami flavours, thanks to its L-theanine content.

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Enjoy the video!

Sources

1. Umami flavor enhances appetite but also increases satiety, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2014, DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.113.080929, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002916523047056?via%3Dihub

2. Evaluation of the umami taste intensity of green tea by a taste sensor, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2008, DOI: 10.1021/jf800933x, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf800933x

3. L-Theanine elicits umami taste via the T1R1 + T1R3 umami taste receptor, Amino Acids, 2014, DOI: 10.1007/s00726-014-1713-3, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00726-014-1713-3

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