Lots of Matcha
I scroll through my For You page on Tik Tok and see “my daily matcha routine,” “how matcha will change your skin,” and “how to make the best matcha latte.” This powder made from ground green tea leaves has become the next ‘trend’ as it is infused into all kinds of different products, displayed on a multitude of different social media platforms. How did this Japanese tea powder become so popular? The media has mechanically reproduced and over-essentialized this product to incorporate it into the Western mainstream market.
The origins of matcha can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, 7th-8th centuries, in China. However, matcha did not become popular until the Song Dynasty, 10th-13th centuries, when Eisai, a Japanese Buddhist monk, brought the tea itself, along with the Zen Buddhist methods of preparation to Japan. (Matchaful) Matcha is special in its production, growing tea leaves under shaded conditions to maximize health benefits. The seeds that Eisai brought back from China were considered the highest quality of tea in Japan. He subsequently planted these seeds on temple grounds, the home of the Kamakura Shogun. Because of its limited production, it became a luxurious status symbol among the warrior class. A Zen student later formalized the cultivation, consumption, and ceremony into a ritual, the Japanese tea ceremony. (Matchaful) The purpose of this ceremony was to create a bond between the host and guest while also gaining inner peace, showcasing the values of harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility. As the Samurai, aristocrats, and intellectuals began to understand and appreciate matcha, it boosted in popularity by the end of the sixteenth century as it crept into the mainstream in Japan. (Cheadle and Kilby) Having your own tea master to make your own matcha at home became a status symbol among the elite. (Dreher)
This cultural artifact was not marginalized nor a counterculture, but an elitist niche that was co-opted into the mainstream in Japan, and then later into the Western world. Matcha was once an item of popular culture because, as John Storey defines popular culture, it had a story behind it; it was considered authentic, made by the people. However, this authenticity was co-opted into mass culture as it has become hopelessly commercial and well-liked.
The West Gen-Z and Millennial health craze trend have adopted their next, “superfood.” These superfood foods are most often appropriated from the East. The origins of Matcha, like turmeric, kale, and hemp seeds alike helped market this food item to become a “superfood” because of the West’s essentialism of the Eastern population.
Hall’s definitions of essentialism contextualize how matcha’s context was collapsed when incorporated into the mainstream. Hall questions the typical forms and representational practices that are used to represent ‘difference’ in popular culture today, and where these popular figures and stereotypes originated. He particularly focuses on how racial and ethnic differences are foregrounded in the media and advertisements. He analyzes different advertisements to unpack the modes of difference that refer to racism with its historic origins of colonization, slavery, and WWII. Thus, he focuses on the representation of marginalized cultures. The transformation of matcha, however, stems from an elite community that has also become over-essentialized. He defines essentialism as being “reduced to their essence” and a stereotype as “reduced to a few essentials, fixed in Nature by a few, simplified characteristics'' (Hall, 249). Westerners look at the Japanese population and see clear skin, healthy long strong hair, and skinniness. Because of these “few essentials'' the West looks toward the East to find the ‘tricks’ to health and wellness. This is why the K-pop range of cosmetics such as water rice shampoo is boosting in popularity in the West as well. Matcha has many health benefits that first sparked its cultural significance, but it is not the product itself that makes matcha a superfood, but its branding as a commodity.
Matcha has high antioxidant content and a multitude of health benefits: fat-burning, liver-protecting, and cancer-fighting properties. It also is a good source of caffeine. (Dreher) However, what we see trending on social media is adapted forms of matcha: matcha ice cream, lattes, muffins, etc. Is matcha really that healthy after all that sugar is poured into it?! Hall may agree here that there has been a context collapse as this bitter tea’s values and origins have been diminished when marketed toward the mainstream.
The media’s reproduction of this product has also rebranded matcha as an “aesthetic.” A symbol of being “bougie” and “trendy.” As Adorno and Horkheimer would note, its exchange value has far surpassed its use-value. It is no longer the necessary health benefits, nor its cultural significance that drives consumers to purchase this product, but the social value attached to it. Benjamin warns us how this process of mechanical reproduction changes our relationship to art. The aura, “the here and now of the artwork–its unique existence in a particular place..withers in the age of mechanical reproduction.”(Benjamin, 51) This reproduction of matcha in the media has changed the reaction of the masses toward it as its cultural authenticity has withered away. Matcha was once a quintessential part of an artistic performance, the Japanese tea ceremony. Without this context, its values of harmony, respect, purity, and tranquility have been lost along with the bond it creates between its consumers. Now matcha is in all shops, phones, and homes being showcased as “artsy” and healthy.
I don’t even like green tea, yet I even went to Cha Cha matcha in New York City to see what was so popularized in the media. I believe that the over-essentialism associated with matcha combined with its mechanical reproduction has mechanized this authentic Japanese tea toward the advancement of capitalism. This process of incorporation has truly transformed this cultural artifact into a product of mass consumption.
Sources:
Benjamin, W. (1936). The work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction. Visual Culture:
Experiences in Visual Culture.
Cheadle, L., & Kilby, N. (n.d.). Origins of Matcha. The Book of Matcha.
https://www.motherearthliving.com/food-and-recipes/origins-of-matcha-ze0z1807zcoo/
Dreher, N. (n.d.). Food from Nowhere: Complicating Cultural Food Colonialism to
Understand Matcha as Superfood. Graduate Association for Food Studies.
https://gradfoodstudies.org/2018/06/01/matcha-food-from-nowhere/
Hall, S., & Open University. (1997). Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices. London: Sage in association with the Open University.
Storey, J. (2006). Cultural theory and popular culture: An introduction.
The History of Matcha. (n.d.). Matchaful. https://www.matchaful.com/pages/
the-history-of-matcha
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